updated house pics

Hi all, it's been awhile since I've put house pictures up so here are a few updated ones!
New bathroom, new sink, but some things never change...

Yesterday I came in the laundry room to find this...

Our shower, almost completely done!

I took these today, after finishing all the mudding and texturing.
The kitchen-wide view

Our new side door

The right wall, where the fridge will go

This is to show you our new dining room fixture and to show you the extent of my cooking right now. I cook all our meals right here on this little table. I am embarrassed every time I go to the grocery store because all I buy are hot dogs, tv dinners, easy mac and instant oatmeal. I feel like I'm shopping for a camping trip. Needless to say we're doing a lot of eating out too.

So tomorrow is priming and Sunday is finishing up painting. Rick's parents are coming up Sunday to help us get our cabinets and start assembling them. Besides our appliances our cabinets are the most expensive endeavor in this kitchen, so I'll be happy to have them out of the way. Getting closer every day...
Tonight we're headed to the Coldplay concert at the Clark County Amphitheatre. I am very much looking forward to it!

4th of July weekend

We had such a fun 4th of July weekend! We were lucky enough to spend both days out on the river with our friend Eric, who has a really nice wakeboarding boat. Of course, with my bum foot, I wasn't able to do much besides hold up the flag, but it was still a really great time!
The 3rd...
Dave taking in some rays

Rick wake surfing

Showing his skills

Eric surfing

Rick giving Dave some encouragement

Dave's turn

Rick and Jimmie (Brad & Tiff's pup)

Sunset lit St. Johns bridge

Tiny moon rising under the bridge

Jimmie checking things out

The 4th...
Eric wakeboarding

Rick, representing America

Hot sun over downtown

The insane amount of people at the Blues Festival

our neighbors

Enjoying our sunny day!

Tiny boat, giant flag

Happily hanging out, listening to the Blues music

Nothing I love more than sun and a boat!

The Fremont bridge

Sun getting lower...

Cute Stryker

Eric and Stryker

Portland fireboat

Downtown at dusk, waiting for fireworks

Rick's deer in headlights look

And the big show!

Fireworks and the moon

Hope you all had a great holiday as well!
Back to the grind!

Becky in town & Gwen's blessing

It was another busy weekend! Becky was in town from Boise to celebrate her Mom's 60th birthday. The party was Friday night at a place called the Raccoon Lodge. They have a nice outdoor space for parties, and it is always fun to see Becky's family, who I have known for over 20 years. Becky's Mom, Jan, had no idea that the party was being planned, and she definitely didn't know that Becky was in town so it was fun to see her face all excited when she saw Becky.
Surprise!

Becky's family is the best example I can think of for a mixed family. Becky and her sister are adopted, but have known their birth families since about 12 or 13 years old. Here are Becky and I with her paternal birth grandparents, Bill & Evelyn. I adore them, they're the cutest!

Becky and I never seem to be able to get a decent shot of just us!

Jan blowing her candles out with her girls.

Sunday morning we met up for breakfast before Becky headed back to Boise, with a few of our girlfriends.
Jaime and Bryce...I can't believe how huge he is!

Anna and her favorite Auntie Becky

Me, Steph and Becky

Anna, loving' on Lucy and Bryce running circles around them :)

I love these girls (including Lucy!)

After breakfast I raced out to Boring to see baby Gwen Ricker blessed in church. Sadly I was about 2 minutes late for it. I felt so bad, but at least I got to see Gwen in her blessing dress, which was Heather's when she was a baby.
The happy family-Heather, Jay and Gwen Ricker

Heather and I with little Gwenny! She is so cute and fat, I just love her!

That's it for now! Dick and Peggy are coming to get the motorhome today. I cleaned it yesterday. My foot is doing MUCH better. Its still a bit swollen, but not nearly as much and I am getting around really well. It's definitely not as bad as the last time I sprained my other foot, which I am very grateful for. Austin was able to get our new side door in and all squared, so now we just need to get dry wall in around it so I can do all the mudding etc. We are LOVING showering in our new shower, its a small piece of heaven after nearly 4 months of showering in a motorhome! I am loving this HOT weather we're having. 90+ degree forecast for 4th of July is unheard of! So far we don't have any plans for the 4th, but I hope we can do something to enjoy the weather and NOT work on the house! In my spare time (I know, what spare time?!) I am also working on getting together my wedding pictures and finally making an album. In other good news, Rick's good friend Scott got engaged awhile back to his girlfriend Jackie (who we love!) and he asked Rick to be a groomsmen. They're wedding date is Oct. 10th, so we're looking forward to being involved in all their festivities. I enjoy giving Jackie suggestions and advice and getting to be involved...without actually planning a wedding! I think i would pick planning a wedding though, over home remodeling :)
That's it for now. More house pictures to come soon!

Brad & Tiff's wedding reception

Saturday Rick and I attended the wedding reception of our friends, Brad and Tiffany Schiff. They were lucky enough to elope in Italy back in May, and had a party to celebrate. Their reception was very thoughtful and cool. Brad is our friend that is the stop motion animator that worked on "Coraline" and Tiffany is a stylist and works on magazine shoots. 2 very creative people make for a very creative party!
On our way...


The reception was in a warehouse space in SE Portland, and that was really cool. We loved their party favors, moustaches on a stick! They hired a photographer with a backdrop to take prom-like pictures of everyone with their moustaches. Hopefully I'll get a hold of a scanner soon so I can scan ours.
Rick's moustache

My moustache

Tammi, me and Nicole, looking beautiful with our moustaches.

Brad and Tiff's dog, Jimmy with his moustache as eyebrows

Having fun

The bride and groom, aren't they cute?
Brad had one of his friends make their cake topper

It was an amazing likeness of them and little Jimmy

multi-functional moustache

Brad and Dave

Rick and I being goofy

Thanks again for having us B&T, and congrats! We are so happy for you!

Lame!

So as I said before, Rick's parents are supposed to come pick up the motorhome tomorrow (Saturday). We had the whole motorhome covered in towels to protect everything from the cats claws and general mischievousness. So last night around 10, after moving the cats back inside for good, I was carrying a load of towels into the house. I was wearing flats, not flip flops, but with with the full arms, I must not have been paying attention and instead of stepping square on the step, I stepped on the outside of it and somehow fell off the stairs to my right, twisting my ankle and landing flat on my butt on the concrete. I yelled and Rick came running out and found me with my foot in the air, towels all over me-covered in leaves. I couldn't get up right away because I was in too much pain, so he helped me up and got me inside and we immediately started icing my foot, but a giant lump popped up really quick and it was REALLY painful, with the pain coming in waves, making me cry even, and I have a decent tolerance for pain usually. I pretty much had this same injury to my other (left) foot on St. Patty's day of 2007. That time I went to the doctor, they x-rayed it, said it was a sprain, told me to ice it, wrap it, wear a puffy boot and use crutches. I figure there is no reason to go waste money to have the doctor do/tell me to do the same thing again, when I know it's not broken. So today I couldn't go to work, which really sucks, because we are busy and I am the only one working this week. I can't walk on it at all and it's super swollen and a lovely green/purple color. It's just the worst timing with a wedding tomorrow night (cocktail dress+crutches=not so cute), all the house work and trying to clean the motorhome. Luckily Rick's parents are going to come get the motorhome Wednesday instead of tomorrow which is good. There is no way I could clean it today. So I've been laying on the couch most of the day, crutching around the house, which is still full of house stuff everywhere, so navigating isn't so easy. I went out to take out some mail and in opening the door just a crack, Rocco decided to bolt. I chased after him on the crutches for awhile, but finally realized it was pointless and I couldn't carry him if I tried so again I broke down in tears all upset, and Rick came all the way home to herd him inside, but Rocco decided to come back in about 2 minutes before Rick got home. Such bad luck :( I am ready for things to start looking up and getting to normal around here! Sometimes I feel so plagued! I have felt like this so much ever since Adam died, it is just frustrating! Anyway, I am hoping that I'll be able to put a little pressure on it by Monday so I can work. I haul around tripods with a lot of camera equipment and it is not at all do-able on crutches.
That's about it for now. Obviously no progress with the house while I am completely useless! Hope you all are well!

More progress!

We have the best news! Last night our friend Eric helped to install the toilet in the bathroom and we have a working toilet! Obviously the mold has been gone for a long time, but I haven't wanted to sleep inside because we didn't have a working toilet and I usually get up at least one time in the middle of the night and I really didn't want to go trudging out to the motorhome in the middle of the night etc. Not only that but since we shower, eat and watch TV in the motorhome it just didn't make much sense. We are sadly and happily giving up the motorhome this Saturday. It is sad because our house is still a total disaster and we don't have a working kitchen at all, so I will be sad to see the stove, the kitchen sink, the storage for food and a couch not covered with junk, all go. But it is happy because that means we are closer to being done and we won't be living in a motorhome anymore! I don't know what we would have done without Dick and Peggy's motorhome. It truly has been a life saver. We are so thankful we could use it all this time. Can you believe it's almost been 4 months?!
So...some house pics!
The shower all grouted and finished. We even have a shower head on there now!

The slate floor all grouted and finished. I love it!

Part of our entertainment center decided to fall in the middle of the night the other night. I had a bunch of stuff in it and luckily only about half of it broke, none of which mattered. Rick had just mounted the TV so most luckily it didn't knock it off the wall!

We had to order a new side door and it came in last week so Monday Austin helped us to get it in and frame around it. Here we are with no door, no wall etc.

The door is in, but not drywalled and doesn't have hardware yet so that is next on our list, along with getting our pedestal sink in the bathroom. Hopefully the move back in the house will go smoothly!
Hope you all are well!

My Mom's birthday

My Mom turns the big 6-0 next Sunday, the 21st, so we had a party for her at La Carreta this last weekend. We had a nice turnout and it was a fun time! June is too iffy for having a party outside, and La Carreta ended up working out perfectly!

The gang that came-The Mullises, The Stinsons, the Closes, the Langtrys, the Norris', the Layne's and the Enochs'! And a few of my Mom's weaving friends that I don't know...

The table from the other end

The mariachi band singing to her

My Dad and Mom and her AMAZING carrot cake from Helen Bernhard bakery

Me and the husby
My Mom and I spent 3 long days tiling our shower. It was very slow going but it's done now! Here is a pic of it!

And a close up of the little tile and to show the green color I painted it. The cutout is where the medicine cabinet will go.

My Mom and I laid the tile on the bathroom floor last night, so tomorrow night we'll get the shower bull nose tile up and start some grouting. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a functioning bathroom by Monday. We have to be out of the motorhome by next weekend so that doesn't give us a lot of leeway, but I am really hoping it will work out.
I finished the semester with all A's! How about that? It's my first time getting all A's in college so I am very proud of myself. Even though it was an easier semester than most, I was in the middle of all the upheaval with the house so I figure it evens out!
I wish I had some time to relax this summer but with this house I am sure summer will fly by and I won't know where it went.
Pictures of the floor to come!