Salmon and Sinks

Our two older children are just ending spring break. They really enjoyed being able to sleep in and take it easy, although I did hear complaints because their friends were either out of town or enrolled in camps/sports practice. I tend to waffle between the two schools of "It's not my job to entertain you" and actively planning fun things to do during our down time. I guess you could say that we're sort of a mixed bag. Either way, I told them that soon enough they too would be out of town.

One event we took part in over the break was the Kokanee Quest http://www.govlink.org/kokanee-quest/ with my youngest son's Cub Scout den. It's a geocaching treasure hunt to help raise awareness about our local salmon population (unique to our area alone!), the Kokanee. This quest began at the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery http://www.issaquahfish.org/ and we were treated to a class about how the population began and how it came to behave like it does. When our training was completed and we had answered the questions, we went on to find the cache. It was a lot of fun and I highly recommend looking into it, even if you don't live in the Puget Sound area.

As of today (since I'm a day late in posting. Sorry about that!) we have 69 days until we launch. We've been checking things off my checklists to make sure we're where we need to be. As the date gets closer, things get a bit more stressful. We are looking forward to the day when we head out of the driveway with the knowledge that everything is safely stored and the house is clean and ready for the new tenants. Then we can exhale and fully embrace our adventure. The kids are coming around. They're still not thrilled about leaving their friends for so long, but I have every confidence that once we're on the road, they'll be as excited as we are. Especially since they are going to help plan our side trips.

One house project I've been teasing you with is our upstairs bathroom remodel. Well, today is the day you finally get to see it! The hardware is still missing, but with the busy week my husband has had, that's totally fine with me. I'm going to show you anyway!

This is what the bathroom looked like before. My husband took these pictures with his phone. It was dated and just didn't flow well. The room had a door that separated the shower/toilet area from the sink and I had been counting the days until it was gutted. What a thrill when that day finally came!

Down came the doorway. Out came the old tile and cabinet. Out came the floor, until we were left with nothing but the skeleton. Then, the magic happened. The tile that we so meticulously selected from the tile store went up. The new, sleek cabinet and sink were installed. The sliding shower door was set in place. Then we just stood in awe of the new room. Is it weird to be so excited about a bathroom? Well then, call me weird, because I totally am! I find myself walking down the hallway and pausing just to look in. Our house is very Northwest-y and now the bathroom in in step with everything else. This is what it looks like now.

 

 

 

I couldn't be happier! It feels much roomier and is now a peaceful place to be. My husband did a great job. It's so nice to have this project checked off the list. Now on to packing...

 

- Jen

 



Lists, List and More Lists

Let's face it, I'm a list person. You know those people who have lists of lists? That's me. This trip has its own set of lists already- a list of things to do to our house, a list of national and international legalities to learn about, a list of accounts to set up and close, and the list goes on. I just don't like the feeling of forgetting something and so my way of maintaining some semblance of control is to create lists and check them off.

This week we are working on the 'House Needs" list. There are small fixes that stay on the to-do list for years on end because they really aren't important enough to make a priority. Things like changing out doors and pruning trees. That's the beauty of moving out. It forces you to address those little issues so your home will be more attractive to others. The bonus is that when we return, those things will be taken care of. Plus, moving out also forces us to finally purge the items we've been living with but don't necessarily need/want. We've started this process over the past week. Boxes carrying holiday decorations and other items we won't need for the next few years have been building up for the move to storage. It's a lot of work, but let me just say that it is SO freeing! We're not hoarders by any means, but it's still amazing how many things we unconsciously allow to remain in our living space.

This week we've also actively started looking at trailers. We'll be living in a home in each state, but the trailer will be perfect for the in-between times and also when we travel up the Dalton Highway to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska (or as close as we can get. Not many towns with lodging along that route!). Our family visited an RV show a few months ago to gauge the best sizes and layouts for our needs. My favorite model was the 2016 Spree Escape Bunkhouse but we'll see what we ultimately end up with. The goal is something that is 20ish feet with room for 5 people to sleep and move. Oh yeah...and at a reasonable price. We'll see what this weekends' search yields!

Here is a little art project that was made in our excitement for the trip. A little wishful thinking on my part (I love vintage). I wonder if we'll actually see buffalo? I guess we'll have to add it to the list!

- Jen