We are a DIY family trying to build a better life. We like to share projects and regular life updates. Our goals are to create a happy home, live healthy, develop our life skills, and see where our life leads us.
I love this property and I think it’s sensible to stay where you are for now and make it beautiful… especially with price rises ect. You have everything you wanted and more. Can’t wait to see it all done up. Very excited for you all 😊
My wife and I moved to Florida back in 2003 from New York and we haven't looked back since. I just love the nature that surrounds us all year long. And the winters here feel like Indian summers. With temperatures around the 30' and 40's in the evening and early morning hours. And in the 50's 60's and 70's in the afternoons. We welcome that change after the humid and hot summers here in Florida. I am very happy for you and your family for making this your home. I feel after all is said and done.... It will be your forever home. Just like my wife and I thought it would be a temporary stay. We became permanent residents of Florida ever since. Love all you have done this far. The house and property are all coming together. And cannot wait to see all what's coming next. Awesome compilation!
It is very wise of you both to not call it your forever home. You are leaving room for the unknown of anything that could happen. Glad to hear you are settled for now & have no current plans to move. You really took great care of your Michigan property & you are doing the same there in Florida. I couldn't believe how much shown on the video that I forgot. It's truly amazing how much you did get done!! Thanks for sharing it all. God Bless
The foundation and roof are major accomplishments. Then all the land clearing, tiling,porch build, and countless other projects are to be included in this very productive year. You guys are amazing and looking forward to seeing this diamond in the rough become your beautiful home.
I Love the sound of the frogs too and don't like the spraying for mosquitoes either. I've enjoyed you, your family and all the restoration projects you've done. Glad to have been here for them and that you're more content to be where you are now. Always looking forward to what comes next. ((Hugs))
One thing I have noticed about both of you are the smiles on your faces since you moved to your new home. I am amazed by all you have accomplished in one year. 👍👍
Yah!! Loved the 1 year video! Can’t believe it’s been a year! Forgot how difficult the roof job was, as well as the the concrete foundation blocking 😳…Can’t wait to watch you make the house a bright, beautiful and DIYfferent home for your lovely, sweet family!
Congratulations on your one-year anniversary. It is truly amazing to see your broad spectrum of construction knowledge and the amount of work you both have done. Kudos to you both.
God bless y’all abundantly and stay safe and healthy!…y’all have accomplished so very much in one year!…you both are indeed very hard workers and excellent DIYers! Thank you 🙏 for sharing your ideas and your family!
True! Her drawing skills have improved enormously since we saw the first dragon drawings. The attention to detail is impressive and if she keeps her interest in drawing up where it is now, she can be as good or even better than Akiane Kramarik.
You both look so much more relaxed and happy since moving to Florida. Home is where you feel safe and happy so enjoy your home for as long as it fills your needs. Life changes here and there so at anytime in the future when things change for you may you find a new home that suits then. In the meantime, relax and put down some roots and enjoy all you can of the warm climate. The property is coming along beautifully and will soon be a very beautiful and comfortable place to live. How many acres do you own there? I see it developing into a dream property for you all.
So glad your happy…it definitely shows…and in a year you have done sooo much…just the four of you 👏🏻👏🏻❤️❤️. Great video Thank you …may the next year be as productive and continue to give joy and happiness abound! 🙋🏻♀️🇬🇧💕jane
A person gets caught up in what is left to do, you tend to forget how much you have already done. Really enjoyed looking back at projects already completed, good job Doug and family. Stay safe and keep your eye on the prize.
You had mentioned once that you considered on becoming a home inspector….hubby and I think you’d be very successful as one because of all the knowledge you have acquired in renovating, Hey, you could do a RU-vid of you doing that! But should you decide to renovate a future home after this one that is up to you. We love watching you and Ashley working together no matter what.
You have come so far in your efforts and I applaud you!! What an amazing transformation this will be. Being a native Floridian I am so thankful to see that you saved one of Florida’s dieing homes. You have a diamond in the rough and it will be a beautiful homestead soon. Keep up the great work! Blessings to you and your family.
The prices of homes in Florida are outrageous. Your home will be worth 5 times what you bought it for. Its gonna be beautiful when finished. I think you all love it there. Thank you for sharing it all with us. You have made a huge difference already.
All I can say is, You guys smile a lot more now, even with some of the unexpected extra projects. I’m so use to the frogs and cicadas in my own area, I don’t even pay attention to y’all’s 😀 This video was so different. Loved the conversation. It was fun. You should consider doing it more often, but I know you’re really busy. Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary 👏🏼 Glad you’re considering the new place, The Place. Ashley your editing skills has been so spot on. All the way from sound effects, to music choices. Looking forward to many more years of watching your little family and home place become everything you have dreamt of.
Ashley, I don't think I've ever heard you talk as much as you did in this video! 😃 You can really tell what a positive impact this move has had on you! 🥰 I'm so happy for you and your family! Belle and Maverick are thriving! Thank you both for the compilation 💗
Congratulations on your first anniversary in Florida. I'm very impressed by how much you've done so far especially with all the delays and shortages of materials. Particularly replacing the foundations of the house. I'm sure you'll be in your bedroom before winter and am looking forward to seeing how that goes. ❤
Wow! You forget till you look back at how much you have accomplished. Terrific video reminder and great job on the house. Y’all look like you’re having fun. Have a wonderful weekend. God’s Blessings to all.
I just watched the ending!! A time lapse into the remodel over the last year... You two are Amazing and such an Inspiration!! I have a 1975 double wide that is in Desperate need of repair!! Especially the roof and siding on the mobile .. You give me HOPE that I can do this on my own♥️ Thank you SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH US!! SO GRATEFUL FOR YOUR CHANNEL 🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏
That was great. You’ve done so much. I’d forgotten how pretty your front door is….and the roof…man oh man…y’all have done a lot. Happy Anniversary from a fellow Floridian 😀🦩
Amazing compilation video! 🤩 You both work so hard (that's an understatement.) Doug, your talents range from carpenter, foundation expert, roofer, plumber, electrician, tile-layer and so much more! Your work is excellent. 👏 You both are teaching your children a great worth ethic. 💯 Congrats on one year!! 🥳
Exceptional intelligent unassuming delightful humans who are also exceptional, patient & diligent remodelers, builders. I am so glad you have each other and operate as a loving, respectful team. You blow my socks away...will have to replace them before Virginia winter roles around. :-D Your admiring, faithful viewer.
I’ve been watching from beginning pretty much I’m just not a commenter but I’d like to say out of all the years I think Ashley and well all of you look so much happier !! Think a lot of you all and always watch every video
I don’t need to approve of what makes you guys happy. And you have been and continue happy. I’m thrilled to see how relaxed you are. This is your perfect place for now. When you need something else you can find your next happy place.
Hi,Just wanted to say I am a 67 grandma who lives in FL I enjoy and love FL I love watching your videos Keep up the work and keep the videos coming Love and God bless you all
I hope you see this because you'll benefit from it. Here's how to remove mosquitos from your property. Get half a dozen 5 gallon buckets. Fill them half way up or so with water and put a mosquito dunk (Google!) in it. The mosquitos will lay their eggs in the water and the dunks will kill them, naturally no chemicals. I'm in MA and I did this on my property and I now have zero mosquitos. Normally I'd be swarmed. I literally stopped the breeding cycle.
Interesting. We already have Mosquito Dunks and Bits and use them in large puddles or under the crawlspace when needed, but I never thought of setting buckets up and purposely baiting them and killing the larva. It's a good idea. Thanks!
You sure have done a lot on this house and will great skill and perfection. Glad you are staying for awhile, this will be a great house and the kids seem to be so happy here.
When I saw the glass door knobs, I knew you liked the house. When I saw the doors I thought, this isn’t a transition house it’s at least a investment house. Now it’s a home. You both seem so much happier; you’re beginning to relax and put down roots. Keep up the good work.
To be honest, I'm just happy seeing You guys happy! Ashley smiling and watching you guys take something broken down and rebuilding it into a beautiful home is incredible. I've seen you create 2 previous properties and it's amazing 👏
You have done a lot of amazing work. And a lot of it is foundational, making it right and good to build upon. And the fact that it has been DIY makes it even more amazing.
You guys look so happy !! I hate it when people want to use words like: Forever, Never, Always when no one knows what is going to happen in the future! Seems like your home is pretty perfect and it's amazing what you guys have already done to the property !!! You have a one man destruction crew & a one man builder that will take on anything that is needed. PLUS Ashley is Always there to help and then when MORE hands are needed, the WHOLE family steps in!! The one thing that I really do not miss it the frantic sound in your voice that we have to really hurry up before the cold weather & SNOW comes. Yes, you do have rain, but it's NOT the same!! It's funny when Maverick 1st ran by, the 1st tine he sounded like a horse trotting by !! The sound that the frogs make doesn't bother me, but the other noise makes do. We call then "Katy Dids" here in Southwest Virginia, but they are easy to get used to Also!! THANKS So Much for Sharing Your Life With Us!! !
We moved from NY to TN. Love the cost of living here, and the weather. Friendly people, great neighbors. Florida was a dream of ours too, but as housing prices keep rising, we've decided to stay put also. We are much older than you are, and to start over is exhausting for us... I wish you both well, and I'm glad you are happy where you are.
So happy for your family 🥰 So glad that y'all are feeling happy and comfortable with your home!! That is a huge thing!! Much Love and Many Blessings to you and your family 🙏❤️🙏
I remember when you started on the foundation...I thought...holy cow And then watching everything else you guys have done! Hard to believe it's been a year. I think you have a wonderful place - love what you've done to the yard. Your house is going to be beautiful, too!
Ashely's smiles told me all I needed to know! Doug, I recall an old video where you said all you wanted to do was make Ashely happy, and that really touched me. I think it's safe to say you've done just that! And you guys have done a phenomenal amount of work in a year! Can't wait for all the transformations in the next year. Thanks for bringing us along!
You're not done yet, but you have completed massive amounts of work. It's hard to believe you did all that in one year! Loved the video of your progress! I don't know if you ever mentioned how many square feet of living space you're working with. The house looks big with everything that was torn out.
Congratulations on your 1st year. So proud of you two. It's exciting to see couples living out there dreams. Thanks for sharing your progress. Blessings sent for you and your family you folks deserve all the best life has to offer. Love your channel so positive and uplifting ❤️
So much accomplished. Talk about hard working focus skill and creativity. Your whole family is doing so well. I love this property. I have a manufacuted house and they can be so vunerable to natural disasters. You now have a proper house. So happy for you.
How wonderful to see you two so happy at your new place. You are settling in real nice. And so much work has already been accomplished! And I am very glad to see you enjoying life as well as working on the property. Great video and review of ALL you have done.
👏🏻🙌🏻💪🏼You all have got to be proud of your achievements, placing a lot of us in a state of awe! Thoroughly enjoyed this! The house and your land clean-up! It's a journey that I love being on and thankful that you have invited us along! Looking forward to all that is in your amazing family's future!
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. It has been fun and educational for me. I am so impressed with the amount of work you have accomplished in the past year, as well as the quality of care you have put into it.
Wow…a year already!! We love the way you and Ashley work…as a well oiled team together. All the structures…better than originally built. You guys have done so much work and improvements to your property and home. Love, love Belle’s beetles’s drawings…she has talent with shading and all. Your children are very cute.
Can’t wait to see the finished product. There must be much satisfaction seeing everything take shape and all that you have accomplished. Great job! Love you all.
Oh my gosh!! I knew you have done a ton of work but seeing it wow. You are so right, housing prices are insane right now. I love your home and how you are bringing it back. You have done amazing work. I know you don’t want to say it’s your forever home but I know I wouldn’t leave it. Good job guys, I love it♥️
Amazing what you have done so far in only one year! I have always enjoyed growing Queen palms when we were in Florida, and especially the sound they make in the afternoon winds when it is storm time.
My 4 siblings and I played in the mist from the trucks spraying for bugs when we were kids. All 5 of us are in our late 60’s/early 70’s with no side effects and fairly healthy. May or may not have grown extra limbs or digits😂. Looking forward to the next year and all your adventures and projects.👏👏❤️❤️
The Journey - You all are getting a taste of what the country has to offer living in the North and South. Having lived in a dozen states, I finally settled down in the Pacific Northwest and and Hawaii. I started in SoCal and went where my career took me out of college. That continued after I started my own company. Started to settle down after I got married. Stayed put for 10 years when kids came along. The best advice I can give to anyone is to treat life like a journey. We only get one shot. Make it count.
Omygoodness!! the amount of work done in one year is nothing short of astounding! Plus recording and editing and posting videos so we can follow along on your journey. Much respect and thank you. Doug and Ashley, you are a power to be reckoned with.
I'm glad you're happy,and content where you are. And I'm just the opposite, I'd rather deal with cold in the winter than heat and humidity! And I love 4 seasons!
So good to see u on screen Ashley. U look very happy and healthy. For some people Florida gets into ur bones and never leaves. Glad ur family is getting to experience its wonders. Have enjoyed all the projects so far and am excited for what’s next. Thank u for the time u guys put into filming and editing. That’s very time consuming.
I think your a wonderful young couple ,and ya all look so much happier in Florida..and its so good to see you both smile so much.. Beautiful parents and beautiful children,keep up the good work ,both of you.. and keep up the wonderful art work Bell😊
What an amazing task you have accomplished and in a relatively quick fashion. Looking back in this video, reminds me just how much you have done. You pretty much have a new house now! :) Time is flying by. Thank you for sharing your journey. It has been a full one.
Nice annual repris---y'all have done a super job. And, by "all", I mean the kids as well as you adults---and I'm not forgetting the guard duck from the pond. Just keep a close eye on the snakes down there; there be some nasties!
Ashleigh is aging backwards and Belle is getting taller. Soon they will look more like twins than mom and daughter. The climate is good for all of you. It is amazing how much you have accomplished. It is going to be a great home and property. Much equity is being added.
