Home Improvement

Not all of our adventures are on a trail.

This weekend, we did a little home improvement on our 1930's era bungalow.  Having an 80+ year old house can be a challenge.  Luckily, ours is sturdy and, other than a really ugly bathroom (I'm telling you, it isn't like old ugly, it's done really cheap and falling apart ugly), the upgrades really are only cosmetic.

On Friday, I decided that our front entryway needed a good cleaning.  The wood floor was just ground in dirt.  On top of that, the entryway walls were scuffed and hadn't seen a new coat of paint since the dawn of time.  

The floor was scrubbed and water sealed as well.  Later this week, or next weekend, I'm going to paint the trim some other color than brick red. 

(I LOVE LILACS!!)

Next up, the fireplace!  As a fireplace, its only useful for bird nesting, so Tyler had the brilliant idea of turning it into an entertainment center!  It required a bit of cleaning.  

Measured, cut, installed, and stained the shelving (imagine black stain).

Tyler working with the wiring.  Turns out, some of our wires were a bit short and a trip to Fry's is in the works for later this week.  

The cost for these two projects?  Probably about $50 in supplies (paint, water seal, stain, hardware).  The shelving is made from "upcycled" oak doors.  The biggest bonus?  More room in the living room for Kinect games :)

The Christmas Season

Our Christmas was pretty busy!  We actually ended up having 3 Christmas dinners (almost 4!).  The best part?  I didn't have to cook anything :)

I bet you're wondering what we got for Christmas...

Here he is :) 

Meet Samwise, a.k.a. Sammie, the newest addition to our pug family!

P.S.  Frodo was less than thrilled for the first few days, but they have since become inseparable.

P.P.S.  The cat hates them both.

The Zip Line Incident

So, we've actually had quite a few adventures in the last 6 or so months, but one in particular is worth mentioning.  A little device called a zip line was installed in our front yard...

Cousins visited to test out the first edition

The kids loved it!

Several adjustments were made.

Tyler trying it out...more about that later...

Looks pretty "G-rated" doesn't it?

Well, the pulley we had wasn't the greatest.  The line was a little short.  Soooo, eventually we moved it, raised it up (even put a platform in the tree out front and fenced the yard), and got a new pulley.  Unfortunately, the rating of the zip line went from G to Super G pretty quickly.  Tyler had a great Super G 3 second ride and never thought he would shatter his ankle on the tree at the end...

We found him in the yard, ankle all askew.  911 was called, and EMTs arrived.   We still had to wait a good 45 minutes for the ambulance.  It was apparently a busy day for accidents.

If you can't handle x-ray photos of broken bones, I suggest you not read any further :)

Like I said, his foot was askew.  This was taken shortly before the bones were set, and then surgery a couple of hours later to place rods to keep the bones in place.

A few days in the hospital, and then home with hardware.  Tyler was referred to a specialist in Portland and about a month later had a second surgery to put plates in.  

Pretty creepy and I'm sure he'll be setting off metal detectors every time we go through an airport security checkpoint.

Luckily the kiddos were able to visit him in the hospital for the second surgery.  Unfortunately, the second hospital stay was AWFUL.  And I say that with all of the emphasis on AWFUL possible.  I don't even want to remember it.

After months of wheelchairing, crutches, and a knee scooter, he's now able to walk with a cane.  Hoping for a good physical therapist and a return to full use (and rock climbing) this summer!

The weather was great last Memorial Day, so we headed out to Eagle Creek in the Columbia River Gorge for a hike out to High Bridge.  If you haven't been up this trail, it's really easy and full of camera-ready views.  If we had time, I think we would have hiked the kids a whole 12 mile round trip so we could see Tunnel Falls.  

Maybe next time :)

Even Frodo joined us for his first major hike! 

A few months back, we took the kids to Abiqua Falls.  It's a relatively short and easy drive up into the hills above Scotts Mills, OR.  The hike in is easy but requires some minor scrambling so we were pretty dirty coming out of it.  But that doesn't bother the LeBirches :).  And this gem of a waterfall is worth it! 

Abiqua Falls

The kiddos checking out some of the stacked rocks

For more info on Abiqua Falls, including directions, click on this link