Working Sink

Morning Pictures

Countertop Installed!

I love the countertop with the cabinets and hardware that we have chosen! The countertop is Silestone (crushed quartz) and the sink is black granite. I am really pleased with the results. We are getting closer and closer to the kitchen being done! Several things still need to be completed on the island. The lighter wood things under the countertop in the first picture are wood supports called corbels. They will be stained to match the cabinets. Also the picture shows the back of the island, which is not yet finished. The gap between the cabinets will be filled and then the entire back of the island will be covered with slate squares to match the entryway. To the left of the drawers on the island in the first picture is the bare wood side of the cabinet where the cooktop sits. We have a panel that will cover that up that matches the cabinet doors.

The last picture shows the new sink. We can't use it for 24 hours, so Mike will hook up the plumbing tomorrow night along with the new faucet. He will also be able to hook the cooktop back up, so we will back in service for cooking.

These last several months have been a test of patience, but it has been worth the wait.

I'm Freeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

(Final Grades are entered)

Kitchen Update

These are the three different kinds of cabinet hardware in our kitchen. As we install them, we are moving things into the cabinets!

The countertop people came this last week and measured the kitchen. As soon as the order gets cleared through the store where we purchased it (hopefully today or Monday), then it will be sent to the manufacturer to be made. They said 2 to 3 weeks for completion. We will be gone the third week of June, and we have to be home for the install...so I'm hoping it will make it in before we leave.

Field Day for Isaac

In the first picture they are closing their eyes and dropping clothes pins into a laundry detergent container. In the last picture, they had to get a hoola-hoop around a circle while holding hands.

Kids Have Fun at Field Day

Avritt with his friends.

Progress and Setbacks

The drawers finally arrived on Friday, after 3 weeks of waiting! They were the last missing cabinets (we reordered a different kind of drawer after the first ones came and we weren't happy with the construction). I eagerly opened the boxes, and to my dismay, discovered that the drawer fronts were in the wrong style! We mixed two different styles of cabinets in the kitchen, so I understand how it could happen. However, it wasn't my mistake - it was the mistake of the company where we bought the cabinets. So they will be ordering two new drawer fronts (thankfully we can keep the box and drawer, and just switch the fronts). Otherwise we would have been waiting another 3 weeks.

Before we can call the countertop company, we have to have all cabinets installed that the countertops will be sitting on or butting up against. Those drawers were the only thing we were waiting on. Now Mike just needs to finish putting in one base cabinet and the oven cabinet (which we have had sitting there waiting) and we will be able to call on the countertop. They will come and measure the kitchen and then 2 to 3 weeks later they will come install the countertop.

We also received our cabinet hardware last week. I got to pick out what I wanted, and I really love the style of the stuff that I found. Don't have any pictures of it -- I'm waiting to take a picture until they get installed.

We are so close...yet it all depends on Mike having enough energy and stamina to push through these last things. His schedule this last week was tough (he spent some late nights up working) and so his progress so far this weekend has been limited. I'm hoping for the best...

New Kitchen Windows

We had the new windows in the kitchen installed by the guy who did our siding. He started the job yesterday morning and finished right after supper. When I got home at 3:30, I walked into the kitchen and was at first really taken back by how much better the three windows looked than the old unit that was there. Then I noticed that they had installed the three windows in the wrong spots. One of them doesn't open, which should have been in the middle, and the other two that open should have been on the sides. Every one of them had to be moved. Thankfully, they hadn't replaced the siding yet so they just popped them out and switched them around. I was glad that I caught it when I did. We were happy with the end result. Those were the last three windows to be replaced. One more thing is finished on the house.

More Party Pics

The kids had a blast riding the go-karts. Isaac was tall enough for the rookie carts for the first time this year. I (being a typical mom) was really worried about Isaac (being a typical youngest child) getting crunched by all the fast drivers, or crashing into the sides. However, he did really well and absolutely loved being able to drive himself. He only bumped into the side one time a little bit. In the last picture you can see Isaac driving (he had to look on the side of the steering wheel to see because he couldn't see over the top!).

Avritt's Birthday Party

The Party was at a local go-kart place. They did bumper boats first, and everyone came out pretty dry except Mike, who was a sitting duck. The less-than-powerful engine on his boat combined with his weight differential made him a slow-moving, easy target for the kids.

Avritt's Birthday

Avritt turned 9 this last week. His birthday dinner request was hamburgers on the grill and a platter of cantaloupe. His green tongue in the first picture is from Shrek Cheetos. He wanted an ice cream cake this year, which had begun to melt by the time we got the candles on it and sang Happy Birthday. The scab under his nose was caused by a skooter accident -- he hit a crack in the sidewalk and did a face-plant. He was really self-concious about it the next day and didn't want to go to school. I showed him a picture of Charlie Chaplin, and we thought of a joke he could tell if anyone said anything about it. When he got home from school I asked him if he told the joke to anyone, and he said no. He confided that he spent most of the day with his finger resting over his lip (pretending to think) to cover it up. He has since stopped being worried about it. The scab is almost gone now.

Isaac Enjoying T-Ball

Isaac is doing a great job in T-Ball this year. He has a really good coach who keeps the kids excited while helping them learn the basics.

Cat Pics

The cats have been enjoying the construction "jungle" around our house. They have climbed into many things including this emptied cupboard from the old kitchen.

Tootie (the female cat) was sacked out last night after a 10 minute rub-down. This cat bed is tucked in the corner of the eating area in our house where our kitchen table is located. From there the cats often watch birds and squirrels out the windows, although at the time this picture was taken, the surveillance was less than rigorous.

Field Trip for Isaac

Isaac's kindergarden class went on a field trip to a local botanical garden. They enjoyed seeing butterflies, and playing outside in the beautiful children's garden. We had a really nice, sunny day for the trip. I took a day off from school (the first all year) and enjoyed spending time with Isaac. A friend of his joined us after the field trip for a lunch out and an afternoon of playing at the park.

Busyness

Four out of the five of us are involved in softball/softball/tball right now. Mike is coaching Avritt's baseball team, Emily is in softball, and Isaac is in t-ball. Emily's first game is tonight. The boys both have their first games tomorrow, which is also the Honor's Awards Night at Emily's school. We received a note that Emily will be getting an award, so we have three places to be and only two of us. Thankfully, a good friend will help out and take Isaac to his game. Mike has to be at Avritt's game as the head coach. I will attend Emily's Awards Night.

The kitchen chaos is starting to wear on me, but Mike has done a good job of keeping a working sink and stove most of the time. Hopefully this coming weekend will bring significant progress. Mike woke up with the flu yesterday morning, and still isn't feeling well. He has been working nonstop between his job, being a coach, and then kitchen installer.

The kids are doing very well in school. I will be taking a personal day on Friday in order to go on a field trip with Isaac. Avritt's birthday is coming up soon, and he will turn 9. Emily is doing a very good job in school.

All of us are looking forward to the end of the school year, though, and will be glad to get away and visit friends and family.