Life is comprised of many, many small and large projects for us right now. They all fall under the major headings of "homeownership" and "parenting" really though. First for the "home" projects.
These curtains in the living and dining just had to go. Tried Craigslist to get some money out of them--but had no takers.
On to The Wallpaper. This house was and is covered in Wallpaper. All over. Layers of wallpaper, as you can see from the above photo. We peel off one layer, and there is an even more hideous one and so on and so forth. They have even painted over wallpaper in one room and textured over it in another. The two kid's rooms are where we started peeling. We were eager to get the paper off, paint the rooms the colors we like and finally move in all the kids' stuff.
We first tried chemicals and hot water to peel it off. That was beyond painful. Next, Tadd's boss loaned us a steamer--MUCH easier. Peeling the wallpaper has revealed another problem unfortunately...no texture on the walls beneath the wall paper.
They even wrote "no texture" on the wall to make sure the contractors didn't put any there 25 years ago when they built the house. Now we are faced with a.) trying to dig up the money to pay someone to texture for us, b.) attempting to texture ourselves, c.) leaving the walls bare and ugly and just moving on with life until a much later date.
And furniture refinishing. This delightful china hutch that I found on Craigslist is in the middle of its transformation. Not shown are a child's dresser that will be painted for either Ezra or Caroline to use and a set of bunk bed frames that my parents gave me.
There are still many boxes to be unpacked, organized and put away. Many of these boxes can't be put away until other projects are finished....like the kids' rooms renovations and the hutch refinishing.
I figured that the easiest way to pretty up the yard was to put in some bulbs. We aren't able to focus on the landscaping the way we'd like to yet, so this will prettify things come spring, at least.
So--any of you who love projects and are out of your own--feel free to come work on ours! Haha, just kidding. I suppose that taking on one thing at a time would be a lot easier and more fun. But where's the challenge in that????
On to the parenting projects.
Project number one and his "Gun Show":
Project One and Project Two:
Project Three:
Airing our dirty laundry.
If you don't hear from me for a while, I might be buried under one or more of these projects...
And a ballerina
And a monkey???
Oh wait, this must have been trick or treating...not career day : )
Although this one does insist that she WILL be a ballerina when she grows up.
Hmmm...put 'em together and whaddya got? A cowgirl ballerina : )
That's all she wrote, folks.
Grandpa and Grandma were also kept busy doing things like coloring, painting, reading and bike riding with the kids.
Miss Kine and I made a cake for Daddy's age progression day.
Grandpa Idaho brought his chain saw so they could remove the flowering cherry from our front yard. It is messy and not very pretty and happens to be breaking our driveway into many pieces. Around these parts it can be a big deal to remove a tree. Thankfully most of the neighbors have been supportive and not mad (you never know in the ultimate tree hugger state). Tadd wanted to just cut it down while most people were at work, but his dad convinced him to at least call. The lady at the city said that if it was on our property and it was just one tree we could have at it. We were quite glad we had called as just a few days later we learned of two people a couple cities over who were both fined for cutting down trees on their own property--one was an $8000 fine and one a $6000--yes, you read that correctly.
Grandma spent a lot of time and energy taking apart, sanding and priming the hutch. I'll post more on this particular piece of furniture later. I'm excited about having it done someday soon...I hope : )
We finished up the downstairs bathroom wallpaper...now we only have our bedroom/bathroom to go. We think. What a difference a steamer makes. 
We had a little celebration on Tadd's birthday with cake and a couple presents. And then the next night Grandpa and Grandma Tractor came over to join the party for a bbq. The two Grandpas and Daddy finished up the lighting project and worked on some other tasks as well.
These pictures about sum up this year of his life--a little crazy and a lot chaotic!
Happy Birthday head of our crazy torn apart house!
Getting to Whidbey Island involves a ferry ride, a big hit with the kids.
There are even two huge tubs of sand toys at the house. Our kids know just where to find them and love to spend time playing in the sand.
Nora loved feeling the wind on her face.
It was not a warm weekend. In fact, the first big storm of the season hit that weekend. The waves rolled in big enough to make us feel like we were at an ocean beach.
Saturday the water was calm and the tide was low, perfect for taking a walk.
Look out for jellyfish!
That evening Grandpa and Grandma taught the kids to play Chutes and Ladders.
Sunday afternoon there were dozens upon dozens of kite boarders taking advantage of the strong winds.
Tadd had to go back Sunday night so that he could make it to work Monday morning. But Grandpa, Grandma, the kids and I stuck it out one more night and left Monday afternoon. What a fun time we had on Whidbey. Thanks, Steve!
These curtains in the living and dining just had to go. Tried Craigslist to get some money out of them--but had no takers.
On to The Wallpaper. This house was and is covered in Wallpaper. All over. Layers of wallpaper, as you can see from the above photo. We peel off one layer, and there is an even more hideous one and so on and so forth. They have even painted over wallpaper in one room and textured over it in another. The two kid's rooms are where we started peeling. We were eager to get the paper off, paint the rooms the colors we like and finally move in all the kids' stuff.
We first tried chemicals and hot water to peel it off. That was beyond painful. Next, Tadd's boss loaned us a steamer--MUCH easier. Peeling the wallpaper has revealed another problem unfortunately...no texture on the walls beneath the wall paper. 
They even wrote "no texture" on the wall to make sure the contractors didn't put any there 25 years ago when they built the house. Now we are faced with a.) trying to dig up the money to pay someone to texture for us, b.) attempting to texture ourselves, c.) leaving the walls bare and ugly and just moving on with life until a much later date. 
There are still many boxes to be unpacked, organized and put away. Many of these boxes can't be put away until other projects are finished....like the kids' rooms renovations and the hutch refinishing.
I figured that the easiest way to pretty up the yard was to put in some bulbs. We aren't able to focus on the landscaping the way we'd like to yet, so this will prettify things come spring, at least.
Project One and Project Two:
Project Three:
Airing our dirty laundry.
