Remodel Projects

It seems like there is always something going on here at the Pratt house.  Whether it's rearranging rooms, organizing closets, decluttering, decorating, or major home improvement projects.  This spring Charlie and I tackled the HUGE undertaking of the main floor half bath and laundry room.  Every project starts out very enthusiastic and about mid-way through we're so done with it and ready to throw in the towel.  I'm so glad we stuck it out though, it's been such a blessing to have an updated bathroom and a laundry room that utilizes the space so much better for the needs of our family.  I'm in love!  Thank you, Charlie for building my dream laundry room!

Crazy Spring Weather

We have had so much crazy weather this spring!  For about a week we were getting tornado warning sirens in the afternoons and the winds would pick up as well as rain and hail.  We got so many hail storms this spring that now we have to replace our roof and get other exterior items fixed.  It's been really crazy!  However, with all the craziness we've also been blessed with a nice green lawn and beautiful bright and colorful rainbows.  You always have to take the good with the bad.

Friends

These three little girls are so adorable watching cartoons together: Alayna, Geneil, and Hartley.  Just watch out in 10-15 more years...heartbreakers!!

Splash Park

We thought we'd try out the splash park that's not too far from our house.  It was a perfect late afternoon activity on such a hot spring day.  Geneil was a little apprehensive about it at first but Charlie coerced her into getting in the water and she enjoyed it!

Backyard

I remember when Dallin was about Juju's age and we lived in an apartment.  I longed for a backyard.  I wanted a backyard so desperately for him to freely play and explore and I could watch him from a distance.  Instead, we had about a 6'x4' deck which didn't give him hardly any room at all.  Fast forward 8 years and now we have an awesome backyard where Lulu and Juju can do just that.  It's so fun to watch them play and explore all on their own.  We are loving the warmer weather where we can get outside more! And I especially love when Geneil comes inside with mud and sand all over her mouth, it could only mean one thing!

Spring Snowfall

We've had a lot of snow this spring!  And just when I thought we were done with it...we got more!!  Ugh!  But I have to look on the bright side, maybe all this snow will help Colorado to have fewer forest fires this year.  That would be a blessing!

A Bit Of Me

The house is starting to feel a little bit more like me.  I love the new light fixture we put over the kitchen table.  Charlie was cursing me as he had to overcome his fear of heights to adjust the fixture to work on our sloped ceiling.  I know I can never make things easy for him and that's why I love him so much!  It looks great and is so much brighter than the old one.  I'm also loving our new table that extends to seat 10!  We don't have to store any extra leaves as they are both tucked away under the table and easily slide out when we need them.  We are going to add a bench to one side of the table so that we'll have enough chairs when we have visitors.  It's coming along!

Progress

Why did I post a picture of boxes, you say?  Well, these aren't just any ordinary boxes.  They are EMPTY BOXES!!  Yes, I have been hard at work.  I had to take a few minutes to revel in my successes.  I feel like things are slowly starting to get organized.  Believe me, I still have a LONG ways to go, but I can see some progress.  It feels good!

(PS: Just ignore the boxes in the background, they are not empty boxes, unfortunately)

Our Current Chaos

Ughh....moving sucks.

I hate moving.

Moving is so stressful.

This afternoon I decided to take a break from unpacking and do things I love.  I was building up too much stress therefore I have not been a good mommy or good person for that matter.  I decided to watch a little bit of  TV in the middle of the afternoon...I can't remember the last time I did that.  Then I took the girls for a walk around the block.  We played in the backyard on this nice and finally warm enough fall day.  Then I got to looking around and just had to laugh inside at what a mess our house is.  I figured that I should document this tragedy in photos to show you just what kind of chaos we are living in right now.  Someday, maybe like in 10 years, I'll look back at these pictures and realize how much our house has changed from when we first moved in.

I have big plans for this house, to transform it to my style.  I have no idea if my dreams will ever come true but you can always dream, right?

I want to completely gut every bathroom in the house and start over with new tile, paint, fixtures...etc.
I want to make a really cool modern banister and railing that leads upstairs.
I want all new light fixtures, pretty much everywhere.
We want to hardwire the TV and cable in it's current spot above the fireplace so we don't have all these cords hanging all over the place.
I would love to get a bunch of new furniture and a large area rug.
At first I wanted a whole new kitchen but I think I can live with the current layout if I can get new cabinets, countertops, sink, and faucet.
I'd love to paint the exterior of the house to lighter and fresher colors.
The carpet will need to be replaced someday with something a little more updated.
And it would be nice to replace the basement kitchen cupboards and repaint down there as well as new carpet.
The two bedrooms down there need closets and we'd love to section off the larger room to add a storage room for our food storage.
It would be cool, once our little ones are bigger, to open up the basement stairwell and get rid of the door.
I want outdoor furniture so we can enjoy eating dinner on the back patio on summer evenings.
Oh, and the front door has this really ugly stained glass with butterflies in it...that totally needs to go. That's not too much to ask...is it?

The front of our house...it even came with that baby in the front lawn!

This what you seen when you first walk in the door.  The staircase and front entry.

Immediately to the left of the front entry is the formal living room.  Right now it has all the toys.

And just beyond the living room is the formal dining room, which we will use as our office.

After that is our kitchen.  It actually has a lot more storage space than I originally thought but it's so not my style.

Just off the kitchen is our dining table.

And beyond that is our family room.  I love the big windows and the skylights.

Ok, now if you go back to the front entry, to the right and down the short hall you'll see this beauty...our half bath.

Keep going down the hall from the half bath and you'll see the laundry room and off the laundry room is the garage.

Up the stairs and to the right is our master bedroom.

And the master bathroom...brass brass brass...yuck!!

Master closet

Down the hall to the left of the stairs are three bedrooms.  This is Dallin's (the girls were sleeping so I didn't get pictures of their rooms)

Kids bathroom upstairs

Ok...now we are down in the basement.  I had to take a picture of the nasty gold blinds...those will be gone shortly!

The movie watching area with the projector and 100" screen.

Basement kitchenette

One of the bedrooms downstairs that we'll use as a storage room for now.

The very odd basement bathroom

Our food storage waiting to be organized...by hey at least it's out of the garage, thanks to Dad Foutz.

The second basement bedroom which will serve as our guest room/craft room.

There you have it.  I know I sound really ungrateful when I talk about this house.  I really do like it and the more we are here the more I'm growing to like it.  It's just so hard coming from a house that I totally loved to a house that I don't totally love.  But I'm very fortunate and blessed and the important thing is that we have a safe neighborhood, a roof over our heads, and place we can be together as a family.  If we don't do a darn thing to the house and it stays the same forever, I'll still be happy!  I will finish unpacking though :-)