Pre-Vacation Update

Hey gang! We're sitting in the hotel room waiting to leave for the airport so I decided I should let you know how things stand. First things first.

MOM AND DAD SOLD OUR OLD HOUSE!!!!! 

Which is bittersweet because we love our old neighbors and our first family home. Also it was where we were crashing while they were tearing apart our new house. Hence the hotel room by the airport...

Here's how things look today, pretty much like a GIANT MESS!

All of this wood is some how supposed to fit into our house, and odds are we won't even notice it. Thank you City of Portland for thinking that our 100+ year old home needs to be stronger...

 Now this is open concept! Looking from our Dining room into the Kitchen

The new opening between the Kitchen and the family room. Sort of like the old one, but with better "sight lines" and one of only 3 doors that will be in our kitchen compared with the previous 5.

This is what our built in Hutch looks like! YIKES! The carpentry guy promised us he could put it back together. I may have to help, I am a rockstar puzzle builder.

We also found our first "Didn't Expect That" moment. Apparently our bathroom floor was sagging which was hidden by the drop ceiling. So they need to fix that which means no bathroom for us, so now we can't live in the house when we get back from Jersey :-( Anyone want some house guests?

The good news is the original home builders left us a little time capsule. Clara and I are sporting the bowler hat!

 Hear ye Hear ye, read all about it!

Now off to PA and the Jersey Shore! I'm going to show those silly contractors how easy it is to build an entire Castle in like an hour with PopPop. Not sure why our little house project takes so long...

Father's Day Camping at Silver Falls

We're taking a break from home remodeling. I took Dad and Clara to Silver Falls State Park. Dad was able to bring along a few necessities. Such as a Tent! It only has one small hole in it.

 Clara and i plugged it though

Marshmallows!

For SMORES!!!

 Daddy and kid approved!

And a few father's day gifts for Dad! Including his very first Tie and sparkly key ring!

On Saturday we took in a few of the falls. We drug dad along to see 8 of the 10. We hiked and hiked and snacked and snacked. We even let dad cary us a few times just so he could work off a few more pounds before the beach next week. 

 This guy shared our snack

 Some nice boy scout from PA took our photo!

 We even found a watering hole. It was CCCCCOOOOOLLLLLLDDDDDD!!!!

We finished the day with more Smores! and a few stories in the tent. I feel like the tent was a lot bigger last year. 

Today we hit the last two waterfalls before heading to grandma and grandpa's.

Dad sure does know how to show some girls a good time. We walked so many miles, the boardwalk is going to be a breeze! Can't wait to see where we go next time! Oh and one more Oregon State Park off the list, CHECK!

Week 2 progress report

As promised here's where we are after 2 weeks of demo. We have a brand new kitchen floor that looks absolutely Fabulous!

Dad no longer has his hiding place in the attic, I can see right up there into his hangout. I think they opened up the roof so that we could install a slide into the tub!

Here is how mom and dad will get to their new master bathroom. I would imagine the posts will be gone so they don't have to squeeze through.

Mom and dad are also taking a little bit of room from Clara and my current room. Nothing major, just half a closet.

I have no idea why dad took pictures of the pipes. But there they are, right above the kitchen. Of course there is a big nasty sewer pipe that drops down behind the kitchen wall. Hopefully they move that or close it. Otherwise, who would come to dinner? I'm planning on cooking a lot in the new digs!

Here is where our oven and chimney used to be. There is a LOT of lathe and plaster in this house, at least this room doesn't have all knob and tube wiring

The completely awkward bathroom is gone but the porch is still there. All of this too will become part of the kitchen and a much smaller yet more functional bathroom. I'm thinking by the time this happens Clara and I will no longer need a stool to reach the sink.

Yes they had to take every ceiling down on the first floor. Here's what the family room looks like with vaulted ceilings.

And look there are wires to behind those caped ceiling fixtures in the living room. Hooray for new light. Mom and dad are really looking forward to having a real living room so that they can shut the door on us in the family room and enjoy some peace and quiet. HA, is all I say to that.

Lastly, if anyone needs a slightly used "Superba!" dishwash, we have one up for grabs. Apparently the Rebuilding center wouldn't take it :-(

We have been jumping around from house to house this week. Living the life at Grandma and Grandpa's, Glamping at our old house, and somewhere in between. Next week we're camping with dad at Silver Falls! Then Vacation Bible School, then down the shore with Mema and Poppop! I'll try to keep up on the progress. Au Revoir! That's French for Good Bye and it sounds Fancy!

Renovation Relocation

And away we go!!! Given that we live in a 100 year old home, apparently they built houses differently back then. According to someone at the city, it's not to "Current Code." The only code I know is the secret code to my new room "Best Friends Forever!" You think that will get us past inspection?

We have to move all of our stuff out of the first floor so they can tare all of the ceilings down and add new wood to support the floors. It's probably a good thing because I keep asking dad if I can have a sleep over and I'm definitely planning on jumping up and down with all of my friends. 

Looks like it did the day we moved in! They took the Chimney out too! it used to be right here, then when we came home, it wasn't.

They added a skylight to the basement though!

They also took out the "Party Room" Unfortunately, this is where all of our furniture ended up, so I still can't ride my bike in the basement. Of course it is 90 degrees and sunny so who needs a basement?

We'll be bouncing around from Grandma's to our old house, which still hasn't closed!!! :-( They're planning on doing the rest of the phase 1 demo over the next week or so. We'll be able to move back in once they're done. I can't wait! We have our kitchen in the bathroom again which means we're going to be going out to dinner! A LOT!