SHAMROCK 8K 2010 AND DOWNSTAIRS BATHROOM

Greetings from VA Beach!  Its a beautiful day in VA Beach today!!  Its sunny and supposed to be 70 degrees!  I remember when I was growing up in Tucson that I thought 60 degrees was freezing and the snow would be falling any moment.  Its amazing that I am so thrilled about a 50 let alone 70 degree day!

Caitlyn and I started today by running the Shamrock 8K.  We have done it for 3 years now and really enjoy it.  Last year it was freezing to start with, but this year the weather was beautiful.  On the last stretch of the race it goes along the boardwalk so we get to see the beautiful ocean as we finish the race.  Here are photos that Dan took of Cat and I and the race.

This weekends project is the downstairs bathroom.  We took the wallpaper off yesterday and we'll paint late this afternoon and tomorrow.  Caitlyn has a soccer game this afternoon and tomorrow so we'll work in between the games.  Here are the before pics.  Have a great weekend!  Dan, Heidi and Cat

Front Entry Way, Stairway and Upstairs Hall

It's been quite busy around the House of Boe ... Our last weekends project was the front entry way (remember those 30' walls ...) and this weekend was the stairway and the upstairs hallway.  We finished the entry way last Wednesday .. I should say Dan finished ... it was all of the high stuff.  Caitlyn and I held the ladder while Dan painted.  We had to finish, because the ladder and all of the chaos in the house was upsetting the dogs.  Little Stanley was quite upset ... we almost took him to the vet ... instead we put the house back in order and he was good to go :) 

This weekend our project was the stairway and upstairs hallway ... we finished the painting, but were finishing some photo collages to put in the hallway upstairs.  We took some photos in the meantime, but we'll update this when we have the photos hung.  We had fun going through tons and tons of family photos tonight to decide what we would put in frames.  I cant wait to see it come together.  We have photos back from when my Dad was little, Grandma was getting married and Dan was in the height line up with Lance and Brad :)  I really think it will be a great display on the wall.

Next weekends project is the downstairs bathroom.  Wallpaper ... again :(  Its a tiny bathroom, but I think it will be quiet difficult.  We have to do the ceiling and remove wallpaper so we'll see how it goes :)

Here are photos of the work in progress and finished project (minus photos in the hallway).
Happy St. Patricks Day to all!
Dan, Heidi and Cat

Jay-Z Concert, Soccer & A Work In Progress ....

Good Evening!

We were fortunate to have the sun out this weekend in VA Beach!  It was still freezing yesterday, but at least the sun was out :)  Today it was warmer, but Dan and I were onto our next project ... the Foyer :(  Yuck!  Dan woke me up this morning with breakfast in bed ... it was GREAT!!  As I sat in bed eating my breakfast I heard this loud clanking noise ... It sounded a lot like a really big ladder.  Yep, thats what it was.  Dan had started taping the top of our foyer's crown molding.  Wholly moley its high up there and I was just hoping I wouldn't have to get up on that ladder. 

 

I'm not sure if you'll get the full effect from the pictures, but its high.  It was, also, a very long process to tape, trim and then paint.  We had a little "scare" this evening when the ladder slipped so we put the tall stuff on hold until tomorrow.  It was quite a moment.  We did finish all of the lower trim and painting.  It looks great.  Its amazing to realize how dirty your walls get after 7 years.  We'll be able to finish the remaining painting this week.  We did have someone come out and quote doing the painting ... it was going to be $550 .... Dan decided we could figure out a way to do the painting ourselves ... or rather he would find a way to do it :)  I am willing to do all of the painting on the bottom, but I wasn't planning on getting up on that ladder!!  

This has been a very busy weekend aside from just the painting.  Dan and I went to Baltimore, MD for Jerry Lausen's retirement.  We hurried back on Sat morning for Caitlyn's first outdoor soccer game at 3:30pm on Saturday.  The weather was quite deceiving ... it was very sunny but VERY cold!  The parents were hoping half-time was the end of the game!  Here are pics from her first game.  They won 3-0 :)  

One of Caitlyn's 16th Birthday  presents were two tickets to the Jay-Z concert.  I had my dates messed up and thought she would have her drivers license on March 5th ... its actually April 5th.  In VA the kids cannot get their license until 16yrs 3 months and 9 months of a permit.  So, we got her the tickets thinking she would have her first "night out" ... nice try.  We took she and Chelsea to the concert and picked them up.  Dan is out picking them up right now and from Cats text they had great seats and it was a wonderful concert.  Here are two pics they sent from the concert.

We'll probably finish the entry way mid-week and send "completed" photos then :)  

We hope everyone had a great weekend!

Heidi, Dan and Cat

CWO Jerry Lausen's Retirement 3-5-10

Hello~

Dan and I just attended Jerry Lausen's retirement from the USCG.  It was a wonderful retirement!  His co-workers showed up in droves, along with his family and co-workers from as far as CA.  His two children, Jared and Destiny were there and it was great to see them, again.  The last time we saw them I think Jared was 9-11 and loved the weather channel.  Here are the pics we took:

Dining Room Makeover ... its finally done!

Hello! Well, the room we thought would be the easiest turned out to be quite a hassle. The room started like this (please excuse the Christmas decor ... we forgot to take before photos so I used an old pic from Christmas).

 

Dan had removed the wallpaper the week prior so we thought ... pick out two colors, paint it on and we'll be done!  Not so easy ... there is molding everywhere ... it took forever to tape and paint the molding.  Thankfully, Caitlyn and her friend Chelsea helped Dan out on the first day.

We painted the top portion and really liked the color.  The bottom portion .... not so much.  I was cutting in the trim to start with and told Dan "I sure hope I like this better with a second coat" ... on the 3rd coat it looked like wet cement ... you know that muddy green look?  Yep, that was the bottom of our dining room.  So, off to Home Depot I went.  I got a gallon of the paint that Caitlyn had originally picked out for us.  I figured that she had been right about all of the other colors I better just listen to the teenager.  We painted the new color over the "cement" and loved it.  The NEXT morning we put another coat on and then went to pull the tape off .... hmmm SLIGHT problem ... the paint peeled off with the tape ... all 5 coats ... 3 of the green cement and 2 of the brown ... that was on Sunday.  Dan took yesterday off and fixed it :)  Yeahhh!!!

Caitlyn put the pictures up on the wall this afternoon and we finally took our "finished" pictures!  Just in time to start the 30 foot entry way .... yuck!  Here are the photos of the dining room.  The dining room table and china cabinet (the cherry wood) are from Grandma & Grandpa Grainger.  We love them.  The centerpiece on the table is their 50th anniversary tea set, too. 

Dan already started painting the hallway out of the kitchen and I think we'll probably work on that while we figure out what to do with the entry way.

Have a great weekend!

Heidi, Dan and Cat