The latest in the long line of projects is my sister and her husband's (Natalie and Mike) remodel/addition. Robert did the design and they started building in November. They used contractors for all the major construction, then took over the finish out themselves. It's a big project and there is still lots to be done. But it is amazing to see the progress. It is an incredible house and everything that is finished looks great! Robert and I's involvement up to this point has pretty much been in a consultation role. I think we've only actually gotten our hands dirty once. This weekend we decided to pay our dues and put in a full weekend of work.
My dad (the patriarch do-it-yourselfer of our family) spends quite a bit of time helping out his daughters. He was indispensable to us when Robert and I built our first house. He built the cabinets, helped Robert pour concrete counter tops, built a form for our custom concrete sink, helped lay the deck, helped trim out the house, etc, etc, etc. He had a small break until Robert and I sold that house then bought and renovated our current house. There he once again spent many hours helping us out. Not quite as big of a project that time around, but we still put out the call for help. And now the Sherman girls are doubling up on him. Since both the Kellys and the Sheltons are doing addition/remodels at the same time, we are sure to put my poor dad through the ringer. Natalie and Mike get dibs on him for now, and since we have a turn key contractor this time around, we shouldn't need too much help. BUT... you can bet we'll be calling for Dad as we near the end and want to put some custom touches on the house.
So this weekend Robert, Adeline and I went down to the Woodlands and we had a full on family work weekend over at the Kelly house. Everyone did their part. My mom (Grammy) was on babysitting duty all day both Saturday and Sunday. Robert and I worked in the kitchen to build out shelves in the pantry. Robert also hung some doors and trimmed out the first of their beautiful wood windows. Mike and Natalie worked on laying the wood floor upstairs. And my dad (Pa-pa) finished putting up the custom welded banister he built for their stairs and catwalk, then moved on to building the built-ins for the master closet.
We really had a great time getting dirty and helping out. We've got to get ourselves over there to work again soon. After all, the more hours we put in at their house the less guilty we will feel when we call them up to come help us out!! :)
So, all in all my Mother's Day was a little atypical. Not that I didn't have a great time working, but I am sort of hoping that Robert give me a rain check on a more relaxing Mother's Day. I'd still love a day to spend some quiet time at a coffee shop and possibly take a nap. Maybe next weekend?
The Kelly kids and cousin Adeline
Natalie and I (relatively cleaned up for dinner after a day of working on Sunday)
I wish I had gotten some more pictures of their house and some good working shots, but alas... we were too busy working to take pictures. Next time.
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