Day 2 - Really only day 2???

Well we are a good day behind where we wanted to be at this point - the electrical work yesterday afternoon took longer then anticipated. But we are still plugging away (no pun intended). We have made some progress - the drywall is now all up (still working on the mudding though - yuck), the old laminate is up, all the staples are out, the carpet on the backside of the fireplace (the new dining room) is up (and the staples from the pad are out - man I am never going to get away from staples -lol), the kitchen demolition is complete. Wow it sounds like a lot more then it looks like. Our new goal for tomorrow is to finish the mudding, get the new cabinets in, cut and install the new counter tops, make a new bar, run new electrical for the kitchen, install the NEW SINK (whoo hoo added bonus for me - that wasn't part of the original plan) and rip the carpet out of the front side of the fireplace. Hmmm seeing it in writing make it sound so much more ambitious that it did when we were coming up with the plan. Wish us good luck!

Now for the fun part - pictures of the progress!

Here is my HATED counter top from my bar!! Do you notice it is on the floor and no longer on the bar? WHOO HOO!!! That was the most satisfying thing for me - I wouldn't even let Eric help me take it off - he just laughed at me.

One last look at the configuration of the old kitchen - i will not miss it! I am so looking forward to having counter space - and not having to make cookies on the table in the dining room!

OH MY GOODNESS - WHAT WERE WE THINKING!!! Such a mess - it got to be pretty overwhelming looking at all this mess. We were wondering if we were in over our heads. Can we really get this done before the girls come home on Sunday? We will have to wait and see.
Okay we took some time and cleaned up the mess - we really needed too before we could rearrange the cabinets. It looks so much more manageable. And boy does the kitchen look so much better - I already have so much more counter space and we haven't even added the new cabinets! It also looks so much more open without that big cabinet sitting on my precious little counter space next to the sink. Eric had to bust it up with the sledge hammer to get it out - so it will not be going back!Look at my wonderful new pantry!! Lighted and everything! The door leaning against the wall will go in as soon as the mudding is done and we have it all painted. I can't wait! It is all going to look so different.

Well we went from being completely overwhelmed this afternoon to thinking this is going to be doable by tonight. There is still a TON of work to do and I'm still not sure it will be finished by the time the girls come home - but we are making progress!

The Work Begins!!

Well after our Mini-Vacation - Eric and I left the girls with the Grandparents and came back home to do some summer remodeling! I am finally getting my new floors and part of my new kitchen (have been waiting for 2 years now)! We don't have enough to get the new fridge or the new cabinets that I want but we are getting the floors, a pantry (FINALLY!) and new counter tops! We are also moving the dinning room to the back of the fireplace and making the old dining room into my craft room (then freeing up more space downstairs for a game area in the family room). I know - flooring, counter tops, framing, drywall, and electrical - a pretty big undertaking for 5 days - but hey we have always admitted to being crazy!!

How are we on our timeline? Okay I admit - we are already behind and I should be upstairs helping not updating my blog - but I have the lovely job of pulling out thousands and thousands of staples from the old flooring and my hands needed a break.

Here are some photos:

Here is Eric working on getting the old floor in the kitchen and dining room up - this was a mess - it was all stapled to the sub floor and we had to pry it out bit by bit (and of course the staples stayed in the sub floor so we get to pull them all out one by one).

Here is the old dining room with its original floor:

Here is what it looks like now - much better already!:

Here is the start of the pantry - we are closing off the doorway from the kitchen to the old dining room then Eric is adding the pantry where the old cabinet used to stand:

Here is a before photo of my kitchen - I can't wait to tear out that UGLY BAR!! I have hated the counter top since day one! That will be my the Highlight of the demo for me!!

I will have more updates tomorrow and more pictures!

Mackinac Island

We took a Mini-Vacation this year to Mackinac Island. What a fun and busy day! The girls got to go across the bridge for the first time ever, they were suitably impressed. Then the ferry boat ride to the island - we sat on the top deck and the girls loved it!

While on the island we visited the Fort - it was fun to learn about how people lived back in the 1800's. The climb to the Fort was long but well worth it! Check out these views!

We also visited one of the butterfly houses and of course I had to take some pictures of the butterflies! They were beautiful! These are a couple of the shots that don't need any zooming or adjustment for the light - amazing!

We even biked around the island (all 8.2 miles - next time we go remind me NOT to wear a skirt!). Eric rented us tandem bikes (he believes these were the same bikes he rented on his 6th grade field trip - yes they were that old!) - next time we are bringing our own bikes! But we made it!

Bailey's Birthday

Bailey is now officially one year older! She got to open presents from Leah first thing in the morning (after breakfast that is)! Then after dinner she got to open the rest of her presents from Mom and Dad! We were going to go Mini-Golfing but a big Tunderstorm came through (large hail and everything) so we ended up just staying home - but she still had a fun day!

Giddy Up!

Before we left for vacation we squeezed in some horse back riding. As I'm sure you can imagine the girls had a blast! We went with some friends and everyone got there own horse. Bailey really enjoyed doing everything herself and loved everything about the horses. Here she is getting ready for the ride.

Leah's horse was lead by one of the wranglers but she didn't mind! I was the last one in the group and all I heard most of the trip was Leah's giggles floating back to me. Her favorite part was when we trotted! She was laughing away when we started to trot and then all of a sudden she yells "Yeh Haw! I'm a REAL Cowgirl Now!!!" and then there was even more of her uncontrollable laughter! It made everyone laugh!

We had such a good time - the girls are already asking when we can go again!

Here is a picture of the group: Bailey is the one on the far left and Leah is right in the middle in the dark blue.

Summer Fun

The girls have started their summer classes this week. They have really enjoyed them! The week started with Bailey taking her first sewing class. She learned all the basics about sewing and using a sewing machine (her first time ever). She made a pillow case in this class!

Hmmmm...I wonder how many people will be getting pillow cases for Christmas this year? She really enjoyed sewing so we will be signing up for the next class in July where she will learn to make pajama pants! She already has plans to make me 5 or 6 new pairs of jammie pants since mine are getting "old and are too wintery". I can't wait!!

Today was Leah's turn - a Wilton Cupcake Decorating class! Leah was in heaven - cupcakes are her all time FAVORITE food! This class taught her how to turn a cupcake into a Bee, a Butterfly, a Ladybug and a just plain fun one. She loved learning how to use decorating bags, piping frosting, rolling and shaping fondant and now wants to decorate cupcakes for everyone!

Her are her lovey creations! Look at that smile! Below is a close up of her hard work! What an ARTIST! Can we say future Pastry Chef????

Bailey lucked out - because class enrollment was small, they allowed her to participate too. She had just as much fun as Leah learning how to make fun cupcakes.

A close up of her hard work!

The summer is sure starting out fun. I wonder if I can keep up!

AWWWWWW.....

I was looking for Leah this afternoon and this is what i found...adorable isn't it?