Invited to speak

Our oldest was invited to speak at the Girl Scouts of SC semi-annual meeting of the board of directors and delegate conference several weeks ago.  She had to prepare 6 mini-speeches to bridge topics throughout the meeting, and helped to pass out annual awards at the end.  So proud!  :)

Renting, not flipping

The latest investment has turned to renting instead of flipping.  The best market for renting are smaller homes, so we look for a fixer upper (mostly cosmetic), and get a good price on the purchase.  Here's our latest before/after pics....

Before:

After....pressure washing, mowing, and landscape grooming can do wonders!

















Living room before....










After....added hard wood floor, new paint, etc.




















Master bedroom before...  Notice how the carpet below bubbles up.  It also had a pet urine and smoke stench.















After....new carpet, new paint, etc.

Guest bathroom before...The bathroom had water damage in the lower bottom left corner.
















And after....mold removed, repainted, new flooring, removed cabinetry, and lots of cleaning.

And the backyard before....

And now after....

Halloween Cutie

Our youngest couldn't wait for trick-or-treating!  She wanted to be a witch, so this is what we pulled together from her gymnastics outfit, a tutu, and a few extra accessories from the store.  The weather was unusually warm, so she stayed out much longer than I expected.  It was a long day for Mommy, but I enjoyed it.

Country Paintings

Mom came to visit, and each of us had some one-on-one time with her.  Eric got to show her some houses, the oldest took her to a cooking demonstration, our son enjoyed his favorite restaurant, and the youngest spent her day sick, unfortunately.  My time with Mom was painting at an art studio!

We each started with a blank canvas and a picture of what we were to paint.  The instructor did a fabulous job walking us through step-by-step of what to paint, how to mix the colors, and which brush and stroke to use.

The finished product was as unique as each student, but all could tell is somewhat resembled the original picture.  We shared lots of laughs, and compared each others flaws, but it was a fun evening!

Last Summer Swim

Our pool closed for the summer, and the McConnell family was proud to be the last homeowners to enjoy it for the season. It was a little cool, but still worth it for one last swim.

We played on the inflatables, picked up pennies, practiced our underwater handstands, and our swim strokes.










The guys had a contest for the running ball toss as we voted on best catch, biggest splash, and best form.





















The little one wanted to be tossed up in the air, so then we did that for a while.

 Eventually, it was time to go.  But before ending this post, here's a sweet pic of our photographer!

Boating @ the Lake

Some friends invited us to go boating last weekend, the last warm weekend of summer!  It was a gorgeous day, and perfect for being outdoors.

Our friends have a beautiful lake house and a beautiful boat, so we were really spoiled for a few hours.

The kids had a great time meeting new friends.  Each had a long ride on the inner tube, and plenty of snacks afterwards.

The kids are now begging to go back there again to play some time, and are bummed they just met at the end of summer.  The moms talked about getting the families together for years, so it's nice we finally did!

Reaching New Heights

My son is reaching new heights, and has achieved that important milestone of surpassing his mom.  I now have to look up to him.  I'm not sure how that happened so quickly, as just last month I was still beating him by a quarter of an inch!  Here are some pictures taken his first few days at school.