Installing the Cabinets

The cabinets are being installed!  They look great.  They were delivered on Tuesday and I truly thought the guy delivering them was going to pass out!  Not in my new kitchen!  We had somewhere around 75 boxes.

The cabinets are cherry with a golden stain.  They will get a little darker.

Here is a sneek peek....so cute.  She makes me laugh!

The New Puppy

Our new puppy, Ginger Madison Maddie Merrill, came for a visit today.  She is two months old.  She is Murray's niece born on my birthday!  She can't come and live with us yet due to the ....uhhh....kitchen remodel?!  Ginger is so sweet and loving.  And Catalina is in love!

The French Doors....and more Hardwood!

Todd also entertains as he puts in the floor!  Go figure...

The girls hang out with an Elmo book.

Wow, it looks great!  We love it!

The new French door after.....

...Installing the French door.

Weekend in Flagstaff

Todd took the girls & Murray for a ride around the neighborhood in the golf cart!

Catalina at the Deer Farm.  It was so fun...we fed the deer, pet the goats, and saw potbelly pigs, llamas, buffalo, camels, a baby elk, new fawns, and much more!!  What a beautiful day to spend outdoors.

Then we drove to a small lake and found an area to ride around the ATCs.  Catalina is just posing for this picture, she did not want to drive it alone.  But the girls rode with Todd and I and had a blast!!  Does this mean we are officially white trash now?

Finally, Catalina, Shea and Ava spent most of Sunday morning collecting pinecones, carving pumpkins and enjoying the coooool weather.   Ava cried when she found out we had to go home!  

Look at all that ROOM!

Catalina and her babies. 

The laundry room is framed in now with a new pocket door.   Yesterday they finished off the drywall and today they spent the whole day mudding.  Tomorrow the new french doors are going in and the cement floor is being "floated."  (whatever that means)  Everything is so dusty all the time.  

Our House is a Disaster!

Todd started the hard wood in the living room.  It looks fabulous!  He is doing an amazing job.






                                                                                                                                                                                     Today the wall came down that divides our kitchen and Great room.  It looks so big now.  The girls could not believe it!  Cat wants to know where our house went.  We are going to have so much room.

The Zoo

The girls and I went to the Zoo on our last day of Fall Break.  Suzanne and Baby Matthew joined us.  Matthew is an ALL TIME favorite of the girls.  It was a hot day, but we had fun...and we always ride the Merry-Go-Round when we leave.  

Breakfast with the Turtles

I took both of the girls to have breakfast with the Tortoises at the Zoo when they were two.

Catalina would not feed the tortoise and in fact, puked up her breakfast in the pen!

That turtle is big Mommy!

Ava loved it and did not want to leave!  After the second group came back, she shouted, "My turn, again!"

Do you think he would mind if I rode him?

Catalina & the Puppies

Catalina loves babies....and puppies.  She is aching for a new baby in her house and wants to know why daddy won't let us!!!  These are Murray's nieces and nephews born on my birthday! Catalina is holding the girl we hope to take home in a couple of weeks.  I want to name her Ginger and Catalina wants to name her Madison (Maddie for short).  

New Slab Poured

Concrete slab that was removed.

Opps...dust in her face!

Concrete poured today!!

Today the new slab was poured in the kitchen.  We are using this space as an office and having difficulties deciding if we should build a wall, half wall, or no wall.  The room looks awesome without the "step-up."  The girls missed the concrete truck and were disappointed!

The Dumpster

I have to say that it was very hard for me to see the kitchen go.  I cooked on one burner, the microwave needed a special "touch" to make it run, the oven door was very hot when I cooked, and the kitchen sink was painted (and peeling!) for goodness sake.  But our kitchen holds so many memories...Todd says we will just have to make new ones.  Good bye kitchen!

In Case You Don't Remember What the Kitchen Looked Like!

The girls are ready to start cooking in a new kitchen!

Todd Rents the Hilti

Before we began the kitchen, Todd removed the tile from the front entryway.  He rented a very powerful piece of machinery that took the tile off like "butter."  Great job!  We are getting ready to remove the carpet too, and lay down hardwood.

Day 3: Removing the Slab

The slab is gone!  Well, almost.

We got the heck out of dodge today!  They brought in a generator and a jack hammer and chipped away at the raised slab.  They were almost done...3:30pm on Friday...and hit a waterpipe!!!  Yikes.  They fixed the pipe, cleaned up and are headed back tomorrow.

Day 1: The Contractors Arrive

The contractors arrive and the fit hits the shan!!  They found a pack rat's nest in the corner of our kitchen behind the cabinets (the corner where the yellow ladder is!).  Yuk!  It sure freaked us out.  The nest included Todd's car key.  It even looked as though the rat was trying to drag in the girl's letters from the frig!  The wall where the sink was had a water leak and the drywall was a mess...probably where the rat got in. 

This window will become a door...now the pack rat can come right in!

That's the laundry room!

This is where the new kitchen will be built.  We are a long ways from that!