My sister-in-law, Marsha, likes to keep track of the more interesting older homes in her neighborhood. She pointed this house out to me on one of my visits and several years later her son, Brian, and his wife, Amy were able to buy it. It was in pretty bad condition. The yards were overgrown with cacti, the kitchen needed a lot of attention, but worst of all it was filled with pet feces and garbage. Marsha, being the sweet mother-in-law that she is, didn't want Amy to see it at its worst because it would be too overwhelming. She and some of her kids spent hours getting rid of the worst of the worst before taking Amy in for a tour.
Brian and Amy moved into the tiny casita and spent hours getting the main house into shape. They were kind enough to let us schedule a family work day in their home for our reunion in the summer of '07. Kent and I had the most fun! I got to demolish the bathroom and Kent got to demo the dropped ceilings in the bedroom. We agreed that it was great for releasing any pent up agression :) Lots of fun! Most of my kids helped with babysitting, washing walls, and pulling cacti.
This summer, we they moved in and we got to see some of the improvements they've made. Here is their lovely living room. The adobe brick and ceiling beams are so cool.
This is the view from that room. I'm standing on the porch. The backyard has a fountain and built in our door kitchen. Amy has an original copy of magazine article featuring this home in all its glory in the 196o's. The pictures were in black and white and it was fun to see all the details.
Here are nephew and nieces. Meridee, Roger, Sharon, and Sharon's baby, Georgie. They are sitting on the porch the covers the otherside of the house. Behind them you see the courtyard and the one room/one bath casita to which the garage is attached.
Here is the bathroom I got to demo all fixed up. It used to be covered with a aqua green tile. This is much prettier. Brian tiled, added the metal trim, redid the bathtub and pulled down some wooden shelves. Lots of work but it sure looks good.
Amy took down all these cabinet doors, sanded, and varnished them. They also cleaned up & painted all the hardware. The end product is a really neat and unique home they can be proud of with a great southwest vibe. I think it's an acre lot so they can ride their quads and play on the swing set. My kids love visiting Brian and Amy!
Chunka looking chill. She knows it's summer time all year around when you're two!
Ariel and Lin prepare to cross from our home (See the Decker's home across the street.) They will walk pass two homes to the bus stop. Lins look so young! Ariel is a great big sister.
