Locked out of our own house!

Sunday evening we were going to move the hardwoods so that we could get right to work on Monday morning. Well, when we got there Sunday we weren't able to get into our own house! What a strange feeling. We have a electronic, coded deadbolt on our door. It has been super duper handy to give the code to company and they can come and let themselves in if we are not home. Well, the electronics were working - we'd put the code in and it indicated that we entered the right code - but when we turned the knob it wasn't registering to unlatch the deadbolt. And the keys to this deadbolt were locked in the garage in the safe! We walked around our whole house and tried every window and they were all locked. We tried to break in through the sliding glass door but that didn't work either!!! We finally gave up and Monday morning Dennis got in by using a sawzall to get the deadbolt off and we now have a brand new one! We've been told by several people that homeownership is expensive and they weren't kidding! :) We were super glad that our beds are still in Sherwood so that we had somewhere to sleep for the night! I wonder what will happen next.

Lots of hard work = amazing outcomes!

We have owned our house less than 3 weeks and the amount that we've accomplished in that timeframe is amazing. I know we would not have gotten this far without help from: Mel, Debbie, Lloyd, Jenny, John, Janet, Kayla, Bob, Marvin, Judy, June, David, Stacy and Tristan. Some of the above mentioned people have sweated while working in our house and others have been so kind to lend us tools and others to bring food to us. Also, it has been so fun having people just stop by to see our progress. In the almost 3 weeks, we've torn out all of the carpet/flooring, painted all the floors and walls (except the master bath which hopefully will get done before too long), taken out the range (that we found out doesn't work), moved the hardwoods into the house, planted a peony, planted lilacs, mowed the grass, raked the grass, weeded, round-uped, pressure washed the driveway and back patio, started laying hardwoods ... and now we are more than 1/2 way done with laying our hardwoods! We are so extremely thankful for the help that we've received! Dennis is working from 2-10:30 pm these days, so we go to bed around midnight, wake up around 8, get to our new house around 10, work for a couple of hours on it and then he goes off to work.

And, I figured out how to post pics - not the most convenient way - but pics! Please enjoy!

The old color - all taped off to be painted

Jenny rolling after the paint was sprayed

Ah, yes, Jenny and I spent an afternoon at the Rhododendron garden! It was quite lovely!

Gorgeous pink and white flowers

Spider web that my camera took an awesome shot of

Such a beautiful, peaceful place

A bee getting some nectar

You can see the stinger out - pretty awesome

Flowers in focus - water not (still learning how to use my camera)

Water in focus - flowers not

Bottoms up!

These 2 stuck together most of the time - pretty ducks

These little fella's were so cute. They were pretty tiny too.

Pretty bridge over un-troubled water

Jenny and I

Finished color of the walls

Original wall color - we like the new better!

Don - this pic is for you - the airplane successfully made it to the new house and was displayed on the hardwoods!

Our planted peony - thanks again June!

Laying hardwoods - I was wearing the mask because of getting whacked in the face by a board - the mask was a joke though! :)

Glad I have a strong husband! I have refused to try the stapler so far. We are borrowing an air compressor so that makes it easier so I've been told.

This was our progress on Saturday evening. We now have all of the kitchen done and most of the living room. We do have some living room left - but we started in the laundry closet today ... I think we're taking a break from the house tomorrow but we'll see. It's been fun and I can't wait till we're done and then we can have people over to our completed house!

House progress

In less than one week it is amazing to me what has gotten done to our house. We are so lucky to have parents who were willing to spend their holiday weekend helping us on our house. My parents came over early Friday morning and Dennis' parents arrived on Friday night. Also, Dennis' co-worker John and his wife Janet helped a lot both on Friday night and Saturday! I'm not able to post pictures onto blogger tonight - I think that the feature isn't working. Maybe I'll post them onto facebook instead. 

Anyway - all the floors have been ripped up/out. Friday my mom, friend Kayla and I cleaned. We washed the walls and ceiling and counters in the kitchen. Friday afternoon our friend Bob came by and ended up using his skill saw to cut out the linoleum flooring. We also had Marvin Robinson, John Hyde, Charlotte Dissmore, and later Judy Robinson stop by to see our house! Then Bryan Joyce and Lyle Waldo came over on their way to play basketball at the park close to our house. Dennis' parents arrived around 8:30 and they were raring to go and the rest of us were winding down. We did let them help a little that night! Saturday we were up, full of energy and ready for another days work! The major things that happened on Saturday were #1 hardwood floors were picked up. #2 Windows got washed #3 taping for painting began and the biggest one #4 the floors got painted. Sunday we didn't do anything to the house. It was nice having our parents in meeting with us. My parents and I headed up to Auburn to celebrate my grandpa's 75th birthday. It was a treat seeing the family again! Monday we were at the house again - more taping in preparation for painting. Once we got the primer sprayed on the walls (we tinted the primer) we realized that we didn't like the color. (We were going to go with the same color of wall paint as the tinted primer). So mom and I went to the paint store and picked up many more samples! We finally picked one that we liked. The main things that happened on Monday #1 we had to say goodbye to Lloyd #2 hardwood floors got moved into our garage #3 taping completed #4 primer sprayed on #5 we got a brief visit with Dale & Kari and their 3 adorable, sweet girls. My oh my how I miss them! Tuesday evening Dennis and I picked up the paint that we liked and got it sprayed on with Bob's help. Wednesday Dennis' mom came and helped me do some touch up paint and then I had to take her to the airport. 

Now it is just Dennis and I. We need to purchase plywood to lay down on the floors and then get started laying, sanding and varnishing the hardwoods. We will welcome any and all volunteers to come and help us!  

All for now - maybe I'll get pics posted on here some day!

Our new first home!

We're OFFICIALLY homeowners! Wahoo! Now the work begins! Schedule tonight: tear some carpet out and paint the floors! 

The outside of our new home!

Dining room and kitchen

Living room!

I'll do my best to keep this blog updated as our work is being done. There are 2 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms - so we have plenty of room for company! Come visit anytime (we'd especially welcome anyone in the next month to come help us). :) 

Gearing up for a busy day!

During the past 5 months or so, I've been very lucky and very spoiled. After Dennis leaves for work in the morning - I can go back to bed if and when I want to. Well, my back to bed days are O-VER! :)

Today it seems like my list is a mile long. I am about ready to drink my morning cup of joe and then will tackle my list! It consists of things like more packing, cleaning, transferring our names to our new address, calling utility companies, possibly a trip to Home Depot, loading up the cars with our cleaning supplies ... the list goes on! I'm looking forward to the busyness the next couple of months will bring! 

I suppose I'd better stop stalling and start working towards crossing things off my list! :) 

We signed papers today!

Finally! Dennis and I signed papers for our new house. I think we both knew that it would eventually happen - but we are so excited. We aren't able to get our keys until Thursday - but we were able to drop something off at the house tonight that was hanging out in D's pickup bed - the new gun safe that he bought! Thursday night will be a late one - we plan on tearing out the carpet, painting the floor and get started on cleaning the garage! Friday, my dear mom is taking the day off from work and helping us work on the house. By Saturday afternoon/evening we are hoping to have the inside of the house clean and start taping off in preparation for painting! Things are coming together!


Tomorrow I have a crafty project that I'd like to finish before Thursday night and also have many more boxes that can be packed with currently unused things. Hopefully I'll have time for both!


Sunday - I am looking forward to seeing some family - it'll be a very nice break (early on) from the house and to get some socialization in and family time! Will post a picture on here when the house is actually ours - when we have the keys in our hand!


Fun times ahead! We are looking forward to this new adventure in our lives together - home ownership! :) 

This is frustrating.

We should have had the keys to our new house on Tuesday night. The house was supposed to be taped off to be painted starting tomorrow ... but nope. There have been just little things that are holding this up ... so many people are involved with the paper work for us buying a house - why can't we just get it yet? We have been getting excited for the past 48 days - and now it's time to get frustrated. Everything with finding the house, our offer, loan, etc has been smooth sailing until now. Why on a 45 day closing are we 3 days late? I know that 3 days is pretty much nothing - but it sure feels like it now. Especially when the house that we're living in will go on the market soon (supposed to happen this week actually) and our living room is filled with boxes. I'm ready to tear some carpets out - I'm even willing to break fingernails and get my hands dirty! We've been holding our breath but trying not to hope too much that we'll sign papers today - but it's not looking that way. I. Just. Want. The. Keys. To. Our. New. Home. Is that really too much to ask? Hopefully soon ...