Deck Disaster

Remember this post when we (we, being Noa) stripped and repainted the deck?

Well, the deck is getting it's revenge for messing with it.  We are having problems with it...BIG problems.  After our first rain, we noticed the paint bubbling up all over. 

This is not a good sign.  The paint stripper is coming up through the paint and will soon cause it to peel, which was the whole problem in the first place.  Ugh...now we have patches where you can see the chemicals coming through, bubbles, and early peeling patches.  Greeeeaaattt.....

We are so frustrated.  Now that the rainy season is here, it's pretty much impossible to to tackle this project until next spring.  My vote is to rip it out in the spring and invest in some Trex for a no-maintenance deck.  I guess we'll see what the spring brings.

Fall is Here

Temps just a little over 60 degrees.

Rain.

Fireplace roaring.

Monday night football on TV.

More rain.

Fall is definitely here.

The Days of September

September has proven to be one of our busiest months.  It started with the deck project and a Labor Day weekend wedding of some friends.  The wedding was held at a golf club in beautiful Newcastle, WA.  The wedding was held during sunset in a tent that overlooked Seattle.  It was so beautiful.  The pictures don't do it justice.

The ceremony was very classy and had some beautiful personal touches.  We had cocktail hour outside (again gazing at the beautiful view) and then went back into the tent for the reception.  One thing that was really new (to me at least) was that each table had their own cake!  Each cake was a different flavor.  Ours was a tiramisu cake....mmmm....

The head table had a cake too, which was tiered and beautiful.

And here's the happy couple, Brad and Antje.  For their first dance they graced the dance floor with an awesome swing dance.  It was a beautiful wedding and we were so honored to share their special day with them.

Later that week, some of my girlfriends here surprised me and another friend, Ashley (who is due about a month before me) with a baby shower.  They held the gathering at The Tea Room at Port Gamble.  This place is the quintessential tea house, complete with dainty desserts, finger sandwiches, big, poofy hats, and colorful baubles.  All of us chose a hat from the selection provided and adorned ourselves with beads.

Here I am with the other guest of honor, Ashley, who is due about a month before me.

Here is our guests and our table filled with treats.  Look at those yummy goodies: scones, chocolates, and finger sandwiches!  Don't you just love our stylish hats?!

We received such thoughtful gifts.  I felt so loved!

These are the lovely ladies who planned the lovely event: (L - R) Candace, Ashley, me, Amy, and Lindsay. 

A few days later, a bunch of bearded guys showed up at our house...okay, we actually knew who they were.  Mike had gathered up some of his best guy friends to meet up in Seattle and climb the ever-so-famous 14-er (14,411 feet to be exact) Mt. Rainier.  Here is the entire group before the climb: 8 guys and 4 guides.  You can see Noa in the back row, 4th from the left.

According to the guys, the climb was pretty intense.  At first, however, it started out simple, with easy trails and lush surroundings.

Soon enough, they hit snow covered ground and had to make a quick footwear change and enjoyed a bite to eat.

At this point, their views weren't too shabby.

The group started up again towards the low camp, called Camp Muir.  This is where they spent the first night at over 10,000 feet.

They stayed in one of the buildings here, a simple wooden structure with bunks.  There was also an outdoor latrine and a food tent.

The views got even better.

Mike and Noa at Camp Muir.

The next day brought about the more trecherous climbing and cooler temps.  The group had to "rope up" into smaller climbing groups in order to safely make it to high camp.

Each group had two hikers and one guide.

High camp included some tents set up at around 11,000 feet.  

After reaching the high camp, the group prepared to summit.  They had to stay roped up and had to cross deep (we're talking 100s of feet deep) cravasses.  Here's an example of one, although this one would not be one they would cross since it's so wide.  And, yes, it's pronounced crah-vah-ss.

Sometimes the terrain got really steep.

There were also parts that were not snowy, although still steep and difficult.

But, the hard work was worth it....they made it to the top!  Here is Mike and Noa.  As you can see, it was pretty darn cold up there.

A view from the top:

Soon the sun began to go down and the group headed back to high camp.  This was probably the most difficult part of the whole climb because as the sun sank, so did their natural light.  The guys had to use their headlamps to light the way back to camp.

The next day was hiking back to the bottom.  Since the guys had to hike through the clouds, they ended up getting soaked on the way down.

And they made it!  I am so proud of Noa and all they guys for what they accomplished.  I know it was truly a memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.  

In the meantime, Jess came out for a short visit to celebrate the occasion.  We met up with the guys at the end of the week.

It was great to all be reunited again.  I can honestly say that I was pretty nervous for the group while they were away.  Thankfully, one of the guys had a way to check in through a satellite feed, which allowed all the wives to check in on their progress.  Still, nothing beats being back together again in person.

We decided to celebrate the occasion and reunion by heading out to a Japanese-style karaoke club called Rock Box, located in the Capital Hill neighborhood of Seattle.  Six of us, packed into a private room, ordered some drinks, and turned up the tunes.  As always, it was super fun!

Just a few of the guys from the hike: (L - R) Jeff, Rob, Mike, and Noa.

Gotta start getting the baby used to karaoke early.  Hope she liked the experience because our group rocked Bon Jovi's "Livin' On A Prayer" and Mumford and Sons' "Little Lion Man."

  The original room was a light blue as seen in this not-so-great photo from when we first looked at the house a year ago.

We didn't make a major change in color since I wanted to keep it light and airy (the room is pretty small).  And, I seem to be going through a gray phase, so I chose a light gray to cover the blue.  I'm really, really happy with it and I think that any accent colors I use will really pop against the walls.

The girls decided to hang out in the hall where there were less fumes.  Then we played with the iPhone.

And, it other pregnancy news, I am now fully into my 3rd trimester.  I've had a couple of minor health issues - thankfully nothing serious, just a stubborn cold and a case of tendinitis (which surprisingly can randomly develop during pregnancy).  Now I have to wear an annoying brace and have limited movement of my left hand/wrist.  We're hoping that this gets healed before the baby is born.

And to satisfy all you friends who are looking for a recent baby bump pic, here is my 30 week shot.  Baby girl is growing, growing, growing and now I am too!!

***Thanks to Mike and Lindsay for sharing your photos!

Pain in the Deck

One of Noa's priorities upon coming home from deployment was dealing with our peeling deck.  You might remember that it was in pretty sad condition: peeling paint, old stain, and overall sadness going on.  You can see the poor condition of our deck in the background of this picture.

So, with a beautiful weekend weather forecast over Labor Day weekend, Noa decided to use that time to  work on this project.  He solicited the advice of the experts at Home Depot to see how best to remove the old paint and stain.  Their suggestion was to use chemical removers and brushes to remove the old stuff and then he could stain the wood whatever color we wanted.  He picked up all the supplies: chemicals, brushes, new stain, paint brushes, rollers, and rolls of plastic.   On Saturday morning, we started sweeping, removing planters, taping, and covering the house.  

Gunnar decided he was the official supervisor of the work.

As most prep work goes, it took a lot longer than expected.

So, day one started a bit later than anticipated, but Noa was able to apply the chemicals to the deck....only to find that much of the paint and stain stubbornly stayed put. 

He went back to Home Depot for more chemicals and tried again on Sunday.  We thought that maybe the sun might have kept the chemicals from working fully or maybe they needed to be applied in thicker coats.  Still, no matter the amount of chemicals or scrubbing, we noticed it wasn't working the way we expected.  Just look at the side on the right of this picture.  That paint was there to stay.

Frustrated from two days of scrubbing, Noa headed to a different Home Depot to rent a power sander (our local HD doesn't rent tools).  After speaking with their experts, Noa was told that it would just be easier (and much less frustrating) to simply paint the whole thing.  Yes, stain would look better, but with years of old stain and paint, it would be agonizing trying to get down to the plain wood.  Also, the original wood is not in perfect condition, so paint would help hide some of the flaws.  

Feeling a little defeated, Noa bought some paint.  All that work of scrubbing and putting down chemicals was pretty much done for nothing, but at this point, we just wanted this project finished. 

First, Noa had to wash off all the paint removing chemicals and let the deck dry thoroughly.  Praise the Lord that we had sunny days last week.

After some drying time, Noa sanded down (using our small DeWalt random orbital sander, AKA Walt) what was left on the surface.  Finally, the deck was ready to paint.  We used Behr Premium Solid Color Weatherproofing Wood Stain (which sounds deceiving...it's a solid color paint, not really a stain).  At first we tried to match the original color, a dark bluish-gray, but we found that the paint was too blue when applied.

 Instead, we decided to go with a simple gray.  After two days of painting, we were left with this:  

Eight days after starting the simple deck project, it was done.  It's not perfect and not exactly what we going for, but it's done.   And I'm so proud of Noa for tackling this un-fun, frustrating project and seeing it to the end, even if it meant going with plan B.  If only I could see my own home project to completion...

Here's our deck today.