Completed Projects

After our huge project weekend earlier this summer, we (mostly David, I helped only a little) have still been working on smaller projects that just needed to get completed.

Coat closet by the front door:

I asked David to make the shelf for the coats lower than normal so that we could put at least one more shelf above it that we could still reach.  It is so nice to have all the coats, hats, gloves, boots upstairs instead of down in the storage room.  This winter it will be really nice not having to run up and down the stairs every time the girls need something to play outside.

Water softener:

I asked for a water softener several houses ago.  David finally agreed and found one online that was a good value and large capacity.  He installed it and we have had wonderful soft water for a week and a half.  Cleaning the shower is so much easier!

A utility sink:

David had an unplumbed utility sink sitting the basement for a while, waiting for the softener so we could do all the plumbing projects at one time.  Now we have a place to clean up paint messes.  It is in my laundry room, so I can use it for whatever laundry needs I might have too.

Fireplace mantel:

The fireplace mantel has been done for a while, but I hadn’t taken any pictures.  We used to only have one board across the top of the fireplace, and the back was open.  I always felt like things were going to fall back behind the fireplace (we did find some of the previous owners belongings back there).  Now I don’t have to worry, and the wood is in much better shape.

Basement stairway:

When we moved in to our house, the wall below the wood section was concrete that had been painted white.  Because concrete is porous, paint eventually won’t stick.  We were constantly picking up flakes of paint from the stairs and it just looked unfinished.  David attached some drywall, did the mudding and taping, textured, primed and painted, and now it looks great.  No more messy chipping and flaking on either side.

We have several other projects on our to do list for this summer.  When we get around to them (usually means just finding a time and place to get materials) we will post more pictures.

Beat the Heat

The last week has been really hot here.  We have been enjoying the activities that help us beat the heat.  The girls spend a lot of time out in their little pool, which is in the shade in the afternoon.

The afternoon always requires an icy popsicle too.

We also spent all Sunday afternoon at the North Dam (our version of a lake) jet skiing, skiing, and tubing.  The girls had a blast in the water.  Our friend with the jet ski had his nieces along, who Bria loves to play with.  Having them their made Bria a lot more daring.  She did so many things that we have never been able to coax her to do in the past.  I didn’t have my camera and was in the water with Bentley most of the time so I didn’t get any pictures of Bria.  Someone else took some pictures of Bentley.

Bentley took a brief ride with David on the jet ski.  The life jacket makes her crabby so she doesn’t last long.

She loved being thrown out of the water and also jumping in from the dock, which was just added this year.

The water is a bit mossy when you get out of the dock area.  I don’t really care for that.  After a while, however, I decided that it was too hot not to swim out a bit further, and as long as I was on top of the water and could touch the weeks growing up from the bottom I could continue.  David had a really good time riding the jet ski and trying to ski with only one ski on.

Most the time we just try to stay cool by staying in the house.  If that doesn’t work we head to the Drive-In to get ice cream.

Two Weekends

The last two weekends have been busy, but a lot of fun. 

Over the weekend of the 4th of July we spent some time with some old friends camping.  They have a beautiful new camper, and we just had a tent.  The weather, however, couldn’t have been more cooperative—calm and no rain.  It was great to catch up and just relax.  Bria was able to spend the weekend with her best friend.  Bentley had taken a little spill earlier in the week that resulted in a sprained knee.  That kept her from being able to walk on her own, which has its difficulties for an almost two year old.  She found other ways of getting around and still seemed to enjoy herself.

Bria and Bentley talking to each other on the phones.

We used baby wipes for everything.  Bentley was washing her legs after crawling around on the ground for most of the day.

Our friend’s dad owns his own helicopter and flew over our campsite.

Out on the tube behind the boat.  Bria was riding with David.  She loves it.

Bentley sat in the tube with David, but seemed to traumatized to actually go for a ride.

Bentley cuddling up to Bria early in the morning.  This was before Bria was even ready to get up.

Bria and her friend K enjoying popsicles before we left for home.

We came back home on the 4th and headed out again on Thursday night after bible study.  We spent the night at David’s parents, where we left the girls Friday morning while we headed to SF for a brief getaway.  David and I spent Friday and Saturday doing some shopping, running errands, going to movies, and enjoying several meals eating out at our favorite restaurants.  It was nice to have some time to do what we wanted without having to worry about the needs of the girls.

Whirlwind of Projects

David’s parents came out this weekend to spend some time with us.  We had a few projects that we were planning on working on while grandpa and grandma played with the girls.  Instead, we ended up doing every project that we could feasibly get done or continue this weekend.

The first project was getting boards ready to replace the damaged fireplace mantel in our bedroom.

I spent a lot of time throughout the weekend sanding, staining, and sealing the oak mantel.  We will be able to install them in a couple of days.  I also have been doing the same to closet door for our coat closet because the existing door has had a hole in the front since we purchased the house.

The second project was a swing set for the girls.

David and his dad worked on getting all the pieces put together for the swing set for a good portion of the day on Friday.  They built it from scratch (it is attached to the play house) and even had to have a piece or two made at the local welding shop.

Project number three was the propane tank.

We hadn’t intended to do this project this weekend, but while I was waiting for the wood to dry from my other project I wanted to get something else done.  David’s parents and I worked on scraping the rust and loose paint off, washing it with mineral spirits then with soapy water, priming it, and then painting it.  David helped too, when he had a moment between other projects.

After all the rain we had at the beginning of the week (see previous post) and the driving rain we had Friday night.  We knew we had to do some other work to keep the water out of our house.  David sealed the window in our room and put up and additional eave trough to keep the water from puddling in our yard at the corner of our house.  Those would be projects five and six.

The closet that I was working on the doors for also had leaking when we first moved in.  After reshingling earlier this spring David started sheet rocking the closet.  He has been working on mudding it for the last week when he has had a spare moment.  Hopefully, we will be priming and painting tomorrow or Tuesday.  That is number seven.

Going down the stairs to the basement the walls along the stairs were cement and the paint no longer stuck, so project number eight was sheet rocking and mudding that area as well.  That project is just about complete as well, but still needs priming and painting.

Of course, there were other minor projects that I’m sure were done as well.  We felt that we have accomplished a lot, and are tired from all the work.  Today we are spending some time relaxing.  It really does feel good to get these things done.

The girls have been enjoying the swing set since the moment it was finished.

Overflow, Bursting at the Seams (a.k.a. Cracks), etc.

We have had so much rain the last week and the last two days that the water just doesn’t have anywhere to go.  We filled our pool about half full the Sunday before last, have not added any of our own water to it, and now it is full (to the top).  The ground is also very saturated in our area, which is very unusual, so the water that is going into the ground has nowhere to go.  Guess where it ends up…In our basement.  Most of the water is coming up through cracks in the floor and not through the walls.  It is not only coming up through the cracks that are around the outside edges of the house, but cracks that are in interior portions of the basement and have the garage on one side and other rooms of the house on other sides.  It would be one thing if it was just seeping in the cracks.  However, we can actually see the water spurting up like a fountain through several of the cracks.  Thankfully, not much of it is in carpeted rooms.  We had to empty our storage and utility rooms in order to cleanup and maintain the mess.  I know the situation could be much worse, as there are areas not too far away that have 10+ inches of rain since yesterday afternoon.  I’m not writing this to complain, because it has been manageable, but I just wanted to let you know what we have been up to.  I haven’t taken the time to take pictures, and I’m not sure I want to, so you’ll just have to image the mess.

Yeah for Summer!

I think summer has finally arrived.  The girls had a nice little picnic lunch on our deck at lunch and played in the pool this afternoon.  The weatherman says that this warm weather should continue.  I really hope it does.

Picnic lunches on the front deck (still a little wet from last night’s rain).

Bria after she jumped into the pool.

Bentley climbing in the pool.  It is easier just to take off her shorts than to put her swimsuit on every time she wants to get in the water.

A side note:

When we got home late yesterday afternoon we had a surprise waiting for us in our front yard.

The sign says “Chamber Yard of the Week”.  All of David’s hard work on our yard has been noticed.  Thanks for all the work you do David.

A Week and a Half

The girls and I spent a week and a half at my parents’ house.  The girls had lots of fun playing outside, going to vacation bible school, getting the camper ready, watching the kitchen get destroyed, and more.  I thought I would be better about taking pictures, but I wasn’t much better.

The first weekend we were there, the girls went to the farm with grandpa, uncle Nathan, and David.  I don’t have these pictures uploaded to the computer yet.

The first part of the week was hot so the girls spent a lot of time outside playing in the water.

Bentley’s first attempt at playing in the sprinkler: she just stood near the water and let it get her just a little.

Bria liked running through the water, and continued to get more brave the more she played in the sprinkler.

Taking a break from the water to explore the ant hills.

They played a game that they made up of running through grandma’s clean laundry hanging on the clothes line.

The next couple of days Bria spent going to vacation bible school with grandma.  It was only three days, but it was from 9am to 2pm every day.  She was mostly cooperative during class.  It was a good test to see what we need to work on before she has to go to school (still a year away).  I didn’t go out to bible school so again there aren’t any pictures.

My parents are adding on to their kitchen, so we had to get the camper all cleaned up so they could use it as their kitchen for the summer.  Nathan and David also worked on removing all of the cabinets and appliances from the kitchen to get it ready for the contractor.

Plenty of time was also spent playing at the youth center, eating out a several restaurants (due to my mom’s work), keeping up with the laundry, and my daily trips to the hospital for my antibiotic infusions.

Grandpa was able to spend some time with Bentley while I got my infusions because Bria and grandma were at bible school and Nathan and Davee were at camp.  Saturday was my last infusion, and my PICC line was removed after it was completed.  In the process of removing it my blood pressure dropped really low again and I just about passed out.  After a glass of water and sitting for a bit my blood pressure came back up and I was able to leave.  Sunday after church we came home, and have started back into our normal routine.  Getting back to normal wasn’t hard even after being away a total of two and half weeks.  It was great to be at my parents, but home is a wonderful place to be!