Getting Some Color Back

WOW! We have really been slacking when it comes to getting blog posts up. Maybe we've been busy building a house or something. :-) We are now getting to the point where it actually looks like a house both inside and out. From looking at the postings the last time we put anything up was when we were finishing wire. A LOT has happened since then.

First and foremost Brad decided he'd had enough home building and decided to get a break by tearing a bunch of tendons in his left foot. Some people will do anything to get out of work! The only reason I am including this tidbit of information is because this was a house related injury and could serve as a lesson to anyone else who is thinking of building a house or completing home repairs. In lieu of scaffolding he decided that the best way to put up the siding on the back part of the house that hangs off an incline was to rig something himself with two ladders, a couple of I-joists, and some OSB. Where's the lesson? The lesson comes at the bottom of a crumpled ladder, a trip to the emergency room, and after six weeks in a "boot" with weekly physical therapy. Sorry Brad to share the story, but someday we might look back on this and laugh.

After that, we continued to finish the wiring, got insulated and had the drywall hung, taped, and textured. We saved a few dollars by cleaning up after the drywall crew and sanding the walls ourselves, but that was some intense clean-up. I could not believe the waste involved in drywall! In several rooms you found yourself knee deep in large pieces that weren't salvaged for anything even though they looked perfectly useful to me. (Reason number 247 why I am not a professional construction worker)

Now we are on to paint! We primed the entire house by using a paint sprayer and got a glimpse of what we would look like in about 30-40 years since we got covered in white paint dust in the process. :-) After that we moved on to the color selection process. Let me tell you there is nothing easy about selecting paint colors for your home. You would think that for the past two weeks we were solving world hunger given how we were stressing over these decisions! We have quite a few colors in the house, actually we have MANY colors but they all work (at least as far as we have gotten). We wanted the boys to have ownership in the house above and beyond playing in and tracking the dirt/mud, so we allowed them to choose the colors for their rooms and help paint parts of the walls. Now before you start look at the photos, keep the following in mind.

1. I watched Randy Pausch's Last Lecture and read his book. One of the many things I took from him; it is just paint and it can always be changed but it gives them a sense of ownership.

2. They are huge Scooby-Doo fans right now (especially Daphne fans).

3. It is only paint, it can be changed (did I already say that?)

Brayden and Darren getting ready to paint.
(Notice the very intense/stressed look on Darren's face)

Darren going to town with his bright orange walls!

Smiley faces are more fun than painting the right way!

The almost finished products!

Over all I think they had a good experience. It was mostly double work for us (Brad and myself) since we had to make sure they were doing it right. We had to catch the paint globs on the walls and spills on the floor, but it has officially become theirs! It was a great feeling as a parent to watch them work so diligently on a project. It was the longest they have ever stayed with any single project (3 hours!)

At the end of every entry, I always promise to do a better job posting, but I have decided to quit lying. :-) We'll post as we have time or at least let you know when we've moved in!