Springtime

True to Montana weather traditions, we had some wonderful days in the 70's followed by a lovely spring snowstorm. Last week when it was so nice, we started to think about our garden this year. We have decided to move it from where we had it in the past. It just wasn't doing well where it was. It wasn't getting enough sun through all the trees, and I have a feeling the trees were competing for all the water. So we are moving it out into our yard where it will get great sun exposure but will have a little protection from the back fence on some other trees that won't overpower it. On Sunday, we went to mom and dads to borrow the rototiller. Tim plowed us a nice little plot, and we are anxious to start planting!

Today has been filled with snow. All day. The birds have been flocking like crazy. They keep flying around over the house landing in one spot, then the other. Until today, I had only seen one yellow-headed black bird, but now there are well over a hundred! And there are tons of robins and meadowlarks and others milling about. They've been fun to watch all day. And they are quite chatty as well. Probably trying to get me to go out and fill their feeders!

Upstairs-- Done!

Except for the hard wood floors, the upstairs is completely finished! We replaced all the bedroom and kitchen windows and that was the finishing touch. It's so much brighter and cheerier now, not to mention more efficient. Just wanted to share some before and after pictures of the kitchen. We just finished the framing in the basement yesterday. So after we get the foundation dug out this summer, we'll slam some sheetrock up and finish the bathroom and laundry room and hopefully the end will be very near!

They're Back!

Since we put up our bird feeders last week, it has not taken long at all for the birds to find their way back. The red-winged blackbirds have already wiped us out. During the summer we will get some really colorful birds hanging around. If I'm quick enough I'll get some pictures. Tonight was the first sign of the yellow-headed blackbirds. They're pretty aggressive towards the red-winged ones which is good because they always chase away the littler ones. Each day more and more birds and different varieties find their way. It'll be fun to see what new ones pop up this year.

The Bathroom-- She's Done!

THE BEFORE & DURING:

Yay! We finally have one completely finished room! It's so exciting. We finished installing the cabinets today and grouted the tile countertop, threw on some handles and we were good to go! Everything just came together so beautifully! We got a good deal on remnant flooring and we used leftover paint from our bathroom at home. We also used the leftover tiles we used for the shower to make the countertop. And we used a leftover mirror that we tore out from somewhere. I think it might have come from the bathroom? In the before pictures, there was hardly any storage in the bathroom. So we had dad make a linen closet type cupboard to store towels and such. And we also had him make storage for over the toilet. Since it's not a big bathroom by any means, we wanted to utilize the space we did have to the fullest. We are just so pleased the way it turned out.

THE FINISHED PRODUCT:

Easter Escapade

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We certainly did. On Friday, Tim and I dyed Easter Eggs. I still love doing all that "kid" stuff during the holidays. On Sunday morning, we attended church here in the Gap. Issac, our little nephew, was baptized during the Easter service, so it was doubly special. He was so cute and was really good. Then went to Tim's brother and sister-in-law's for dinner. Before dinner was ready, we "kids" were sent on quite the Scavenger Hunt! We were all divided up into 3 teams, each team being designated a certain egg color. I was on a team with Bryan, Destan, and Danielle. We were the pink team! At the start, we were given three eggs, each containing a clue to the next destination. Everyone had different starting points, but we all hit the same spots. All the clues were about the ranch history, so I wasn't too useful in that area, but I did help find eggs! Now, this was no ordinary hunt. This was ranch wide, where pickups were involved. So at the start of the race, we all ran for the ol' red suburban and pealed off down the road to our first stop. The first one was tricky, not because we didn't know where to go, but because of the egg colors! I guess each team had 2 different colors, and it took us quite awhile to figure out that the peach eggs did not go with our pink ones! After that, we didn't have too many problems. It was so fun racing around up and down and back and forth in the suburban! Bryan shared a lot of the ranch history and stories so I got a little education on the way! I so wish I had brought my camera and taken pictures of our crazy escapade. At the second to last stop, we saw another team and knew they were headed to the same last place as us, so we decided to block the gate so they couldn't get back through. However, the other gate was open so they went through that one and we raced behind them to the last clue. However we did beat them back to the house for dinner, so not really sure who won? All I can say is Tim's team was dead last! It's really a wonder with everyone racing around that we didn't get in any accidents, and we hardly saw one another! It was quite the adventure and a lot of fun! What a great idea! Then we finally all settled down for a lovely meal. I think we all worked up quite the appetite! Everything was delicious. What a great day!

What a Week

We got quite a bit accomplished this week. We got the kitchen flooring installed. The stairs took quite a bit of time, but we finally triumphed! I painted the bathroom cabinets-- they'll be ready to be installed on Monday. We put up the laminate backsplash, and today Tim cut out and installed the countertops while I put up the faux tin ceiling tiles. It is just looking amazing in there. Tomorrow Tim will put up the crown molding and get the laminate laid on the countertops. Our realtor is supposed to stop by sometime next week and check on our progress. The last time she stopped by, we were just finishing the demolition and hadn't really put anything in yet, so we are anxious for her to see it. She said our house is already generating quite the buzz. People keep asking about the "Nelson" house as it is called. Apparently it's quite famous. I'm not sure why. A little old lady lived there prior to us buying it (Mary Nelson). Maybe it's famous because everyone knows that his has foundation problems? But people will stop us on the street and ask us what we are doing with the "Nelson" house all the time! Our realtor had shown the house about 47 times before we bought it, so we know there's quite a bit of interest in it. We are really forging ahead and trying to get it done as fast as possible. We wil work on the house until the end of this month, then gotta do the paying jobs!

It's Coming Together...

We are finally at the step where you can see some real results of all our hard work. The living room is all painted. It's a lovely "Desert Camel." I put a texture on the fireplace and Tim made a beautiful mantle that I stained this morning. We put up the new lighting, and the wood floors will be refinished in the near future. And we finally are putting in the kitchen cabinets! We have been waiting to do this for over a year. They have been sitting in the garage collecting dust since Oct. 2007! So it's been a real exciting week. They look fabulous. Tim will be making the countertops soon, and we will be putting in the laminate flooring some time next week. The kitchen is the one room we had been looking forward to the most. We tore everything out and it is completely different than what it was before. I will post before and after pictures when we are done with it, but for now, here's what we have so far.