Our New Deck in Progress

Wow...after a year we are starting on the back deck. I refer to the collective we, mainly Steve & I am the support staff. He is the designer & builder & I am the assistant & buyer of goods.

Our deck will end up being over 350 square feet of totally enjoyable space. We are going to add an outdoor kitchen with a nice grill, side burner & counter top. A new set of table, chairs, umbrella & lounge chairs.


This is two of the five walls that Steve built!!















We had to rent a lifter since the one beam was quite large & heavy. John & Hong helped Steve all day & Nic lifted or lowered until time for baseball practice.















Floor joists almost all in place. The trees are filling up out our backyard & it is so relaxing to listen to the birds.
















Here we are as of Monday, Memorial Day. Steve is installing the Y braces from the post to the beam. I have been painting all the brackets, bolts & nails black. The painted black look is tons better compared to the silver galvanized look. It just looks more polished.

We just have the Y braces to finish & put up the stair treads before it is time to call the City of Puyallup back out for our framing inspection. Then onto the deck boards, posts, railings, kitchen & such. When the deck is all done we will be hyrdoseeding, graveling under the deck & adding plants. I am trying to remember, but I think the backyard has been almost three years with out grass. Zoom will really like having grass to sit on instead of sand.

Happy Birthday Steve!!!

Last summer Steve & two of his buddies did several weekends of backpacking. Look at the HUGE fish he caught!!! Happy Birthday sweetie.....I love you!!!

Just a peek of the new Summer Idea Book items....

You are looking at May's Stamp of the Month. The Summer Idea Book will be available May 1st and for all those that don't have the book with them you can view each page on the Close To My Heart website. Just log in May 1st and under Products you will be able to view the book. I am planning on having an open house the beginning of May so stay tuned for the invite. Such wonderful papers and super ideas!!!

Close To My Heart

Spring 2008 Idea Book



Close To My Heart has included a great feature to their website!!! You are now able to view their current Idea Book online. A great way to shop from the comfort of you home when you have the time. We have tons of great paper & stamps. Please log onto http://www.closetomyheart.com/ choose Products and you will be able to click on the Spring 2008 Idea Book. Let me know if there are any items you are interested in. You can email me at iscrap_4_fun@yahoo.com I am will get your order placed.

Happy Scrapping!!!

I have become a consultant for Close To My Heart. I am very impressed with their products. I was searching the web one day & found their site. I was given the name & number for a consultant in my area & booked a class. I just love their scrapbooking supplies and acrylix stamps. Never having stamped before I didn't think I would be interested, but was I wrong. I enjoyed their products so much I signed on to be a consultant.




Here is our Stamp of the Month!!!
This is the Close To My Heart - February Stamp of the Month and is available for purchase

D1260 Endless Love(Set of 10) $22.95 US/ $25.50 CANWhen the giddiness of love makes you feel playful, we've got your fanciful feelings covered with a stamp set full of fun flowers and quirky flourishes. Available February 1-29, 2008 only. Use Blocks: 1" × 3½" (Y1002), 3" × 3" (Y1006), 4" × 4" (Y1008) With a minimum qualifying purchase, get your Stamp of the Month at a great discount or FREE!

If you are interested in a current Idea Book or to purchase your scrapbooking supplies just email me at iscrap_4_fun@yahoo.com.

Look at my sweet little (HaHa) Guy!!!

I wanted to post a current picture of Nic so y'all can see him at his current 14 year old self. I am posting this for Chelle so she is able to see how tall he is. I can tell you I just hate they way I look in the picture, so don't look!!! What a cheesy large grin. Bring it down a notch!!!! I am 5'7 1/2" so Nic is at least 6' if not more. He just made his 8th grade basketball team (this year they had cuts) and we have since trimmed his long hair so he will be able to see the basketball. He likes it long but it was starting to curl in strange directions. Thanks coach!!

I was just reading Farah's blog about cleaning our their garage. I can relate to giving away those sweet little baby clothes & toys. It is hard on a mom to have to realize her kids are getting bigger, just wait until you have this happen to you!!!! I don't know when I will be used to looking up into my son's eyes, having to go on tip toe to give him a kiss on the cheek or a hug. He helps by picking me up. Wait until you get to that point. It is great to see them grow, but you will always wish for a moment when they were that little one in your arms again.

HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY NIC!!!

This picture is from a Husky game we attended in September. He must have just had his hair cut, because now it is lots longer and is doing some funky curls. But we can't go get at trim...not just yet.

It is hard to believe my baby is now 14 and is over 6 feet tall. It is still hard to get used to looking up to him. Not that I am short being 5'7 1/2" myself but he is just a kid & taller than mom & dad.

Happy Birthday........Love Mom & Dad

Boarding at Crystal Mountain on January 4th, 2008!!!!!

Nic & his friend Justin both received snowboards, boots & bindings for Christmas. I took a Friday off while they were on Christmas break and drove them up to Crystal.

Justin & Nic are getting all prepped for the day. As you can tell it was snowing and pretty much did through out the day.Here they are getting ready to get on the lift. I just sat in the lodge & read all day. They came in a few times for lunch, water, snacks & a warmup. Nic received enough money with Christmas presents to pay for a few lift tickets. His next trip is this coming Monday (school ski trip) and probably Saturday after that. I miss those days of skiing, but being older I am not that into being so cold & eating snow when I fall. It has been years since I skied.

Off to 8th Grade

9-5-07

I was trying to get a good smile out of Nic but all he wanted to do was make faces. The normal 1st day of school pictures are getting more of a pain to him as he gets older. What is a mom to do???






I told him to deal with it so these are the faces I get.










This year he is in a brand new Kalles Junior High. The new school was being built last year while they attended school in the old Kalles. How many people can say they have been the first students in a brand new constructed school during their school days? I attended a new high school but we were the third year, so it wasn't brand spanking new.

Baseball season is finished for the year, but tryouts for next year's teams are going on now.


This is one of his practices. That is why he looks so board.












Nic's team played in a tournament in Kent.


Batter UP!!!










Get ready...this one is going out to left field. He actually had a triple. Great hit.

Hiking in Snoqualmie Pass...................

A group of us went on a 8 mile hike in the mountains.
We had to hike two miles to the trail head due to a slide that took out the road.
Hong's wife is hiding under her hat & Nic just turned his head before I could click the camera.

John & Tina are all smiles

Marching & Granite

Nic was in the Daffodil Parade on Saturday, marching with the rest of the Junior High band students. No matter how many times I got a picture I was unable to get a smile out of him. He did acknowledge me with a quick glance in my direction though. This was his first and probably last parade. He has decided not to continue band next year so he can pursue other electives (weight training & conditioning), wonder where that came from STEVE!!!

As I look back I remember I stopped band after 7th grade. I liked it but we also move to Texas over the summer & not knowing anyone, I didn't want to continue on with it. At least Nic is able to read the music. I never learned but had an ear for what we were playing. Look at how tall he is getting. He has passed both of us and is moving up & up. I had to buy him size 11 shoes the other day.

The kitchen granite was installed over the weekend & just finished up this morning. It will be so great to have a full working kitchen by this evening. The sink will be there & we can run water. The stove will be all hooked up & we will have a dishwasher. All that will be left of the kitchen will be the tile backsplash, toe kicks on the cabinets & crown molding on top of the cabinets. How amazing is that?! I shudder to think how people lived their lives many years before us without all this great stuff. They were far stronger than I!!!

We have new carpet installed & Steve has installed hardwood in the office. The lights have been replaced & we will be painting new doors & trimwork. That includes baseboards, door & window trim for the entire house!!! I love painting, I love painting, I love to paint!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yaha right.

We hope to be mostly done by the end of May. In that estimate we are including more dirt & sod for the backyard. We will just have the deck to build last.

Happy Birthday Steve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Today Steve is 38, he is now just as "old" as I am. What a sweet and loving husband I have. He would beg to differ, but we both know the truth. He is super macho but has a heart of gold. This remodel we are going through is wearing on him but we are having small successes every day. He gets down on himself when something doesn't work right the first time & he doubts his ability to do anything, but then he takes a step back figures out the problem and it works.

I love you honey!!!

Update

Things have been moving fast & furious (mainly for Steve). The siding is finished & looks nice. The kitchen cabinets are mostly in & the hardwood floors are being buffed & repolished today. Once that is dry the rest of the cabinets will be placed in & we can finished the kitchen. Another week of no appliances, but the microwave works. I have all the painting done in the kitchen & stairwell going downstairs.

The railings are finished & the balisters will be replaced once the staining is done.

I will get more pictures posted when things look more polished. This is the exciting time & things are happening fast!!!

The Adventure Has Began............................



We have begun our home improvement process. We decided to go for all of it now & enjoy it for the years we would be in the house instead of fixing it up right before we sell.

Our siding replacement starts today. We have LP siding on the house & since LP was involved in a huge lawsuit it can hurt your resale value to have to disclose it. The weathered side of the house is also showing signs of the problems so all new lap siding will be covering the entire house. Then it will be painted a nice green color with white trim & we are even adding cedar accent shingles on the front of the house. The deck is also pulled off & will be replaced with a bigger & better one.

Steve has been moving, hiding & adding gas pipe for a new free standing gas stove that will be in the bottom floor. That large room will become our media room at some time in the future & the stove will keep us warm in the event we are without power for any amount of time again. I also love to sit by the fire & this will help to heat the house since as we all know heat rises.

The kitchen cabinets were ordered today & it should be about five weeks for them. In the mean time we will be replacing the can lights & removing wallpaper, texturing & painting. When the cabinets are in we will have granite countertops & tile backsplashes. New stainless steel applicances will compliment the cabinets.

Carpet will be replaced & rooms will be painted during this process. We are even shifting rooms so that Nic will have the large bonus room upstairs for his bedroom. It is our TV room now & with moving that to the bottom floor & making a nice media room, he was open for a bigger bedroom. It dosen't have a closet but he dosen't care. We can just get a larger dresser for him & hang any clothes in the guest room closet.

We will also be putting sod down in the spring so the backyard will be almost finished. That will be great to get done.

Is anyone overwhelmed????? We are just taking it one step at a time & making sure we have fun in the process.

Love the Snow!!!

These pictures are from Jan 10th looking at the parking lot out back at my work. We received three or four inches and it stayed around for awhile. It was cold & icy enough that the kids missed over 5 days of school. We are not used to snow in this part of the country so kids stay home. They have to make up those days so they will have some longer days in February, a missed scheduled day off and a few days tacked onto the end of the year. I sure hope we start earlier this next year so the kids are not almost going into July.

We are working on the stair railing at the house. We have not had a railing for several years and now it is going up. Once it is all done we will have the railing/stairs & floor all redone with a nice stain color. We are embarking on a large home improvement project all at once so we can enjoy it all for several years before we even decide to move. As I have stated we are not moving until Nic graduates (he is in 7th grade) or even later. We really want land in Montana & we need to be at more of a retirement age for that one.

Happy 13th Birthday Nic!!!

We are now the parents of a teenager. Hard to even imagine he is that old. I am looking at a picture of Nic taken when he was about 6 months old. That cute little boy has grown up to be a great guy. He is now taller than his mom & at the same height as his dad. I have already had to buy him new jeans, since the ones purchased in September are too small. He is wearing a size 10 shoe & I know that will shortly change. What a blessing he is.

Our prayers have been answered!!!!




We received a call on Saturday that Zoom was in the neighborhood next to our (Deer Creek). We both rushed over & sure enough it was him. I was shaking so badly & as soon as I saw him started to cry. I wasn't even able to go to him, I was so scared. He had been gone for 11 days and just looked terrible.

Our poor guy lost over 20 pounds, has a bone chip that will need to be removed via surgery, a wound on his leg and frost bite on a lot of his body. We rushed him to the vet that sent us over to the emergency vet hospital. His temp was dangerously low and he was very dehydrated. His spirits were up though.

He only had to stay at the hospital for one day and we brought him home yesterday. He still looks bad but is eating & is taking his medicine. It will be a slow process but he is a trooper. We had to cancel Nic's birthday party on Saturday, but will have one this Saturday. Thanks for all your prayers!!!

Where Did You Go?????



You decided that it was more interesting outside the backyard & busted through the fence. The problem with that is we can't find you and it has been 5 days. Dad has looked all over for you, Mom & Nic have looked all over & so has several friends. We have put up flyers all over the place but no luck yet. What was so interesting that you needed to get out? Was there a cute girl you just had to see?

It has been raining and will be getting cold enough to snow & with your short hair you will be so cold. Please come home so we can care for you. Please don't let the report be true that you were hit by a car on Shaw Road. I am hopeful you will go to someone so that they can call us. We miss you, you silly dog!!!

Love Mom

Wow!!!!!!!! She can do something!!!!!!!!!!!!


Well over the weekend I painted our family room a nice color called "Devine Shore". It is the wall color we have on our walls at work and I just love how comfortable it makes me feel. It is great. I am showing a before of a part of the kitchen so you can see the wallpaper I am removing. It is all over the kitchen area & I will be painting taht the same color as the family room soon. Steve will be finishing the baseboards & will be working on framing out the fireplace mantle. It is nice to be working inside again....as long as I just do small bits. The amount of painitng I did last time just put me off the whole concept for so long. Baby steps here is my motto.

This one is for Farah!!!

I seem to post more about Nic & Steve than myself. Why??? I guess I don't think I am all that exciting...but I will change that now.

I have been working on two scrapbook projects for Christmas. I completed the second one this past weekend. It is great to have them done and will enable me to work on our stuff now. It was a fun to make things for others and get the juices flowing again. I had not scrapbooked in several years and thanks to Beth starting the ball rolling....I am back at it.

I am taking a blueprint reading class at Pierce College. It is interesting and is helping me understand things more at work. Having never worked with blueprints before this helps. Not that I work with them much at work but at least I can understand what others are talking about. This class will be done November 30th so just four more classes left. Then I get ready for Christmas.

My next project is to start painting the kitchen & family room. Since they run together...it is necessary to do both. The kitchen has this tacky wallpaper on it from the previous owner and I have been ripping it off as it starts to become unglued. I am hoping I don't have to texture the areas that have become flat from the wallpaper. I really don't like painting that much but this really needs to be done. It has been over six years in the waiting and can't wait anymore!!! This postive thinking is helping me....really.

Only two more months left in 2006. The days seem to fly by and I just keep getting older. The other day I realized Michelle & I have know each other for 30 years. Being we are 38 that is a long time!!! For those that don't know her she is my best friend (not counting Steve) and I love her to death. It sucks she lives in southern Utah and I am up here in the Pacific NW but she tried it here & the weather just got to her.

Nic's football team finished 4-1. They only lost to Balou Junior High and I believe by only one touchdown. He is now going to try wrestling. It should be interesting. This will be new for him and us. My son, the athlete.

Off to "Do the Puyallup"

Sept. 13th was fair day in the Puyallup school district. The kids got out at 11:10am and since Kalles is so close to the fairgrounds, they were allowed to walk over. I met them at Jack in the Box to grab backpacks.

They had a blast, were able to stay until 9pm and mind you they were all by themselves. No adults hanging in the wings. Bold move on our part but don't they just look like a bunch of kool dudes????
You see from the left....Justin, Cole, Jamie, Nic, Dalton & Arnold.

Off to 7th Grade at Kalles Junior High!!!


Nic started school on September 6th. He is now in Junior High and having a blast. I made sure no other kids saw me taking his picture. I didn't want to embaress him too bad.

He is enjoying his time there and having fun playing football. Life is good at this point!!!

Family Campout!!!!


Over the Labor Day weekend we went up to Silver Springs campground to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Nic and I had to drive up the night before & set up Steve's backpacking tent since I didn't have a spot resreved & even on Thursday night they were pretty packed. So there we were at 9:30pm in the pitch black putting up a tent. Steve was at the Seahawks/Raiders preseason game (convient).

Well we got there Friday afternoon & had to set up camp. The spot was a little smaller than I thought, but it was pitch black and we only had one flashlight. We made it work though. Steve was board the next day....he is not a sit around the fire and enjoy type but I told him to tough it out because I am. This was a family chill time and we are there to enjoy the smells of the forest. Zoom and Steve went on a small hike across the river and we enjoyed a drive up a forrest service road.

I just love that area. The trees are amazing!!!

Here is Steve with his HUGE fish. He, Hong & John are now exploring backpacking and fly fishing. They are having fun & enjoying their trips around the area.

So sorry to all that read my blog. I am not the best on updating my blog but I expect all of you to do yours daily. Not very fair of me. We have been enjoying the summer and prepping for school. Nic & I spent a week in Idaho with my parents in their RV. I can tell you I am not an RV park type of person. I want the trees and privacy. Not concrete and people.

Nic is starting football practice for 7th grade today. Where has the time gone??? I think my last post was his last day of 6th grade. I need to get pictures posted for the backyard, vacation & just stuff.

You will be proud I am scrapbooking again. That is where I have been spending most of my time. That is my excuse for not posting & I am going to stick with it. I am working on some Christmas presents & don't want to have to rush it. I sure hope they are liked & enjoyed. That is all I can say on that.