More New Paint

I painted the office in our house earlier this week. I already had the paint purchased when I painted the front room and wanted to get the office painted before Jake and Brittany came to visit. Now, we just need to get the French doors installed.

On Tuesday, I emptied the room. Terry and I were both amazed at how much stuff was crammed into the small room. I am sure you won't be too surprised since it looks horribly cluttered in the pictures (which it probably was and I was just in denial about). After I had the room empty, I did a coat of primer on the walls. Then, after dinner, once the primer had a chance to dry, I painted the room blue. I really like the color, but Terry is having a difficult time getting used to it. I read somewhere you should paint your home office blue since it helps inspire creativity, so I thought I would give it a chance.

Yesterday, as the state of Washington was dealing with record breaking heat, I brought everything back into the room and organized it some. I went through both file cabinets and got rid of old documents and also decided I wanted three separate areas in the office for the different tasks. I wanted the desk for the computer, one table for scrapebooking and the other table with my knitting, sewing and cross-stich (also to house my cookbooks). I had some issues on where I wanted to place the furniture since I did want to move it around some but the position of the cable outlet on the wall limited on where I could put the desk. I think I like how I have it arranged for now, but if I get sick of it, I can always change it again.

Zeus had a hard time with the high temperatures. I felt bad for him and tried to help out by giving him a cold bath. First, he proceeded to drink the bath water when I first turned it on. Then, he hated the cold water. He is normally good during baths, but I use warm water and he definitely wasn't a fan of the cold water (even though he was hot and panting). Well, enough chatter, I hope you enjoy the pictures of before and after (and one of Zeus trying to keep cool).

Fun with Nina & Ben

Last weekend, Terry and I were fortunate to be able to spend time with some friends of my mom and mine that are visiting from France. We drove up to my parents' house on Friday, took the ferry to Friday Harbor on Saturday and then stopped at Snoqualamie Falls on the way to our house on Sunday. Then, on Monday, we visited NW Trek in the morning and then headed up to Mt Rainier. And finally, went to Seattle yesterday. Nina and Ben are staying 3 nights in Seattle and on Friday morning, I am taking the train up to Bellingham with them (Terry will be meeting us when he gets off work on Friday). Then, on Sunday, we are heading to Canada where we will leave Nina and Ben as their flight will leave from Vancouver. Here are some photos I have taken of the last few days (sorry, there are a lot, especially from Mt Rainier where I fell in love with the wildflowers that were in bloom):

Oh, and the best part of Nina and Ben's visist is: now, Terry wants to plan a trip to France!!! I couldn't be more excited thinking of going back. We are hoping for the spring of 2011 as that will give us time to save some money. Currently, we are thinking about staying in France with a quick trip to Venice.

New Paint

So, I have been meaning to post this for a while...last week, I finished painting the front room. Up until now, the walls were plain white and I really didn't like the room too much. It was just there, but didn't really serve a purpose. Now, with the walls painted and some pictures hung, it looks a lot better and has turned into my favorite room of the house. I still need to get a valence for the window and a new cover for the chair cushions, but even now, the room looks so much better. Here are a couple before, during and after pictures:

Next, it's onto painting the office and getting the French doors installed!

Off again...

Summers are crazy for us. This morning we said goodbye to my brother and family. They were here since last Wednesday and we had a great time with time over the last week. The week was filled with camping at Birch Bay State Park, spending time with the extended family at my parents' house, tide pooling at Larrabee State Park, swimming at Jimmy & Sheri's house, and a trip to NW Trek. I had a blast getting to make some memories with my niece and nephew and hope now they will be able to remember Terry and I more. It was so great to see them and we can't wait until we get to visit again!

Today Nina and Ben fly in from France. My mom and I met Nina 10 years ago when we first traveled to France. We have gotten to visit with them several times both in the United States and Europe over the years. They will be staying with my parents but I am hoping to see them as much as possible while they are here. However, this weekend will be spent with our church family. We are packing up and getting ready for camping at Lake Easton State Park. It is suppose to be a warm weekend, so we are looking forward to the warm weather and quality time with our friends. Last year we camped at Mount Rainier and got to know the Olsen's more. We are praying that we have another great trip this year and get to know more of our church family better. Wish us luck as we finish packing and head out this afternoon!

I will keep posting about our busy summer and the fun we have planned.

NW Trek

Yesterday, Dan, Jen, Jaclyn, Joey, Mom, Terry and I all went to NW Trek to check out the animals. It was slightly overcast, but I was told that overcast weather was the best time to see animals as more are active when it isn't too hot. Even though it is only 20 minutes down the road, Terry and I had never been there. We ended up enjoying it a lot and even splurged and became members as an anniversary gift to each other so we can go back and visit it throughout the year. It was very cool and we were able to see all the animals on the tram ride and throughout the other exhibits. Joey got tired and ended up falling asleep on the tram ride, but seemed to enjoy it while he was awake.