Apple Picking 2020

Due to our sports schedule, our annual apple picking trip happened a little later than usual.  We lucked out and had nice weather and there were still apples left for picking!  We picked just enough apples, snapped some cute pictures, and had a picnic lunch after checking out the market!  We love Legend Hills Orchard.

The kids always take turns sitting on Danny's lap and "driving" around to the different types of apple trees.

He thought it looked like a butt 😆

Dad found some corn - and of course he tried to eat it

Huckleberry Finn

Mom got some cute pics of the kids with her phone

We always have to take pictures of the kids in the bin!  This particular bin looks to have come from Lynd Fruit Farms.

Silly ones!

They're so goofy!

I love my family!

Early October

We had some nice weather throughout October and finished up our baseball and softball seasons.  We were also able to fit in a nice bike ride down on campus one last time before it got too cold.

The kids had silly hat and sock day at their schools - I'm thinking it was part of spirit week for homecoming.

Scarlet likes to soak up all of the sunshine

On my parents' anniversary, I snapped a picture of them while they were enjoying a fire outside.  They're so cute.

One Saturday, after Colin's travel baseball game, we took Mason down to campus for a bike ride.

Even Woody is prepared to fight COVID

The rest of the Lastivkas met us down on The Oval for some football and Adriatico's pizza.  After, we rode our bikes over to Buckeye Donuts.

Here's Cadence's team after their last game of the season - since there were only 22 girls in their age group who signed up to play, they split in half and played each other each week.  Cadence learned a lot during her first season of softball and we're so impressed with how she put herself out there and tried new things!

Colin's age group was able to participate in an end of the season rec tournament.  We were all in shock when the Blue Bombers lost their one and only game - it was sad to watch the last huddle after the game.  They were bummed their season came to an abrupt end.

The family of one of Colin's teammates got trophies for all of the players since the league did not do that this season.  It was nice to offer them along with an after game treat - it helped soften the blow.  Colin did really well this season as far as skill goes - we are still working on his attitude.  He gets really down on himself when he doesn't do as well as he thinks he should.  

Brantley's parents, Kevin and Ashlee, gifted Danny this bat at the end of the season.  They appreciated all that Danny did for the team, specifically their son, Brantley.  It was a super sweet gesture and we are thankful for their friendship.

 

The Finished "Unfinished" Laundry Area

While we talked to the contractor about remodeling the kids' bathroom, we mentioned the basement/laundry area to him.  Neither were a very big job, so we thought it would be worthwhile for him to do both jobs at the same time.  It's already not very fun having to go to the basement to do laundry, so to make the task a little more bearable, we wanted to make the space a little more functional.  We didn't do anything extraordinary to the basement, but boy does it feel a lot better doing laundry and ironing down there.

Danny had the idea to take this wall and install a folding/wrapping/craft table.

I did all of my Christmas wrapping at this table this year.  It's also a nice spot to hang clothes that I've ironed but still need to put away.  It's a perfect, little multipurpose table.  We've talked about adding a couple of outlets in the walls & adding a table lamp for some more light.

Danny hung the ironing board around the wall, out of the way, and we installed a clothes drying rack.

And the pièce de résistance - the laundry hub.  I never had a good spot to store anything, there were always cobwebs everywhere, and the whole area was just flat out gross.

Ta da!  We have 3 separate cabinet units to store the iron, extra dryer sheets, bleach, towels, etc.  We hung rods to hold hangers and installed a new deep sink.  Danny lined the entire floor with cushioned tiles and we covered most of the area with carpet remnants.  

We installed this cute, little shelf with hooks and a couple more clothes drying racks to finish off the space.  I'm very happy with how it turned out!

Kids' Bathroom Refresh

Over the summer, we got around to renovating the kids' bathroom.  We originally wanted to start working on their bathroom at the beginning of the year, but it was a little difficult finding someone that was willing to do such a small job.  We finally found a contractor and then COVID hit.  Once restrictions were lifted a bit, the contractor's wife had a baby, so that delayed the work even more.  When we were able to settle on a start date, Danny ripped everything out of the bathroom; and aside from the bathtub, it was EVERYTHING.  We replaced the light fixture, vanity, countertop, mirror, toilet, faucet and shower head in the bathtub, installed a shower door, put shiplap on the walls, and installed a shelving unit above the toilet.  We removed all brushed nickel and replaced it with oil rubbed bronze.  We didn't do anything extravagant, but I'm glad we could update this little bathroom from 1999.  I love how it turned out!

BEFORE

AFTER