A few projects

A couple things we've been working on...

This picture is from Google maps!  Your can see the track clearly.  Our crazy neighbor Eric came over and started smoothing it again. Between his tractor and our other neighbor's tiller attachment we were able to get it nice and soft.  It's really fun to ride now!  It had gotten really pitted with lots of ruts from mud riding this fall-spring.  Thought it was kind of fun!

Now the grass has grown up tall enough that's it's basically at your head level while you drive.

... And of course, you can't beat the view

Daddy decided to start painting.  All the ceilings needed to be done because they used to be the same color as the walls, and not white but cream, which we both hate.  Most of the ceilings are now done but we now need to paint the walls.  The one room we did paint was the bonus room.  Because I have no self control, that became a huge new SUPER comfy couch and, since we have a ridiculously large wall available...a projector and screen.  We watch movies in their frequently now.  We watched one of our favorites, How to Train Your Dragon, and Kayda's response was "I didn't know hiccup had freckles!!!". We still need to add some blinds in order to make it easier to see during the day.

A pool!  We have a pool again!  We didn't bring ours from the old house when we moved thinking we'd be buying a bigger one for the new house.  Then covid hit and the pools got really expensive.  So in March I saw the size I wanted (22' diameter) for the pre-covid price and bit the bullet.  Well, it must have been seasonal not just covid because in May the exact same pool costs over twice what I paid (including the freight shipping)!  Since our land gets pretty swampy we needed to level a space up the hill a little.  In comes our amazing neighbors to let us use their tractors to level a space.  Have I said how awesome our neighbors are now?

This thing is huge...

The dirt from the pool had to go somewhere, so we raised up the space for the fire pit so we can use it during the "wet months".  Next summer we'll add stone and build the chairs I want.  For now it will either be dirt or grass. Unfortunately I don't have a picture from the house but you can see we've situated it with a view!

The last project was talked about last year and this year Alan (next door neighbor) wanted to start it.  He borrowed a plow from a friend and started cutting a ditch for between our properties. We still need to move the extra dirt and get the slope correct.  We're going to move some of the water along to get us a little drier.  Later we'll add drainage to push the water that way more.

Remodeling

Over memorial day weekend we found some good products for our home.  The main thing was flooring.  Our carpet was well beyond it's comfortable life but replacing the flooring meant we needed to paint everywhere and finish my kitchen tile.  So that's what we did.  For three weeks.  Our spare time was spent tearing apart the fireplace and kitchen, painting the ceiling everywhere downstairs and the hallway upstairs, painting the walls downstairs and the hallway upstairs, tiling the backsplash and counter and then laying flooring. 

The kids were eager to help, especially once they found out I'd pay them $5/hour. 

We took the time to add wiring for the tv.  You no longer see a single wire!!!

We had to pull up particle board through the whole kitchen and pantry.  Fortunately, our neighbor had some tricks and tools for us.  The kids ended up doing a large portion of it.  This thing was heavy but the kids used it expertly. 

I painted the cabinets a long time ago, and tiled the island.  It was about time to get the rest done! 

You can see the fireplace almost done in the background.  Carson went and changed so he matched Daddy.

The kids are getting pretty good at installing floors.  They've helped with Grandma and Papa H's and now our whole downstairs.  We ended up using about 1200 square feet.  We were really relieved when it all came back together correctly after going around the island and around the pantry area. 

We had to clear out as much as possible so we could do the floors everywhere else!

Of course none of these "after" pictures are completely done.  We had trim to paint, moulding to install, doors to replace, a mantel to build and a wall to sheathe and white wash.  Some day it will be done!

It is Done

We finished it!  It only took us 4+ months!  Welcome to the new playroom!  It started out as bare studs and a plywood floor.  We ran the electrical, added lights, insulated, drywalled (thanks for the Christmas gift Grandma and Grandpa G), mudded, textured, painted, installed the floor and put in moulding.  We also built all the toy chests which have made a HUGE difference in how many toys come out.  The kids had a tendency to dump out the bins the toys were kept in; now they can't!  It's wonderful and the toys stay where they belong!  The rest of our house is staying so much cleaner.  The den now houses the computers and the craft stuff so that mess stays in there!!!

I am so grateful to have a husband willing to take on these projects and to my dad and father-in-law for helping us learn all these skills at on our first house.  I never thought building would become such a passion of mine.  I love it.  I wouldn't be able to do it if my dad hadn't gotten me comfortable with tools from a young age!

Working Around the House

We have been working on a LOT of projects around the house.  Homeschooling has actually made it much easier to do things during the day.  The kids all play together and often help me cut, build and paint.  Most of the materials we used for outside were of little to no cost which is nice because that way we can do as many projects as we want!

 

 Try to ignore the pile of wood we're still working on using up and the wheelbarrow. 

 Last year we moved the tree next to the wishing well.  It was in a garden we were eliminating and we moved it to hide the telephone post.  We added the trees on either side of the driveway by the sidewalk, moved the lace-leaf maple down from the rental house, we completely restructured the garden, adding gardens on either side of the house and along the fence.  We reduced the size of the garden by the front porch and eliminated a garden that was initially on the front left.  We got a couple of wagon wheels and the arbor by happy accident.  We also recently beauty barked everything and painted the front door red, along with the porch swing that Daddy got me for my birthday. 

 This is one of the projects we've been using the reclaimed wood for.  We made two, one for each side of the garage. 

 This garden was COMPLETELY redone.  We did all of it and made the planter on the porch to make an area we can tuck the stroller, toys, bikes, anything that doesn't get put away in the garage that day!

 Another planter we made, along with the milk can, I LOVE those things!  Daddy got me that for something too!

 Like our "steps" the rocks were all present in the gardens already, all we did was move them around.  There's another planter we made as well.  I have to get the Jasmine and the climatis in the other planter taped up still.

 We used the reclaimed wood to build the little floating deck for the barbecue and the dog run fence.  Though we did end up buying 2x4's and 4x4's for that.  (notice we're ready for summer, we put up the hammock and pool last weekend).  The trampoline's been up for a month.

 This was another happy accident with the arbor and wagon wheels.  We had to rebuild the table in the middle and paint it all but we love it!

 And my picnic table!  We got it last year after it was too rainy to use it but I sanded it all down and painted it.  Can you tell what my favorite color is?

Here's our little garden!  You can see a blueberry bush, grapes and raspberries.  I still have to put some kind of trellis or something for them but I'll get there.  We have the stuff to finish the last of the fence we just have to get to it.  It will be quick to finish.  You can barely see the pallets in the ground but they're there.  We have to finish filling them up with dirt and then I can plant veggies!  We made the planters for the fruit also.  I still need to make some kind of hangers for some pots for the strawberries and maybe some lavender to encourage the bees to visit!  Gotta love wind storms that blow down sections of fence, a fence company that puts the stuff it takes down out for people who want to grab it and craigslist!  We also built a workbench in the garage and shelving along a whole wall, along with a shelf for some of the kids' toys, though I don't currently have a picture.  The garage is AMAZING now and we've almost entirely cleared out the "bonus" room so we can SLOWLY start working on finishing that space.  Our next project is probably to build a shed though I would LOVE to paint the outside of the house this summer.  There are still so many projects we want to do, it's something that Daddy and I really enjoy doing together.  We made a smaller workbench for the kids and filled a toolbox just for them.  They love to try to build with the scrap wood. 

Backyard S'mores!

We have thoroughly been enjoying our backyard.  Swing set, pool, sandbox, hammock... what more could you want.  Oh I know!  A FIRE PIT!!! Bwahahahaha!!!  I've been wanting a backyard fire pit since we got our first house.  Well, I finally decided on a location and the fact that the rocks I had would work just fine so that's what we did yesterday.  We spent a good 4 hours fixing a friends sink and installing a new garbage disposal then came home and Cindus and I worked on digging out the pit while Daddy went to get Brutis (Kayda does NOT do well without that horse) and some firewood.  By the time he got back we just had to cover up our gravel "drain" and place the rocks around the outside.   Of course, we HAD to test it out last night since it was a nice cool evening.  We sat around our nice warm firm and roasted marshmallows on a sharpened stick since we didn't have our skewers!  It was a WONDERFUL evening.  Now I just need to get a tent and the kids can camp out in the backyard with Daddy!