The first big bash

Did you know that the cinnamon roll, although small, sweet, and harmless, has the power to control and drive thirteen year old boys to actually accomplish work... real work! There apears to be only two ways to extract physical labor out of young boys; slow and painful torture, which still proves unsuccessful in a majority of cases (lunacy!); or food (prefably with vast amounts of sugar) - which renders amazing results every time!

Our work party started this morning with the sun glowing upon us, Olivia's homemade cinnamon rolls tantelizing our senses, and a mountain of work awaiting us. Although painting was on the agenda to happen today, Grace and I still hadn't finalized our paint colors... hmm, is that last minute? Luckily the samples that we painted up on the walls last night were spot on to what we wanted so all I had to do was run and pick up the paint. I guess that is probably an over-simplified version of us picking colors since we have been painting colors up on the different walls throughout the house and I lost count of the different samples we tried! And to be even more honest, we still haven't finalized the kitchen accent color and the upstairs colors. Hey we're getting rid of the BURGUNDY WALLS in the living room and master bedroom so give us a little credit!!! After getting some of our wonderful, generous, and amazing help tasked out on jobs I roared off in the direction of Home Depot to get the paint and return the fence posts I got last night... yes, I know you are supposed to use pressure treated plywood when concreting in fence posts; I was just seeing if anyone else was paying attention. Upon getting back there were even more people cranking away inside and out. Painting was flying about, holes were being patched, cabinets were being cleaned, wallpaper being torn off; it all seemed to tick along right to beat of the music that was soaring about the house. Outside was an even more amazing site! Trees and bushes were already being torn & cut down, brush was being cleared to make room for the new fence (that I now had the correct post for), trash was being piled - and piled - and piled, all was cranking right along.

It was also a gloriously sunny day and perfect for working outside so none of the guys had any qualms about working outside instead of inside.

Before I realized it, I had to get lunch going for all of our amazing help since it was going to take a bit to get ready. This was really only due to the fact that I'd decided to make beer can chicken on the grill so we could have kicken-chicken sandwiches! I had to do something good since I really only got most of the guys there by promising them the most incredible lunch they have ever eaten in their entire life... yes, that's quite a setup but you remember my theory on getting boys to work don't you? Well, I thought it worked pretty well... but I'm biased. Regardless, who doesn't get excited at the sight of four chickens perched upright with a beer can in the middle!

After lunch the help started to dissipate but we still had a good enough crew to really crank on a lot of the essentials. By the end of the day we had completed a lot of patching, TONS of cleaning, and a good deal of masking and taping. The pile that we of garbage that we made actually took me two trips to the dump with a full dump trailor (another crazy story...) and a massive pile of tree trimmings, old fences, and boards that were gathered from around the property. Finally, when it was too dark to see anything we were working on outside, we called it quits and headed home. Wow, what a day...

Work party preparations

Tomorrow it's supposed to be nearly seventy degrees here in Olympia. We are hosting a work party at our new home beginning at 9am- an opportunity for all our friends to show their true commitment. So tonight we had to go get our supplies so that we could have a well organized and profitable work party. First we went to Costco and purchased the necessary items for making beer can chicken (we are going to reward our faithful friends with an awesome lunch). Then it was off to Home Depot to pick up more paint samples and posts for building our new fence. If tonight is any gage, I think Home Depot is going to become our new favorite store.

Our Motto

During the purchasing process, we had an inspection/appraisal of our home conducted by a local company. When we came to a certain paragraph within the appraisal portfolio, we knew we had found our 'motto' as it were:

General Comments

As is typical of homes of this age, the building exhibits some “unusual conditions”. Many less than ideal conditions were found in the home. In older homes these conditions are usually expected and tolerated. In most cases, improvements are made on an “as needed” basis. It is not the intention of the homeowners to make this old house new again. Improvements will only be recommended where they are considered critical. Unless renovation is anticipated, it is important that one have an “Old house mentality” when it comes to living in a home of this nature.

Getting started...

This past Sunday we got started on what's to become our on-going project for the next couple months: fixing up our new home! It's been quite an exciting process up till now and I'm sure the excitement will continue to build. We're really looking forward to the transformation of a humble cottage into a beautiful home. So far we've torn out some built-in shelves & wood panelling and we've already tried numerous paint samples in our quest for that one-and-only perfect color. We tried beige- too boring. Then we tried yellow- too bright (we wouldn't want to get sun stroke by just looking at our walls!). So the quest continues...

The Beginning

March 11, 2009
Thank you LORD, we have a house! (and a mortgage) the sale closed today and now we can really say that we have a house, a second job, a future soccer field (don't tell Grace), a place to throw parties, and yet another reason to get help! Looking forward to transforming it from a "House to a home".