I love this picture! How blessed I am to have 3 beautiful, happy, healthy children and a loving husband who is a great father!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Family
I love this picture! How blessed I am to have 3 beautiful, happy, healthy children and a loving husband who is a great father!
Fall!
We really enjoyed this fall. The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of time outdoors, playing in the yard or the park down the street, or going on walks together in the evenings. The kids loved to play in the leaves when we raked them up. Their joy makes you feel like a kid again!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Remodeling Completed--Almost!
Everyone has been asking for before and after pictures, so I have finally posted some. We started out thinking new flooring and paint, then added new lighting, countertops, vanity tops, faucets, well you get the picture. It is finally done--though some would say it will never be "done".
We thought that we were going to wait to do the outside next year, but we had a couple crazy hail storms, so have had to replace the roof, and scrape, prime and paint the trim and touch up some of the siding.
Yes, we had lakes in the front and back yards. And, we got to remodel the basement twice because some of the water got in through the window wells, only a month after new carpet and wood laminate floors were installed in the basement. Needless to say, digging out, caulking, rocking, improving the slope away from them, and covering the window wells became our next project.
We are still working on the landscaping. We have cleared out some old trees and cedar bushes and done some pruning on the others. Last week I finished clearing out some rock by the front step that I will plant some bushes and flowers in. I dug out some tree roots that were sticking up in the lawn and reseeded some bare spots (can you see the baby grass!) and now I am working on this terrible spot.
I'm hoping to remove the rocks and take out the tree roots (hoping it won't kill the trees--does anyone know how big of roots you can remove without doing damage?), re-dig the railroad ties for the edge on the right side against our neighbors white rocks, then take out the ones on the left side and just continue the lawn on over. That should take me a while!
We thought that we were going to wait to do the outside next year, but we had a couple crazy hail storms, so have had to replace the roof, and scrape, prime and paint the trim and touch up some of the siding.
Yes, we had lakes in the front and back yards. And, we got to remodel the basement twice because some of the water got in through the window wells, only a month after new carpet and wood laminate floors were installed in the basement. Needless to say, digging out, caulking, rocking, improving the slope away from them, and covering the window wells became our next project.
We are still working on the landscaping. We have cleared out some old trees and cedar bushes and done some pruning on the others. Last week I finished clearing out some rock by the front step that I will plant some bushes and flowers in. I dug out some tree roots that were sticking up in the lawn and reseeded some bare spots (can you see the baby grass!) and now I am working on this terrible spot.
I'm hoping to remove the rocks and take out the tree roots (hoping it won't kill the trees--does anyone know how big of roots you can remove without doing damage?), re-dig the railroad ties for the edge on the right side against our neighbors white rocks, then take out the ones on the left side and just continue the lawn on over. That should take me a while!
Downstairs Bathroom
The downstairs bathroom was quite in style in its time. It also suffered from water damage from the Masterbathroom above it which had to be gutted.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
Downstairs Family Room & Bar
We had this wet bar in the downstairs family room--at first we were going to take it all out, but it has a real marble top and some history--it used to be in the town hall, so we decided to keep it. We did however get rid of the green wicker bar stools and green X's painted on the front panels. Now we have wood laminate behind the bar with bar stools for the kids to snack at while they watch a movie, or possibly an icecream bar in the future. Oh, and did I mention Ben's favorite part--we scraped the popcorn off the ceilings in the entire house and refinished them.
Before:
After:
Before:
After:
The Kitchen
Before--complete with orange countertops and grey carpet:
After--travertine floor, new countertops, appliances, lighting, and paint--Minus the awkward island :
After--travertine floor, new countertops, appliances, lighting, and paint--Minus the awkward island :
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Work Has Begun!
The closing went smoothly on our house, and we now have the keys in hand. This weekend we started taking off baseboards, taking out carpet and tack strips--and our personal favorite--scraping popcorn off ceilings. It is such a messy job. Basement level is scraped, now on to the top level. When we get it all cleaned up, we will begin painting. We are still getting things picked out, searching for bargains, and hoping that it all comes together nicely. Here is a picture of the diamond in the ruff!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Spring is Here!
We are thoroughly enjoying the Spring Days. This weekend we went on a family bike ride, with Bryce attached to Mom's bike and the girls in a trailer. It was a lot fun biking around town. Bryce thought he was doing all the work pedaling like crazy on his little bike while I was pulling him. He couldn't believe how fast he was going.
Ben completed his final class in Denver on Saturday for his Principal Certification here in Colorado. He has to turn in a final portfolio and he can finally take a break from his own personal education. There has not been much of a break since he started undergrad 12 years ago, so we are excited for him, and for free Saturdays once again. I'm sure we will quickly fill in that time with house projects, since we are closing on a house on Friday and will have some work to do before we move in the last week of May. It has had renters and pets in it, so there is some fixing up to do, but it is in a nice part of town and has a large fenced in back yard which we will love compared to the dirt and stickers we have now.
We have started another busy week. I have been trying to volunteer a couple times a week to help out the track team, though it has been a challenge to coordinate schedules to care for the children. Spring is a busy time for Ben with meetings, activities, and hiring. Bryce has started Tball and he and Dad have enjoyed practicing together. His first game is on Saturday. He is doing well in school and is really excited to learn to read and write. All of us made graduation cards to surprise Dad, and he wrote his all by himself (I did have to decipher it a little for Ben). We signed Bryce up for Kindergarten next year--they have all day Kindergarten every day here, so that will be a big change. Emma has been begging to go to school for years it seems, so next year we have signed her up for preschool as well. She already has a head start learning the things we are teaching Bryce. I think we are going to have her go in the afternoons during Sienna's nap time, and that will give me a couple hours to really get things done. Sienna is at a very busy stage, she is saying new things every day, and thinks because she can say it, she should get it NOW!
Well, I have been in denial for the last few days, but yesterday, and 2 boxes of Kleenex later, I finally admitted that I am sick. I let housework go and took a nap yesterday, now today I need to do some picking up and get utilities and everything ready for the new house. I am trying to get flooring, paint, etc. all picked out but when I go in to some of these places I feel like I am dealing with a used car salesman--I might have to drive to a Menards or Home Depot type place where at least everything is labeled and has a clear price. I am sure the week will fly be and we will have the keys in our hands before we know it--then the fun begins! Anyone wishing to join the fun, we would love the help, not to mention the company. It seems good conversation always makes the work go by faster.
It may be a while before we post again, by then we might have before and after pictures.
Happy Spring to all of you!
Ben completed his final class in Denver on Saturday for his Principal Certification here in Colorado. He has to turn in a final portfolio and he can finally take a break from his own personal education. There has not been much of a break since he started undergrad 12 years ago, so we are excited for him, and for free Saturdays once again. I'm sure we will quickly fill in that time with house projects, since we are closing on a house on Friday and will have some work to do before we move in the last week of May. It has had renters and pets in it, so there is some fixing up to do, but it is in a nice part of town and has a large fenced in back yard which we will love compared to the dirt and stickers we have now.
We have started another busy week. I have been trying to volunteer a couple times a week to help out the track team, though it has been a challenge to coordinate schedules to care for the children. Spring is a busy time for Ben with meetings, activities, and hiring. Bryce has started Tball and he and Dad have enjoyed practicing together. His first game is on Saturday. He is doing well in school and is really excited to learn to read and write. All of us made graduation cards to surprise Dad, and he wrote his all by himself (I did have to decipher it a little for Ben). We signed Bryce up for Kindergarten next year--they have all day Kindergarten every day here, so that will be a big change. Emma has been begging to go to school for years it seems, so next year we have signed her up for preschool as well. She already has a head start learning the things we are teaching Bryce. I think we are going to have her go in the afternoons during Sienna's nap time, and that will give me a couple hours to really get things done. Sienna is at a very busy stage, she is saying new things every day, and thinks because she can say it, she should get it NOW!
Well, I have been in denial for the last few days, but yesterday, and 2 boxes of Kleenex later, I finally admitted that I am sick. I let housework go and took a nap yesterday, now today I need to do some picking up and get utilities and everything ready for the new house. I am trying to get flooring, paint, etc. all picked out but when I go in to some of these places I feel like I am dealing with a used car salesman--I might have to drive to a Menards or Home Depot type place where at least everything is labeled and has a clear price. I am sure the week will fly be and we will have the keys in our hands before we know it--then the fun begins! Anyone wishing to join the fun, we would love the help, not to mention the company. It seems good conversation always makes the work go by faster.
It may be a while before we post again, by then we might have before and after pictures.
Happy Spring to all of you!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
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