Some New Holes

A tornado came and ripped the front siding off.  NOT.  It was the demolition crew.

Here is the pic from the back.  This is what our new house is going to look like from the garage.  Our plan is to throw on a deck in the back and a balcony off the back gable.  We've got a mountain and city view!

Down to studs.

I know, this is where I should have put a picture of myself with my shirt off--I'm failing my Manker sense of humor by not doing it--oh well.

Demo three days in

Hi everyone, this is Laura. 

Well, this has been quite the process.  We are three days in and we have already filled the dumpster past capacity with much more to dump.  Almost all the lathe and plaster are gone and we have found several artifacts like, a business card for coal delivery BY WAGON (yeah 1800's), Coors cans that must be opened with a can opener and SIX WEAPONS.  You can definitely see the progression of the house.  First it was a wealthy family who could live in the suburbs of Denver and then at some point transitioned into West Side Story house where a fight could break out at any moment.  I promise it is back on the up and up.

Here is the remains of the sliding doors dividing the formal sitting room and the rest of the house.

I must stay thank you to our good friends Ghis, Burke, and Tiff for helping us destroy our beautiful house.  Ghis we love to refer to as the porch demolisher, he took off our front, back, and back room porch thing.

Here is the back porch as Ghis analyzes the best way to take it down.

He is going for it.

I think it's going to go.

And gone.

Here is Tiffany pulling up all the tack, I hated that job. and Burke blowing out any wall he could find.

Thanks again to all who helped.

And the Demo begins!

Laura made quick work of the bathroom.  She took out the mirror, the tub, all the wierd framing and the six layers of drywall.
I couldn't believe it when Laura suggested that we move the shower away from the window so that it could be used for more "natural light".  She's such a hippie.
Here is the beginning of the end for the mushroom.
This is the only part of the house so far that has had the wire mesh behind the concrete.  That is nasty stuff.  I'm pretty much a HOSS in this pic.

Say Hi Guapa..."Hi Guapa"

Welcome to the first pic. of our Rehearsal Dinner.  It will be fantastic.  There are some seriously sweet posters and memorabilia at this joint--and they're going to serve Ornery Amber.  What more could you ask for?  Zachis can vouch.
We were told by one of those Dog Whisperer types that if you want your dog to get along with a new person or dog you should speak encouragingly and be excited about "meeting" a new friend.  Something along the lines of "Guapa, say hi!".  Laura and I get it and try to do it.  We almost always say, "Say hi, Guapa".  The comma is typically ignored and instead we have run into a steady stream of people saying "HI GUAPA".  The dog loves it.
 

Victory Garden

This is the new object of our affection.  We'll have to transplant them again when we move but these are the chance happening pumpkins that came up when we planted using some half decomposed compost.  Laura and I are committed to seeing ourselves through tough times by gardening our way out--and hopefully canning plenty of goods for the winter.
Here are the rest of our new babies.  We've got tomatoes (two varieties) peppers, cilantro, basil, and rosemary.  We can't wait to sample the fruits of our labors!
Here is how Nan Mac spent the weekend.  She was such a trooper helping us with some more of the wedding plans.  She addressed every single invitation herself!  Thanks a ton!

Besides doing a lot for the wedding, we enjoyed an afternoon in Boulder, made Paella at Burke and Tiffs after checking some of their renovations, and had James and Kim over for a delicious Easter meal that Nancy prepared.  Our only regret was that Allison wasn't able to come.

Crazy weather and a hectic spring.

This is Laura on a recent blizzard day at Breckenridge.  This is the run that she destroyed her knee on.  What a day for snowboarding though!
The next day we planted our starter plants and garden!  We used some of our compost and soil from years past.  We're excited for the chance to finally put these babies in a real garden.
Three kids and counting!  We "broke" three ribbons and still have plenty of chances to get some more kids.  Who came up with that craziness anyway?  Thanks to all who joined us for a wonderful time in St. Louis, especially Parker and Steve (the next Carlos Santana?) and Lynn and Bruce, and of course David and Nancy.  Three cheers for all of you.