We have been looking forward to paddle boarding since last summer! Well, Michelle, Natalie and I. My teenagers declared they were too tired to go on the day we had planned. Maisie informed us that she did not want to stay home with party poopers and came with us to the lake. Here we are waiting for the electric pump Hubby bought us (and had my cigarette lighter feature fixed in my VW) to do the work while we sat in the shade. It’s actually way faster to manually pump them up but this is easier.
One of my priorities for the summer was to attack our garage again. Somehow that thing was just an absolute disaster. I was utterly embarrassed when my children would bring friends over and they would go through our garage to get in the house. That was not the first impression I wanted people to have of my home. So, whenever I felt like I had time, I got to work. Natalie was an excellent helper and Hubby gave vital information and help as well. The first thing we did was clean out the blue storage cabinet that housed all of our winter gear. We donated an entire box of winter items that were too small for any of us. We threw away cheap gloves that had holes or missing their match. We made room in the closet by the garage for all the winter boots. And thanks to the Home Edit convincing me that over the door storage isn’t tacky, we bought this for $10 at Target and couldn’t be happier. Our items are now easy to access and fully organized. This is seriously a major improvement in and of itself.
By the garage door we had a mess of sporting equipment in bins that always appeared like junk. Hubby helped me hang up this organizer that was about $30 online that Natalie and I picked out. Now two bins are off the ground and everything is so easy to see hanging on the wall.
Next we were able to move items that had been on top of the blue storage, on the black shelving, and on/in the tool cabinet into the blue unit. That allowed that area of the garage to look better and gave me room to make a box of bike supplies and a bin of adhesives that had been causing problems in and around Hubby’s tool bench. It took me hours and hours to tackle that tool area! HOURS! It was such a relief to finish! The black shelving was a beast as well but I wasn’t going for perfection so it actually took less time than I thought. And way less time than that tool cabinet. Towards the end I was literally willing to throw a five gallon bucket worth of stuff in the trash so when Hubby got home from work I had him watch me slowly pour the bucket in the trash can while he pulled out objects worth keeping. It was actually quite effective and only took a few minutes with most of it getting thrown away after all. (You can actually see the bucket in the photo and because it didn’t stack with our others I tossed it in the recycling bin when we were done.). The next picture is of the bookcase in the basement to show how we are now storing the Disney Infinity characters my children don't want to part with. They are now with all our media we hardly ever use but don't want to get rid of either. lol. They had been sitting in a box in the guest bedroom since our wood floors were redone.
Fan Expo! This was something I had been interested in for years and I felt like the kids were old enough for. It was insane! Thousands of people showed up at the convention center to celebrate fandoms from tv, movies, video games, and comics. There was amazing artworks, people dressed up from Star Trek to Harry Potter, collectibles, author signings, podcast booths, a place just for kids, panels, live music, classes about all sorts of things from growing your YouTube channel to making your own cosplay costumes, Q&A sessions with celebrities and also autograph signings and photo ops. We made the photo ops our number one priority and didn't get to much else!
Matthew Lewis, who is most famous for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films, was amazing. He seemed genuinely happy that our kids wanted to take a picture with him and brought them in close. Kate literally cried after meeting him she was so happy!
When you pay for your photo ops months in advance like I did, it turns out two of them might be scheduled for the same time since there are two photo booths. It worked out for our family since you are only allowed to have four guests in one picture anyway. Natalie and I got our picture with Anthony Daniels, who is the only actor to be in ALL of the Star Wars films (as C-3PO). There had been a delay with the photos so this one was really rushed.
The rest of the family opted to see Ming-Na Wen and I don't blame them. She is famous for the Joy Luck Club, voicing the animated Mulan, Melinda May in Agents of Shield & Fennec Shand in the Star Wars Disney+ shows like the Mandalorian & Book of Bobba Fett. For someone who has a tendency to play warriors she sure is short (even with her boots on)! At her Q&A she was so bubbly and open it just showed what a talented actress she is.
Sean Astin was a last minute addition for our photo ops. My Stranger Things fans just had to meet Bob but I'll always think of him as a Goonie, Rudy, & a Hobbit. lol. He was great at interacting with Kate, especially considering there was a barrier there. Such a great personality. Michelle and Natalie wanted to spend more time looking at the booths and got some great photos of their own for a suggested donation to charity while we were meeting “Bob.”
All in all it was a great day and I am really glad we went. I don't know if we will ever go to the FanExpo again just because of the crazy crowds but I would recommend it to anyone who hasn't gone just to experience something wonderful in its odd way. Also, we only went for one day and took too many photos. I would say pick your favorite one or two celebrities and spend the rest of the time at the other things the expo has to offer. And there is so much to choose from that if you really wanted to take it all in you would have to plan on spending all three days there like the dad I met from western Wyoming whose family is staying in a local hotel to soak everything in all weekend.
Hubby spent some of his 4th of July weekend hanging up bicycles on the wall. He put his and the trail a bike that we only use when he is around way up high and out of the way, which freed up floor space for us short people who wouldn't even dare to try to get his bikes down. We also bought these simple wall hanging storage from Walmart that he installed which also frees up more floor space. (You can see some of the fireworks Hubby bought too.) Natalie also helped me paint the door and stairs and painting that scuffed up door really helps what entry into the home feels like.
After the 4th of July ward breakfast I promise all six of us were there at, Danny had baseball practice and then went to C's house, Hubby and I got more done around the house, Kate went to P's house, Natalie played with A & S at our house, and eventually it was time to go to the B's house to have a potluck with the neighbors which was so much fun. Of course there were family fireworks at the end. Hubby let Michelle have his small blow torch to light things with and she loved the independence and responsibility and did great with it.
My favorite picture of the night. I'm so glad these neighbors have each other to play with during the summer. Just seems right.
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