Who needs contractors when you have parents?

My parents - the best parents on Earth - took a week of their vacation time to come all the way out to California and work on the house. Their good ol' midwestern attitude towards work meant that the two of them got more done in 5 days than Luke and I could hope to achieve in a whole week (it does help that they didn't have the little issue of having to work getting in the way). Mom artfully stripped the kitchen of all wallpaper and (the 4 layers of) glue, got rid of the wood panelled wainscoating, and painted out all of the dark, dreary mustard and aqua paint with a refreshing shade of white. Dad did what he does best and played in the yard by tearing out most of the stone clad "gardens" that lined the house and removing creepy, spindly bonzais. Dad and Luke got to swing hammers into walls as we knocked out the master closet to enlarge the bathroom, while I painstakingly took out the 3rd bedroom carpet and dried-out, crusted, and flaking padding under said carpet. Home Depot also came to replace windows at the front of the house. All in all, it was quite a productive week! Before and after pictures forthcoming.