our couch potatos

Popcorn and a movie just hit the spot for us all sometimes.

12.5.12

Sadly, my dad lost his fight to cancer the morning of December 5, 2012. It is one of those dreaded things you can not imagine until it happens; the loss of a beloved parent. It is hard to sum up the life of a man who has meant so much to me. It would take pages filled with stories, memories and moments to even try and grasp at how I feel about this loss. The sorrow catches me in waves, usually when the day is settling and I am worn, but mostly I am left with tremendous gratitude for having the father I had. Not too many are as lucky as I.

So Dad,

I desperately miss your cheerful hellos on the phone and you sitting at your desk, staring at that computer screen working working...

I am so grateful I was with you that last year and half. Your sacrifice was great and you never turned bitter and your faith in God and Christ never wavered.

Thank you for the years of support; thank you for all you provided; thank you for your strong work ethic; thank you for always patiently getting off the computer to come help me; thank you for loving my Bug and always jumping up at the sound of her cry; thank you for your gentle, cheerful and often playful disposition; and thank you for the legacy you left behind. You will always be my beacon.

I will never forget how you worked and sacrificed for us all, how you always served and for never once making me doubt God and family came first.

Thanks for all the beautiful memories and for fighting so hard for us. Until we meet again, the wait already seems dreadfully long. I will think about you everyday for the rest of my life. In the meantime, I will be waiting for you on the river next summer, just like you said.

Douglas Frank Kunkel

June 26, 1943 - December 5, 2012

4 years old

Our Little Bug turned four! Hard to believe actually. She requested corn on the cob, ham pizza and a tart with no berries on it. Don't we all love custard cream filling?! Luckily, only after two stores, we were able to find some corn on the cob! She blew out all the candles on her own and when someone tried to sneek her wish out of her she said, 'I can't tell you or it won't come true.' I give her a couple of years before she is smarter than both Andrew and I combined. We love our Bug!

6 years

Our six year anniversary came and went! We had reservations and a babysitter set up for a weekend getaway, but unfortunately my grandfather passed away a few days before hand (weeks short of 100). So, instead we attended a funeral and dinned on funeral potatoes! We will have to use the weekend getaway another time.

Although missed, we were happy my grandfather was able to be reunited with his wife after 25 years.      

dog walking

This is not a particularly great photo, but the memory is sweet. Since my dad's original cancer diagnosis we have been out to California quite regularly. He is usually unable to really go anywhere, so, Bug and papa have a tradition of taking Rascal out for daily walks to get some much needed fresh air. It is so sweet to see the two of them walking hand in hand down the hill together.

cousins

Z and Bug

happy halloween!

Our little pink and blue superheros. Bug has a blast this Halloween and kept wanting to go to "one more house" while Tank was very hesitant at first, until he figured out they were giving him candy. Go figure.

I title this one, 'the joy of Halloween.' Oh to be this young again.

Go A's

Now, I have to admit that since Little Bug came into my life I have not followed the Oakland A's very well. But, around August, I started getting word of how well they were playing and was so excited for them! We recently got back from California and while there I was so pleased to go to an A's playoff game with Bug. It was so much fun and I had a great time reminiscing about childhood afternoons spent at the park. Pretty sure Bug was most excited to be able to scream as loud and as long as she could stand.

work

We believe in putting our kids to work.

 

This is really me trying to get that last layer of grout dust off our floors. 

floors

When we first moved into our home the flooring was mostly carpet. It was a faded blue that looked gray in some areas. We knew it would have to go eventually, but we figured we would wait a few months and let things settle. However, while walking in for the first time as homeowners we were greeted with a strong odor of dog. The old carpet had to go right away. So, out it came and we started researching flooring ideas. We ended up putting in a tile that looks like wood throughout the home (minus the re-carpeted bedrooms and two baths, which are future projects).

It was such a process! Really, it was such a process. We just finished a couple weeks ago. First, we had rip out the old subfloor under the linoleum.  Then we had to lay down backer board with thinset and screws (no joke, each board has about 60 screws). We learned that this may have been overkill, but we sure didn't want anything to go wrong so we followed all the instructions.  I had no idea screwing in hundreds of screws with an electric drill would make a person sweat so much. Then, we had to put down another layer of thinset for the tile. Finally, we had to grout the whole place. Technically, it needs to be sealed, but at the moment I refuse to admit that any more work needs to be done and am calling it good. Plus, our hands are just recovering.

So, here is the old carpet, ripped out and sitting in a heap on the side of our house.
 

Oh, we were still bright and happy at this point. Laying down our first room of backer board.

Yes, Tank is holding a sharp knife. He is cutting holes for our registers.

My parents came out twice within a month's time to help out. My dad definitely earned his keep. He is caring a big bucket of thinset here. FYI everyone, it is worth the $25 drill mixer attachment to not have to hand mix that stuff. We figured that out oh, two thirds the way through this project.

Laying thinset on the backer board to tile.

Bug had a blast for the five minutes she spread thinset.

And now the grout. Imagine your whole house with a layer of mud on it. Then add a frantic mom armed with a sponge in each hand trying clean it up before two kids swarm and track mud everywhere.  I may have gone a little crazy that week.
 

I also had to add this picture because Andrew had his heart set on these flush registers. We didn't put them everywhere, but a few spots have fancy registers.

A shot of the final floor.

We have many more house projects in process, but thank heavens this one is done!