A year in advance

Well everyone, it's been awhile since the last post, I'm pretty sure we've had 2 or maybe 3 new places to lay our heads since the last time I wrote. All told I think we'll be in 10 different houses by the time we move back into our Regular house. God bless all of our friends and family and Airbnb for taking us in! On that note, the new move in date is December 8th. Look for a party to follow. 

In the meantime I'll catch you up on all the work that's been happening. We have a new stairway banister so that there isn't a giant wall you have to walk around going up the stairs. It really lets the light in from the window too. 

They've been staining all of the wood and our windows so that they match the existing mahogany. It really stinks in there.

In the middle of all this we had some visitors. Mema and Poppop came out to celebrate Clara's 4th birthday. I would bet that most AirBnB's go to more exotic places to celebrate their birthday that NE Portland.

Mema still made it feel like a party and she hooked Clara up. Poppop, we still have some tickle bugs. Their worse than the flea infestation of the last place!

 The kitchen is coming together, we have painted cabinets and fancy countertops. Dad says they won't look so grey in the daylight.

 Mommy and Daddy's bathroom is getting polished off.

 And Clara and I will each have a place to brush our teeth and our hair so dad doesn't have to do it anymore. He says he's reached his capacity on hair styles. Mom says I need to send him back to Carlos to get some new ideas.

The next post will either be from Independence, SE Belmont, or NE Flanders depending on which place I have a free moment to post. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Home Stretch

In our attempts to spend as little time in our rental house as possible, we decided to do some apple tasting at Portland Nursery. Of course there was pumpkin painting as well. 

Clara went with a full coating approach.

 Hamming it up with Mom while we wait for the apples to be sliced. There were 30 or so apples to try, who knew there were so many?

We also went down to the pumpkin patch and found a few gourds to spruce up the porch. Clara kept the small one, but the bigger ones made for a nice resting spot. Between the mazes and hay bale slides, it was a busy day!

We also spent some time in the wheat box, much cleaner than sand.

Did I mention that we're supposed to move back into our house by the 20th of November? We're going to be very organized once we finally get back in. Here is a nice closet organizer.

The hutch near the laundry area.

We finally got the door replaced, so now we don't have a boarded up house. They never caught those pesky bad guys that broke the last one, but we sure hope they never come back.

Clara and I have a fancy new sink or two. Here's the vanity they will sit on.

Just to add a bit more, here's what the outside will look like, less paint. All new siding to complete the package.

I can just imagine how many hours of homework will be done in our new office nook. Have I mentioned I'm in Kindergarten? I was just telling Dad tonight how much I like doing homework because I get to practice my letters and coloring and even reading...

I hope to have some finish product photos after Mema and Poppop leave. Sorry they're going to miss seeing the finished product. But you know what? Who cares? It'll be so awesome to see them!

Tile and Paint!

NE Flanders is a busy place these days. There are woodworkers, tile folk, and painters making ready our place. We starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We might just make it by Thanksgiving, Fingers Crossed!

Mom and dad have a fancy tile floor in their bathroom

 But honestly,  I think Clara and my bathroom is way cooler!

 Our bathtub and shower are looking pretty sweet as well

 Mom and Dad's shower is looking good

Don't worry all of our visitors will have a classy shower too

The front door has been replaced! Thanks Farmer's insurance for that.

It's hard to tell, but this is my all in one bunk bed. It's missing the top bunk and the drawers and doors, but I can't wait to have sleepovers in my cabin room.

Clara will be all set to do her homework once the top is put on her desk.

One last shot of mom and dad's vanity. They get a sink a piece.

Oh so close. We can't wait to move out of our rental house.

T minus 1 month and counting until Mema and Poppop come visit

It's getting down to the wire as to whether or not Mema and Poppop will be on the street or not when they get here. All signs are pointing to a hotel, or at least a tent in our back yard. That said, we're making progress on the house.

The windows are trimmed.

The tile is nearly done

Even the cabinets are installed. Here's the Kitchen

Clara and my bathroom

The uppers in the Kitchen

Best of all is my room has new flooring and will soon have a killer bunk bed. Maybe Mema will sleep on the top bunk?

Here's my happy dance. I'm practicing for when Mema and Poppop get here. Dad has been showing me all of his moves and I even have a few of my own. See if you can tell the difference...

Autumn Leaves are upon us!

You know what, I'm thinking Fall might be my favorite season. The air is perfect for trips to the park, the rain hasn't started falling yet, and did I mention that I'm a Kindergartener now!!! I'm rocking it by the way. 

We're still finding time to do some cool stuff on the weekend. A few weeks ago we went to Hood River to try out the Fruit Loop. I didn't see Toucan Sam anywhere though. We did see some gorgeous views though. 

Here is a shot of ME, and some flowers

Here's a shot of the gorgeous Hodge women. If you really care you can see that tiny Mountain Hood in the background, but how can you look past our cuteness?

We managed quite the hall. Boxes filled with apples and pears. We got some cookies from one of the Orchard bakeries. We got some dinner at pFriem which dad says has good beer, but yuck!

Clara and I have been helping dad at work a few days here and there when mom has meetings. It's a tough job and always wears us out. We try to catch a few Z's on the bus ride home though.

On the home front, we have encouraging signs! For starters we have a door we can use without a drill!

There is drywall everywhere! From what I can tell this is mom and dad's bathroom.

We're going to have a new waterproof second floor balcony. Apparently dad really was risking his life hanging Christmas lights last year. Glad he made it before it came crashing down.

Our hutch in the dining room is being rebuilt. I hope they remember where all the pieces go. If not I can probably help, I'm a rockstar at puzzles.

Mom and I are inspecting the new Kitchen eat in area, with a new privy hall and bathroom to the left. The sink is going under that window on the right. Mom and dad are having a heck of a timing picking out cabinet and wall colors. Clara and I don't see what's wrong with pink and purple.

Lastly and most importantly, here I am with a few of my friends at school. Dad came by our classroom to help out with lunch. Boy was he in for a surprise. He thought managing 1 Kindergartener and an almost 4 year old was tough. Why don't you try 26 Kindergarteners! YIKES!!

September is almost gone, Mom got a year older, and we keep trucking along. I can't wait for Halloween, I wonder what I'll be....

Summer is over!

Well, Summer has finally come to an end. No more beach days, no more weekday trips to the zoo, or parks. I'm on a real 8:45-3 schedule now. Dad and I are the real workhorses in this family hoofing it 5 days a week. The best part is there is a pretty cool place to burn off steam at the end of a hard day of Kindergarten.

Our home remodel continues. Now into month 4! We seem to be taking a lot of stuff out. Here is where a wall down the stairs used to be.

 Dad is thrilled to finally be able to walk into a basement without slamming his head into the ceiling.

 A view from the top! There used to be a chimney.

 The Lu!

 Remember when we were going to remodel the kitchen and the bathrooms? Yeah well, no there is a porch railing missing.

 A side of the house....

 A Living Room... And oh so much more

 On the plus side. We have new windows!

In the meantime, we've checked out an organic dairy farm

 Got some hardcore Tats!

 Dad took us to OMSI! We love Science!

 And today was bath day for Stout!

Well, until next time.