The house is finished!

What started as a dream finally became a reality. 

I'm not exaggerating when I say that we had been hoping and planning our remodel for years. At first it started out as a vague notion. We knew we'd like a master suite. We knew we'd like a kitchen large enough for the dining room table to not be pushed up against a wall in order to walk around it. We knew we'd like an actual pantry instead of using the garage and crawlspace for our extra food. We knew we'd like to move the kitchen so people coming to the house didn't have a sink full of dishes as their first sight when they walked in the door.

Then the ideas and likes started to take shape. What if we made the entire downstairs our master suite? What if we moved the front door over to enlarge the entryway? What if we changed the garage into living space and added on a new one? What if we moved the kitchen farther away from the front door? 

We knew we needed plans. But we wanted to flesh out our design ideas first. Seth directed me to a free amateur design program. I spent hours and hours first putting our current house into the program with all the measurements in place, then altering it to fit our dreams. With absolutely no previous design background, it took extra time to shift things around until they worked. 

The wall between the laundry room and 3/4 bath in the basement would come out, and the enlarged space would become our master bathroom. The family room would become our master bedroom. Rebekah's bedroom would become our master closet/sewing room.

On the main floor, the front door would be moved farther north. The front part of the house would become the front sitting room/music room. The kitchen would be moved behind the music room. An addition would be added to the west for a great room open to the kitchen. The former garage would become the dining room, pantry, entryway from the garage, a 1/2 bath and a laundry room/mudroom. A new garage would be turned 90 degrees and added on to the north so our drain field would be safe.

The upstairs would remain the same, except everything would get a fresh coat of paint and new carpet.

Almost two years ago (March 2019), we sent the plans to a designer. After nearly four months (end of June 2019) and a few tweaks, we got the engineer-stamped plans. By that point, it was much too late in the construction season to start such a big project, so we bided our time by submitting the plans to general contractors for bids.

We received one bid very quickly. The other two languished. In fact, we never received the third one and finally contacted the contractor and told him not to worry about it.

Before this grand adventure, we had heard of Tobin Restoration, but we had no idea they also had their hands in remodels. In fact, it was Seth's mom who shared that information with us. Because of their speed and communication, we decided to hire them to do our addition/remodel.

They broke ground right after Memorial Day weekend. We were completely moved out of the house by June 23. We had hoped that we would be back in the house by Thanksgiving, but the ever-present-yet-always-unforeseen-snags pushed our return date to December 19.

It's been less than a month since we spent our first night together as a family in our new home, and we have been busy as ever with moving in, settling down and customizing our space. But it's been glorious. I cannot gush enough about our dream home. Because it was such a long and deliberate process, I feel like it was able to be customized as the absolute most perfect space for our family.

And we can't thank enough the people who took us in while we were out of our own home. The situation was never ideal (I once told the older girls that I missed them, and they told me that I shouldn't because I still saw them every day. But not sleeping in the same house and being there when they went to bed at night and woke up in the morning was hard on this mama.), but everyone involved adapted to the situation so that we could do the best we possibly could. Our parents unflinchingly made space for us and shared everything while we were displaced. And we experienced a lot of closeness and life lessons that we wouldn't have had if we hadn't been all up in each other's business.

This house is everything we could have asked for and more. I still wake up every morning and marvel that the thing we hoped for for so long is finally a reality.

Ana and Seth putting together beds in Ana and Miri's room November 27. We wouldn't be sleeping in the house for a couple more weeks, but with the carpet installed upstairs, we started working on getting those rooms ready. Rather than keeping the beds in bunk-style, we decided to have them side-by-side so the girls can more easily make their beds. (It's hard making that top bunk!)

Rebekah constructing Winnie's bed in their bedroom.

The playroom's awesome paint job. Each girl picked a color (Bekah gray, Ana yellow, Miri green and Winnie pink), and we incorporated them into all four rooms upstairs. Upstairs is now their realm. They share bedrooms (Bekah and Winnie together, Ana and Miri together) and have the playroom and a bathroom.

It was a race to get the upstairs painted (1) after the ceiling had been replaced, taped and textured in the southwest bedroom but (2) before the carpet went in in the entire upstairs. Dad patched a bunch of holes for us (no more thermostats in the bedrooms because NO MORE CABLE CEILING HEAT! Also we removed a vent in the ceiling of the landing from an old air system and patched the bathroom ceiling where a poorly installed ceiling box had been) and installed a new light over the stairs, and Mom helped me prep and paint the three bedrooms and the stairs and landing. We worked like madmen for a couple of weeks, but we finished in time for the carpet to be installed.

The polka dot room.

The water color room.

The first day with the water turned back on (December 8). The entire time we were painting upstairs, we had to take the brushes back to Grandma Scott's to wash them. We also had to keep a bucket of water upstairs so we could wash walls and tools.

Old siding removed from the south side of the house so they can install the new. We had hoped we could keep the old vinyl siding and supplement it with some new stuff on the additions, but the old siding was so worn (it was about 14 years old) that it all just broke as they tried to remove it. So we got to pick a new color and have the entire house resided.

The sectional we bought in spring 2019 finally uncovered and in its space in the great room on December 12. The week before we moved back in, we moved all the big furniture from the shop and had it in place so we could just get the boxes moved in the next week. It was a blessing that we could do all that then, because Seth had carpal tunnel surgery December 18 and wouldn't be allowed to carry furniture for weeks afterward.

Grandpa Scott and Seth installing the TV mount in the great room.

Our first meal together in our home on December 19. We tried ordering from Noodles and Company, but they closed early that night for some weird reason. (Seth had called to try ordering over the phone, and they were open then, but by the time I drove out there, they had closed. This was before 6 p.m. lest you think we were trying to get food past the usual business hours.) So we introduced the girls to Lucy's Zestpian. It did not disappoint.

Ana, Andrea, Winnie and Miri snuggling in bed December 22. 

Rebekah working on her online anatomy and physiology class during the early hours (7:30) of the morning in the great room on December 30. The built-ins in that room are amazing. The other light is from a mini plastic Christmas tree on the dresser.

Winnie plays with the Wii guitar while watching home videos of herself as a baby in the great room on January 9.

Miriam and Winnie help Ana bake in the kitchen on January 10.

Rebekah bench presses Winnie in their bedroom on January 10.

Our newly painted family photo frames and new vinyl (cut by Uncle T) in the dining room on January 13.

Miriam doing online school work and Ana helping Winnie with her math (finding area) on January 14. Our entire family was in quarantine because we had had Seth's family over for dinner that Monday (January 11), and Aunt Rachel's family tested positive for COVID on Wednesday (January 13). Being in quarantine isn't nearly as bad when you've got your much-anticipated house finished. And so far none of us has any symptoms, so we consider ourselves incredibly lucky.

Ana and tennis

 Last summer, one of Ana's friends contacted her and asked if she wanted to receive tennis lessons from a high school tennis player. Ana had never played tennis before. Heck, Ana had never SEEN tennis played before. But it sounded like fun and it involved friends, so Ana decided to give it a try.

Semi-weekly summer lessons turned into semi-weekly lessons at the Apple Athletic Club facility. Ana has stuck with it, and she's made great strides in a game she was recently introduced to. 

With weeks of lessons behind her, Ana signed up for a tournament and played her first real tennis match on Wednesday, December 3. She and her partner didn't win, but Ana (and her parents) learned a lot about the game.

Warming up prior to the match.

Ana in the ready position while her doubles partner (Lilli Mickelsen) serves.

Ana getting ready to serve.

Cutting trees

 As we have done every other year, our family trekked to Fall Creek for the purpose of cutting down Christmas trees. Unlike any other year, our family abstained from getting a tree. We weren't sure exactly what day we'd be moving into our house, and we didn't want to keep a tree in a bucket of water in the shop until we had the green light to move in. In fact, we never got a tree at all (unless you count the 12" plastic tree we put in the living room). 

Regardless, we had fun going with Grandma and Grandpa Scott and Uncle T and his family to help them get their trees.

Andrea, Ana, Seth and Winnie on one four-wheeler headed up to the top of the mountain.

Andrea's boot next to a moose print she found in the snow.

Rebekah getting up from taking a siesta on the four-wheeler.

Miriam and Bennet sledding at the top of the hill while everyone else is searching for trees.

Bekah, Easton and Ana on the four-wheeler eating Hershey's kisses.

Winnie, Aunt McKall, Bekah and Ana helping Cu get the burrs out of his fur.

Grandpa hauling his tree on Uncle T's side-by-side.

Oakley, Bennet, Winnie and Miriam eating snacks in Uncle T's trailer after getting back down to the cars.

Thanksgiving

We don't have the photos to corroborate, but we did celebrate Thanksgiving with our families as per the usual. We ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house on Thursday, November 26 with Uncle T and his family and Aunt Jessica. Then we had another dinner at Grandma Susan's house on Monday, November 30 with Grandma Hendricks. 

Ana holding Flea at Grandma Susan's house on Thanksgiving. We stopped by their house for a visit on the actual holiday. This cat doesn't like anybody, but Ana gradually wore her down with her constant attention while living at Grandma's house for four months.

Fall miscenllany

 The spider Miriam made with cardboard and straws to carry her cookie at Grandma Scott's house on September 8.

Rebekah was thrilled to find that we had parked right next to another gold Hyundai Entourage at the Idaho Falls Public Library on September 12, so she made a note and placed it under the windshield wiper of the twin.

Evidence of the twins.

When we got back out to the car, this note had been left under our wiper.

Rebekah's neck after playing the saxophone Grandpa Scott bought at an estate sale. The neck strap left its mark on September 14.

Miriam and Winnie playing mad scientist (with Igor the assistant) at Grandma Scott's house on September 19. 

Rebekah peering at Grandma Scott's microwave on September 21. Grandma's microwave numbers are quite dim.

Detail of the rainbow drip cake Ana made for Andrea's birthday on September 23 (the day after the birthday). The buttercream separated, but it still had a cool effect. 

The finished product of the dresser Andrea refinished September 30. The dresser used to be painted pink, and it used to be Winnie's. 

Seth letting Winnie stand on his shoulders in her old bedroom so she can see what it looked like after the ceiling was torn out on October 1. We hadn't planned to replace the ceiling in that bedroom, but after the workers got the old metal roof pulled off, it rained and leaked, causing damage to the existing sheetrock.

Winnie looking through one of Grandma Scott's cup at her house on October 3.

Winnie trying to set a piece of egg carton on fire with the magnifying glass Miriam gave her for her birthday October 4.

The creative nails Rebekah painted on Andrea's hand with acrylic paint on October 15.

Winnie wearing the swim cap Miriam used to be Voldemort for Halloween over her nose and eyes on October 17. 

Winnie, Miriam and Rebekah watching Ana play Among Us on Seth's laptop at Grandma Scott's house on October 21.

Winnie and Miriam wrapped up in a blanket ("Look, Mom! We're a buddy-rito!") in Grandma Scott's family room on October 27.

Ana dressed up for decades day at middle school on October 29. Ana was in quarantine (she had sat within six feet of a student who tested positive for COVID and so had to spend a week at home in case she had become infected) and participated in dress-up week from home.

Winnie and Seth holding a bunny we caught in our yard on October 2. We had come over to check on the progress of the house and saw the bunnies in the yard. Through a group effort, we were able to catch one so everyone who wanted to could take a turn holding it.

Miriam with the bunny.

Seth lovin' the bunny. The bunny did not seem to reciprocate.

Ana and the bunny.

After bunny chasing, Bekah posed on the water skis that had been abandoned in our attic (and pulled down by the workers) on set on the old front porch.

A view of the attic above the upstairs bedrooms. Andrea climbed up there while working on the house with Grandpa Scott on November 3.

Andrea in the attic. She and Grandpa Scott were fixing the fan and light for the bathroom. Andrea had to screw something into a flange from the attic while Grandpa Scott worked below.

Winnie tries out her blue goo she made as part of the 3rd grade science fair on November 5. The kids were assigned projects. Winnie made goo from water, cornstarch and food coloring. Rather than having parents and families come see the posters and projects, students just presented to their classes this year due to COVID.

Bekah laughing after teeing off for frisbee golf from a willow tree at Peterson Park on November 7. Andrea and Bekah were on a mommy-daughter date. We tried golfing at Freeman Park, but there was a tournament going on there, so they golfed at Peterson and Eagle Pointe Parks instead. Teeing off from the tree was Rebekah's idea when we couldn't find the last tee box at Peterson.

Seth kisses Winnie good night in the guest bedroom at Grandma Scott's house on November 14. Miriam usually slept in the bedroom alone, but Winnie would sometimes join her for a sleepover in the full bed.

Bekah, Ana, Winnie, Grandma Scott (you can see her socks), Seth and Miriam participate in a Come, Follow Me lesson during home church at Grandma Scott's on November 22. Due to COVID, we had church at home for months. We would assign out parts of the lesson the girls to teach.

Winnie and Miriam help Grandma Scott display her nativities in her curio cabinet on November 23.

Ana participates in tennis lessons at the Apple Athletic Club facility on November 24. Ana started the twice-a-week lessons in September.

Ana and Winnie watch Seth play Among Us on his laptop at Grandma Scott's kitchen on November 25. 

A view of Seth's screen during Among Us.

The dining room chairs Andrea was working to refinish in the shop on November 26. The chair on the left has been sanded but not stained yet. The chair in the middle had one coat of stain. The one on the right had two. Andrea ended up doing four coats of stain on the chairs and the table.