Paint!!

The painting in the main part of the house is done and I absolutely love it!! It's even better that I didn't have to paint it myself. We've never hired painters before because I don't think it's that hard to do and I can do a pretty good job myself, but there was so much painting that needed to be done, it would have taken me weeks! It took three guys 2 days. Here are the before and after pictures:

We spent much of the weekend figuring out where to hang things on our newly painted walls. We hung a few things but didn't make much progress. Oh well.

We also had the pool heater replaced last week, a pretty large expense that we weren't planning on. Turns out there were a couple of mice that had built a nest in the old one, and their waste ruined it. Imagine that! So, now we have a nice new mouse-free pool heater that works like a charm. And Brian set a mouse motel next to it to make sure it stays that way!

Friday night, Brian and I went on our first date since moving to Bakersfield. We went to a Bakersfield establishment, Buck Owens Crystal Palace. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was pretty darn cool. It's a restaurant, dance hall, and museum all in one! The Buckaroos (Buck Owens's band from when he was on Hee-Haw) still play there regularly. Some of those guys have been in the band for over 40 years! We ate dinner and danced a little and listened to the band play, while Sarah babysat Katie for the first time and did a really good job. We were quite impressed with her.

Saturday we heated up the hot tub and soaked for a while. It was very relaxing! We also used the outdoor kitchen for the first time on Saturday. Brian grilled a pork tenderloin and zucchini that I bought at the farmer's market. It was delicious! A pretty good day in my book.

Santa Barbara

Last week began uneventfully, but then Sarah woke up on Wednesday with a stomach bug. Thankfully, it was only a one-day deal and she was back to her normal self by Thursday!

The rest of the week was a little...boring. We are still doing all the little things to get settled here. Like changing our address on our accounts, having the pool heater serviced, deciding on paint colors, etc. Speaking of paint colors, I thought we had decided on them last week, but the more I looked at the samples we had painted on the walls, the more I was unsure. So we decided to get some help. We had the Color Rep from Sherwin Williams come out on Friday to help us decide, and she was fantastic! I am so excited about what we chose. The common areas are going to be Balanced Beige, which is a cross between beige and gray. I think it is going to look great with our brick fireplace and brown granite countertops. The kitchen color I am really excited about. It is called Underseas, a dark blue-green. I plan to buy a few accessories for the living and dining rooms in that same color to give some unity to the space. It should really lighten up the house and make the kitchen pop. I can't wait to get rid of the monotone butterscotch that is currently covering most of our home!!

Here are some "before" pictures:

We decided to go on a little weekend vacay to Santa Barbara. It only took 2 1/2 hours to get there. We went up Saturday morning and came back Sunday evening. When we arrived in SB, we stopped for lunch at a delicious little pastrami deli called Norton's and then headed to the beach, where Katie went right to work on a sand castle and Sarah ran around in the water. 

Santa Barbara is really beautiful with the mountains on one side and the beach on the other.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the hotel in the heated pool and relaxing around the fire pit. Burgers for dinner and a family game of marbles  (Brian and Sarah were the victors) rounded out the evening.

Sunday morning we toured the Santa Barbara Mission. It was very cool. I learned a bit about California history and architecture. It is still a working mission and they had a mass while we were there, so we were able to hear the beautiful organ music.

Then we went down to Stearn's Wharf and discovered an art street fair. We spent the next hour looking at a lot of beautiful and creative art (some not-so-beautiful) and we ended up purchasing some rings for the girls and one for me too! I was very happy to buy a souvenir that supports a local artist rather than some little trinket at a tourist shop!

After lunch at another DDD restaurant (Mac's Fish & Chips) we headed out of town, stopping at Rincon Beach on our way to watch a surfing competition, the Rincon Beach Classic. There were so many surfers in the water, I don't know how they kept from seriously injuring one another! The waves were huge and the surfers were amazing! Sarah decided she wants to learn how to surf. Except she's terrified of sharks in the water! It was a pretty cool ending to a nice weekend away.

 

Next week is painting week!! I'm so excited to see what the finished product looks like!

Once the painters finish with the main part of the house, I will start on the girls' bedrooms and the hall bathroom. I see a lot of work in my future...

Getting Settled

The girls' first week at school was great, at least from their point of view. I still have my reservations, but I'm keeping an open mind. It's hard because the schools we were at in Houston were really top-notch.  I'm sure this is a great school too, it's just different! But, both girls made friends right away and like all their teachers. Katie has some catching up to do in math with her multiplication facts, and she missed learning the entire lower-case cursive alphabet, but she will be right on track in no time, I'm certain. I haven't had much contact with Sarah's teachers, so I guess that means she's doing fine.

The big goals for this week were to organize the playroom (which the girls worked hard at and did a great job) and settle on paint colors for the common living areas of the house. Right now it's an orangey-brown caramel color, which I really don't like. Both goals were accomplished, so I am feeling good!

Next week we will get some estimates from painters and hopefully start painting! I can't wait!!

This weekend went by so fast. We stayed around the house getting things organized, unpacking a few more boxes, getting pool supplies, doing a little yard maintenance, and picking out paint colors. Saturday morning Sarah and I went to our first California Farmer's market. It was small, but had a lot of great stuff! We got an assortment of fruits and veggies, some Applewood smoked Himalayan salt, and some beef jerky. I could have bought a lot more, but I had been to the grocery store several times already during the week, so I had to hold myself back!

While Brian and I were busy around the house, the girls found their own projects to work on...

On Saturday afternoon, they spent about 2 hours on the back patio painting beautiful pictures. They are both very talented. I'm thinking we may need to get them enrolled in some art classes to expand on their natural abilities!

Then on Sunday afternoon, they decided to dissect some owl pellets. Our backyard is littered with them! It was pretty cool. They found skulls with teeth and all kinds of bones. They were going to try to put an entire mouse skeleton together, but it was too difficult, so they just collected all the bones and put them in a ziplock, which is currently sitting on my kitchen counter. Ew!

Our First Week in Cali

On December 28th, we moved to Bakersfield California. It's been one week since our moving day, and I'm feeling somewhat settled but also unsettled at the same time. The thing is, everything is new. Nothing is comfortable. Even going for a run or going to the gym takes extra brain power. For a somewhat introvert such as myself, every time I leave the house, I will be interacting with a stranger (since I know NO ONE in this city), and that's a little nerve-wracking. Every time I drive somewhere, I have to think about which way to go and how to get where I'm headed. Even cooking in my kitchen takes extra brain power because I have to think about where I put the dishes and utensils. It's truly exhausting. But at the same time, it's interesting and exciting.

Yesterday, we went on our first California adventure. First we went to Lake Isabella in Sequoia National Forest, and it turned out to be not very pretty at all, due to the long-standing drought. The lake was very low and the surrounding areas were all very brown and blah. So, we got back in the car and headed north to the Sequoia National Monument. There we found some beautiful scenery including the beautiful Kern River and snow covered mountains. We took Heidi on a little hike, which she loved. Katie found a huge walking stick and a giant Sequoia pinecone.

This morning we went to Crosspoint Community Church, and interestingly enough, the sermon was about loving the city that God has you in. The pastor talked about how each one of us is here in Bakersfield through God's sovereignty for a divine purpose. Those are some of the same thoughts I've been having over the past weeks, wondering how and when I will discover what God's purpose is for me and my family in Bakersfield.

Tomorrow the girls start school. Katie is very nervous. Sarah is probably nervous as well, but she hides it well. Lots of prayers for their first day: new friends, nice teachers, a smooth transition.