Family Room Renovation

Our 1950's cape was built with a porch that was poorly converted into an addition. The industrial carpet, avocado green paneling, orange flowered wallpaper and brown wood must have been all the rage in the 70's but frankly it did little for our tastes. With exposed sheet rock, poorly insulated walls, and a rickety book shelf that doubled as a wall we knew the minute we bought the house this room would need a face lift. So after a year and a half of dreaming and planning we embarked upon our project with optimism.

Thanks to Uncle Sam and weeks of Burke working like a mad man, we are excited to announce the completion of our Family Room Renovation. Burke's skill with sheet rock, paint, miter saw, hammer and SAFETY GLASSES transformed the once drafty, outdated porch into a warm, comfortable space with built in storage for all the kids toys.
Amazingly he completed the majority of the work during the three weeks I was in UT with the girls. I hope you enjoy the before, during, and after pictures.

Before

During demolition Burke discovered that the brown baseboards, chair rails and crown moldings were made of VINYL!! That ceiling fan was as noisy as it looks.

Burke re-cycled this old bookshelf by using the wood for the new baseboards. So now we can call this a "green" renovation:)

Hopefully these pictures won't give you nightmares!

The Construction

Burke built this wall and door way to create a mud room where all the cold air and yes all the mud will stay out of the house.

He added an additional layer of insulation and sheet rock to all the walls. Now the drafty old porch will be nice and warm.

After

I love this color "denim wash" from Benjamin Moore. It has a little bit more gray in it then the picture shows. The windows were already double pane so instead of replacing them we painted the existing brown window panes, moldings and sills white to match the rest of the house. The new crown molding and base boards also lend themselves to the character of our 1950's cape.
Burke installed new hot water radiators along the length of the back wall and a digital thermometer to keep us nice and toasty this winter.
I got a Hunter ceiling fan to keep us cool in the summer.
The carpet is a classic "dirt" colored bereber which should handle a lot of wear.

Burke built custom shelves and a desk on the new wall to house the toys and computer.

The Perfect Play Room

The shelves filled with toys quickly but IKEA boxes and bins help us keep everything organized.

I had Burke build this shelf to sit under the window. He did a great job and I love all the extra storage.

I found this cute rug at IKEA for only $25!!!

I love this picture because there is nothing in it... no shoes, jackets, strollers or mud!

Exchanging our large entertainment center for open shelves makes the room feel so much bigger

Burke built me a shelf to keep the movies out of kids reach and being thrown all over the floor. He is going to build a bigger one for the streo and cd's when we get some more wood.

The girls love the new room and were excited to get all their toys back, especially the computer!

Happy 4th of July

To celebrate Independence Day we had a big party at our house this year. We invited a lot of the young families from our ward and had a ton of fun. Burke and I love to throw parties and it was great to have a yard and a home where so many people could come. We are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country that allow us to have so many blessings. God Bless America!!!

Hooray for the 4th of July


George working double time

The mower was a hit with Evan

Jennah loved our make-shift water slide

Eddie and the Sprinkler

Preparing for the Water Balloon fight

Jennah after she realized that
water balloons are for hitting people...

Bombs Away

Susanna was content to stay out of the battle.
She entertained herslef by eating dozens of cheesy curls.


After the water play we got ready for the kids 4th of July Parade. Everyone brought decorations and the kids did a great job decorating their bikes. We paraded down the street to a large parking lot where the kids could ride their bikes .


Cherie and Tanner

Jennah riding her trike all be herself!!!

Susanna loved waving the flag

Jennah needed a little push
so Susanna saved the day

Patriotic Bikes


After the parade we ate burgers and had smores over the fire pit. My camera was out of memory and I was out of energy by this point so you will just have to imagine how fun it looked:)

$20 of Fun

Each year Hanscom Air Force base hosts a carnival. We knew the girls would love it, so with our $20 we ate hot dogs and nachos, got faces painted, rode unlimited carnival rides, found a delectable mud pit, and rocked out to the Air Force band. It was worth the price just to hear Jennah scream on the twirly whirl ride. (We thought she was pretty brave for even getting on)

Week 1 in UT

We are so lucky that we got to spend four weeks in UT for Ashley's wedding. Jennah is a veteran flyer and looked forward to riding on two airplanes a long long way to grandma's house. Burke bought her a princess suitcase and she loved to carry it through the airport. Susanna was not so sure about the whole flying thing. But once we got her settled in her car seat she stayed put the whole time and took a good long nap.

Grandma and Papa just came back from Brazil and had cute shirts and sunglasses for the girls. They look so styl'n! The girls also had fun dressing up in Great Grandma Park's jewelry.

Unfortunately the second day we were there Susanna got very sick with a cough and ear infections. Of coarse she passed it right to Jennah so our first week in UT was not quite what we expected. Grandpa, Grandma and eventually myself all got sick but it did provide a lot of bonding( at three in the morning!!!!)

The highlight of the week for me was attending Ashley's wedding shower and bridal photographs. She is so beautiful and I loved getting to spend that special time with her.

Week 2 in UT

With the girls on antibiotics and me just starting to get sick we did make it outdoors for some fun with Jennie and the boys at the park.

Lots of time was still spent playing at the house but the family did not mind having a chance to see the girls entertain themselves with everything princess.

For an extra special treat we spent the afternoon with Great Grandma Craven. She is so wonderful with my girls. They had more fun then a barrel of monkeys and I got to take a nap!!