Work Weekend.

For a combination Mother's/Father's Day type gift, we offered Rob's parent's a weekend of our sweat and skills. I think they were keener on the skills that anything. Although much sweat also took place! I thought I would share some pictures of the progress we made. Rob's parent's bought their trailer in 2006, and have worked away at making it into a home for themselves. With a few more projects to go, its getting closer and closer.

My job was to paint. And then paint some more. Actually before all that, I also had to prime. So yeah, two days straight of painting. Phew. But of course the results always seem worth it at the end. Its just that during bit that's the trouble...

My main task was Grandpa J's workout room. Yes, the man is nearly 73, but he still works out, pretty much daily. Its also a place where he keeps all his toolery. Sadly, somewhere along the line, someone thought painting the walls this dingy green, and the trim and ceiling beige was a good idea. Someone also thought doing this to a door was a good idea. Sigh, people should seriously consult me before they attempt such craziness...

So upon entering the room you are met with dinge, dinge, dinge. My first job was to bring the ceiling back to white. Talk about an arm workout!
The closet, which houses all the tools (already with a coat of primer on).
So after one coat of primer, ceiling paint, and two coats of paint...we have a workout/tool room, transformed!
Much brighter. And much better!
As for that hideous door? With some elbow grease, some sanding, some pine boards, and a bit of trim, it will end up looking like this. A vast improvement!
Next on my list was to prime and paint the kitchen. I'm dead serious on this consult me first business. I should have a 1-800 number. Instead of call before you dig, it could be call before you paint! People call me, consult me on a color or a home decor attempt. Not like I'm an expert, and I do make mistakes, but seriously...do not attempt this at home folks. The bad home decor police will be on your doorstep in no time!
Apparently the home owner was quite a fan of this color as it also is in the craft room (the final room to be painted). Ugh.
Just not cool...
So while the blue is a bit bright for my personal tastes, Grandma M loves it, and I do think its a huge improvement in the kitchen and brightens it up. Bye, bye dingy maroon!
Looking much fresher!

The painting diva herself.
*The night before we came, we were at our friend's house who are also up to their neck in paint and other assorted reno jobs. The wife had a spectacular set of painting clothes on! After we left I admitted to Rob I had NO painting clothes. I'll usually paint in my PJ pants. So I came home and decided it was time to designate some painting clothes. These are old workout pants that I hemmed at the knee to add a little funk. And my 1998 Helping Hands for Haiti Shirt from our missions trip, with my name on, thank you very much!

Rob's jobs were much more specialized. He did anything from installing door knobs, to re-hanging doors, to putting together our old computer desk, to hanging cupboard doors, to cutting pieces for a new kitchen island.

My in-laws built these doors for this little cabinet outside their bathroom. Eventually they will replace all the cabinet doors in the home, including in the kitchen. Rob hung the doors.

Before.
After. Way better!
A close up. The pine boards carry throughout the house.
Rob's other big task was to work on a moveable kitchen island that my MIL has designed, using an old change table. Its a fairly big job, so Rob got quite a bit of the cutting done, but no after pictures for awhile yet.
Isn't this just the universal male 'figurin'' pose?

In addition to the work, we also had a bit of fun.
Here's Rob & Abbi playing trains.
The kids watching some Treehouse (kids TV channel).
On the second night, the neighbor asked if the boys wanted to come and pick all of her peas. Um, yes! So here's our bounty of peas!
Here are a few other things about the in-laws house that I thought were worth noting. My MIL painted this mural in Abbi's room (now Gabe's room too). Fairly impressive. She also made all the butterflies. Each night before bed, they get to pick which butterfly they want to sleep with.
Another favorite. My MIL's impressive button collection. And the oh-so-cute jars it is stored in!
I love how they are sorted according to color.
They recently finished up their bathroom reno. There was a bit of that hideous maroon in here, complete with a green, white and maroon tile mosaic countertop. I'm not against mosiac countertops, but you have to do it right (and again, with the right colors!). So my MIL would often catch her hand on the edge and get a cut. So rather than pay for an entirely new counter top, she painted it blue. I questioned this move, but I'm actually fairly impressed with how well it coated, and it sealed the edges of the tiles, meaning no more wounds!

The blue is the same color as in the kitchen. They also installed more pine boards behind the sink to keep with the theme.

I'm a fan of the shower curtain.

The craziest part? After all my whining about all the painting and my sore arms, you know what I did the day after we got home? I started painting our downstairs bathroom! ACK! I must be seriously off my rocker. I'm blaming it on the paint fumes, but I think it was so exciting to see the paint transformations, and I just want a little of that action in my own home! So hopefully a bathroom reveal before the end of the week!