Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Renovations



We have waited 2 months for dry weather. It has been the wettest April and May on record. (Sorry, Sayre - I know you're jealous!)

Finally, 3 days ago the sun came out. So did our painters.

We had an awesome company come and paint our home and we are sooo excited.

It looks 1000 times better.

And since they were painting and making the outside look so good, we decided it was a good time to landscape the front yard too.

We did that part ourselves. (and when I say 'we' I mean 'Brad')


This is the house BEFORE anything got done to it.


The plants are being delivered.

So we got to work. First we had to decide WHAT we wanted the yard to look like, and then, get the plants delivered. Brad worked his butt off planting them, putting the bark mulch in and getting the rocks accents around the trim. By the time he finished, it looked fantastic.


Brad is working hard to get it all done.

And here is the front yard once he finished it.

The painters worked just as hard for the three days, sometimes 10 hour days.
There was a lot of prep work to be done.


Painters are working hard on the house.

The crane is bringing the boulders we need. There were three we ordered.



Brad tells the crane operator where to strategically place the boulders.


Brad after he finished planting the entire front yard.


Finished product! The AFTER shot.


We are so excited about the results.

PS - I was asked to write 'my story' for hugsforstrength.com and was asked to keep the blog 'visible' for a bit when I submit the story (so readers can link back to it) - I will resume with the going private idea after that.

16 comments:

Kathy said...

What a great transformation and Brad looks pretty pleased. We have the same wet weather, of course, and my son-in-law is an organic farmer. Poor guy. All the crops are getting a very slow start. Three cheers for you guys.

Beth L. Gainer said...

Beautiful house! Thanks for sharing the pix. BTW, please include me as a reader of your blog. I enjoy it, and I know you're going private soon.

Anonymous said...

House looks great. 'You' did a great job!
You were 'asked' to write your story?? That's amazing! You're an inspiration to others and others see that as well. Good job!
Eileen

Sayre said...

You know I'm STILL jealous!!! I need to find out how long it's been since we had measurable rain - it seems like forever. With highs in the upper 80s to mid-90s. My poor grass...

Your house looks awesome!!! Your painters did a great job. So did Brad. I'm impressed he did all that so fast! I wonder how he is at breaking up dirt that's like concrete. That's kind of what my future "garden" is like at the moment.

You make me feel distinctly slug-like. Nothing wrong with me (except fat) but I'm getting very little done right now. Maybe when school is out...

VV said...

Gorgeous! Do you hire Brad out? Great landscaping job. We also need someone to paint our house. It's too tall for any of our ladders or our fear of heights.

Knock knock - it's cancer! said...

Kathy - your poor son in law. I hope the weather starts cooperating soon. We need a little bit of sun.

Beth - I will include you, I grabbed your email off your blog.

Eileen - Thanks. Yeah, I got asked by the site operator to contribute my story to her website... she somehow stumbled across my blog and I guess she liked it.

Sayre - Don't you dare feel slug-like. You just made like 1000 little stuffie thingies for your church!! That's actual work. I only 'supervised'. The outside was the painters and Brad. I only picked the colours and helped a little with the plants. (Oh, but I am painting the inside of the house currently) ... I have more time on my hands than you do :)

VV - Hmmm... that would be one way to supplement our income, wouldn't it? But who'd pay for the travel expenses? LOL. (I hear you about the fear of heights thing though, ugh.)

Mandi - www.DarnGoodLemonade.com said...

Think Brad feels like coming to Utah? Our yard is a disaster. :) We have been lucky to get a few hours of sunshine at a time! Everyone has been joking that we somehow moved to Seattle without moving. Your yard and house look amazing! What a fun change to enjoy with everything else going on.

Conquering Cancer By Living Well said...

It looks so fantastic!! Absolutely love that colour! And the door! ;-)

AshleyHami said...

Holy doodle! It looks amazing! Is Brad a professional landscaper?

Knock knock - it's cancer! said...

Mandi - you're right, it sounds like you're living in Seattle, haha. (or here)

Conquering - thanks. I love it too ... I've been busy painting inside, wait til you come over next, lol :)

HH - Haha, no he isn't but you would never know it eh? He's a hard worker and he did a really great job.

Anonymous said...

Your house and yard look awesome! We are hopeful that this is the house that we stay in long enough to get most of the big projects done (the other two we ended up moving before making much of a dent in the list)

I don't think my comment ever went through but I really would like an invite to the private blog. My email is roseannmartin~at~comcast~dot~net.

Anonymous G said...

Love it! Super amazing curb appeal!

:) You must be so pleased!!

~gayle

Knock knock - it's cancer! said...

Anon - I did get your email, I think it came through the first time. Thanks for the compliment on the house :)

Anon G - Thanks Gayle, we are in love with it!!

nbrsspot.blogspot.com said...

Michelle its beautiful.. I love how you did it and Brad for doing it for you.. We are still working on ours little by little.. We need to do under our bedroom window yet..

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! Love the paint color, and the yard looks great too. Congrats on being asked to tell your story -- can't wait to read all about it.

Anonymous said...

Your house and yard look great and congrats on being asked to write your story for hugsforstrength!