We moved in to our new house one year ago. Sometimes it feels like there is a never-ending list of things to do, but when we look back on what we've done so far, I think it looks pretty good. It's starting to feel like our house now.
Here are a few photos to show the progress we've made...
I wish I was better at documenting all the things we've changed about the house, but for this post, I'll show the two major projects we've been working on. We started with the kitchen and family room.
When we first moved in, Matt took one look at the cabinets over the stove and decided they had to go. He couldn't wait to rip them out. They blocked off the living room and made the space seem smaller. Here is the view of the kitchen before, with the yellow walls, brown cabinets, and fluorescent lights.
Matt with the dreaded cabinets:
After we tore out the cabinets, we had to repair the ceiling and replace the fluorescent lights. Matt, Clay, Critter, and my Dad put in new drywall on the ceiling and added new insulation.
This picture is a little blurry, but shows the lights going in, the cabinets painted white, and also some of the paint samples we were trying out above the sink.
And finally, the AFTER! Here is how our kitchen looks now. Isn't it so much better?
And now, here is some of the work we have done on the outside of the house. The two major problems we faced included the peeling, yellow paint and the warped, water-damaged plywood that had been used as siding on the upper parts of the exterior. We could never have done this project without my dad, who has helped us from beginning to end with his construction expertise and skills. Thank you, Dad! You are the best!
Replacing the siding on the back
New siding, primed and ready to paint.
Painted! Now we are working on the trim... final after pictures should be coming soon!
Replacing the old siding by our patio.
A little surprise bird nest
Notice how gross the end of the beam looks. We don't know what was growing on there! Matt and my dad cut it off to make it even with the rest of the house.
Looking better already...
Painting with Clay, Critter, Heather, and both of our dads!
The painting crew
Now the patio area is almost finished! Next step will be a new slider door.
The sides of the house...
Cutting new siding
Starting to put up the new siding
Testing paint colors
Using the sprayer!
Old house color
New house color!
We aren't done yet... we still need to do some touch-ups, paint the trim, and choose a front door color. It's getting there, though! We couldn't have done any of this without the help of Matt's awesome friends and both of our dads. Hopefully soon I'll be able to post pictures of the finished product.
We moved in to our new house one year ago. Sometimes it feels like there is a never-ending list of things to do, but when we look back on what we've done so far, I think it looks pretty good. It's starting to feel like our house now.
Where has the time gone? We've reached the half-way point of summer already. Let's see... what have the Newsome's been up to? Matt has been hard at work both at his job and around the house. We've had fun working in our yard and making it look a little nicer. It is nothing amazing yet, just nice enough that we can go out and have dinner on our patio and enjoy the summer nights. My dad and Matt have started working on replacing some of the siding on our house. Our goal is to get it ready to paint by the end of the summer. Sometime soon we will have to do a blog post with before and after photos of the house. It's changed quite a bit since we moved in last September.
My time teaching the first graders has come to an end. I'm sure going to miss those sweet little faces. The good news is that on Monday I'll be starting a new long term position. A few weeks ago, the principal at my school asked me if I would like to interview for the tech specialist position as the teacher is going on paternity leave. I said yes, of course! Now, here I am getting ready to take over the computer lab until the end of the school year. This is definitely something new for me, as I wouldn't describe myself as a tech expert. I'll be teaching the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. I'm excited for this new opportunity and also a little nervous. Most of all, I'm so happy that I'll be spending the rest of the school year at Odyssey. Even though this position is only half time, it will be so nice to know where I'll be every day and to finish out the year at the school that now feels like home to me.
Hey there! It's me, Zeke. Everyone seems to be pretty excited about basketball these days. I have to admit that I like tennis balls much better than basketballs. Have you ever tried to fetch a basketball? It isn't easy. Anyway, I'd like to share my picks for the final four this year. Here are my choices, based on how much I would like to play with the mascots. For the West, I am going with with the Butler Bulldogs. One of my best friends from puppy class, Gracie, is a bulldog. I have to stand by her team. On that same note, I'm choosing Georgetown for the Midwest as they also have a bulldog. Both of these bulldog teams are making me wonder why no NCAA teams have Labs for mascots. I don't get it. I would make a great mascot! Anyway, for the East, I'm going with the Washington Huskies, of course. Does number 11 mean anything to me? No. I'm a dog. I like Huskies. Mommy bought me a new Husky collar and I'm very proud of my team. Last, for the South, I'm picking the Baylor Bears. I've never played with a bear, but since my nickname is Zekie Bear, I'm guessing it must be a good team. Well, that's all for now. Happy March Madness everyone!
