Cabinets are in!

Today our flooring was finished and our cabinets were installed. Here is my dilemma. The desk you see below was supposed to have a wood top the same color as the cabinets. There was a miscommuncation and the top is black like the rest. They said they will switch it out. So here's the question...should I keep the black top or switch it to a maple top. Keep in mind that the rest of my countertops are going to be a dark gray...almost black. Tell me what you think.

One Year Anniversary

May 30th marked our first year anniversary of moving to Danville. It has been a great year of getting to know new friends and setting some roots.

I've heard it said that most house projects are done within the first year. After that you get used to the way things are and don't have the enthusiasm to change them. So I figured I would post some before and after house projects from the last year. Hopefully the kitchen isn't the last of the projects, but if it is I thought I should document it.

Foyer - before

After

Family Room - Before
After - hopefully a mantel is still to come

Emily's Bedroom - Before

After

Bathroom - Before

After

Screened Porch - Before

After

Hopefully the after shots of the kitchen are soon to follow!

Kitchen Drywall and Paint

In order to save a bit of money on our kitchen project, we decided to drywall and paint ourselves...fun, fun, fun! Bob taught Jack how to use the drill and Emily and I painted together. It ended up being kind of fun since the kids were excited to help out (and they are getting to the age where they are actually helpful)!

Strawberry Picking

Strawberries are in season, so we met some friends out to a local farm to pick! Since our kitchen is in transition right now I didn't want to pick too many berries, but once you get started it's hard to stop! It's almost addicting; a ripe red strawberry is hard to pass up!

Max was doing a great job of putting the berries right into the bucket until he tasted one...after that not many made it home!

Kitchen Demolition

We have been planning to remodel our kitchen for some time now. The previous owners had done some updating, so I feel bad ripping it out, but the cabinets needed to go and I wanted to take down a wall so it was easier to get rid of everything and start with a blank slate. So...the project began this week! Here are some before pictures of the kitchen.

One of my biggest pet peeves of this kitchen is that the refrigerator is in the worst place possible. If the door is open no one can get by.

In the picture above, the wall with the microwave is going to come out, so the dining room will be incorporated into the kitchen. And since we have both a living room and a family room, one will be made into a dining room.

The picture above is the living room that will be converted into a dining room.

We hired some Amish guys from State College who have a great reputation, so 2 teenage Amish boys had the wall ripped out in just a few hours. Here's what it looked like after the first day.

Stay tuned for more!

Backyard Cookout

We happened upon an evening where we had nothing scheduled and Bob was home from work, so we took advantage and had a weanie roast in the back yard. The simple things of life are so refreshing!

Jack's Pitching Debut

This picture was taken the first time Jack was played at the pitching position. He didn't do too bad...he only hit one kid with a pitch.

Story Time