Fun with jackhammer

Justin and my dad had a very manly day... we rented a jackhammer to take out a bunch of concrete in the backyard, and then later in the day Justin got to use his truck and a chain to pull some trees out of the front yard. Between the power tools and the 4 wheel drive, he was in heaven, although also pretty sore the next day.
The jackhammer was harder (and heavier) than it looked, the fence along the side and the back came out pretty easily but the concrete around the post for the solar panel was a little more difficult. We were able to take the solar panel down, but just can't get the pole out- we took out at least a foot deep of concrete and the thing still won't budge. Maybe we'll get used to having a big pole in the backyard, or maybe we'll add a tether ball court!!

This was the first try at the jackhammer.

It didn't take long for them to get the hang of it and take down the fence.

It looked easy so I wanted to try, but that thing was so heavy!!!!!

Mom took on the tedious job of taking out all the weeds in the backyard.

Wow! It looks so much better already! We can't wait for grass and a real backyard!!!

Memorial Day fun

Some people spent Memorial Day BBQing and relaxing. My dad and I spent the day doing some serious gardening. By the way, who knew gardening was such a workout?? It sounds pretty lame, but I really don't think I've ever been this sore in my life.

Our lovely front/sideyard before we got to it. You can't see the iceplant too much, but it was everywhere and had such deep roots. From far away all the wildflowers looked ok, but when you got a little closer they just looked overgrown-- some of the weeds were almost shoulder-height.

This was about halfway through. You can see all the iceplant that we tore out, it reminded me of seaweed. It was lucky for me that my dad came over at this point, my muscles were pretty much done and my dad was laughing at how I could barely swing the pick.

Looks a little sparse now but at least we're starting fresh. There was a row of lavender along our property line so I decided to keep that going, other than that, I left very little that was there before. The biggest negative to this is that now everyone can see how badly the house needs a coat of paint. Hopefully the "outside paint"pics are coming soon!

May updates

It's been quite a while since I updated the blog, but we've been busy between working on the house, working at work, and celebrating Justin's big 3-0.
Here's a peek at what we've been up to. Lots more pics to come soon, we've started doing some landscaping and my dad cut down most of the huge bushes in the front. It's a huge improvement already, we can't wait to get some paint on the outside of the house.

Almost looks like a real kitchen-- just don't look out the windows.

The Man Room. Justin did a great job of shopping on Craig's List for these chairs. Once we get a tv stand for this room, I don't think I'll ever see him again.

The living room. We are so classy, we even have art!

Hallway- there is finally light in this wing of the house!

The entryway. I had a very specific idea of the mirror that I was looking for and this wasn't quite it, but I gave up. I'm not as good of an online shopper as Justin, I just don't have the patience- shocking, I know.

The guest bath, new light fixtures and fresh paint.

The front yard before Mom got to it...

And after. Lucy helped too :)

We cleaned the brush behind the house and planted some roses. Let's see how long before we kill them.

Forgot to add this one

I couldn't resist this one. We were unpacking boxes and I heard a funny noise coming from the kitchen. I walked in and this is what I found...Tootie has always loved boxes, when he was a kitten we used to come home and find him in the Yahtzee box (he doesn't quite fit in that anymore). He is finally acclimated to his new home, he loves all the windows and finally being allowed to sit in them! He has decided that the guest bedroom is his, he loves the new bed and the sun that comes in that room. By the way, I almost came home with a dog this weekend. Justin wants a BIG dog, and I didn't think I did but I found a rhodesian ridgeback at Petsmart (they have those dogs for adoption there on the weekends). His name was Nashville and I though that name was fitting for us--- but I was going to call him Nash. Justin thinks it's too soon to be getting a dog but I think we're very close.
And I'm usually pretty good at getting my way ;)

Finally an update

It's been forever since I posted any pictures, I've heard loud and clear that it was time to update the blog :)
We moved in about 2 weeks ago but the house is still somewhat of a work in progress. We are now closer to a home than construction zone, but still have some work to do. All our appliances are in the kitchen and we even have a guest bedroom with a bed (thanks Mo!). Dad did a bunch of baseboards and moulding work today, we are probably more than half of the way there and it really makes everything look finished. More pics to come when we get all the doors, baseboards and moulding in.

We had Mom, Dad and Kris over for dinner. It's fun to cook in our new kitchen (and that takes a lot for me to say that cooking is fun).

Dad and Kris patiently waiting for the rest of us to sit down so we can eat.

Next, we had a movie night. Kristen and Tootie did some good bonding.

This is our guest bedroom, complete with bed! A bed shouldn't be such a surprise, but we went from a one bedroom apartment to a four bedroom house, so we are a little short on furniture.

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the house, but I posted it because last Monday, Justin and I took a hike. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but it was the first time that we've done anything except work on the house on our days off. It was so nice to be able to walk from our house and go exploring. We found a trail that we had never been on before and the views were amazing! It makes us remember why we liked the house and the area so much in the first place.

Since the blog has been mostly pictures of us doing construction-type stuff, I couldn't resist adding this. No, there isn't any more tile to do at our house, but my parents had a water leak in their kitchen and some tiles broke. So, I volunteered to set some new tile down since I'm now an "old pro."

Almost there

This weekend was spent doing some final touches on the tile and attempting to stain the cabinets. We got all the tile laid last weekend but had some trouble with the grout- I was just fed up and was ready to call and have someone come finish it for us, which would have blown our budget and also been the first time we called in a professional.  Instead, my dad surprised us and finished the grout, which was so nice. The tile looks amazing!  We sealed the tile and moved on the the kitchen cabinets.

The staining didn't go so well, even though we spent a lot of time sanding the cabinets, the whitewash was stubborn and showed through when we tried to stain. So, I guess we'll be figuring something else out, most likely it's more sanding in our future. Luckily I only stained a few pieces, so we don't have too much to fix. If anyone knows a good way to remove stain from wood, we're open to suggestions.

The big excitement was the carpet being installed on Monday. It really makes an enormous difference to have all of the flooring in- it makes it a home instead of a construction zone. Things worked out really well, we didn't really test to see if the carpet matched the tile or the paint before we bought it, but it all goes perfectly.

The house may still be an eyesore on the outside, but it looks so much better inside! I feel like I've said this a million times, but we really are getting very close to moving in.

This was the hardest part of the tile and we were all very impressed with Dad and Justin's skills at cutting the tile at that curve.  It looks like it was made to fit that edge!!

Sanding the cabinets required us to be contortionists at some points.  The big spaces were not so bad, but the little corners and small spots were a challenge.

Carpet is installed!!! It looks so good with the fireplace and the tile!!

Carpet in the master bedroom also.  A replacement window is on it's way, and then everything will be all new.

Busy long weekend- Tile is halfway in

We became expert tilers this weekend, Dad showed us what to do and we ran with it. We finished putting the tile down in the entryway and did about 1/3 of the kitchen. We still need to grout too, but things are coming along and it looks great so far.

This is how it began- after we took off the linoleum, we had to scrape off the old glue- which was not a fun job.

After much measurement, deliberation and chalk-lining, we carefully laid the first few tiles.

Once we started, we got on a roll. Yes, we're wearing kneepads, and no, they don't keep your knees from hurting. I'm barely walking today!

I finished the entryway and moved on to the kitchen!!

Kristen had the tough job of pulling up the last, stubborn bit of glue from the kitchen. She was proud to say that this was the first time she got dirty!

Dad was the master tile-cutter. He passed his knowledge along to Justin, who never turns down a power tool!

Justin really likes cutting tile.

Mom was working in one of the back bedrooms and we tiled her in, so she had to go out the window to get out. What a good sport!!!

Progress!!!!

It's been a while since I posted so there's lots of pics to show... we had some major changes to the house and things are really starting to come along.

We are lucky enough to have wonderful family and friends who have done some amazing things for us. The most recent addition to the house is a beautiful stacked stone fireplace that Ken and his son Kenny put in for us. In case you were wondering, the fireplace used to be brick that was painted white (but not painted carefully or well).

Earlier in the week we finished the painting and my dad installed recessed lighting in the kitchen. These changes make such a huge difference and make us feel like we have made some major headway, which also really helps my mental health :)

Our new fireplace!!! It's SO nice, the grout hasn't quite dried yet but it really looks amazing.  We are especially excited because this is our first major addition to the house, everything else that we've done so far has just been repairing something that was broken.  We're going to add a wood mantle on top but it already looks a million times better.
In case you weren't impressed enough with what Ken did, this is how the fireplace looked a month ago.

The masters, Ken and Kenny, hard at work.  You can see the "before" fireplace in the center and how much better it looks already.

We had to get a picture of Ken in front of his handywork.  It was so generous of him to do this for us and we really can't thank him enough.

Justin painting the living room wall.   I think he was giving me a lesson in painting technique at this point, he'd like it if I was slightly more methodical.  I try, but I just don't always have the attention to detail that he would like.  At least we balance each other out!

Katie likes to paint, and likes my painting :)

One of the back bedrooms, the color is a gray-blue that I think turned out nicely.

The living room- the color is a light tan.  It will look really nice with some crown moulding.

Andy had the fun job of painting the bathroom.  Since there are no windows in there, he got some nice paint fumes.  Come to think of it, Andy always seems to get the jobs that nobody else wants to do, like go up in the attic or paint the bathroom.  Thanks for taking one (or two) for the team Andy!!

We had a lighting ceremony for Dad's latest greatest project, the recessed lights in the kitchen.  Dad did a great job of spacing them out and putting them in, he thinks he should be eligible for the electrician's union now.  By the way, yes, we are toasting with Mountain Dew.  Because we need lots of caffeine, we've pretty much been living on Mountain Dew.  Someone needs to stage an intervention if our skin starts turning neon green.

The kitchen lights in their full glory.  They add so much light to the kitchen and look very sleek.

A preview of our next project.... We are unloading all of the tile from the truck with our old friends and new neighbors the Bonds family.  They stopped by to say hi and got roped into helping.    Note to anyone thinking of stopping by:  you will probably be asked to help, but we always have lots of cold beer in the fridge for once you're finished working :)

Video Tour

Here is a video my mom took of the house. The beginning is funny, she got a new camera for Christmas and thought she was taking a picture, it took a bit for her to realize it was taking a movie. Otherwise it gives you a good idea of what the house looks like.

We had to split it into 2 separate videos because the files were too big.