Ready for paint!!

We have been working around the clock on the house, spending pretty much any time that we're not at work there. I feel like we haven't made much progress until I look at the pictures from a month ago and then I realize how far we've come (but we still do have quite a ways to go). Basically, we've torn down all the crazy things that the previous owner had done and are now down to the bones of the house and are building back up. All of the wallpaper is gone, the ceilings are scraped and ready for recessed lights, the cabinet doors are sanded, and all the crazy solar panel stuff inside is gone. We have also texture-coated the walls and should have them painted by the end of this weekend- we're crossing our fingers.

By far the biggest job has been fixing all the holes in the walls, we knew that there were some issues with the walls, but we never realized quite how many. I tend to get a little impatient (shocking, I know) and at this point I'm very lucky that anyone still comes over to help. We really are so appreciative of all the help, Andy comes over and helps Justin almost every night into the wee hours of the morning, and my parents go work on the house even when Justin and I are both at work.Justin and Andy fixing holes in our master bedroom - notice the broken window (it came that way).

Katie is an excellent sander and looks so cute doing it!

Justin and I measuring out the placement for the can lights in the kitchen. We spent a long time figuring out where we wanted them and then hit studs when we tried to cut them out (apparently studfinders are a waste of money). We drew them out 4 times before we found a layout that looked good and wasn't on a stud.

Dad cut the holes out for us, being left-handed comes in handy!

Tracy in now a master electrician and drywall cutter. She did a great job but wasn't enjoying it at this moment.

Mom drew the short straw and got the dirty job of scraping the last little bit of popcorn off the ceilings. The respirators aren't that comfortable but are better than breathing in all that dust!

We were all working hard and wondered where Kristen was. We found her in the backyard, napping in the sun.

Kristen redeemed herself, she and Mom had to replace a big part of the drywall because it was soaked through. Great work girls!!

We have keys!!

After a long wait and lots of frustration, we finally have keys to the house!!! Unfortunately, Justin had to leave for Vegas for a week for work just 2 days after we got our keys. So, my family pitched in to start the renovations.



One of the reasons we loved this house... the view is great and we have beautiful sunsets.
Our lovely backyard, you can't see the chicken coop or solar panel from this view though :)
This is the future home of Justin's boat-- and one of the major reasons that he liked this house so much.
Maureen came over to help remove wallpaper. We think that the wallpaper was superglued on as it put up quite a fight coming off.
Mom decided to tackle the overgrown bushes out front. I told her she had to be done because the trash can was full, so she hopped in the trash can and voila! more room!
Dad wants to show that he's strong enough to handle this BIG job.

Our Dream House!!!

Pretty, isn't it? This may not look like everyone's dream house, but it is ours :) As long as everything goes smoothly, we will be moving in the day after Thanksgiving. Justin has handled the situation with a level head, while I have been pretty much in a state of panic since our offer was accepted. Luckily, we have a lot to keep us occupied and keep me from freaking out. We've already started making the rounds (and making friends) at Home Depot and planning the improvements we want to make.
We have some major landscaping to do and a lot of painting, ceiling scraping, and kitchen and bathroom remodels in our future. The house doesn't look like much right now but is in a great neighborhood in Thousand Oaks (Wildwood) with hiking trails, parks and schools nearby.
We can't wait to move in and make it our own!!!

Honeymoon

We were greeted in Maui with this beautiful rainbow right as we arrived. Aloha!


We went on a hike through an old plantation and got to go across two Indiana Jones-style bridges. They were squeaky and swung a lot!


There were two dogs that followed us for most of the hike, all the way to this pool at the end, and Justin made friends with them.


Dinner at Kimo's was delicous, and the restaurant had a great view of the ocean. Our new favorite fish is Ono, Hawaiian moon fish- tasty!


Next we took a boat ride to go snorkeling at Molokini Crater and the island of Lanai. Justin saw lots of fish and I had fun swimming around.


The highlight of the day was a pod of spinner dolphins that followed us to the cove that we anchored at on Lanai. The guides told us there were about 90 dolphins, and lots of them were babies, around a foot long. We thought they had left and everyone went off to snorkel while I hung out and swam, and the dolphins reappeared all around me- they were less than 2 feet away and there were SO MANY of them!!!


We got to Kauai and this was the incredible view from our hotel.


Time to stop and take a picture,


Justin's favorite part of the hotel was the waterslide. The slide was made for kids, but Justin didn't let that stop him from joining in the fun.


I liked the mojitos at the restaurant on the beach. Really, what's not to like about cocktails in paradise?


Safety first! Zipline gear is so attractive, and just as comfortable as it looks.


But it was so much fun!!!


We overcame our fear of heights pretty quickly. We were the only ones in our group daring enough to go off the ledge backwards and we got pretty good at going upside-down too! The scariest part was definitely taking that first step off the ledge, but it was well worth it.


There were chickens and roosters everywhere on Kauai(including at our hotel, they were a nice alarm). Even though he didn't appreciate the wake up call, Justin loved the chickens. He also loved the coconuts, we stopped and bought one from a local who cracked it open so we could drink it straight from the coconut.


Yummy coconut!


This was our last night. We were so sad to leave but so very tan!!!

Wedding pics!!!

We had such an amazing time at our wedding and wanted to share some pictures. We'll add more when we have a bit more time, but thanks to everyone for helping us have such a perfect day, enjoy the pics!

Just Married!!!


The wedding party


The Sklar family


At this point Justin is wondering what he just got himself into... these people are crazy!!!


The boys


Awww... sisters


And the maid of honor- so cute!


Justin's nephew Jake really stole the show. We had so much fun with him all weekend.


Not to be outdone are the flower girls- Brooke and Torrey were the princesses of the day.




First dance


Father-daughter dance


And the mother-son dance


Ben knows how to get a group dance going!!!


And Katie knows how to move!


We're having fun!!!