This and that

My dad and step-mom came to visit last week so they could pack up the last of my dad's woodworking tools and haul them back to Utah.  While they were here, my dad helped Curtis put some drywall in the ceiling of our entry way since a faucet left running in the bathroom above damaged the old ceiling.  He also caulked all the joints of the new crown molding in our kitchen.  Kathy spent hours entertaining the kids, and we enjoyed every minute of having them around.  The kids are really loving having a grandma again.  :)

Curtis has been busy plastering the walls of our entry vestibule and main floor center hall.  I can't tell you how grateful I am to have him working on this.  We pulled the wallpaper off FIVE years ago, and it's looked like a haunted house ever since.  It had just turned out to be a far bigger job than we expected it to be because we discovered that the wallpaper (multiple layers) had been stuck to bare plaster that had never been painted.  Joshua patched all the cracks prior to leaving for his mission, so since September of 2012, we've had white joint compound veins covering the walls.  Not exactly an elegant entry space.

So Curtis is skim coating and sanding everything and then I will have the honor of priming and painting it all.  The whole stairway and upstairs hallway also have to be done, and we have to finish scraping the little remaining popcorn-texture ceiling.  Fun fun!

Here are a few pictures from the past week.

Ethan got his driver's license but refuses to acknowledge the camera.  Stinker.

Thalia making band bracelets

Thalia and cousin K making bracelets with Kathy