Pack Rat

I used to save everything.  Now I purge and save much less - way less.

John saves everything.  Even those little 2 inch wires that comes with who knows what. 

I'm glad he does though.  It comes in handy.

We hung a new light fixture from the 18' ceiling (post to come later when our printer is fixed and I can upload photos from the memory card).  Kerst helped.  He is a great assistant when it comes to doing projects around the house.  He loves to help his Dad.

At 9:45 on Friday night, John realized that the light fixture he picked up - a floor model - was missing some hardware. 

Kerst and John head downstairs to John's "stash of stuff".  John proceeds to tell Kerst that this is exactly why he keeps all of these odds and ends.

Kerst smiled and said, "I'm going to start saving my stuff too and be just like you."

Oh boy.  Two pack rats.  Two amazing guys (with Kendall following in their steps).

Licensed

Better watch out ... Julia is now officially licensed.  Yes, she is just over 17 1/2 ... she was not quite ready to drive at 15 or 16 ... but she is ready now!  Way to go Jules!  Be safe.

Kendall's Room

A couple of weeks ago, my sweet beautiful and overly talent friend Emily came to help me paint Kendall's room.  It was nice to have someone to talk to while working on the house ... especially since John was gone for 16 days on a trip of a lifetime with his parents and siblings.

Kendall's room has the Book of Mormon theme from the boys' room in our other house.  I love it!

Kendall shares a Jack-and-Jill(Jack) bathroom (toilet and shower) with Kerst.  You can see his separate sink to the right of the picture - Kerst has one in his room too.

Looked out the window

Our heart stopped for a second as I finished part of the maneuvering of the van to head up the driveway this morning to drop Jaley off at the bus stop.

Right along the landscaping (retaining wall) of our driveway, we saw this.  (Thankfully Jaley had a cellphone with a camera).  He was big.

When I came back he was gone, but two does were in the same place.

Ceiling Project Finished!

I know color and light can effect a person.  It does me!  With the ceiling painted the same dark color of the walls, I felt closed in.  I need light!  I love color ... but in limited amounts - not to include ceilings.

While John was away, I painted the ceilings I could reach.  The Master Bedroom - before pictures - after pictures.  The hallways, kitchen and eating area - before pictures - after pictures.  When John came back he helped me finish up the 18' ceiling.  He painted the entire day on Labor Day ... a day of Labor, right?!   I helped too ... don't worry!

Julia hanging over the banister ...
Notice the "light fixture"?  This is where the Chandelier used to hang.  The previous owners must have sold it or taken it with them - and this was painted too!  Thankfully they didn't strip the entire house down like other foreclosed property owners have been known to do.

Thank goodness for scaffolding!  You can get an idea of how dark the ceilings were.  You couldn't tell where the walls ended and the ceilings started.

What a huge difference!  The house is so much brighter ... and seems bigger too!

Entry way looking down from upstairs landing

Looking into Kerst's room ... Kendall's room is down the short hallway right next to Kerst's door.

Love my pantry



I do miss my other kitchen.  My induction cook top.  My cabinets.  But I have found something I REALLY love about my kitchen.  The pantry to the right of the oven and cook top.





My apron hook would look great adorning one of my friend's, Lisa, beautiful creations!   Time to start a Christmas Wish List!

I love the baskets on the top shelf.  They are plastic and have long handles that hang down.  It makes it easy to grab down and put back up (although on my tippy-toes).  Wal-Mart carries them - Mainstays is the brand.  I have large ones in my pantry.  The smaller ones fit perfectly in my kitchen cabinets to hold salt and pepper, spices, etc.



John met some neighbors and told us that the previous owner did work on the house 1/2 notch.  That explains the quality.  I'm glad John does things 2,000% - just love him!



All Better

Almost 2 months ago I was hit by a semi truck ... just clipped on the front passenger corner of our van while the semi was doing a left turn in a double left turn lane.

The van went into the shop last week (after finally giving up on the trucking company and going directly to their insurance company).  We missed our van.

The van is back.  It's all better.  You would never know looking at the van that anything was ever wrong.  They did an amazing job! 

Results are in

Julia was unable to attend the meeting for potential Tri-M Music Honor Society officers at her school. 

Voting was Tuesday.  She had to be a "write-in candidate" since she wasn't at the meeting to have her name put on the ballot.

Congrats Jules!

Snuggies and great music

We were prepared.  Pillows to sit on.  Snuggies to keep us warm.

And to add to that ... amazing music at an amazing venue - Red Rocks.

Julia and I were fortunate enough to go and hear Celtic Woman in concert. 

Julia LOVES their music.  I do too.  It was fun to stand next to her as we were waiting for them to open the gate to let us in.  She was giddy with excitement.

We didn't know what to expect to hear them singing and performing live.  They were AMAZING.  Even better in person - and they are amazing on youtube and on the CDs we have.

It was a great evening.

Maybe someday Julia will be a part of that amazing group.  They are from Ireland ... and of course she is part Irish.  She just needs to work on the accent.  She has the singing down perfectly.

Helping ... again!

Kendall is a great helper.  Remember my painting project and how he helped?

He is helping again!

I have been busy cleaning the very dirty blinds and shortening them so that there isn't a large bunch of slats at the base of the window.

Kendall's window he helped me with.

Kendall loves to wipe the blinds and rinse the cloth.  (I won't show you the picture of the dirty cloth and water after doing ONE window ... it is gross).

He is a great helper!

Sort of.   (Look closely ... he saw me shortening the blinds ... )

Thanks again Kendall ... I think.

I just love that kid ... he does try!

Master Bedroom ... boy what a difference less color makes!

Remember the dark maroon/red/plum color? I do ... here.

John has been gone for 16 days in Europe with his siblings and parents touring his ancestor's romping grounds ... and enjoying a cruise. While he was gone ... I was a little busy. Just a little. I didn't rush to post finished pictures until he was home (just in case he peeked in on our lazy life!)

I LOVE the room so much more! No more cave feeling. No more dark ceilings. Ahhhh....

I took mulitiple pictures and did a panoramic stitching on them (that is why the edges of the pictures are shaped a little odd)

(Sorry, blogger keeps flipping my pictures on the side.  I can't figure out why! ... so turn your head or your screen!)

I love the really fun detail in the ceiling.  You can see it better now that it isn't dark!

(sorry, on the side)  Painted walls and lighter ceilings!

(Sorry on the side) ... Painted ceilings in the bathroom!

Painted ceiling pictures of kitchen and eating area

You can go here to see the pictures BEFORE I painted the ceilings.

Much better with painted ceilings!

Stay tuned to see the transformation of the Master Bedroom that I did last week ...

Before the ceilings are painted ...

I've been painting and painting and painting.  I took pictures before I started the task of painting the ceilings I can reach.

Before:

Hallway leading to the "red bathroom".  Formal Dining Room/Music Room to the left.  Kitchen is to the right of the bathroom.

Eating area (with new light fixture - great find for $50!).  Large walk-in pantry (white door).  Gas cooktop is to the left of the pantry with a built-in oven/microwave combo (I will miss my double oven when our Soccer Boys come to visit).

Kitchen ... with dark painted ceilings.  You can barely see the piano through the doorway.

Kitchen looking into the Family Room (fireplace can be seen through peek through window in kitchen).  
What I would have done differently:  The sink is to the left of the fridge.  I would have put it in the peek through window area.  Prep sink in the island (I would have put it closer to the cooktop).  I also would have made the cabinets taller ... but then it would have made it difficult to paint the ceilings!

Looking from the kitchen towards the garage door hallway.  Coat closet with backpack rack.  Laundry room would be to the right of doorway entry.

After pictures to come soon ... I completed the ceilings on Tuesday ...

Easiest room so far

The formal dining room - aka our music room - must have been done professionally.  The paint job was well done (meaning, no drips or paint strokes on the base boards, window frames or blinds).  I even loved the color!

This has been the easiest room so far - move right in.  I love hearing the kids play the piano ... so close to the kitchen.

Coming Soon

No more dark painted ceilings!  I only have the main floor 18'+ ceiling to paint ... waiting for John to help.  After all, he is taller!

Helping?

Kendall has been wanting to help me paint.

He managed to grab a roller with paint and started on his own room.  He was so excited to help!

Thanks Kendall.  I think.

The house ... outside pictures

I'm sure you have been dying to see what the outside of the house looks like.  It is very pretty.  It reminds me of a gingerbread cottage - in the woods.

We are nestled down low.  We are shaded by beautiful grown trees.  The home stays very cool during the day even during the warm days in August that we have experienced so far.

As you drive down to our place, this is what you see ...

The driveway is crazy.  Jack knife shaped.  Yes, this is the driveway.

The back of the house ... very steep back yard with lots of shade trees.  A huge deck (that we need to refinish) .. over 700 sq ft.