Happy Leap Day 2012!

   This day comes only once every four years so we like to make the most out of it.  Unfortunately this year we were a little busy but we did take some time out before bed to get Leap Day gifts.  The girls promise that next Leap Day will be a day to remember...that is, if the world doesn't end in December this year.  lol

The Cone of Shame

   Rascal had a procedure done lately that most little boy dogs have done.  Unfortunately he wouldn't stop licking his wound.  He did it CONSTANTLY.  Not that I blame him, it's the only way for him to deal with wounds.  However, we couldn't allow it to continue so we had to put him in his very own "Cone of Shame".  He just looked so defeated and the kids couldn't stop laughing.  Cheer up little pup, it will only be for a few days.

What's a "Utahn"?

It is actually more than just someone who lives in the state of Utah.  Not everyone who lives in the state of Utah can claim the name of "Utahn".  I didn't even know there was this distinction until last week when we officially became "Utahn's".  Apparently so many people in Utah love to use recreational vehicles and own many.  It's not hard to see why, we have so many fun places to use them here in this state.  I didn't know though that owning some type of recreational vehicle put you in a different class.  I also didn't think that we would own one so soon.  I wanted some kind of  "toy" to get the family outside more but it wasn't on my priority list right now.

I was surprised one day when CJ came up to me and said that he wanted to use the money from his bonus to buy a go-kart.  He had apparently been looking at them on the classifieds for a while and just didn't say anything. I'm thinking that's not so bad.  Go-karts are small, rectangle boxes with four wheels and a steering wheel.  Simple, but enough to get the family outside.  He had found one though that was too good of a deal to pass up if the go-kart was as described (you know, people will make their items sound like gold just to get them sold and then you get it home and realize why they were selling it.)  He showed it to me and it was not what I had pictured at all.  It was not this little box on wheels, it looked more like a mini dune buggy with roll bars and everything.  I have to admit that I did like it from the first time I saw it but I was very skeptical, thinking through what was "really" wrong with it.  I really wanted to go and look at it but it was all the way in West Point, just west of Roy which is where I grew up, an hour and a half north of here.  It wasn't like we could just make that big trip for something that may not be worth it.  I had CJ show me the other go-karts that he was looking at so that we could compare them.  It didn't take long for me to see that if this was as good as it sounded that we needed to jump on it right away before someone else got it.  I called the man selling it and asked some questions.  I told him that it was a long trip for us and he assured me that it was worth the drive and that we would not be disappointed.  I got very excited but not as excited as CJ.  We packed up the kids and headed out.

We got to the man's house and saw the go-kart and it looked even better than in the pictures.  Even though it was a 2004 he said that it had only been used a handful of times (that is why I was so skeptical.)  I have heard stories though of someone having an item sit in the garage for a long time and then selling it at a steel just to get their space back so I thought we would take a chance that this would be that kind of deal.  It turns out that that is exactly what it was.  The man's father-in-law bought it and only used it 3 times.  He got tired of it sitting in his garage so he gave it to his daughter's family.  They used it 2 times but just weren't interested in it because they prefer to hike, not ride.  They let it sit for a while.  They finally decided it was time to sell it so they put it in the classifieds.  Originally it was just the go-kart for sale but after a week he decided to add the practically brand new trailer that it sat in for free because he realized he didn't have a use for it either.  I knew the moment I saw it that it was meant for us.  It had been on the classifieds for a little over a month and about a week before then he had decided that he would just keep it and let the neighborhood kids use it but he felt that he needed to leave it on sale for just a little longer.  Just a week before was when CJ found it and was trying to find the courage to ask me if we should buy it.  The man said that now he knew why he felt that he was supposed to wait a little longer.  He knew that it was meant for us as well and was very happy that it was going to a family that would really enjoy it.  He didn't need the money so he was practically giving it away and that is the only reason we could afford to buy it.  It is virtually brand new and came with the trailer, seat covers, gas cans, and a custom cover (which was $400 alone) all for the price of just the trailer.  All we have needed to do was replace the battery.  I still can't believe it.

Anyway, we don't have a tow hitch on the van so I was curious as to how in the world we were going to get this back home.  Since I grew up in that area I have friends up there who own several recreational vehicles so I knew they had a tow hitch.  They have been wanting to see our home since the remodeling so they were more then happy to drive it down for us, we just had to wait another day.  I told CJ that coming home without it was like having a new baby but having to leave the hospital and the baby is still there.  As my friends were rolling it in to the garage that is when we were informed that we were officially "Utahn's" now.  I must admit that I like that status and we couldn't wait to get outside and tear up the neighborhood with it.

CJ in front of his new toy.  Can you see his excitement?

Not your father's go-kart.

I love this utility rack that it has on it.  CJ and I can put a lunch on it and go on a really fun date one of these days.

It's a little deceiving but it really is roomy.  CJ and I both fit in there together comfortably.

Megan enjoying her first ride with Dad.

Alexander was mad because Megan got to ride before he did.

Unfortunately he was not sure about the go-kart and cried the whole time he was in it.  One day he will be the one tearing up the neighborhood with it though.

My Mini Diva

I took the kids to Payless Shoes here in Payson to pick out some new shoes.  I lost track of Megan and when I found her I had to smile.  She had quietly taken a pair of heels into the other isle, taken her shoes off, put the heels on, and was walking up and down the isle with enough swagger in her hips to make any super model proud.  It was a glimpse into the future that I don't know how much I was prepared for.

Megan in her gold sparkly heels.

Shoes too tempting for a diva to pass up.

Phase 1...Done!!!

I knew this remodeling project would be hard work and displace us for a little while but it is definitely easier said then done.  The work of the tile and paint has not been bad.  We love the work and how accomplished we feel being able to work on the home that we have been blessed with.  The hard part was being displaced for so long.  We couldn't really use the kitchen, dining room, and living room for over two weeks.  The day we were finally able to bring the kitchen table back upstairs we celebrated.  The kids really have learned the value of eating a home cooked meal at the table as a family.  Anyway, the hardest part of the work for me was the finish work; sealing the grout and putting the baseboards back on.  Sealing the grout was a pain but putting the baseboards back on was a bigger pain.  The nice part was that they were all saved so I didn't have to cut new ones and try to meet angles I just had to put back what we had.  Then it was puttying the holes, sanding it, caulking the bottom with a clear silicone, caulking the top with white, touching up the white paint on the baseboards, and then touching up the blue paint on the walls.  We added some corner round pieces around the cabinets and that was a process too because those I did have to cut and I had to have a crash course in miter cuts.  I loved using the saw but I hated that it took so long to figure out how to get the corners to look just right because I was teaching myself.  I did it though and I think it turned out really nice so it was all worth it.  Here are the pictures of phase 1.  I haven't taken a picture with the furniture back in yet but I will do that soon so you can see how it looks lived in.



Working on the grout.



Everyone said that grouting was the worst part.  I must be weird then because I thought that grouting was the most fun (not sealing the grout, just putting it in and washing it off.)  I can't wait to grout the rest of the floor.



Megan had fun helping to wash all the grout off the tile.  I think though that her sponge got rinsed out lots more then it actually washed the floor.  She loved playing in the warm watter.

The corner round that I added.

The dining room all finished. 
I had to seal the door really well with the silicone because there was a leak into the house that we didn't realize was going on.  When we pulled up the old floor there was a large wet spot with mold.  We took care of the mold and now that the door is sealed tight there shouldn't be any more leaking on to the floor.

The living room before...

 

and after.

It is so nice not having that line going down the middle of the house with carpet on one side and linoleum on the other.  It just felt so limiting.  Now the space feels so open and unified.  We all love it so much.  The funny thing is that everyone who has come to see it has asked us if our table is new.  Nope...same table we've had for a long time.  I think that the open space now lets the table have the room it needed and that is why it looks different.

Phase 1 nearly done.

Phase 1 is nearly complete.  The last of the tile went in, all except for the tile by the stairs which Glynn is trying to make a custom metal piece for so that the edge looks nice.  Next step is the grouting and then we seal everything.

The whole kitchen is done now but we still can't go in there for one more day.

Coat closet looking fancy.

It looks soooo good.  I can't wait until we grout it.

After sealing everything we will need to put all the trim back on and then be able to move everything back in and start using these rooms again.  You really take things like having a kitchen table to eat at for granted until you don't have one for two weeks.  Once we are all moved back into this area we move on to phase 2 which is the hallways, bathroom, and laundry room.   I still can't believe that this is our house.  I am so thankful for all the blessings we have had to make this happen.

Kitchen Ban

Now the foundation is done in the kitchen.  The two day ban on the kitchen starts now.

We couldn't keep the cats off of the floor this time.  We woke to lots of kitty prints in the morning.

The easy part of the kitchen is done. 

Next we start tiling the edge of the kitchen that will need lots of custom cuts.  I say "we" like I am doing any of this.  I try to help where I can but there isn't much I can do except keep the kids off of it.

Are you wondering what we did with the fridge and the stove?  Probably not but I'm going to tell you anyway.  We were originally going to put them in the garage and just use coolers with ice for the cold food and eat anything that could be cooked on a skillet, grill, or crock pot.  CJ was smarter than I was though because he said we didn't have to put our fridge in the garage, we could just plug it in in the entry way for now.  So that is what we did.  It is so weird having the fridge right there next to the front door and only feet away from the couch.  The kids really like it though.  We still have to use our special cooking methods to eat since we couldn't plug in the stove but its all good.  It just makes me appreciate my kitchen even more.

Its a little crowded in the entryway but we make it work.

Valentine's Display

I just love changing the seasonal display in the store, it has to be one of my most favorite parts.  It is so full and festive when I first set it up but by the end of the season it is pretty picked through and has done it's job well of selling the seasonal stuff.  I have a full year planned on when I will change the seasonal area out and what will go on it.  I keep the items I will need in the front closet by the door so I have easy access to it.  I just thought it would be fun to show this month's theme...Valentine's Day.

This display has actually been up for a few weeks already (yes, I am slower to get pictures now) so almost all of the stuffed animals are gone.  I was not sure I would sell many stuffed animals but they were actually the first things to go.  That's good new because I have tons of stuffed animals for Easter too.

Spy Gear

This is where having a friend in the flooring business pays the most.  Glynn sat there with his little laser light making sure that the first line of tile was PERFECT.  He said that if the first line is perfectly straight then the rest will line up well.  He was amazing and the floor is looking fantastic.  I did tease him though that he was using his laser spy gear for the job.

Looking good.

Close up.

This is how much we were able to finish in the first day.  That was nearly 400sf of work.

For the second day in a row we were not able to walk on it.  The kids were going crazy because it was so tempting but we managed to keep them off.  I then realized that while it was a little inconvenient to not be able to walk on that area, the next part was going to be very inconvenient considering we would not be able to go into our kitchen at all for two days.  This is where preparedness training comes in to play.

How Firm A Foundation

Now that the walls are done we can start putting the floors down.  Because of all the dust in the house from tearing up the floors, most of my pictures have dust spots in them.  I didn't realize how much dust was still in the air until it kept showing up in the pictures.

All cleaned and ready for the next phase. 

Stapling the lathe to the floor.

Alex was so excited that he was able to help.  He loves working with his hands as much as his dad does.

Megan and Alex doing a happy dance on the cool blue floors.  They had fun just running around in circles.

The layer of thin-set spread over the lathe to strengthen the floors.  When this dries we will have a great foundation for the tile to protect it against cracking.  The hard part was keeping the kids and the dog off the floor until it was dry.

Next up...laying the tile.

Paint-a-Thon

Now that all the floors are pulled up and the baseboards have been removed I wanted to paint the walls before any new flooring went in.  It was really nice not to have to tape off the baseboards and worry about covering the floors.  I was now ready to paint the living room, dining room, kitchen, and stair well.  This was a very big job though so I enlisted the help of my friend's sis-in-law to help me.  She loves to paint and is very particular about the touch-ups.  With both of us working for two days straight we got it done.  Now my house is full of color.  I am one happy girl.

Frog tape looks cool and works well too.

I have more blue walls.

I wasn't even going to paint the vaulted part that separated the kitchen from the dining room.  It was too high and I wasn't sure where to start and stop.  My helper told me that she would love to paint it and it should just be the same color as the living room.  So now even that part of the wall is painted and I'm glad it is.  It really pulls the rooms together.



This area was the main area that I dreaded and needed her help on the most.  It looks simple in this picture but this wall is right over the stairs and I had an idea of what to do but I was not sure I could do it so I was really looking forward to someone who has done it before to come and help me.



We got the wall painted from the bottom of the stairs all the way to the top.

The second day we worked on the kitchen.  This little area took longer than the three others put together.

I like the blue and the brown together.

Better shot without all the frog tape.  Looking good.

This is where the living room and dining room meet.  You can't really tell but the wall on the left is not in shadow.  It is actually a little darker than the wall on the right.  I was hoping for more of a contrast though so that it had more character than just being all one color.  You really have to know that they are two different shades of blue to see it but at least it is not so bad that it really sticks out.

That was a lot of painting and I can honestly say that I don't want to paint again for a long, long, time.

Ahh...the sounds of construction.

Day 1 of flooring:

Well, actually in our house it's the sounds of deconstruction.  I was so excited for start day.  I must admit however that even though I new we had to tear up the old floors I wasn't entirely prepared for what that really meant.  The loud echoing sounds of all the hammering and cutting were very reminiscent of the days we were building our house.  It was quite exhilarating, but the mess and the sight of the men pulling up the floors that we have been walking on for over two years was a little unsettling too.

Eating their last lunch pic-nic style on the old floor.

All ready for the make-over.

Ripping out the carpet (that was the easy part.)

We are so glad to have our friend Glynn helping us with this project.  Not only is he a great guy and a lot of fun to be around, but he does floors for a living so he has all the tools and knowledge to get us through this major job.

If these old floors could talk.

Entryway.

Pulling up the linoleum and all that underlayment (that was the hard part.)  I was the one who put in the underlayment so I made sure that it was really stapled well.  Great for the linoleum but not so fun when you are trying to pull it up years later. 

Shoes are required at all times right now so that no one steps on a staple or gets a sliver.

No turning back now.  I can't wait to see the finished project.