Tag Archives: Gary

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure, The Cabin

From vision to reality

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It might’ve been in late summer 2021 that Gary first said, “I think the kids would really like a treehouse up here at the cabin.” It was a new thought to me, but I’m pretty sure that he had been mulling it over for a while. In late April of 2022, he started scoping out different groups of trees that might work for what he had in mind. By early May we had settled on this group of trees
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that was just the right distance from the cabin, in a different direction than the pond, and had enough different trees to support his design. (Not that any of us actually knew what his design was. But we have learned to trust him!)
And so it began! We came up for two weeks at the end of July and he started in.
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By the end of July he had the basic frame up, the deck part down, and the ship’s ladder built.
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We returned for most of September, and by the time we left to head south the deck railing was up and the building all framed in.
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Thankfully she wintered well, and Gary was able to resume construction in early May.
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He worked pretty steadily throughout May (with the exception of a long weekend with our Ohio families) –
roof –
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windows
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walls
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and siding.
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When we left for our June SOWER project the outside was complete, and it was certainly usable!
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But Gary wasn’t done yet. We returned last week to finish up one final detail – the flooring! We had been collecting lots of odds and ends of plank laminate flooring to use and while it took a try or two to actually come up with a design that worked with the different options, I think it has a nice eclectic vibe!
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Today was our last day. Gary mowed and finished up with any outside clean-up. I took care of the “inside” chores as we worked to pack up for an early morning departure tomorrow.  It’s been a quick week, but I know that the chief architect and builder of the Cabin Treehouse is feeling like it’s ready and open for business!
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Good thing, too – the families start arriving on Saturday!

Thanks for coming along as I reminisced about the treehouse that started as a thought and ended up as a beauty!
Steph

 

Family and Friends, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2022, The Adventure

A couple of things….

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    1. As always, it’s hard to believe that this month’s project is more than half over. So far it’s been quite the painting extravaganza for us ladies. We’ve painted a large conference room and just finished up three motel rooms. And sometimes you have to be creative to get the job done!
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    2. More details to follow about the project here, but let’s just say that Gary was in his happy place last week.
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    3. And speaking of that guy….
      this hardworking fellow stepped on the scale this morning
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      and saw a number that did not start with a 2.

I’m so proud of him and his determination to make this journey!

4.  And since we’re talking about family…. this young man turned SEVEN today!!
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And although he looks like he could be just a few years away from college in the picture above,
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THIS picture speaks more why we love us some Taran!
Happy Birthday, Taran!! We love you to the moon and back!

Family and Friends, RV Life

Mondays are for (Valentine) Memories

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I want to wish the guy that I started dating long before I knew any better,

who suffered through a couple of proms with me,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(doesn’t he look excited?)

and eventually married at the tender age of 19,

a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

So thankful for the many Valentine’s Days we’ve celebrated together, and pray that there will be many more!

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure

Gary being Gary

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I was serious about working on a plan for a Whole Family Destination Christmas next year. To that end, we started doing some research and it seemed that this general area (Destin/Ft. Walton Beach) was a good place to start. We found a possible house on VRBO that would fit all of us with room to spare and arranged for a tour today! It was pretty exciting!
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It was partially occupied, but we were able to see the guest house
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and the second floor of the main house, even though it was in the process of being cleaned for new vacationers coming in that afternoon!
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While we were checking out the all of the amenities, the realtor pointed out that the last tenants had broken the top of the TV cabinet.
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This place ticked all the boxes – plenty of room, a pool, a private beach on the river (with a boat dock for our non-existent boat) and close enough to the beach. As we were wrapping up our time, Gary mentioned that he’d be happy to fix that broken tv cabinet if they would like. Yes, he just can’t stop being Gary!
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I think it garnered us a bit of good will and maybe a tiny bit of a discount, but sadly, it doesn’t look like this property is available for the dates that we are hoping for. But it sure was fun to look!
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We’ll keep looking! If you have any suggestions for spots along the “Emerald Coast” – please let us know!!

In slightly different news –
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This little guy turned four today! (even though he looks like he’ll be starting college soon in this picture!)
Happy Birthday, AJ! We love you!