Our House!

     It's a work in progress but I thought I'd take a moment and share with you some pictures of our new place. It was built in 2003 but the basement was finished later. Here are some pictures of the outside and main floor. In the basement, it has a two bedroom mother-in-law apartment along with a guest room, office, and half bath. I'll try and post some pictures down there in the future. It's amazing how much there is to do when you own a home! The list just never seems to end! But we are enjoying our place and the close proximity to everything. One of the main reasons why we bought this house was LOCATION! Time is money and we both decided we'd rather have a smaller and older house, closer to work, and a bit higher in price than have to commute 30-40 min. each way. We realized when we bought this house that it wasn't brand new, things are worn, needing repair and TLC. We have been trying to tackle things one project at a time as our budget will allow. Brandon is a very handy guy and I have to hand it to him he has really surprised me with his handyman skills! His new Little Giant ladder is his pride and joy and boy it's really come in handy!

Looking up the street to the north, there is a really nice park just a block up this way perfect for kids. I'm going to whip out the rollerblades and go for a ride

Looking south, nice view of the mountains.

Couple of nice medium size trees give us a little bit of privacy.

We have been busy with yard work, the front bed was quite overgrown and we had a grub problem with the grass. We also have cleaned all of the windows inside and out...I don't think they had been cleaned before. We are in the process of replacing the two in front and the two in the master bedroom. The ones in the front will really help with the western sun, controlling the amount of heat in the afternoon and overall will be better quality. Another project I have is to replace the light fixtures on each side of the garage, maybe in a month or so. I really like these spot lights underneath the eaves, they look really cool at night!

My favorite part about owning a house is the garage. Those who know me know I am a little particular about my cars. When I was raised, we were taught to take really good care of our cars- inside and out. No eating, I keep towels on the floor, etc. Luckily, I married a man who does the same thing so it works great! Now after we wash our cars they actually stay clean for several days!!!

Here is our back deck. We live on a hill so these trees below are also ours. We also have a nice view of Timp too which you really can't see from this angle. Brandon made the comment that in the winter the trees will look really cool covered in snow. The playground in the background is ours so hopefully it will get a lot of use when we have kids. The previous owners left a sandbox which you can sort of see in the corner there, but we got rid of it. We would like to get a table, chairs, and umbrella maybe next year and our little grill will stay where it's at!

Me painting the entryway. The previous owners had applied a brownish/reddish glaze to this wall and it was just too rustic for me. So, I applied a primer and painted it "Crisp Kaki" to match the rest of the house.

Making our first dinner in the house (okay the crock pot is making it!)

My office! You might be wondering why I have a tablecloth on the desk. Well, I'm building up the motivation to refinish it. It's been through some wear and tear over the years but the desk has sentimental value to me. My dad bought me this Ethan Allen desk in high school and I've used it ever since. It is actually a very beautiful desk with nice lines.  Refinishing furniture is time consuming so I'm waiting until I get some other projects completed before I take this on.

Tobias also resides in here too!

Our bedroom, it looks a lot smaller than it really is in this picture. I love the vaulted ceilings

Master bathroom. It's a little smaller than we would have liked but we get up at different times so it's really not a problem. 

Family Room

A view from the family room into the entryway

I'm planning on adding a console table on this wall and doing some more with the ledge up above. We had new carpet put in the family room and hallway, and will eventually replace the carpet in the three bedrooms down the hall.

Here's a shot down into the kitchen.

We put in a tile back splash and plan to do the same thing on the opposing wall where the stove is. It's a glass and travertine mosaic tile

For those of you who visited us in our condo you know we didn't have a kitchen table so we ate most of our meals on the couch or at the bar. We've had to get use to the idea of eating at a table! We of course plan on getting a few more chairs over the next few months.

This wall was originally a brownish glaze as well but it didn't really go with the whole look of the kitchen and countertops so I had this idea to paint it a grayish/charcoal color to tie in with the backsplash and countertops. Lets just say it ended up looking more blue than I had hoped. Instead of repainting it I decided to sit on it for a few days. Well, it began to grown on me and now I really like the color. I think it will look even better once we have the tile installed on the wall adjacent to it.

I had been eyeing these Pottery Barn drapery panels for awhile with the grommet holes at the top. They were the perfect color and I loved the vertical lines (they help play up a room's height). Anyway, as my luck would have it when I went to order them it said they were on back order until July 2011!!! CRAZY! So I checked out eBay and found the exact color and length I wanted brand new for a little cheaper. SCORE!

By all means this is not a glamorous or flattering picture of me but I thought I'd show off my "Farmers Do It In The Dirt" shirt. I'd thought some of you would get a kick out of it! Brandon has a matching one too!

We're Back!
  It's been awhile since we've posted anything but things have been a little crazy! I just posted 2 new posts of our trip to Sitka and Taylor's Birthday so be sure to check them out! Now that things have calmed down a bit I'll be posting more stuff soon!
  You might ask, "What's been keeping you so busy?" Well, over the last 2 months we've taken a trip to Washington and Alaska, gotten our condo ready to sell, sold our condo, bought a house, and have been crazy busy trying to unpack, clean, update, repair, fix, etc. Yard work has replaced our sleeping in on Saturdays along with deep cleaning, window washing, and painting! All of this while working has been a juggling act! But we are thrilled, excited, and nervous at the same time! I've replaced dirty toilet seats and scrubbed the inside of some of them with a pumice stone, removed pencil and crayon from the walls, scrubbed floors on my hands and knees, faced my arachnophobia in the yard, and traded in my regular workouts for hard manual labor (although that is only temporary, I'm starting back up at the gym next week!) All of this has been worth it because we are able to soothe our sore and tired muscles in our jacuzzi in the backyard! We will be posting some pictures soon and inviting you over for football season!

Sitka, Alaska- An Angler's Paradise

  We had a great time this past August when my Dad, my brother Mark, Brandon and I and about 10 other people from Yakima went to Sitka for some great fishing! Believe me we caught some great King Salmons, Silvers, Haibut, and a few crazy and ugly fish-such as scates, rock fish, and lean cod! We had all pitched in about $5 each for our fish derby and all the trash talking over the past 6 months was put to the test. 
  We had a great Charter company and the skippers, who were also awesome took us to some secret hot spots! Over the 3 days we fished, we maxed out our alotted amount each day- 1 halibut, 2 Kings, & 5 Silvers per person. Each person on the trip brought home 100 lbs each which equals A LOT of fish! We stayed about a block from the harbor at a nice hotel that served some delicious seafood, the clam chowder was to die for! While we were on the water one day we saw some Orca Whales feeding! We were only about 30 yards away, we've never been that close, it was amazing! Their size and power is something else! 
  Everyone would meet at the docks at about 5:30am each morning and we'd be out fishing until about 4 or 5pm. The country up there is just breathtaking! Alaska is truly a treasure and if you ever get a chance to go up there- take it. Very lush greenery and tall trees up along the coastline made the trips to different spots a pleasant ride. Overall, the trip was a huge success (we'll be eating fish for a long time) and we all had a blast! It was great to relax and spend time with my Dad and Mark. Brandon can't wait to go back!

Sitka, Alaska- A brief history

  The Tlingit people have lived on this land, now called Sitka , for over ten thousand years. A temperate climate, and an abundance of wildlife and edible plants, allowed for development of a rich culture in one of the beautiful landscapes on earth.

  In 1741, the Vitus Bering expedition recorded the location of the Tlingit settlement. Recognizing the value of Sitka's location and resources, the Russians returned in 1799, built a fort and trading post and name the site "New Archangel." In 1802 the Tlingit destroyed the Russian outpost, and the Russians retaliated in 1804 by destroying the Tlingit fort in the Battle of Sitka. By 1808, Sitka was the capital of Russuan-America, which extended from northern Alaska, south to Fort Ross, California.

  During the mid-1800s, Sitka, known as the "Paris of the Pacific," was the largest, most industrious city on the Pacific Rim, with Canton China and San Francisco, California following behind. Ships from many nations visited the port. Furs, salmon, lumber and ice were exported to Hawaii, Mexico and California. There was an active shipyard and foundery. After the purchase of Alaska by the U.S. in 1867, Sitka remained the capital of the Territory until 1906, when it was moved to Juneau.

  During World War II, the town was fortiied and the U.S. Navy built an air base on Japonski Island across the harbor, with 30,000 military personnel and over 7,000 civilians. The U.S. Coast Guard now maintains an air station and other facilities on the Island.

Leaving the harbor nice and early! Fish, here we come!

We've got all our poles and we're ready to go!

Nice one Mark! I think we needed to rub Mark's head so we'd catch'em this big!

A great shot of Brandon with a nice King! It was his first time and he was a natural!

I'd been praying to the fish gods for a great day- lots of fish and calm water! We would yell "FISH ON, FISH ON" when we though we had something on! 

Cruising on the ocean- Diet Coke and donuts were our breakfast!

Brown boots were not in my color wheel!

Dad chillin' in the back of the boat! He showed us how it was done!

Brandon with a nice halibut! We like big Buts! It's amazing that these guys live 350-400 feet on the bottom of the ocean. One side is brown and ugly like you see here and the other is a pretty white opalescent color.  This is so they can blend in the ocean floor. As they age their eyes slowly migrate to each side of their body. 

Mark with a nice King Salmon. He caught the biggest- 37 lb King and won that division of our fish derby!

A cool lighthouse in the bay of Sitka. It's used as a Bed and Breakfast I believe

Brandon and I

Mark and Dad 

One of our boats! It had a little toilet in the bow ( a lifesaver) and a small cabin we sat in while we were traveling from hot spot to hot spot. Notice the awesome yatch in the background.

A nice shot of the harbor! The waters were amazingly calm the whole time we were there which is not a common thing!

5:30am in the morning never looked so good!!!

Trying to wear her out and at the same time smile for the camera!

Look at that bend! I'm thinking I've got something good on!

My 35 lb King Salmon! She was a beauty and I brought her in all by myself and it was not easy!!! They have razor sharp teeth and many of them so I had Luke, our skipper help me hold her. I didn't want to risk slicing my hand open cause it's my bread and butter!

Group Shot!

Dad and Brandon, manning the boat and looking good in their bright pants!

You feel pretty small standing next to these!

The leaves were huge and I love these bright luscious berries- my favorite color!

Brandon and I in  Sitka's Totem Park 

Sun setting over Sitka