Weekend Wrap-Up

Where has the weekend gone??? Unfortunately, it's flown by and tomorrow is already Monday. Saturday night was our monthly date night. Our date consisted of dinner and a movie. We went to Paul Mineo's Trattoria in the West Port Plaza. What a wonderful decision...the food was outstanding...from the artichoke appetizer to our entrees of veal and fillet. We thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the company. After dinner we went to see The Proposal with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. It was a very good movie..I always enjoy romantic comedies.

Kyle also had a date last night as well with a babysitter. She babysat Kyle last time and they seem to get along well. Kyle did however give her a "little" scare so she may not want to come back...LOL! Kyle escaped out the back door and into the yard while she was in the restroom. She panicked when she couldn't find him and searched every room in the house only to find him running around the back yard. He loves to be outside and since the yard is fenced, we have allowed him to go outside by himself for short periods of time. Unfortunately, we failed to inform the babysitter of this activity.

Today the temperatures have been a little "cooler". We have been experiencing a major heat wave for a week or two, so temperatures in the mid 80's is certainly "cooler". According to the extended forecast, this pattern should continue throughout the week which will be a nice change. Kyle and I have been hibernating indoors as much as possible, so maybe outdoor activities will be back on the docket during the week. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Until next time...Good Bye!

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Master Bedroom

Welcome to Keeping Up With The Spences and to our Master Bedroom, the featured room on "Show Us Where You Live Friday". Our house is a story and a half so the master bedroom is located on the main level, separated from the other bedrooms. The room is very spacious with a coffered ceiling and a bay window, making the room feel even more open. Below are several pictures taken from various angles in the room. Enjoy the tour and have a wonderful weekend!

Summer Fun - Spence Style

Wow, has it really been over a week since I have posted on the blog....well, besides the home tour posts! We have been busy, attempting to keep Kyle on the go and entertained. Since I'm extremely far behind with updates I'm going to highlight several adventures from the past couple of weeks. Our days have been filled with many "Fun In The Sun", outdoor activities, but isn't that what summertime is all about?

*Kyle and I headed to the neighborhood pool last week. It was the perfect time and we were the only people in the "baby" pool. It was a fun time for both of us to enjoy the sunshine and a nice summer morning. We are planning many more trips to the pool during the summer months...hopefully next time with Daddy, so Kyle can "swim" in the larger, family pool.

*Kyle was recently invited to a third birthday party for one of his little friends. Kyle had a great time...eating pizza, eating yummy birthday cake, attempting to break open a Lighting McQueen pinata, and playing with plenty of cool toys! Since it was a warm morning there was a slip and slide for the children to enjoy. Unfortunately, Kyle wasn't interested in the slip and slide...he really likes pools, but has a hard time warming up to sprinklers.

*This past Saturday afternoon, we went to the Children's Garden at the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Pretty flowers and landscaping isn't very entertaining for little ones, but the Children's area didn't disappoint. There are many activities to keep children entertained ...from a playground area with climbing/slides, sprinkler/fountain area, musical area, general store for pretend shopping, and much more. The Botanical Gardens is an extremely popular local destination for photo sessions and weddings. We will certainly bring Kyle back for more fun in the gardens, however, it may have to wait several months until the temperatures are a little cooler.

*Sunday, on Father's Day, we spent more time in the record hot temperatures. We went with another family to a local park for a Father's Day picnic. The day was hot, but enjoyable...enjoying good food, friends, and best of all watching Kyle run and explore.

These are just a few of the things we have been doing, with much more on the agenda to keep Kyle entertained and out of trouble! Hopefully, I will return before too long with more frequent posts and updates!

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Playroom

The featured room on "Show Us Where You Live Friday" is any combination of your playroom, bonus room, or laundry room. I will only be giving a little tour of Kyle's playroom. We had our basement finished a little over two years ago for the sole purpose of providing a play area for Kyle. Growing up in New Orleans, I wasn't accustomed to houses having basements and was introduced to basements when I moved to STL. I LOVE having a basement since it provides so much storage room, easier access to the storage, and more useable space Another reason why I love having a basement is the fact it is so much cooler since it is underground which is nice on days like today when it is extremely hot outside.

Kyle is a huge Thomas the Train fan so one section of the playroom is dedicated to his train table and Thomas decorations. He also has an easel where he attempts to be a little artist, a play table, a book shelf, and enough toys for several children. We also have a large sofa in the corner which is convenient for adult seating in the room. As Kyle gets older and his interests change, we will make changes as needed to keep the playroom his fun space.

To view other playrooms, bonus rooms, or laundry rooms please visit Kelly's Korner. Enjoy your weekend!

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Bathrooms

Welcome to "Keeping Up With The Spences"! Today is Friday, which means the weekend has arrived and it's time for "Show Us Where You Live Friday"! The featured room this week is the bathrooms. In our home we have two full bathrooms and one half bath, which we use as a guest bath.

MASTER BATHROOM

The master bathroom is very spacious, has plenty of natural light, two sinks, and a television. We haven't done much work in this bathroom since we moved in,

however we did have new flooring installed...previously there was carpet.

Below are several pictures taken from various angles in the room.

KYLE'S BATHROOM

Our second full bathroom is Kyle's (our three year old son) and is decorated in a sea life theme...fish, seahorses, octopus, whales, etc. The room is very bright and cheery...and best of all Kyle LOVES it and has so much fun at bath time!

GUEST BATHROOM

The guest bathroom is actually a half bath located just off our family room and master bedroom. It is cozy and compact,

but is so nice to have when anyone is visiting.

Please visit Kelly's blog to tour other bathrooms. I will be back next Friday to give a tour of Kyle's playroom. Enjoy your weekend!

Previous Tours:

Kitchen - I didn't actually participate in the kitchen tour since our kitchen was being remodeled, but this is our brand new kitchen.

Dining Room

Chidren's Room

Guest Room

Home Office

Concert In The Park

Several local parks in the area sponsor free weekly concerts during the summer months. This evening, we thought it would be a fun family outing. The weather was great...overcast skies and cool temperatures. It was nice and relaxing to sit back, enjoy the music, and people watch! The band playing tonight was the Nonstop Classic Rock Band...actually very good! Kyle seemed to enjoy himself and even showed us a few of his dance moves! Hopefully, we will be able to enjoy another concert in the coming weeks!

Stop To Smell The Flowers

Kyle took time out of his busy day to stop and smell the flowers!

Back To School...Already?

After being out of school for only one week, Kyle headed back to school this morning. He will be attending school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for six weeks where he will be receiving speech and occupational therapy. The main purpose for Kyle to attend summer school is for him not to loose any of the skills acquired during the school year. Thankfully, he has the same teacher, teacher assistant, speech therapist, and occupational therapist; however, the school location is different. I was hesitant, that he would be upset this morning when I dropped him off since it was a new environment. He did have an unhappy look on his face, but luckily it only lasted a few seconds. I was very relieved to hear that he had a great day!!! Here's hoping that Thursday will be another good day!

A Beautiful Gem

As I have mentioned in the past STL has many beautiful and well maintained parks. Sunday, we visited a park and it is by far our all time favorite we have located in the area. The playground area is awesome for little ones...Kyle had a blast! The grounds are beautiful with a lake, water fall, walking trail, volleyball court, and tennis courts. Unfortunately, we had to leave since it was about to rain, but we plan to go back very soon! We are hoping to get family portraits taken in the park...it is that pretty!

This park is a gem! I'm not sure many people would know the park exists since it is a little off the beaten path! I may be greedy and keep this as "my little secret"!

A Striking Good Time

Saturday night, John and I had a casual date night. As much as we love taking Kyle out and about it's always nice to have a night out sans Kyle. Since our last night out was to celebrate our anniversary we decided to have a low key night...dinner and bowling!

We started the night at 54th Street Bar and Grill for dinner. This is a new restaurant which opened not too long ago that we have been wanting to try. We both had the filet mignon and certainly enjoyed the peace and quiet without having to entertain a certain someone. It is definitely a Kyle friendly restaurant so we will head back with Kyle in the future.

After dinner, we went bowling. In the past, John has been on bowling leagues and he is a very good bowler. I, on the other hand, am a terrible bowler, but still enjoy "attempting" to play. Needless, to say John won all four games we played...I won't even mention scores...it would be way to embarrasing for me! On our way home, we stopped for a special treat....concretes! Yummy! The perfect way to end a wonderful date! Hopefully, he will ask me out again...stay tuned...LOL!

The Journey Has Ended

Welcome To Our New Kitchen!

As many of you know, May was a busy month for the Spence Family. We had our kitchen remodeled and it was certainly an adventure. It was difficult being without the kitchen for approximately three weeks...especially with a toddler. In the end, it was 100% worth all the inconvenience!! We absolutely LOVE our new kitchen! All of the color choices we made worked out perfectly. So without any further fanfare here is our new kitchen!

Believe it or not, our favorite part of the new kitchen...

Pictures of the kitchen before the remodel

Show Us Where You Live Friday - The Office

This week on Show Us Where You Live Friday the featured room is the home office. Our office isn't used very often, since we have laptop computers. We use the room for filing important paperwork, computer printing, and storing our books. My husband and I both enjoy reading so we collect plenty of books as you can see from the two book cases. Although, the room isn't in use on a daily basis it's nice to have the space when needed. Hope you enjoy the tour of our office.

Please visit Kelly's blog to visit other home offices. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

The first four pictures are of the various angles in the room

Diplomas displayed above the desk My husbands framed and signed St. Louis Blues hockey jersey