New Windows!

We finally did it...we shelled out the cash to have new windows installed on the first floor of the house. We had the upstairs done when Kyla was a little thing and have been dreaming of doing the downstairs ever since. If any of you have looked into getting new windows, you know that the cost is amazingly high add the fact that we had 9 large, and funny sized windows to replace, and it's a large and scary bill! We went with West Coast Vinyl, a local company for the Northwest. We started install on Thursday with the plan being that it would take one full work day. Hmmm, things tend to take a bit longer than expected with our house, it's funny like that:) After working late into the evening on Thursday, they were back all day Friday and evening and then spent Tuesday afternoon and evening slaving away.

Here are the old windows. The seals were broken on all of them and they had immense amounts of condensation, staining and bugs inside them, making most of them foggy and hard to look out of.

The living roomThe OfficeThe bathroomThe StudioThe playroom

After they took over 3 hours to install one window, they called in two more guys to come help. So our team of four guys wrestled with the old windows for hours just getting them out! The old windows may have been ugly and inefficient, but they were installed well:)

As they prepared to put in the windows they realized that they new windows were significantly larger than our old ones, their measuring man had measured incorrectly. Whoops! After much head scratching, mumbling and grumbling, they figured out how to install the windows in our not so square house.

As they went to put up the old sills, they realized that with all the cutting they had to do to get the window to fit, the old sill and trim wouldn't fit anymore. After several hours of conversation between Chad, the installers and the company, we got the okay to have them put in new trim and sills. We ended up having to purchase a bit of the wood ourselves since we didn't want it to look like the old stuff (we'd been dreaming of putting in new trim for years now) and we are so happy with the end look! Now we just need to redo the rest of the trim that didn't need to be expertly replaced for free:)

The Office

The Living RoomThe Playroom

The BathroomThe Studio

We can actually see out our windows ( this is new for us...we really couldn't see out of the old ones) and the house is nice and cozy and warm. I do need to paint the outside trim, funny how I JUST finished doing that...oh well, the price I pay for new windows:) The inside trim needs to painted/stained now as well. I just have to make up my mind as to what I want it to look like. Maybe that will be my Christmas present...anyone want to come and help me paint:)?

With all this going on, we lost Max, our kitty cat. You wonder how we lost such a cute and cuddly kitty, well, her cuddliness is the major factor in her escape. On Thursday, she was getting so much attention by all the guys that she decided to hop in their trailer and fell asleep after it got dark and they were still working. They didn't do a "cat check" before they left (in the dark) and the next morning when he opened up the trailer to add some stuff, she jumped out and dashed away. In Gresham. In the dark of the morning. In a HUGE subdivision. The poor guy put out food and everything but he hasn't seen her since. The kids are taking it well and we know that some other family will fall in love with her and be able to enjoy her sweetness. We got her all healthy and fixed so she's ready for a happy life where ever she ends up. I joked with the installers that we bartered our cat for their services:)

We will miss our little Max but are so pleased with our windows. We'd love to have you over so you can see their loveliness:)