Remodeling, zoo and OMSI trip, and trip to Corvallis!

November was a very busy month for us.  After a few weeks of securing bids and making choices, we began our kitchen remodel in the beginning of November.  It was really stressful because I was working and acting as the General Contractor myself to save money and I had to find all the sub contractors myself and then choose from them and pick out all the materials.  I also had to keep track of the costs and stay within our budget too of course!  We were without a kitchen for about 2 weeks but it was not too bad because we visited Sean's family one weekend and my family one weekend.  The kitchen was also done in time for us to host our first Thanksgiving in our house!

Before shot 

Before demolition shot

Our old kitchen

The old kitchen sink

New cherry cabinets that we picked the stain ourselves on

I love our stainless steel under mounted sink!

New oak flooring throughout the kitchen, family room, and hallway

The first weekend in November I took Brandon to the zoo and to OMSI.  We are zoo members now and I love how I can take him whenever I want now.  We really like to go on Fridays since I have Friday mornings off and it is quieter at the zoo.  Brandon loves pointing and saying the animals names.  He also loves the zoo train and any trains in general!  He sees train tracks and always says "choo choo tracks."  I think Brandon loves to go on our little adventures as much as I do and I cherish Friday mornings with him.

Brandon loved the monkeys!

Both of our favorite up close and personal

Brandon enjoyed making music with the drums

On the zoo train looking at all the animals

Such a happy boy on the train

The following Sunday they had a $2 OMSI entrance day (its the first Sunday of every month) so Brandon and I went to OMSI for Brandon's second time.  They have an entire huge room that is just for kids 5 and under that Brandon loved including a water room, a giant sand area, a train room, and many more places to explore.  Brandon loved the water room and sand area the best.  He learned how to put a ball in a stream of water just right to get it to float to the top and loved doing that over and over again.

Playing with the floating balls in the water room

Having so much fun in the water room

Loving the wooden puzzle

Playing in the sand room

During the whole remodel, we took a trip to Gramsie and Baba's house in Corvallis.  Little did we know it would be our last time with my parents' beloved yellow lab Callie as she passed away about a month later.  We had fun taking the "doggie" on short walks and we went to Avery Park where Brandon got to get up close to the steam engine train they have there.  We walked all over the train but Brandon liked looking at it from afar more than climbing all inside it.  Maybe it seemed less real to him to see it up close or he just liked seeing the view of it from afar.

Brandon and Gramsie going up the steps to the train

Playing in the leaves on the way to the train

Brandon loved looking at the train from afar