Planting Trees

We planted several new flowering pear trees in our backyard this last weekend. We planted 5 trees along the fence line to help create some privacy. The trees are each 20 feet tall and they are going to be gorgeous once they become established. Flowering pears produce no fruit, but beautiful white blossoms in the Spring, and colorful foliage in the fall. It is nice to have some mature trees in the backyard that can help block wind and provide shade during the summer. Mature landscaping helps to increase the value of a home so when re-landscaping, consider adding trees instead of removing trees (each property varies).


Each tree weighed about 600lbs! They were big!




Before (this is not a black and white photo)


After (none of the photos have been edited)

Removing Popcorn Ceilings

In March, we decided that it was time to remove the popcorn ceilings. We had been living in the basement up to this point, and we were ready to move upstairs. It was a lot of hard, messy work, but the finished product is well worth it. To remove the popcorn ceiling, we first, lightly sprayed the ceiling with warm water. This made the scraping much easier and it helped with some of the dust. After spraying the ceilings, it was a lot of scraping and sanding to get a smooth, even surface. Once that was done, we hired a crew to apply the new texture and primer. We are still painting walls and ceilings, but we are very happy with the results thus far. Goodbye 1970's, hello 2010! Enjoy the pics of the mess!


Emily hard at work


The vacuum was supposed to help with the dust.
It didn't!


Viola, no more Popcorn and ready for
Orange Peel!



We couldn't have done any of it without
these two guys!


This is still a work in project. The walls
obviously need paint and so does the ceiling,
but it really feels like we have raised the roof
in here.

Selah Hillcrest Home Befores