I feel like we have been on a fast moving escalator! Ok so, sometimes in the middle of the remodel, a slooooow escalator with the world still going at warp speed. We have talked about remodeling our kitchen for a couple of years. This winter we decided to go ahead and get started, Mike came, they took out the frame for the light fixture, Mike made a hole in the ceiling... it all came to a screaching halt! We had a drop ceiling over the work area with a florescent light down the middle. The hope was, that when the kitchen was built, they had put the whole ceiling in and then built the drop ceiling. That would have contained the insulation in the attic while allowing us to raise the ceiling. No such luck, with one swipe of a hammer we found out that the insulation was sitting on top of the drop ceiling. We talked about removing the insulation during the dead of winter and decided that I couldn't function with my kitchen being cold. So the project was put on hold until there was better weather.
Finally in June, I told Donald that it HAD to be done by Rachel's baptism in August. So we began. (I use we loosley.) Donald and the boys got up in the attic to assess the situation. With masks on and a lantern they began to shovel the insulation off of the drop ceiling and pile it on the adjoining areas. After a week of shoveling they were finally ready to start in the kitchen. They began taking down the upper cabinets...
...yes a sawsall was used, after the "fix the stripped screw" thingamajig didn't work.
Pulling down the old ceiling was fun, until they got to the part that was near the eaves. Even Dusty wasn't small enough to get under there!
They had to shovel MORE INSULATION into a big plastic bag.
Then the sheetrock went up! I was thinking this will take no time at all...hahahahahaha. Ya know the saying, "a watched pot never boils"? That is how it is waiting for drywall mud to dry and then be sanded and then more mud and then sand and then more mud and then sand...you get the idea.
Meanwhile, the kids and I stripped the wallpaper. They were happy to help. How many times does mom hand you a squirt bottle and say soak the wall?
Can I just say how grateful we are for good friends! We could not have done this without Michael. He even had the coolest tool for the lights.
It took the jigsaw, a bowsaw and once again the sawsall to cut off the bar.
We found a treasure when we removed the lazy susan and flipped the dishwaher and drawers to the outer wall.
Seventies carpet anyone?
Removing the bar opened up the space sooo much. I kept thinking as soon as the upper cabinets are put in, or the rest of the lower cabinets put in, it will close it in. Nope, I feel like we added space in the same space :)
Putting the floor together was like making a jigsaw puzzle. How grateful we are for such a creative mind in Donald's dad. He never ceases to amaze me. He can make anything work with whatever there is on hand. He figured out how to make toungues and grooves in boards that were cut off. All it took was a table saw, a dremel and a steady hand. It saved us a ton of money!
Just so ya know the tounge is part of the genius in the man!
Trent was delighted to once again go up in the attic and fish wires for the lights.
It would not be his last trip up the ladder.
And then there were lights!
Once the lights were in, with lantern in hand and masks on, Andrew, Trent, and Dusty once again trudged up the ladder to shovel insulation back in place. They sweated off a couple of pounds. My kitchen was MUCH cooler once the insulation was replaced. I could never have done without insulation in the winter!
We painted the ceiling, finished the lights and then came the upper cabinets. Trent and I had given them a fresh coat of paint.
I knew I borned such strong boys for a reason.
We were closing in. The baptism was coming fast too. We took a day and went to Donald's Aunts funeral in Idaho Falls.
We painted the walls and trim. Then went to Enterprise for the 24th of July and a family reunion.
We came home with a sick little girl :( She was still sick on Monday for her Birthday.
We postponed her friend party until the next week. (What was I thinking having a birthday party in the middle of choas?)
Tuesday before the baptism we removed the sink and the rest of the countertop. With a lot of faith and a terse phone call to the countertop place, we hoped that on Wednesday we would have new countertops. Donald left a little later than normal in the morning. He hadn't been gone 2 minutes when my phone rang...get dressed the countertop guy is here!!! They had told us they would let us know what time to expect them. We hadn't heard a word since they had measured three weeks earlier.
We had no worries however. He did a fantastic job and was gone by 12:30.
They are beautiful!
On Thursday, Donald installed the sink I found on KSL. Finished the trim and put the recepticals and switches back in. It's a good thing too! Because this happened..
and this...
Which I canned on thursday and friday night.
On Friday, we went to the Oquirrh Hills Temple open house. We met Steve and Nan and family, and my parents at the Temple. The next day was the baptism and except for a few minor touch ups we had made it!!!!!
Rachel looked beautiful in her dress! (did I mention I managed to make it in the middle of everything without her knowing!)
The kitchen was perfect for all of our family to move around and to serve the food.
People were inside and out and we loved having everyone!
We had Rachel's friend party the next week. She was so excited to have her cousin come to sleep over and be at her party!
I canned some apricot juice and then some jam and then some more juice and then jam...they can freeze next year!
I also did some tomatoe sauce. That is good because it also means that Donald made this...
You may notice that he is a little scruffy and hairy. That is because he and Trent had just returned from a week at scout camp. They had a good time. Maybe I can get them to post their experiences and photos.
Then finally....we learned how to put up the Tipi. Jim came on Family Night and taught us how it worked.
those strong boys I borned, again.
The kids slept in it for 3 or 4 nights. Then we took it down and loaded it up to go camping and archery hunting.
We went to Monte Cristo in a spot we have gone before. We knew it would have plenty of room for the Tipi and Donald's parents trailer. They came along to watch the younger two kids while Trent, Andrew, Donald and I went hunting. We had a fun time!
I love vaulted ceilings!!!
We will take it up to Fort Bridger with us over Labor Day Weekend. The kids have gone back to school (yipeee!) I can take a breath and get some more canning done. You are all caught up with the Cramers!
