LET IT SNOW!

Over the past couple of days it has snowed more in Seattle than it ever has since we have lived here - it has been fun to be stuck at home for the past couple of days!

The puppy dogs are not complaining...

Admittedly not a great photo - but proof that people cross country ski down the street -

Riley recommends curling up in your favorite blankie and taking a nap during these cold winter days~

Now, a few photos of bathroom progress:

Light bar, medicine cabinet, and switch plates installed.

Priming and painting finished - we are really hoping to have the majority of the project done before we leave for Christmas so the last major step is tiling the shower...

BATHROOM UPDATE

Cameron has been working long hours everyday in hopes of completing the bathroom remodel before Christmas...Here are a few photos of the progress he has made over the past week: The tile floor has been laid and we now have a radiant heat floor!!

The shower drain and basin installed

Drywall hung, taped and mudded...this has been the worst part of the project so far and Cameron swears he will hire someone to do the drywall if he ever embarks on a DIY project again.

Shower deck mud complete...

In other news at our house - It has been snowing in Seattle which means that the entire city shuts down - for Cameron and I being Montana and Colorado natives, we think it is pretty funny that 1 to 2 inches of snow can close schools, cancel trash pick up, and stop the mail..the best part, however, is people dig out their one-piece snow suits and cross country ski through the neighborhood! As you can see not even snow can stop Atley...

DAY FOUR: LET THERE BE LIGHT...AND WALLS

Cameron's goals for the work he wanted completed while his dad was here have been achieved - today they were able to hang all of the drywall and install the light fixture - while the cosmetic work remains Cameron and I are eternally grateful for all of Bob's help - we could never have done it without him - well let me rephrase that - I would never have let Cameron demolish our bathroom without him!

Riley the comfort hound found a new place to relax.

Atley "the dog who will fetch anything" has found that scrap wood makes an excellent toy!

A celebratory scotch - as if an excuse were needed....

DAY THREE: MOVING RIGHT ALONG

At 7:55 am we welcomed a new addition to our house: an enormous dumpster - she weighs 1,750 lbs and is 50 ft long - we are SO proud! Day three marked a few significant milestones: we now have a floor strong enough to hold tile, all of the plumbing is complete, and the concrete backer board has been installed in the shower.

Bob and Cameron celebrated the end of the day with a glass of chardonnay in the shower - as you can see by their faces, they are pretty pleased with the progress!

Steve put his seal of approval on the new shower fixture! Steve better pack his bags he (hopefully) only has another week of residence in this room of the house...

DAY TWO: THERE'S A HOLE IN MY BATHROOM, DEAR LIZA, DEAR LIZA

The remodel has continued to progress - while it does not look like much has happened since yesterday, the boys worked from 8 am until after midnight - after those long hours the electrical work and much of the plumbing was completed, the sub floor exposed and repairs are in the works and the dry wall and other large supplies were purchased and delivered. All in all the day was a success and we should be able to see serious results on Day 3!

Steve and Cameron ready for some serious Bathroom ACTION!!

DAY ONE: DEMO

The remodel adventure began with removing the mirror and vanity which truly gave us a direction for the project. After a brief set back of having the water off for the night, the progress has been steady with very few surprises (luckily). Cameron and Bob have decided that the previous remodelers must have been a couple of drunk monkeys...they are hoping to do a better job so my job is to keep them sober! I think the photos pretty much speak for themselves and at this point in the time the old bathroom looks pretty good in comparison.

Taking the toilet to the front yard...let me tell you it looks great in the middle of the driveway next to "Bev the Chev" our '88 powder blue S-10 pickup...

Studs without Walls - come on, I couldn't help myself!

Steve - still hangin' in there!

Meet Steve "The Project Elk"

On a father -son camping trip several years ago, Cameron picked up this gem of a souvenir in Checkerboard, MT for me. Upon moving into our new house in Seattle, we found the one room in the house that we really hated was our bathroom. We knew eventually we wanted to remodel the bathroom, but worried that after months of living in the house we would lose motivation. So we decided to hang our lovely laminated elk photo framed in a horse shoe in the ugly bathroom and name him "Steve the Project Elk" so every time we looked at it we would stay motivated to remodel the bathroom - because Steve has to stay put until the project is completed...



Cameron now has a couple of weeks off, so the bathroom remodel has begun - with the help of his dad we are hoping to have the project close to complete by the end of the week. Here are a couple of the "Before" photos:

Lovely isn't it?? If you look closely you can see that the former owners decided to put linoleum not only on the floors, but also on the walls - Brilliant!

A Lovely Fall Day

We were lucky enough to have another gorgeous weekend in Seattle (don't forget...it always rains here) - so we took advantage of the weather with our good friends Ted and Janelle - the day began with golf and progressed into dinner and pumpkin carving. My new golf partner - Janelle

What can I say?? Boys will be boys...

Pumpkin carving with three future surgeons..good times!

We Love Our Puppies

I normally try to refrain from posting our ridiculous number of dog photos - but it has been a while and I just couldn't help myself - we take so many photos of the dogs - I can only imagine what will happen when we finally decide to have kids! Atley taking a nap with Cameron after a long night of call at Harborview...

I just asked Riley if he wanted to go for a walk - I think he may be interested...

She has sat like this since she was 8 weeks old.

Awkward Riley - no one can ever say that this dog lacks personality.

Relaxing after the dog park

Baby Abigail Mae!

Cameron and I feel incredibly lucky to have become an aunt and uncle for the 2nd time in just a matter of months! Cameron's sister Emily and her husband John had a baby girl , Abigail Mae Brown, on Tuesday, September 23rd - we cannot wait to meet our newest niece - isn't she precious??

A Visit from the Masings

Five years ago I decided to quit my job at the symphony, leave my beloved apartment at the Lola and move to Berlin, Germany to become an aupair. I completely lucked out and was matched with an absolutely wonderful family, the Masings. After a six month stay I bid my new German family farewell - and upon my departure my host father, Erik, told me that they would see me again...As the years went by I grew increasingly skeptical that I would ever see them again, but low and behold they came to Seattle as a stop on their "All American Road Trip". So the Masing family came to our house for dinner - It was absolutely amazing to see them all again and to hear the children speak impeccable English (when I arrived in Germany the children only spoke German). I can only hope that I will have the opportunity to see them again someday... Henri, Moritz, Marie and Me

Vanessa and Henri

Meine Deutsche Familie

Baby Natalie!

Here she is - isn't she the cutest niece ever???

Proud Papa - that's right...Austin is a DAD!

It's Official!

Cameron and I are officially an aunt and uncle. My little brother Austin and his fiancee, Jessica had a baby girl on July 17th. Baby Natalie Irene Norris was born at 6:46 am, weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and is 20.5 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing fantastically. We are so excited and cannot wait to meet her next month...I will post photos soon!

A Day Spent At...

We had the pleasure of spending the day with some of our favorite friends, Kji, Becca, Jack, Kate, and Davis Kelly. Becca, the kids, and I went swimming in the afternoon, while Kji and Cameron golfed, then we finished off the day with a BBQ at their house, aka "Nice View".
When they first moved in, Jack thought the name of the house was"nice view" because whenever anyone came to visit, their first comment was always..."Nice View!"

I would say it is a pretty good description!

Becca and Cameron

Me and my sweet girl, Katie.

Jack and Davis cooling off in the pool.