"A Labor of Love" (...or more aptly titled: "What Was I Thinking?")

Bear with my long-winded story and you’ll see the pictures…

It all started with Katelynn growing up and outgrowing her toddler bed.  Little by little she’s been getting taller and it was becoming more apparent we needed to find alternative sleeping arrangements for her.  We knew in future homes we might not have the square footage we have now, so we decided on a double bed with a trundle pullout to be used as a guest bed in the event we don’t have a guest bedroom.  Additionally, we were looking for additional storage under the bed to make up for a lost space.  So we started shopping around for natural pine-colored beds to match the rest of her furniture, but ran into a few issues.  First, natural pine doesn’t seem to be a very popular color for kids’ furniture any more.  And secondly, manufacturers don’t seem to understand there’s a lot of lost “real estate” under a double bed with a trundle.  We could find beds with a single level of storage drawers (two levels made the bed too tall for Katelynn) and we could find beds with trundles, but none with single level storage drawers and a trundle.  Yeah, OK…. so we were a little specific in our search.

When we struck out with all the area furniture stores, we decided to check our favorite unfinished wood furniture store when we were in Dallas coming back from our camping trip.  The people there are wonderful and very helpful.  In fact, we've found a number of great pieces there in the past.  However, when they didn’t have what we were looking for, they offered to build us a custom bed to our exact specifications… for $1600!!!   After picking up my jaw of the ground, I started looking online for alternatives and found ana-white.com.  This woman decided to build her entire house and then all the furniture in it.  She has numerous plans on her website for beds, and after looking them all over, I decided I could probably modify various plans on the website and make something that worked for our needs.

Now, back when I was a teenager in high school, I spent 3 years breaking various child labor laws by working for a contractor building houses, so I’m not completely an amateur when it comes to carpentry (although I wasn’t really ever good at it).  And I did take Woodshop in the 8th grade, so I’m qualified to undertake an advanced woodworking project after over a decade, right?  Well, after doing the math and factoring in the cost of the tools I’d need to buy, I was still going to come out ahead if I built it myself.  So I took the plans off the Internet and started running the numbers, modifying them to meet my needs, and working out the measurements again and again.  After weeks of planning, I finally found an opening in my schedule and took advantage of the long Columbus Day weekend.  So off to Lowe's and Home Depot I went, spending 3.5 hours going up and down the aisles purchasing several hundred dollars in lumber, tools, and other supplies.  I measured the wood the weekend before the long weekend, and left for a weeklong work trip.  When I came home from the trip, it all began… it was game time!!!!

Katelynn hanging out in the messy garage with
all the lumber I purchased at Lowe's and Home Depot

Both kids came out to the garage to help a little bit each day.  There were ups and downs throughout the project, especially when dealing with the drawers (what was I thinking?).  At one point, a drawer got so stuck that I had to force it out… but when it finally gave, it slammed right into my rib bruising it and knocking the wind out of me.  And of course, each day required a new trip to Lowe's or Home Depot to pick up something I had forgotten.  But each day also saw a little more progress:

DAY 1 - Building the shelf unit and drawers

DAY 2 - Building the trundle

DAY 2 - Getting a little help with the wheels

DAY 3 - Building the headboard, footboard, and bed rails

DAY 3 - Assembly coming along

DAY 4 - Polyurethane (with some "expert" help) 

DAY 4 - Second coat of Polyurethane

DAY 5 - All sanded

Today, after coming home from another work trip, we moved it upstairs into Katelynn’s room and set it up.  To say that Katelynn is excited about her bed is an understatement. 

The final product... Ta-Da!!!!

Three drawers on the side 

A pull-out trundle identical to the drawers on the other side

Loving her big-girl bed

And while it’s exciting to know I built my daughter something that will last her a lifetime, I don’t see myself quitting my day job.  I’m a much better cop than I am a carpenter.  Most people I’ve talked to can’t believe I attempted such a difficult project (with drawers nonetheless), but those that know me well know when I get an idea in my head… there’s very little stopping me from achieving my goal.

Trips Galore

Where do I begin..  I know it's been a while since I have blogged but it seems like life has been terribly busy.  Here is an update on some fun things we have done over the past couple of months...

After Carl returned home from Mauritania (and he and I spent some wonderful time in Paris and Monaco), he took a week off from work so we could hang out as a family.  Carl and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary and the next day we embarked on a camping adventure with the kids.  The last time I went "real" tent camping was 5 years ago.  Several years ago, I heard about a place in Arkansas where you can dig for real diamonds and keep any that you find.  Of course that peaked my interest, but we never made it up there - until now... this was our chance.  We set out for Murfreesboro, Arkansas, a 7 hour drive north of us.  We made it to the campsite and set up our tent.  Katelynn was so excited about sleeping in a tent and she still talks about it.

Todd and Katelynn excited after getting the tent set up

The next morning after breakfast, we headed over the diamond mining site.  This place is the only place in the world where a regular person can mine for diamonds and keep what you find.  We rented our tools and dressed in clothes that we didn't care about getting muddy in.  We received a lesson in the 3 different methods of mining.  It was a fairly hot day, but we made sure to stay hydrated and rest from time to time.

We were not successful on the first day of mining for diamonds, but we still had fun and found various types of rocks including quartz and agate.  Later in the day we made our way over to the pool/splash pad waterpark that is connected to the diamond field.  It was nice to cool off and relax after a long day of digging.

The next morning we began another digging adventure and met some very die-hard diamond diggers.
Once again we were not successful at finding a diamond but we still had a lot of fun working together as a family.  On our last night at the campsite, we roasted marshmallows and had smores.  We made it into the tent for the night just as a rainstorm began and we fell asleep listening to the rain... so peaceful!  On our way home from camping, we decided to make a 150-mile detour and stop in Dallas.  We visited some of our favorite eating places from when we lived there last year.  Babe's Chicken is must if you are ever in the Dallas area. It has the most amazing fried chicken tenders, vegetables, and biscuits.  We also made a stop at Braum's Ice Cream and Country Store.  This was always a favorite of ours since their ice cream is out of this world.

A few weeks after our return from camping and digging for diamonds, Carl had a work trip to the city that never sleeps.  As my track record holds, I ended up turning his work trip into a mini vacation.  The weather in New York City was absolutely beautiful and a nice change from the hot humid climate of Houston.  Carl and I were able to spend the first couple of days together, but when he started working the night shift, I explored the city on my own.  We went to see the broadway musical Mamma Mia and had a blast.  I was able to take a train to Connecticut to meet up with my former youth pastor and his family, Dave.  Dave lives in a beautiful part of the country and the leaves were just starting to change.  It was so good to spend some time with Dave and Paula and see how much their kids have grown.

Times Square

I found out about a discount broadway ticket booth where you can get tickets to shows up to 50% off.  I set off early on my last full day in New York City to Times Square where the ticket booth was located.  It is located in the middle of Times Square.  The booth opens at 10 am, however I was there at 8 am and was first in line.  Around 8:30 am, the line started to pick up and I was glad I made the trek early in the morning.  I was able to get Carl and I half off tickets to the Jersey Boys musical.  Jersey Boys is the story about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  The music was amazing.

Later in the evening after Carl went to work, I walked to Rockafellar Center which was only a few blocks from our hotel and did the evening Top of the Rock tour.  The view of New York City at the Top of the Rock is incredible.

view from Top of the Rock during the day

view from Top of the Rock at night

On one of the days we were in New York City together, we took the subway down to the location of where the World Trade Center was and where Freedom Tower currently stands.

It was amazing to see how much progress was made on the construction of both Freedom Tower and the World Trade Center Memorial.  Last time we were there, 8 years ago, it was nothing but a huge excavation pit.  The Memorial is beautiful and is a wonderful tribute to those who gave their lives on that fateful day.

Stay tuned for an update from Carl on a recent project (it'll be posted in about a week or so) - you're not gonna want to miss it!