It's tradition! Apparently.

Because of Ben's job we tend to move frequently. Case in point: we've been married ten years and have lived in five different cities together. Sometimes this means we choose our next new home under less than ideal conditions. And that means we sometimes have to deal with less than ideal house-related issues.

Our yellow-clad, turquoise-doored, porch-wrapped house is absolutely adorable. And it must be changed in at least 47 different ways. In fact, we started making changes (mentally on Pinterest) before we even saw the house in person. And once we actually closed and "moved" in...

It took us less than three weeks to

1. Confirm that yes, the carpet had to go
2. Decide on the type of replacement flooring(something not carpet)
3. Select said flooring (engineered hardwoods)
4. And start ripping things apart

And then I realized (okay, Ben pointed it out) that this has become a moving tradition for us! Observe:

Not too long after moving into our rental home in Florida we felt the undeniable desire to fix the fireplace in the family room. With the landlords' permission, of course.

Three years and a million offers later we snagged a house in Virginia. And proceeded to demolish the kitchen.

In 2016 we moved to Italy. We lived in hotels for more than two months while we struggled to find a house. Residential construction norms are wildly different overseas so we didn't do much. There was a cabinet mounted directly above the kitchen sink that we absolutely had to get rid of. It literally rested atop the faucet. I am sure I have a photo somewhere...

And now, here we are in Missouri. Ripping and tearing and making a mess.

Because, it is tradition.