Spring Break

This week Marcus has been home on spring break. It has been a great week to just be home enjoying our family. It has been a very relaxing time, and it was much needed. With the kitchen remodel pretty much done, life seems much less hectic. We are thankful that we got so much done in a short amount of time though, and the new kitchen is already such a blessing.

The boys are enjoying all their time together this week. I'm so thankful they love playing together and usually get along so well. Tomorrow it is supposed to be much warmer here, so hopefully they will get some time outside.

Nearing the finish line

David and Jim
Jim and David
Levi

David and Jim started working on our trim (crown molding, baseboards, and wall trim) on Friday. By Friday night they had almost all of the crown molding up, and Levi was able to caulk all of the places that needed it when he got home from work. Saturday they were able to get all of the baseboards up and so all that is left is the trim that goes on the top of the beadboard, and corner pieces. After that is all up we will go through and add one more coat of white paint to everything, then we will be done with the kitchen renovation.

On Friday night I sealed the grout on the kitchen floor, so by Saturday we were able to move the stove and refrigerator back in. It's really coming together nice, and we are so thankful for everyone's willingness to work on this project. Thank you guys for all of your work!! Our house is really feeling like a home.

Game and finished work

Marcus and Coach

On Thursday of last week we had a winter storm, so it kind of derailed our plans to have a date in Columbia. We went ahead and just used the whole day and night to finish our kitchen tile project. We laid the last tile just after midnight, and we were SO tired. It was good though, because school was cancelled for snow on Friday so we all got to sleep in and rest the whole next day. On Saturday we went to see Marcus in his last basketball game of the season. He told me that morning he thought he might try to shoot the ball, I told him I felt like that would be a good idea... :) He usually just passes, which is great, but it's ok for a guy to shoot when he wants to. He did attempt two shots and made one! He turned around and had the biggest smile on his face. After the game Levi and I headed out for some time together on our date. It was a fun weekend, and we were able to get the tile grouted last night. Next up is trim, and we are DONE! :)

Starting the tile floor

We were able to get all the cement backer board cut and screwed down on Tuesday, so yesterday we started our first cuts of tile. We were able to get the eating area all cut out and glued down, hoping to do a bit more later tonight...for now, Levi and I are going to Columbia this afternoon to spend the some time together, do a little shopping, eat dinner, then head back home. I'm very much looking forward to our date!

Kitchen Flooring

Last piece for the night...we are tired! :)

Screwing down the backer board

Subflooring all pulled up
Original area of kitchen...these boards were put down in 1928

Taking out the first piece of subflooring

Where we took out the old pantry

Old flooring

Yesterday we started taking out the old kitchen floor. I pulled up the linoleum, while David and Levi started taking the subflooring out. We finished getting the subflooring up today, then chiseled around the cabinets to get the rest out. By this evening we were already putting down the concrete backerboard. Our hope is to finish laying all the backerboard tomorrow and start putting down the tile floor...that is, IF we can get out of bed in the morning. Our knees and backs sure aren't what they used to be. :(

It was kind of neat to see the wood beneath the subflooring. In the old original part of the house the wood that was there is 83 years old...amazing too because there wasn't too much difference in how it looked than in the other area of the kitchen that was added in the 1970's.

Basketball

This coming week will be the last game of the season for Marcus and his Daddy. It has been a very fun time for both of them, and the team made some good improvements from the beginning until now. Marcus always preferred the practices over the games, but still had a good time at the games. Of course for the whole team, the highlight is always the snacks afterward! :)

Sweet Valentine and weekend work

1 coat of paint on island
Door trim

White soffett :)

Sweet boy working on his Valentines

Marcus worked on his Valentines for his class yesterday afternoon. It was funny to watch him, he is very particular and quite the perfectionist...part of his homework was to write one valentine to each student in his class, which certainly was good practice for writing his letters and reading their names off the list. Thankfully there are only 16 in his class, so it didn't take him too long.

On Thursday Levi and I painted the first coat of lime green (Grass Cloth to be exact), then Friday Jim and I did the second coat and painted the island with one coat of white. This weekend Levi, David, and Jim worked on getting all of the door trim and white beadboard put up on the walls. It looks so different, and so much better, and we haven't even painted the beadboard yet. The soffett has been a source of a lot of laughter around here with it's multi colored flowers and million layers of wallpaper...so on Saturday when the first piece of beadboard was hung over it...wow, it was like angels were singing! It looks so much better! We still need to do some caulking in between pieces, and then paint the beadboard. We will do that today and tomorrow, then be done for this week.

Happy Valentines Day! I'm so thankful for the 4 sweet men in my life, who make me smile each and every day! I love you Levi, Marcus, Carson, and Cole.