Happy First Day of Fall!

And Happy 2nd Birthday Kayla!!

Two weekends ago Erik and I made a very short trip to the cabin to spend some time with Grandpa Johnny. We went up Saturday night and left Sunday afternoon, but it was more than enough time to enjoy the 'pre-fall' weather. I love fall!! I took some photos of the fall leaves peaking through while we took a pontoon ride on Sunday after the Vikings game!

A Classic!

On Friday Randy took Erik's Grandpa out in his 55 Chevy. We all surprised Grandpa by showing up with a corn dog at the North St. Paul Car Show. It's great to spend as much time as we can with Grandpa Johnny!
My attempt at some creative photography:

Moving is a Process (with photos)

Same post, but now with photos:
Moving day was on Saturday! Thanks to all the help from friends and family, I think we have everything we own under one roof! The question that came up many times during the day..."how did you fit all this stuff in your two bedroom apartment?!?" So, I guess we probably won't have too much trouble filling our house...it's just the organizing that will take a little bit of time.

With the three day weekend, Erik and I were able to make a dent in the unpacking. We have the bedroom, kitchen and most of the living room in place. We forgot that the bathroom should have been a top priority. We'll have to work on that ASAP.

I had grad school orientation last night (Tues night). So, I am feeling the pressure of getting things in place before the first day of class. As you can see, we have some work to do...

Thanks again for everyone who was able to come and help us move in (big and small)!!We are excited to have you all over when we get everything (or most things) put away!!

Moving is a Process

Well, for some reason, it is not letting me upload photos...I'll try again later. But here is the post sans photos:
Moving day was on Saturday! Thanks to all the help from friends and family, I think we have everything we own under one roof! The question that came up many times during the day..."How did you fit all this stuff in your two bedroom apartment?!?" So, I guess we probably won't have too much trouble filling our house...it's just the organizing that will take a little bit of time.

With the three day weekend, Erik and I were able to make a dent in the unpacking. We have the bedroom, kitchen and most of the living room in place. We forgot that the bathroom should have been a top priority. We'll have to work on that ASAP.

I had grad school orientation last night. So, I am feeling the pressure of getting things in place before the first day of class. We still have some work to do...and hope to get to it soon.

Thanks again for everyone who was able to come and help us move in (big and small)!!

We can't wait to have everyone over to see our first house!

Living Room

We refinished the hardwood floors in the living room and it was also the first room we painted. Here are some pics (including Erik's parents' dog, Gracie):
The Before:

(Gracie was tired)

And After:

Before and After

Here is a start to the "before and after photos" of our first house! We're trying not to be too eager but also want to get some initial changes done before moving in on Saturday. The photos don't really give the floors justice...However, we are realizing through this process that we've NEVER looked at floors this much before. So, we understand if you're not in awe as much a we are.

The Master Bedroom Before..........................................................................and Master Bedroom After:

Erik's Office Before..................................................................................................and Erik's Office After:













Spare bedroom before..................................................................................... and Spare bedroom after:

Bathroom light before........................................................................................and Bathroom light after:



















Front Before: (note light fixture and lack of
anything living under the big window) ........................................................................and Front light after:













................................................................................................................................. and Front plants after:


Living Room walls and floor photos to come (camera battery went dead).

Floors, Floors, Floors, Floors...and Gardening!

Since Thursday we have been working on refinishing our hardwood floors. Erik, our friend, Bill and brother-in-law, Billy worked on stripping the floors all day on Thursday. It is a smelly, icky job, but the three of them did some great work and got all but a 2 foot strip finished all in one day! Three bedrooms, the hallway and living room!
My parents came up on Friday evening and spent the weekend here working. First my dad sanded all the floors and then we put on three coats of poly. It was even my mom's Birthday yesterday and she spend half the day helping with the second coat of polyurethane! Happy Birthday Mom! Sorry you spent it working! My mom also helped me transplant a few plants and do some weeding at the end of our driveway. Thank you everyone for all your help. We have just one coat left in the living room and then the floors are finished...or refinished, I guess! We have also changed a couple of the light fixtures and we have a couple more to go. And I plan to do some painting tomorrow night. I'll post some 'Before and After' pics soon. We hope to be moving in soon...possibly this coming Saturday! We can't wait until our house is actually a HOME!