Paint colors~by Beth

I got a question on the colors that we used.  We only use Sherwin Williams paint.  It covers well, doesn't smell, and we get a friends and family discount.  The Super paint is thicker and doesn't drip which is so helpful when you are trying not to have to clean up carpet or trim that got paint on it.  When this was the girls room we used a shade called Breathless.  Now that it is the boys room we went with the color Artistic Taupe, which has a kind of purple tint to it and matches the diamonds in the boys curtains.  The afternoon sun made it hard to see the match, but I assure you it is perfect.

In our room the previous color, called Livable Green, was a warmer shade of a sage.  With our quilt and some decor in there I went with a cooler color that matched better called Quietude, and I love it.  I did add about a pint size container of our trim color, which is Dover white, because I was concerned that it might be a tad too dark.  I love the color it came out.  I used some satin that I had used for the ceiling in the boys room.  But I usually use a semigloss for the trim.

Six and a half months of updates~by Beth

Wow, time does fly.  This is going to be an update by pictures.
We did a lot of fun things during the Summer such as free bowling, free movies, and thrift store shopping.

Event at the youth center in Cape Coral.

One of many weekly bowling trips.

Of course school began for us in August.  Here are my last four students.

Teaching garden by the Wellness Center in Cape  Coral, FL

Nathan flies to Orlando in September for a Microsoft conference.  We drove and met up with him.  So fun!

 Emma also played on a soccer team in the fall, and Beth worked a lot in the late Summer through Fall elections with our county election office.  Because of my working Charity got her driver's license and transported everyone where they needed to go.  She also was an assistant coach on Emma's team.  Here is her maiden voyage

Pumpkin patch with friends in Cape Coral.

Stephen

Dave runs the 5k Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving again.

Dave's finish

Caleb helps Stephen put the angel on the tree.  No need for a step stool with Caleb around.

Finally replacing 4 original windows (in 2 bedrooms)

Christiana and Katie are the first to arrive for the holidays.

Blikstad family at SeaWorld, minus Caleb and Zach, December 14, 2018.

Joel and his inlaws and family

Being grandma to my two sweeties, Sophia and Isabelle

Sophia poses as Isabelle watches the two baluga whales.

Stephen

This penguin loved to follow Sophia around behind the glass

The Nathan Blikstad family

Mermaid Sophia

Audrey and Lydia pose with the living statue.

Jon and Beth after dark.

Sophia waited all day for her one and only ride just before we left.  She is so sweet.

Audrey along for the ride

Our granddaughters lit the Advent candles.

How'd we do Grandpa?

Stephen

Nathan and Hannah walk the beach.

Grandpa and Isabelle

Beth's famous cocoa

Caleb and Emma on Christmas Eve.  So glad Caleb could drive down for the holidays.

Beginning the irrigation project

 Between Christmas Day and New Year's Day we put in our irrigation system.

Valves after getting the pavers level

Cutiing the holes for the valve box.

Tada!  Jon did a great job on this.  We later painted the cover green to blend in with the grass.

 In January we tackled the garage.  Jon hauled away a truck load of stuff to Habitat restore and the recyling center.  We made a few bucks on some of the metal, not much but enough to buy gas for the truck.

Bike storage system I came up with.  I had been trying to do something like this for many months.

Organizing the garage after modifying some shelving units that were discarded from a job site.

In February we redecorated the boy bedroom with paint and new chunky baseboard.

A similar color but in a cooler shade that matches the diamonds on the drapes.

Abby looks on as Jon cuts the trim.

Dry fit

Looks so nice.  This is before caulk.

Dry fit.  You can see the new window sill Jon made to fit the window in here.

Nailing trim

In early March we also redecorated our bedroom.  We painted (a cooler color than before) and installed new baseboard.

I love this.  

Stephen gets his award at our end of season basketball party.

Abigail also receives her award.

Our boys JV basketball team

Johanna and her award with coach Faro

Emma and coach Faro

Johanna is confirmed on March 10, 2019

Spring break and some fun time

We went to the beach with Paul and Jenny Blikstad when they visited.

We also celebrated Joel's birthday while they were here.

And also in March Katie coached a meet in Orlando.  Jon, Emma and I went and spent a couple hours with her.

That's it in a nutshell.