M.I.A.

Where has the time gone? January was such a whirlwind I can hardly believe it existed. I have put off updating this blog because honestly, the pictures remind me of what we went through and how extremely hard it was. We are past all that now and it kind of makes me want to cry to think about the reality of what it was like at that time. 

December 30, Manuel started laying the laminate flooring. He started in the new part which gave us some time to tear out the tile, the mesh underlayment that has hardened mastic attached to it and the additional subfloor we found once we pulled up the tile. Surprise! But as it turns out a professional laying flooring moves a lot quicker than unprofessionals tearing out flooring. He caught up to us in no time and we were trying our hardest to work our little tails off. Cody got the stomach flu twice in a couple week span and this was one of those days. I am a lot weaker than him so I was even slower. That machine I'm holding is so heavy but it had such power, it worked to loosen up the tile so much faster than a hammer and crowbar. Needless to say I was sore the next day. Only to have to get back to work again. 

The moment you find that the curious toddler found a hammer and wanted to work, too: 

Thankfully Manuel is the nicest guy ever and he fixed it with no problem.

I think the hardest physical moment for me was the 2' wide and 8' tall section of lath and plaster I had to remove. Wow. I underestimated the time and effort that would take. It took an exhausting 3-4 hours and was a messy job. I had flakes and powder in my hair, eyes, mouth and clothes. Hence, the goggles. Cody had the brilliant idea to sit on top of a ladder so it all fell down instead of in my face. Not comfortable, but genius.

So the flooring continued and we were loving every plank that was laid. It was so pretty and we could go barefoot without fear of cutting our feet. What a welcome change from the week prior.

The carpet guy, Jose, would be coming in the next couple of days to put it in our master bedroom and closet as well as the stairs between the bookshelf and windows and this square of unfinished floor.

We had lots of cabinetry that had been stored in the Eldredge's basement so 

Cody brought all that down with the help of many neighbors. 

(Brian Riches, Tyler Margetts, Jeff Rindlisbacher, Erik Fetzer, Nate Eldredge, Hank DeOllos)

I don't want to forget each and every person that helped us along this journey.

The island needed to be placed and the gas line installed for the cooktop as well as electrical for the outlets. One of the biggest blessings during this process was from our great friends, the Westenskow's. They had remodeled a house they bought and gave us this island, the cabinetry you see in the back and the double ovens that go inside them, a desk area with upper cabinets and much more. We will never be able to sufficiently thank them for their continuing generosity and kindness. So because the island was given to us, it wasn't formatted for a gas cooktop. Manuel saved the day again and converted it. It seemed so complicated to most people we talked to about it but I'm pretty sure Manuel could have done it in his sleep.

He also rigged this for us to put a counter on because we moved the old stove/oven combo out.

The master shower at this poinr.

Cody started to put his books in the shelves but could quickly see this was going to be a feat.

During this time we were still plugging away on the hall and front room. We brought the same wood though to the front door so everything would flow nicely. Cody did the whole hallway and Becca and I were very proud of our work by the front door. The Duck tape is the line for the carpet to be cut and torn out. That whole area to the left would be wood.

The kids were pretty adaptable during all this. They can always find a spot to play. 

(Sinks, light fixture etc. being delivered daily but no where to put them)

With the flooring in we had successfully got through the toughest part of the project yet. Each stage had it's rough parts, but this one interrupted our daily lives the very most making it hard to function. You can't successfully eat in a kitchen with no stove, no oven and really no clean surface. But Becca brought food in and invited us to dinner at their house and our awesome in laws were always happy to have us come eat over there. We were wiped out but still overwhelmed with kindness from others.

Call in the troops

Leaving to California for Christmas was a  little lot hectic but somehow we managed to do it. (Thank you to my sweet mother in law for taking Everett for a few hours the day before and even taking laundry to her house to do) There were many things to coordinate and things that were continuing to happen on the house while we were gone. All without telling the workers we would be out of town. (you can never be too careful, right?) Once again my mother and father in law saved the day by paying workers, letting them in and out and checking on things periodically.

We had a nice time on our quick trip to my parents. It was a needed distraction and helped us to slow down and focus on what really matters. I was reminded of how much I really love and appreciate my family.

We knew coming home was going to be equally as stressful as leaving because we have our flooring installer coming to start Monday and there were still preparations that needed to be done. It didn't help that the day before coming home I was hit with a head cold. Great. 

But we got home, I unpacked (mostly), did a hair appointment and we focused on starting to tear out the wall between the existing house and the addition. Cody and I were pretty puzzled as to how to really get it out but we started with a few things. Then my good friend, Adrianne showed up. She gets into her "work mode" at times and this time was no different. She climbed up a ladder and started cutting.

Then one by one, other neighbors started showing up saying Adrianne said to head over and help. My good friend Alicia kept the mess at bay by constantly sweeping, Erik Fetzer apparently likes to demolish things (watch out when you see him with a hammer-glass was flying), Brian Riches showed up at the perfect time with a brick set to start chipping away at the brick to get a straight line and Adrianne just kept on working. And she loved using the sledge hammer a bit. Cody and I were thinking at this point something must be wrong with us because everyone seemed to enjoy this waaaaaay more than we did. They were seriously a life saver. They got that wall out in less than 3 hours and it would have taken us a week! Now we are filling as many garbage cans as neighbors will let us borrow and it will still take a few weeks to get rid of all the trash. No biggie. We're used to filling trash cans every week.

The picture above is a shot the next morning of what we were left with. Weird weird feeling to combine these two worlds of ours that have been divided for so long.

The next day (yesterday),Nate (Adrianne's husband), came over and helped Cody put up a support beam and then started hacking at the tile. Ryan (Alicia's husband) brought over tools in addition to the ones he lent us the day prior (they are the neighborhood pharmacy, video store, grocer and hardware store, seriously).  We had multiple visitors to come check things out which I love and it dust was filling the air. It was an experience. Good memories are being made. Crazy, busy, happy, had working, learning how to be flexible... memories.

After about half the kitchen it was time to call it a day. And call it a weekend. Aren't Sundays such a blessing? I've never been so grateful for a day of rest as I have through this process.

We now have a "shoes required at all times" rule. And you can see why.

 We got a little cleaned up and spent some late night hours with Dallas trying to plan where the island would go. He had some valid points and felt very proud we were considering them. It was cute. The set up might be a bit tight bit it is what it is!

And this morning we had to wipe down the table and chairs to eat but the boys thought it was great to eat in the new part.

The lighting was better from the other angle.

So we are now up to date! See those boxed stacked to the left? That is our flooring that is going to be installed starting tomorrow! Should take all week and then carpet hopefully next Monday. I better get that scheduled, huh?

This.Is.Craziness

But don't get me wrong, I'm happy about the crazy. Well not really the crazy but what the crazy will bring. So here I will share some of our crazy as my phone tells it.

We are getting our hands dirty with grout. Our funny Norwegian painter, Tom was surprised by all the molding we had including bookshelves and didn't want to do it so we helped. That job is a pain! Cody and I stayed up late working one night but there is still more to do.

Here is a current look at the outside.

The master shower in progress.

Another outside shot.

 There are boatloads of pics like this one my phone as I shop around looking for things I need.

Another one of the outside, really? I think I went through a state of shock when I would arrive or leave my house so I would stop and take a picture. It's crazy to see it like this after so many years!

More shower progress:

The inspiration pictures I taped to the wall to show my awesome tile guy, Roberto who speaks very little english.

Trying to decide if all the "venetian bronze"  shower parts I order match. They don't. But I don't think I have time to care. Hopefully I won't regret that decision for years to come.

Snapshots of items to sell on KSL. A constant in this process was buying and selling on KSL. Kind of a chaotic affair but totally worth it in the end.

The quartz slab I picked out for the new bathroom downstairs and it will also be a threshold and pony wall cap in the master shower.

This is the quartz for our island. It looks similar to the one above and they are but not as close as it looks. The little specks are not as pronounced on either one and the bathroom one is more white. The island is more creamy. We remodeled our kitchen just over a year ago with no expectation of this addition happening so soon so trying to coordinate with that granite has been tough. I have used all remnants to stay in the budget, both this time and when we did the kitchen, so that gives you less to choose from. I'm crossing my fingers it will all work.

Master shower coming along! (no grout, no floor)

A fave part of the new house.

This is our family room pre-paint. The brick wall is parallel to the bookcase and the stairs are behind the bookcase.

Office entrance

Pantry

Protecting the brick wall.

The reality of how this process has affected us. We have Christmas presents, boxes of shower parts, mirrors, packing to leave for California, laundry: both clean and dirty, blah, blah, blah... It's killing me.

The grout beginning just as we were heading out the door to CA.

And the paint, too.

There's Tom.

 We'll see if we can get this thing buttoned up by the end of January. It's hectic but I want to work fast and get it done!