Terracotta Warrior Army

 Or as Jason called them "The Carrot-Gotta Warriors".  I think his way was much cuter  :)  We got notice that the Terracotta Warriors would be on loan from China at the VMFA from November-March.  Our schedules were crazy up til this month, and then we planned to go the weekend before and the older two tested positive for Flu A.  They rested for a week and then we tried again last weekend.  I didn't think about it being President's Day weekend and the place was PACKED!  We have a family membership, so I think from now on, we need to see these special exhibits on a Wednesday afternoon  :)  
The kids thought the statues were cool.  Who doesn't love 2,000 year old clay men??  I already knew the story about their discovery from teaching this lesson to my VIP Kid students.  The older kids read all the information on the displays and seemed really interested.  After the museum visit, we saw the Greek horse exhibit and the Faberge eggs!  Then it was off to Cheesecake Factory and then a misty ride home  :)

Making ancient rubbings in the DIY Room

We visited the Confederate Memorial Church because it was right next door.  The stained glass was amazing!

Jason was channeling his inner Audrey Hepburn.

New Kitchen Floor

 Our Pergo flooring runs the entire length of the downstairs of our house.  At one time, we had carpet in the family room but the flood from the busted water connection a couple of years ago changed all that.  So now it's a sea of Pergo, which is fine with me considering we have kids, pets, and mess.  But the flooring under the dishwasher, under the fridge, and in front of the sink area was slowly getting destroyed from water.  Newsflash to no one:  Pergo isn't waterproof.  So the planks started to buckle and warp and looked less than attractive.  
Fast forward to January 2nd.  Our dishwasher craps the bed.  We already replaced a sensor last year for $75.  This would require another sensor and latch for $100.  We were just throwing money at the stinking thing to keep it working.  So we bought a new one at Lowe's and it's gorgeous!  Whirlpool with stainless steel inside.  Very quiet.  Everything a good dishwasher should be.  Since we like to make remodeling decisions on the fly, we decided to replace the flooring while the dishwasher was coming out.  Why not?!?   As it turns out, the Pergo is sitting on TWO layers of vinyl and a whole lotta glue.  Preparation is 90% of the job and 95% of the labor.  It took FOREVER to get the glue off the concrete.  Then we had to level the floor.  THEN prep the floor for tile.  We chose a beautiful porcelain tile that mimics long planks of hardwood.  We picked Woods French Gray and it looks amahzing in the kitchen!  Something about the gray and black in the granite with the cream colored cabinets just works with this flooring.
So the floor is finished!  Now we just have to install the baseboard trim again and add the transition piece between the tile and Pergo and it's a wrap :)

Jason was a big help during the reno

Jay and Emily stole took all of the old flooring to the patio and made a roller coaster for Emily's doll babies!  They were very creative and stayed busy all day.

The new floor!

The new dishwasher!  With adjustable racks and everything (that was such a sad sentence....)