Build Day in Aberdeen

Thanks to NeighborWorks, the entire crew headed out to the local Denny's for breakfast.  The Pacific Northwest weather finally caught up with us and this morning, so we threw on our rain jackets, turned on our lights and headed out to get an all American breakfast.  Thankfully they gave the restaurant a heads up and who brought in some extra staff to help with the influx of people; as a group we forget how quickly we can overtake a space.

After paying my bill two older gentlemen flagged me down to inquire as to why we were all there so early in the morning.  After giving them the quick run down of Bike and Build we quickly got to talking about life in and around Aberdeen.  Apparently these two guys meet a couple of times a week and quiz each other on US history.  They invited me to join in and I even got a couple of questions right. 

On the way to the build site we found a great Star Wars mural and of course had to stop and take a picture.  Hey Kelton!

Thankfully the weather held out just enough so we could start on the exterior painting project.  

After a quick orientation we started in three sections: high, middle and ground level. 

Safety first!  Nice triangle Ethan.

Teamwork makes the dream work, especially when it comes to adjusting ladder sizes.

 

Only the highest of fives for Ian!  The new build shirts are officially broken in.

Before lunch, four brave souls decided to take on the watermelon challenge.  Andrew A (lovingly known as A Squared or Texas) was victorious.  The rest of the team ate the remaining watermelon at a more civilized pace with our pizza.

As the work day began to wind down a group of us started to wash out brushes and rollers.  

Nothing like ending the day in the sun!

All in all we got two houses mostly painted today.  Look at all those smiling faces.

Addendum: One of the great things about being a slacker and not writing any blog posts until I got home means I get to include follow up pictures and updates.  A week after we wrapped up, NeighborWorks sent us a final picture of the first house we worked on (professional painters came in to finish up the trim work because none of our ladders would reach).