New Fence!

After YEARS of the rotting old horse fence, bolstered by first plastic chicken wire and then wire deer fencing, we FINALLY got a new PVC fence installed today. Willow started busting out of the old, broken down gate and then one big cross big fell out in the front and we couldn't put it back into place. That was it. We were done with bandaids on that fence. It was just wrong all around and not safe.
I am so happy with the new fence I can barely contain myself. We actually expanded the back yard by bringing the fence up to where our neighbors' fence started and then coming down the driveway with it. You can see where the old fence was by the flowers and bushes that lined it. We'll have to transplant those because they are now in the middle of our new backyard section. We also replaced the small side section on the back of the house. We contemplated moving the fence into the "meadow" on the side of the house to expand the back even further, but decided against it. We're happy with the size of the yard and that side area won't really grow grass because it's so shaded, so it's not the best play area anyway.
Here's the new look!

Welcome Home!

Here's our new front door area with the new color, new mailbox, light, house numbers and welcome mat. Welcome home!

House Painting Done

Here are some shots of the house painted, with door color too :) I'll take a final picture of the front door once the new light, house numbers and mailbox go up. The color looks more yellow or more almond/beige depending on how the sunlight is hitting it. I like the door color a lot. I think it's a really warm red that isn't too dark or too orange. We're also happy to have the oil tank slightly camouflaged and not quite as noticeable.

House Painted!!

Well, it's not quite done. This is the first coat- I think they are doing 2, and it's not 100% dry, so the color may shift slightly, but I couldn't wait to post! I'm still processing. My house has been that sad grey (and various others) for so long! Seriously, I'm going to have to be careful giving people directions now, I'm so used to saying "it's the grey ranch". Woah.

I can't see out my windows!

There is a new law in Mass. that if a house is built before 1972 (or something close, I forget) you have to treat it as if there is lead paint unless it's been certified that there is not. This means that before the guys started scraping and sanding to prep the house for paint, they had to tape up all our windows and doors, and add tarp everywhere to catch all the chips and not let anything get into the house. It is very weird being in the house today and not seeing out the windows. But I'm super excited to have the three paint color samples we chose up in the front! The picture doesn't show the differences very well, and honestly, when Erik gets home, he probably won't see much difference either ;) But I do! The painter told me which one he likes best, and the contractor gave me his opinion. Now I just have to decide. Keagan just keeps saying "I want yellow!"

Prepping for Paint

The painters were here today to replace some of the rotten trim pieces and power wash the house. You can see how much of the old paint chipped off with the power washing. Yikes!

Exterior painting in the works!

I'm psyched to report that we'll be getting a contract soon for the exterior paint job! Our contractor was here with his painter to look around and we got a preliminary estimate which we agreed with and he's writing up the paper work! There is a new law that every house built before 1974 (I think) needs to be painted with a contractor who has been certified to handle lead contamination, which basically involves tarping and collecting all the paint chips from scraping, and keeping the kids out of the area while it's done. Not a big deal, and our contractor is certified to do it. It's never simple, is it?
Soon, I will get to pick colors :) That's the best part, right? I can't wait to have our house looking nice from the outside. I will post more info and colors as things get going.