Photo update of the house

We've been here for 2 months now and we've made pretty good progress.



-Knocked down two walls

-moved plumbing

-MANY wallpaper boarders removed

-3 weeks were devoted to electrical work...yawn

-drywall is the worst invention know to man and my greatest nemeses (plural NE-ME-SES: a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent)

-the kitchen was dismantled then reassembled one room over

-an island was built and painted

-farm sink installed

-granite slab counters installed, all by Alan's big bad self

-cabinets (beadboard added,primed, painted, glazed, knobs and pulls)

-fireplace moved and framed

-flooring is a story of it's own (see below)

-24 knew light fixtures installed

-kitchen and family room painted

-my beloved hutch moved in, armoir and couches also moved in (we stopped working for a week after the couches were moved in, I'm not kidding, we couldn't get up)

-backsplash going in as I type

-undercabinet lighting going in also as I type








Ok, so the floors are a story. The flooring we wanted was going to cost $3,000 for the downstairs alone. We don't have said $3,000. What do we do? We convince our handy dandy husband to build us some floors. I have had this idea rolling around in my head for like 10 years. I never thought he would do it for me. It took some convincing and a few books checked out from the library but I won. I've always dreamt of having reclaimed pine floors like you would see in an old farm house. So we faked it! Alan and I ripped 1/2" pine plywood into 8'X8" boards. Alan then routered all 4 edges of each board. Alan picked black as the paint color and I agreed. So I painted the installed boards then took a sander and sanded over every sqaure inch to give it an old worn and weathered look. Final cost to do the entire downstairs $200...can't beat that!



Things left to do:

-stacked stone the fireplace and install mantle
-wood wrap all windows and doors
-baseboard trim
-kitchen cabinet crown & trim
-paint, paint, paint
-install the rest of the floors
-tear down hall closet
-new doors
-a super duper cool suprise involing barn doors
-powder room/total remodel
-upstairs bathroom/total remodel
-total makeover of the stairway and railing
-Build walk in closet in Master
-Build master bath (that'll be a few years away, unless someone would like to donate $)
-yard work, yard work, yard work
-paint porch and outside trim
-build a treehouse!

Are you tired, because I am?!

I love it here.

I was out scouting locations today for a photo shoot I have coming up and I just need to say that I love it here! We only moved 10 minutes away from Puyallup but it's like a whole nother world. Living in "the country" as everyone calls it is such a blessing. Every time I leave my home I have the most incredible views of Mount Rainier and sweeping farm land. I feel like the trees are hugging me as I drive down the windy roads out here. Sometimes it reminds me of driving around the back roads between Canton and Cumming in Georgia, which strangely makes me feel at home. After 3 months it hasn't gotten old, the sense of gratitude hasn't even begun to wear off. I hope that in 10 years I'll still be driving home from somewhere and feel that overwhelming sense that this is where I belong. I have lived in many homes and in many cities but I have never felt so at home and at peace before. It's good to know that this is where we have landed and we're staying for good.

These spots are only 5 to 10 minutes from my home. What you can't see in the shot below is Mt. Rainier, big and beautiful, hiding behind the clouds. I snapped these with my Iphone so I could remember these spots for future photoshoots.

Do The Puyallup!

It's that time of year again! I can start to smell the elephant ears and roasted corn a month early. I love the Washington State Fair! I've been going to it for as long as I can remember and it's a tradition I'm passing down to my kids. Last year we discovered Monday Madness, all the rides were $1. This year the price went up to $1.50 but it was still a great deal. We played hooky from school and work and spent 8 hours at the fair.
We filled up on scones, corn, BBQ and our favorite elephant ears. We rode ride after ride. Alan has finally turned "old" like the rest of us and got a bit sick this year. It was a first for him, I don't think he was so happy about it. Tanner on the other hand had his own first. He was brave enough to ride the BIG rides. Taylor was thrilled to have someone to go with since Dad was looking a little green!
I took Tate on all the little guy rides. As you can see from his expressions he was in HEAVEN! He is so fun to watch, full of pure joy. I made a slide show of the pics from my phone but I can't get the HTML off my phone so you'll have to check it out on my facebook page instead. Below is the slideshow of Tate, pics from my camera.

I'm already itchen to go again!!!

KINDERGARTEN

Well it wasn't officially the first day but Tate thinks it was. That's all that really matters! He did testing and I went with him to orientation. His official first day is Thursday...can't wait! This little man belongs in school, he loves it. He's been riding the bus to pre-school since he turned 3 so it's no new business around here but still, it's totally exciting.

P.S. Don't be judging me by my teal trim and my bird house doorbell. I'll get to it.

FINALLY...the first day of school!

This was the LONGEST summer of all time! For both the kids and I, school starting is a blessed event. Taylor and Tanner had to watch as all their friends from Puyallup went off to school last week, it was painful. They both love school and would be happy with 2 weeks off for summer break! With the craziness of moving into a vacant home and not having any video games, TV, or even any of their toys or books it was truly a tough summer. Things are slowly coming together and we can see a normal life on the horizon. First step, we've got the kitchen complete. 2nd step, kids back to school. Next step, drywall and paint. Then, oh glorious day...we can move our "things" in!!! I have never been so excited to hang a picture on the wall in my life.

Thank you first day of school for making life a little more "normal".




Stay tuned for Tate's first day of Kindergarten. He has testing and orientation today. He has asked me every five minutes "how many more minutes 'til we go". Only 2 hours to go which means I only have to hear that about 24 more times!