The Character Olympics

Today was the Character Olympics Fundraiser at Reagan’s school. She had to raise money for the school by being sponsored to participate in the Character Olympics, which was a circuit of events that the kids competed in. Mom and Riley helped out at school for a little while this morning and got to see the fun go down. It was only 85 degrees outside, but at 100% plus humidity, it was miserable out there, before we even got started. We ate lunch together, outside at a picnic table. Then went to the classroom for circle/calendar time, where Riley got to sit with all the kids and participate. She was such the hit! Then we went out to the PE field for the Character Olympics. Reagan’s class participated in the 40 Meter Dash, the Javelin Throw, and Pass the Hula Hoop. They finished up with drinks, popsicles, and a special gift (a pencil). I would not say that Reagan had a good time, she was so hot and miserable she could not even comprehend half of what was being told of her. She was not the only one though, so I did not feel too bad! She poured her entire water bottle on her head and the funny thing is that we were out there for only 30 minutes.

 

 

The Transformation of the Bathroom

We now have a completed Master Bathroom. What a project this has turned out to be. We hired a contractor to do the job, who told us he could have the job completed in seven days. Three and a half weeks later, we now have a useful bathroom. Enjoy the pictures of the transformation as I dictate what has happened …

The Master Bathroom when we moved in. It was very dated, dirty, and down right GROSS. We knew we wanted to remove the bathtub and add just a nice large shower stall. We also knew we needed to get rid of the carpet and put down a tile floor.

Demolition began. The walls had tile most of the way up, which needed to be removed. Therefore, the entire walls needed to be removed due to the damage the tile caused to the walls. So, the bathroom was gutted, right down to the studs. The big cast iron bathtub was busted to pieces and we had a clean slate to start the shower stall. We had new plumbing put in so we won’t have any issues down the road.

Next came the tile. We found this tile and immediately fell in love with it. The trim tile is so pretty, with the many different textures. We added a corner seat and a niche in the wall.

Then came the hard part … the paint. We decided to wait and paint after the tile was laid so we could get a feel for what color we needed to paint. Scott had a vision and decided we needed the bathroom to be a rust like color to match some of the colors in the trim part of the tile (I will give him ALL the credit for that choice). So we ripped off wallpaper, textured the walls, and headed to Home Depot to buy more paint. We spent most of the day Saturday getting this bathroom painted, as we both were disgusted by how it was turning out. Looked like a PUMPKIN!

We decided the pumpkin color was NOT going to work, so we practiced some faux finish techniques. We were not impressed with any thing and decided to try a different color. We got a couple color samples and found what we wanted … Antique Copper.

Off to Home Depot again, to buy more paint. We spent the majority of the day Sunday painting this bathroom, which needed oodles of coats to cover the pumpkin color beneath it. We finished late Sunday night, got the shower curtain up and now have a completed bathroom … almost. We still have some future plans for this bathroom, which include a new vanity and sink, a glass door for the shower stall, and decorative trim for the mirror. Till then, we at least can use the bathroom and closet instead of sharing with the girls.

Our New House, Phase Three

We have FURNITURE!

I promise, I will get some pictures updated of the entire house. We are almost complete with the unpacking process. We have one room left to unpack then we can call to have all the boxes pick up. Once I get things all together, PICTURES WILL BE POSTED.

Here is a peek of the chaos …

Taking a little break

We have been working so hard on the house that we just have not taken any time to have some fun. We decided to take a few hours of our day on Sunday to do something fun with the girls. We took them to downtown St. Petersburg to The Pier. We walked around the shops, saw some Pelicans, rode the Trolley, went to the (little) aquarium, ate some yummy lunch, and finished by taking a little boat ride around the marina. It was a lot of fun for all of us and even better that we got to take a break from all the work at the house.

 

A Change in the Weather

What do you do when you move from the Arizona desert to the tropical climate of Florida? You play in the rain!

Due to our air conditioning being broken in the house, we needed to cool off. So, off to play in the rain we went. The girls had a blast, running up and down the street, stomping in puddles, and dancing in the rain. It was not very often that we would get a good rainy day in Arizona. I think the girls really enjoyed today and asked when we get to play in the rain again. I am going to be in for it every time it rains!

Our new house, phase two

We closed on the new house and got straight to work. We had ten days to get a lot of work done before our furniture arrived. We started by painting … ceilings and walls in five large rooms and the hallway.

Next we had a contractor in to start the remodeling project on the master bathroom. He gutted the bathroom to the studs and said it would be done in about seven days … we are still waiting on the walls to be rebuilt!

We then had about 2500 square feet of carpet ripped out and replaced with 1000 square feet of hardwood floor and 1000 square feet of new carpet. Bathrooms are going to be tiled (if our contracted gets it done). All this was done in the first six days.

Then we put in all new six inch baseboards, which had to be painted before we could put them in. So we had many nights up late, painting and painting.

We have also started tearing down 1971 velvet wallpaper out of the bathrooms. What a chore that has been.

We had a landscaper come and tame the wild jungle that was growing in the yard and we have a fence ordered, hopefully to be installed sometime this next week.

SO, here are some pictures of phase two … our remodeling has begun!

  

The Dining Room

The Family Room

 

The Living Room

 

The Master Bathroom (still in progress)