Home Sweet "Needs So Much Work" Home....

We spent much of our summer working on our house and in the process falling more and more in love with it! We are so thankful to have found that house and love the area, the home, our neighbors and are very excited to continue to renovate and eventually live there and make lots of memories in that home!

The first major project that I managed to do by myself was rip up the carpet downstairs to see what kind of condition our wood floors were in. The kids helped by being the staple and nail police and pointing them out so I could find them and then we all pulled the carpet and pad pieces to the garage. The kids were awesome helpers and I was so proud of myself for getting that carpet gone! The floors are in really good condition. There are some spots in the living room where old radiators were that we will need to find some wood for but other than that they are in great condition, especially the bedrooms. I am so excited to have then refinished!

Before

After

Next project after the carpet was some fireplace demolition! The current gas insert was way too small and look not proportional to the rest of the fireplace mantel and it was also improperly installed, didn't have a safety shut off valve and it made more sense to have a new one properly installed. I met with the fireplace guy, picked out an insert and then started to demo out the old tile which was a beautiful cream with pink flowers on it. After demolition of the tile I realized that they had poured a cement block to make the opening smaller and if I ripped that out I could have an even bigger insert installed. So, I measured it out, made sure it would work with clearance requirements and after getting the ok from the fireplace guy, I ripped it out as well. I did all this before John got there and was super proud of my demo abilities!

Before

Once John arrived we tiled the backsplash and hearth, which thankfully my mom gave us a crash course in tiling! It looks good and we managed but I am not sure if we are up to the bathroom project which is heavy tiling...might need to contract that out :) We then got the insert installed and it looks amazing! And we will have heat in the winter...safely!

After

We also tiled the front entry...we still need to add trim around the tiled areas but will wait until we are done with refinishing the floors.

We also had a painting party with my mom and sister and painted the living room from a beige brown color all over to crisp white bead board and grey on the top. And we installed new blinds. All that is left in the living room is new floor vent covers, refinish floors, new front door, new light fixture....and some furniture...not much :)

After with new paint still need to finish some trim, and the floors and lighting!

We had a tankless water heater installed....not exciting but it solved the issue of an improperly vented water heater fixing I think the last major safety issue in the house.

The other safety issue that was fixed was the stairs. The spacings between the spindles at the top were too far apart and so that was an issue and it was just ugly. They had three different patterns of spindles going on, tons of railings going here and there and it needed to be uniformed. We started this project in December and realized we were in over our head. We left it and dreaded finishing it this summer. You can imagine the relief and gratefulness when my dad and uncle offered to finish it for me before John got there. My uncle was a carpenter and has tons of experience in finishing houses and doing very detailed and beautiful work. It took them a whole day (which means it would have taken us FOREVER) and it looks beautiful!

Before it had mismatched spindles...different ones on the top and then heading down. Two different posts, the square ones up top which are most craftsman style and then the more traditional ones on the bottom and it was so crowded with multiple and not needed railings. 

After....spindles are uniform, we removed the redudant railing leading up on the one side by fixing the posts between the stairs and the ceiling to create a barrier. The stairs were so narrow on that side it made no sense to have a railing anyway. We fixed the spacing on the top with matching spindles and posts so we achieved uniformity. We removed the stick on tread things as when we finally paint the stairs we have sticky paint adidtive to achieve the same need. Still need to paint the stairs and the railings. It seems like such a quick project but needs to be primed, painted the white and then painted the dark grey for the treads and all the while making sure that it is done when no one needs to go up and down. Someday it will get done but already it looks so much better!

We still need to add a board on the side and paint but it is so much nicer. And we have new carpet up there as well which makes it look nicer!

We worked on the kids rooms which was a change from my original plan. We didn't plan on doing that but felt that the kids would do better working on and being at the house with their own spaces. So we decided to finish out the upstairs and do the playroom, their rooms, new carpet and their bathroom so it was a livable and comfortable space. We also added window safety guards on all the windows so it was safe for them to be up there since the windows are low to the ground because it is an attic conversion with low ceilings. Both of their rooms don't look too bad in the before pictures but the carpet was different than the playrooms, the walls were a dingy grey/brown and the baseboards were an off white. It didn't look bad but not great.

Before

Before

Before

Peyton wanted purple in her room so we did light purple with darker polka dots painted on by my mom. She picked out her striped duvet from Pottery Barn Kids and we added accents of teal here and there found in Target. I found her nightstand at a thrift shop and plan on painting it purple and with some accents/designs on it. She loves her room and it made it so bright and bigger in there.

After

Then it was onto Graham's Room. Here it is before...like Peyton's it doesn't seem bad but it had gross carpet and also just dingy colored paint.

Before

Graham's room is transportation themed with bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. I found his bed at the Habitat for Humanity Re-store and spray painted it red. It was only $20 total for the paint and the bed! I found license plates from Craigslist and then some of the other accents off of Etsy. My mom is painting him a painting for above his book case and we got a wooden model airplane to hang from his ceiling but it arrived just before I left so I wasn't able to hang it.

We finished touchups on the playroom paint (we removed the wallpaper at Christmas), added new light fixtures and it was ready to go. Especially with the new blinds and carpet it made a huge difference.

Here it was before....wasn't it beautiful....not....

Before

And here it is after....this also shows the new carpet which is so much nicer as it is a prettier color, texture and it is the same across all three rooms upstairs.

`

The next project was the kids bathroom upstairs. Here it is before....it really wasn't bad but the wall paper was dingy and pealing at parts and it needed fresh paint. We have been debating later on remodeling totally and adding space to it so we decided to just do a quick cosmetic update instead of putting too much money into it right now and for the most part that is all it really needed.

Before

Before

The kids bathroom had new wallpaper installed by John. It is a yellow/white graphic square print that just makes it feel fresh and bright in there.  We changed out the toilet seat that was gross. I also ended up changing the sink faucet since we had tons of credit to Lowes from some returns and decided I could do it myself. It took a couple trips to return parts but I figured it out and we have a nice new faucet. We added new towel bars etc and it is almost done. I am painting/refinishing the tub which I didn't get to finish this time and also hang a new mirror (on the floor right now) and then buy towels etc but for the most part it is done.

After

We also tackled some landscaping in the front and back which was so much fun mostly because there are so many options for plants here that grow so well. My mom had to keep reminding me to not plant too much because it grows so fast and easily. We also planted a fruit garden with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I am looking forward to many summers working in our yard! This year sometime we are putting down some pavers for a nice patio area and that will help complete the backyard!

So, as you can see we had a busy and productive summer at our house! We are loving seeing it come together and fall more in love with the home and area the more we are there. We are so incredibly thankful to be able to have this home and work on it and look forward to the day when we will be able to reside there all the time. We got a ton done over the summer but have so much more to do and I always joke with John that even when we finish our list I am sure this will be a never ending to do project but we are loving it and it has always been my dream to live in an older historic home and area! So blessed!

Hold the Gluten x 2

In April and May we went through a really rough time with Peyton being sick and after a long month and lots of worry and concern we determined that there was something going on with gluten and her reacting to it. 

Pretty much right after we got to Washington we met with her pediatrician and she gave us a referral to Seattle Children's Hospital to their GI department. Thankfully they were able to get us in the second we were there and get us started in their system. After meeting with the GI doctor they agreed that there was something going on with gluten. However it could be one of two possible issues, a simple intolerance to gluten or Celiac's Disease which is an autoimmune response to gluten which would require more stricter control of cross contamination issues,  however to have a confirmed diagnosis of Celiacs she would have to have a serving of gluten a day for two months and at this point we were all in agreement that we needed to focus on gaining weight back and getting healthy again. We did do some initial blood work which had some areas of concern likely caused from being so sick for so long and possibly could show some signs of Celiacs. We left with the plan to continue gluten free and come back in a month to evaluate for weight gain and blood work improvements. If we came back and things weren't improving we would look for other sources. We also had a plan to meet with a nutritionist to help with the transition.

Meanwhile, Graham had his well child visit with the pediatrician and I brought up having him tested since he had been having gluten. We weren't seeing major symptoms in him but wanted to test before we had a bad episode like we did with Peyton. The blood test came back and surprisingly it was positive for Celiacs. Not only was this good to know for Graham but it also made it more likely that Peyton had it as well and we did need to monitor closely for cross contamination. We were supposed to have a initial meeting with Seattle Children's Hospital for him however it wasn't scheduled until just before we left and we all got sick and couldn't go in.

So, we started our new life of being keenly aware of gluten, using separate toasters for the kids, separate butter, peanut butter containers and continuing being gluten free. Thankfully it was super easy to make the switch in Washington with the abundance of grocery stores stocking items to the many restaurants including our favorite donut shop. And they thrived, especially Peyton. It was amazing to watch her weight come back, her energy increase, her appetite grow and overall just transform into this vibrant, happy and healthy child. It was amazing and was so affirming to see the positive changes from changing her diet. We also began preparing to bring items back to Saudi to help with the new diet in a country that is not as gluten free friendly as the States. We figured out how much cereal, vitamins, snacks and more that we would need and managed to pack all of those plus a bread machine in five boxes that John brought back with him....250 pounds of goodies!

Then the real test came....her follow up appointment. I was so nervous! But it was all wonderful news. She had gained not only the weight she lost when she was sick (which was substantial and our goal was just to gain that back) but 8.8 pounds over that! She weighed more than before all this started! Her blood work came back perfect and she exceeded the doctor's goals and expectations! It was such a huge praise and sigh of relief!

As stressful as everything was in April/May and as scary as it was, looking back it is truly amazing to see how God was working through all of it. She could have had her attack anytime and we are so thankful that it happened when it did, right before we went home and that her new pediatrician that we were randomly assigned to and met for the first time immediately was on board with the need to see a GI doctor and that we were able to immediately get into Seattle Children's and were put in touch with a wonderful team there, that she thrived and did so well at home and that we found out about Graham before anything happened. So incredibly thankful that they are healthy and thriving.....just keep the gluten away!

Camping in Olympic National Park

We were busy this summer with the house, doctors appointments and so much more and I wanted to make sure we still had fun and had a vacation so I planned a camping trip for us as John's birthday present. We packed everything up in our small rental and headed to Olympic National Park and Kalaloch Campground for two nights of camping. It was our first camping trip with the kids and they were super excited!

Our GPS got us incredibly turned around as it kept trying to get us to take the ferry when we just wanted to drive around. Finally, when we were right in front of the ferry line (not by choice) we decided to take the ferry route and were so glad we did! The kids thought it was the coolest thing ever and it provided beautiful scenery. The drive ended up being slightly longer but it was much more scenic and well worth it!

We stopped by this lake to make ourselves some PBJ sandwiches and have a quick lunch. So gorgeous!

We then made it to our campground and found our site and set up for the stay. We had a smaller area for our tents surronded by trees and then a little path to the the cooking/eating area. It was perfect for us. The kids loved setting everything up!

Our campground was Kalaloch and it was right on the beach. There are some sites on the cliff side with beach views but they are reserved long in advance. Once we were all set up we decided to venture our and explore the beach. It was beautiful! The beach was covered with driftwood that at high tides you have to be very careful and they recommend not going down. Thankfully we had low tide and instead got to walk and play on the driftwood and had so much fun. It was beautiful!

We then headed back to our campsite and got the fire started and the kids made themselves their dinner...hot dogs followed by s'mores. Graham loved cooking his own food an would constantly try to make more hotdogs even if he wasn't hungry only to cook in the fire. 

After dinner we headed back down to the beach to watch the sunset....

Then we attempted to get everyone to bed. Our plan was one kid and one adult in each tent however Graham was crazy! He was acting all sleepy and ready for bed and then he got in the tent and was wild. He just ran around and bounced from side to side and was insane. Eventually I gave up trying to get him to settle down in our tent and thought if we were all together I would have the backup of John and he would see Peyton falling asleep. It took awhile but we all finally fell asleep!

The next morning after breakfast we headed to the Hoh Rainforest to do a hike there.  It was amazing to see how huge the trees were and also the depiction of how much rain it receives every year. We opted for about a two mile loop hike and the kids loved looking at the informative plaques and finding different tree species and it was really informative. 

The best part of the hike was when we came across the Hoh River. The river's path changes yearly and it was really interesting to see how it has moved. When we came across it's current path it was breathtaking. We stopped to explore and had our lunch here.

My favorite picture of the entire trip!

We finished up our hike and then headed towards Forks, now known as the town written about in the Twilight books, to get ice cream as well as some Twilight souvenirs for a friend and my sister. I was reading about the huge increase in tourism just since the books came out. The movie was never filmed there but it is in the book and there was so much Twilight stuff around! There was a Twilight tour to show you the school, hospital and a couple of other places, tons of souvenirs, the store that apparently Bella worked at...it was pretty wild!

Truck similar to the one Bella drives in the book and movie

After our stop in Forks we drove out to the most Western point of the continuous United States called Cape Flattery. I read it was a breathtaking hike and a little more difficult but easy enough for the kids. It was a long ways out and we had to stop to get a pass to be on the Indian Reservation but it was very much worth it. By the time we got out there it was a little foggy and misty but we went ahead and hiked the 2 miles round trip and the kids did great. Peyton was leader on the way in and Graham on the way out and they rocked the trail. At the end you came across amazing views of the cliffs and ocean.

Apparently on clear, calm days you can see whales but not on that day but it was still very worth the hike. We headed back to our campsite and had dinner and went to bed pretty tired that day. The kids had a hard time falling asleep again but it didn't take as long and they were out. 

We woke up for our last day and packed up everything and then headed out for one last hike in the park. We had the intention of doing a 4 mile one knowing we would be carrying kids more and take our time for lunch in the middle but everyone was tired, and at 1 mile we were all done. So we just turned around, packed it up and drove back to Bellingham. It was still worth the drive and hike as we drove really deep into the park and the scenery was amazing.

Our first camping trip exceeded our expectations and we had so much fun. We loved the time as a family, loved the hikes and exploring and it was wonderful. We look forward to going back to the Olympic National Park and exploring more. As we were driving home we were looking up bigger tents, possible locations for next year and planning our next camping trip. We are so thankful to be in a state that has so many possibilities for camping and look forward to exploring many of them. As of now our plan is to camp on the San Juan Islands next year at Moran State Park. I am already checking weekly to see when it opens up for reservations in July! 

Falling in love with hiking!

One of the many reasons that I have fallen in love with Washington is the amount of trails, parks and opportunities to experience nature and God's amazing creation. I have always felt closer to Him when I am in nature, when I am sitting at the beach, on a trail, looking at a sunset and that I one of the major reasons why I find such joy and peace and satisfaction being around Washington. 

I love that my kids can hike, explore, ask questions and experience nature around them and it is so readily available. And now that Graham is at an age where he can walk more and participate it was so much fun this summer to take them on those experiences. 

Our first hike was to Boulder Falls. It was about 3.5 miles round trip and I was amazed at how well the kids did! It was a great hike and had a wonderful reward at the end!

At the start of the hike with my mom's dog Bailey!

Signing in at the beginning of the trail

Sibling love walking under a tree root

The reward at the end was a gorgeous twin waterfall. It was breathtaking! We spent time climbing around the rocks, taking in the scenery and just being in awe.

The next hike we attempted was at Artist Pointe in the Mt Baker National Forest. The drive up to the Artist Pointe was intense. I am super scared of heights and watching us climb higher and higher and looking out the window and seeing the drops down. 

When we got there we didn't realize how much snow would still be there and couldn't even find the trailhead. It was crazy! We walked around and took in the sights of all the peaks, stumbled around in the snow! 

Family Picture

Sibling love! Trying to represent my University of Texas Longhorns with my two Texas Tech Raider sisters!

We ended up driving down and doing a little hike along a river and then called it a day! We did more hikes on our camping trip....post coming up next!