Cabin Makeover

My summer may have been filled with trips to the lake, fireside suppers, backyard sun-tanning and cousin supervision, but Erik's summer?

It looked pretty different.

6 days a week he drove about 40 minutes (one way) to and from my parents' cabin at Lake Metigoshe where he worked long days on completing the cabin renovations.

Last year was the year of surprises. The renovation plan started off with a "let's-just-take-this-one-wall-down-and-open-up-the-living-space" kind of idea... But anyone who watches a little HGTV knows how those stories often turn out. Erik felt a lot like Mike Holmes as he lamented the bad, bad skills of the person who built the cabin in the first place.

So by this year, the surprises had all been uncovered and mostly corrected, and the main floor was totally renovated. So, it was time to focus on the upstairs (bedrooms/bathroom) of the cabin as well as replace the roof.

(I included these roof pictures mostly for Erik's benefit, since to me, a roof is a roof...)

But it is noteworthy to mention that this little room was an addition. Thankfully it worked out for one of Erik's employees to come out and work with him for 3 weeks. He was super helpful with this whole part of the reno:

Here's another view. The addition is a utility room that holds the water tank, laundry facilities and a bunch of other boring (but necessary) stuff.

New siding for the cabin was one of the things that didn't get completed this summer. It'll be nice to see how it looks when it's all finished on the outside.

We're bruised already from kicking ourselves for not taking just a few pictures of the inside of the cabin before the big demo started last year. But you know how it is when you're anxious to get going with a project...

Lesson learned for next time.

So I scoured my computer for any pre-demo-phase pics. The pickings were pretty slim but here are a couple...

Note the pre-reno ceiling and lack of window casings...

And if you can look past cute 2-year-old Keziah and her marshmallow, you can see the old lino and carpet on the floor...

Yeah, those pictures don't really help too much.

So, let me paint you a mental picture:

70's style everything, various carpets in shades of green and brown throughout, 2 separate and small living spaces on the main floor (the inner one being really dark and mostly occupied by an old, non-functioning hot tub), a narrow and crooked staircase that made you feel a little like you were in some mysterious anti-gravity house whenever you climbed up and down, small wooden windows (some of which didn't even open, I don't think), a very outdated bathroom with camper-style toilet...

The list could go on but I hope you can visualize it in your mind. Just a little bit.

We did start taking lots of pictures in the demo stages, so here are some before and afters:

Kitchen before:

Note the old cabinets and small window. The studs you see left standing are what's left of the wall that separated this living space from the darker, hot-tub room. In the back right was where the staircase was.

After:

Larger window, wood ceiling with pot-lights, IKEA cabinets, laminate floors...

And an open floor plan creating one larger kitchen/living space.

(Now to convince Mom and Dad to put some new furniture in there!)

Here is a before shot looking from the dark hot tub room towards the front living room/kitchen.

The hot tub room was raised up slightly and so we spent hours digging countless wheelbarrow-fuls of dirt out. I can say "we" because I actually helped. It was pretty intense.

Then Erik had to pull out these old wooden floor beams:

After:

Floors are nicely levelled and unified with only a couple of posts breaking up the large area.

A closer look at Erik's handiwork with the posts and beams.

Looking up where the narrow stairs used to be before:

After:

Staircase looking down before:

After:

As for the upstairs, Erik turned 3 teeny tiny bedrooms into 2 more spacious ones. Late in the game, the decision was made that Erik would skip the drywall mudding/taping phase so he could focus on what he's really good at, which is the finish carpentry. So, you'll have to visualize all of these walls after they're painted...

The new master bedroom has 4 nice big windows and overlooks the lake:

It's a pretty nice view from up there.

The beam detail that Erik created for the upstairs. A ceiling fan will replace the dangling light bulb.

Some quality peel & stick tiles went in the hallway and bathroom.

Erik sprayed the doors to match the trim.

Bathroom:

And this was Erik after his final day of work, exhausted and glad to be packing it in for the final time.

Home (& a new friend)

This was us leaving my parents' farm early Wednesday morning:

Micah looks like he's already anticipating the way he'll feel after 25+ hours in the van...

After stopping in Saskatchewan to visit relatives, we had a quick 2 night-stay in Edmonton so we could enjoy the mall. A few rides in Galaxy Land, some time in the waterpark, a little shopping and then we were off again, and looking forward to being back in beautiful British Columbia.

I didn't take many pictures on the trip home - other than these few while we stopped at Mount Robson. Erik took a quick catnap in the van while the kids played...

Pyjamas make great traveling clothes.

The last stretch from Hope to Abbotsford is always the worst.

Correction - I think the last stretch of any drive is the worst. And inevitably, for our family, there is always at least one child who has a meltdown during that entire hour.

After almost 15 hours straight of driving? We expected it.

We waited for it.

But... it never came.

The kids - especially Silas - amazed us.

I think we're raising some hard-core road-trippers.

We pulled into Toews headquarters on Saturday evening, happy to be "home" - even though we'll be living out of suitcases and boxes for a couple more weeks until the big move into our new place.

And once we were home, it was time to fulfill a promise we made to the kids....

Meet Moses.

The kitten belongs to everyone, but we knew that Keziah would pretty much take over all pet-sitting responsibilities, including deciding when he shall eat, sleep, play and poop. I call her my "smother mother".

Poor Moses is being a really good sport.

He let her tuck him in this afternoon and stayed there for a long catnap.

And I knew the kitten was a keeper when I watched him sit still while Keziah brushed his fur with a barbie comb.

Welcome to the family little Moses.

The Sunday of Summer

Our time in Manitoba is rapidly coming to a close and we've been trying to pack in all the summer fun that we've left until the last minute. Trips to the lake have been more frequent and each time my mom and I convince ourselves that all the prep work and clean-up is worth it!

It doesn't take much convincing when you enjoy an evening like this one at Lake William with a few cousins:

Unfortunately in the haste and chaos of leaving the house with 3 whiny kids, my mom and I forgot the bag that contained the plates. But, hey, it's "camping" right?

So, we made do.

I even convinced the kids that the flap in the paper bag was the hot dog holder.

They totally bought it.

Oh - and to explain the bandage on Micah's arm -- it was still bothering him a bit after he hurt it at camp. I had visions of us coming home with another casted arm like last year. But we kept an eye on it and the tensor seemed to help. He hasn't complained about it in a few days so I think we're out of the woods.

In Micah's words, he probably just "spranged it".

When Erik asked who Micah's favourite Manitoba cousin was a few weeks ago, he surprised us by announcing that it was Olivia. They do play together quite well...

Maddy patiently worked on her mission to befriend Silas. And her secret to success?

Rocks.

(My camera kept focusing on the sand in the photos, so I decided to go with it and have some fun with iphoto edits...)

Silas and Judah.

Then a couple of days later, my mom and I packed up the kids and hopped in the van once again. This time for a day trip to Clear Lake (Riding Mtn National Park). Brad & Nichole were camping up there for a few days and I hadn't been to Clear Lake in ages (my favourite camping location growing up).

The kids had a blast at the beach.

Silas had a great time right up until the moment this happened:

And then I was even able to transfer him to this:

Overall, a great day was had at Clear Lake - though we all agreed, it was too short!

Another thing on our must-do-before-we-leave-Manitoba list was to take one more ride in Grandpa's pontoon boat.

So, last night, that's what we did.

We even stopped mid-lake so that Erik and the kids could jump in for a swim.

And practice some new swimming moves...

To me, August will always feel like the "Sunday" of summer. You know -- the second half of the weekend where you're already thinking about going back to work or school (who I am kidding, I haven't gone to a job or a school in years... but I definitely still look forward to the weekend!) In the same way, August marks the shifting of that entire-summer-stretched-out-before-me feeling into the only-a-few-more-weeks-until-this-all-comes-to-an-end feeling.

Thankfully there are plenty more good things to look forward to.