Walls and Snow

Well....the guys have got every outside wall (except the garage walls) built and standing. We are so excited. We are still on to set the trusses on Monday and then the roofing begins. That's the only part I've ever had any experience in and I've only roofed a small portion of my in laws roof. Guess it's a good thing we're building 5 houses. By the end, I'll be an expert. It's fun to be able to see the progress. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Josh, Cole and Spencer building the south kitchen/laundry room wall.

Still working on that same darn wall. (Note, the pictures were only taken seconds apart. Can't blame 'em, they're working their fannies off.)

Here is the laundry room wall standing.

Here they sit. So patiently...waiting to be a part of our home. Without even a complaint about the cold. What lovely trusses.

This is a pic just for fun. The kids really haven't been out in the snow much in the last year, so we bundled up this morning and went outside. They played while I shoveled. We had a lot of fun.  

Kaleb and Talon

Framing in the Snow

Things are finally starting to look different.  We got our subfloor on Thursday and today we framed 8 of the 10 walls.  Since none of the inside walls are bearing walls, we just need to finish the other 2 outside walls to be ready for trusses.  Those should be delivered on the 22nd of December and we plan on trying to get them set that day.  We are very excited.  Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Spencer - One of the guys that we are building with.  He was working on our floor.

The weather didn't want to cooperate today.  It started out very windy and then the wind turned into snow.  We just couldn't win...but we did make a lot of progress.

Josh and Tim setting the wall in place.

The view through the kitchen, dining, living room and master bedroom to the back wall.

What Have You Done?

To participate, just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done.  It's kind of fun!!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii 
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie 
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican 
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life 
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous 
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (a wasp actually...does that count)
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

My Little Scholar

I love this picture of Coby.  We were at Mel's one day and the kids found these glasses.  I thought they looked so cute on Coby that I had to take a picture.  I think he's a good mix between a studious young man and ... you know... Harry Potter!

Almost a Floor

Josh has been working fast and furiously, along with the other people in the group, and we have some more progress to report. They have now cut and put down most of the floor joists and are probably going to start laying the subfloor today. We also got our garage floor yesterday. We are very excited to be moving so fast and hopefully, with the cooperation of the weather, we can have the house ready for trusses before Christmas. Here are a few pictures of the progress.

Here are a few of the floor joists laying across the hole.

The garage floor.  Still being smoothed over.

The floor joists secured and the rim board attached to the back of the house.

It's a Start

We have started our house!! On Friday afternoon, they delivered our lumber package, so Saturday morning, we started building. It's amazing how much goes into building a house. There is a lot to do before you can even start putting the first wall together, so we didn't get very far. We did get the house laid out and chalked, the green-plate on, and we got the bearing walls built in the basement. Next thing to do is get the floor joists cut and put in place. Hopefully Monday we'll get at least that far. Here are some pics from our Saturday adventures in building.

Our lumber package with our name on it!!

Getting the first wall in the basement laid out.

Putting together the 3rd and final bearing wall in the basement.

Here are the walls.  All standing and ready for floor joists.

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

With the help of the boys, we decorated the Christmas tree and got out the decorations yesterday.  It was a real surprise to Josh when he came home.  He has been working at the house until about 8:30pm every night this week.  We went with the pre-lit fake tree again this year, mostly because it's really easy. I think next year though, we might cut down our own.  This small tree just doesn't look as impressive as a really tall one would look in a room with a vaulted ceiling...which our new house will have.  Here are the three boys by their masterpiece.  

Kaleb, Talon and Coby

More Costumes

We're not sure if Halloween is over at our house or not. We just got a bag of clothes and shoes from some cousins and in the bag was this devil costume that Talon loves. He puts it on just about everyday. He told me right before we were going to take the picture that he thinks little devils have guns. Sounds good to me.

Look What We Did!

Well, this isn't our house, but we are still learning to be home builders. We are very excited to have started this project and we're learning so much as we go. We just started 1 week ago and I can't believe how much more I know already. Here is what we've accomplished so far.

Pheasants

Our neighbor Zach shot a couple of pheasants the other day and when we found out that he hadn't taken the meat yet, we thought our kids would like to watch. So we took them out to see just how you get the breast meat out of a bird. I know it sounds gruesome, but it wasn't. Besides, the kids had already watched Zach clean some fish he caught this summer, so we thought it would be okay. While we were standing there talking Kaleb kept saying, "hold it, hold it". So Zach let him hold the bird. It was so funny. He grabbed the thing by the neck and carried it all over the porch. He really thought that was great. Then after he was done, we got to have a little pheasant anatomy lesson.

Kaleb and the pheasant.

Zach showing the kids the pretty feathers. Brady, our neighbor, ended up taking a few of the feathers home in a bag and making an Indian hat out of them. It was so cute!!

Buddies

Talon and Kaleb

Um...Scary!!

So, my 7 1/2 month old is now pulling himself up on anything and everything to stand up.  I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or terribly frightened.  The realization that I could have a walking 8 month old is very scary.  Not likely, but you never know.  

I put the toilet paper on the floor today and Coby crawled right over and stood up next to it. Too CRAZY!!!

Kaleb and Coby playing with the good old T.P.

Moving Right Along

The concrete for our house is now cured and they have removed the forms.  We also got our tar painted on Friday and we are hoping that the excavator will back fill our lot in the next few days. Another update is that we have decided to go with pre-built walls, which is so nice because it will get the house back on track.  As of right now, we are about 2 months behind. With the pre-built wall we can just about put up an entire house in a day.  How great is that? So, with any luck, we will start framing the first house next Saturday and probably have our house framed by the middle of December... we may even have the roof on by then! 

We Have A Basement

We got our basement forms on Friday and they finally poured the walls this morning.  I took the kids over so they could see the cement and boom trucks.  They were very excited.  To tell you the truth, so was I!!  Now if we could just get started building.  

Coby's First Haircut

Well, my little Coby had his first haircut the other day.  I know some of you would say I am mean because I didn't wait and enjoy the baby hair long enough, but I just couldn't do it.  I guess it's just the hairdresser in me.  I had to get rid of the fuzzies.  I actually waited longer to do his than either of the other boys.  Here are some before and after pics.  I did the best I could while he was jumping on Josh's lap.  That boy never sits still!!

BEFORE

AFTER

Coby and Talon

Halloween

Here are just a couple of picture from Halloween.  We had a fun day.  In the morning, Talon had a preschool party and tiny parade.  Then we went to show Daddy and Grandma our costumes. At 4:00 we went trick-or-treating (kind of nice for the kids to trick-or-treat while it's still light-that's how they always do it here). To finish off the day, we went to a party.  We all had a blast eating soup and treats and playing games. Thanks Wathens for a great night!!

Talon is Batman, Kaleb is a gorilla and Coby is a lion.

Just a silly picture of Josh and I.  I went as an 80's girl and Josh is a guy riding on a monsters shoulder.  Kind of hard to tell from the picture though.

Coby's Busy Month

Coby had a busy October!  He started on rice cereal, oatmeal and baby food, cut two teeth, learned to crawl and celebrated his first Halloween as a Lion.  He is now 7 months old and even more busy than before because now he can move to the toys.  It's so fun to see him grow...especially since he is such a pleasant baby now.  We love his cute smile and determined personality.  

Coby is wearing Talon's hat in this picture and I think he is squinting from the flash, but I thought it was a darling picture of him.  Love those chubby cheeks!!

Plumbing!!

We finally have plumbing! The plumber got the pipes and drains in last week and now they are slowly working their way to our hole to do the footings and basement walls.  Then, we'll be off and running with the framing.  Looks like we will be in our winter best to build most of this house.  Oh well, at least it's a house right??

Pumpkins...Of Course

You know I had to do it.  Here is our Pumpkin post.  We went to the pumpkin patch with the Knudsens this year and it was so fun.  All of the kids had a blast picking their own pumpkins and riding in the wagon.  

After we picked out our pumpkins, the little kids all wanted to ride in the wagon, so Bradyn pulled and Dillan pushed.  That was a heavy load with kids and pumpkins.

Josh and I and our 3 little pumpkins.

All of the kids. So CUTE!!

Hey Cowboy

This is actually Talon's cowboy hat, but as you can see, Coby likes to wear it too.  Tal was on the floor playing with him one night and put the hat on him and he really seemed to like it.  Talon thought that was pretty fun!!

Baking with Aunt Hailee

Aunt Hailee came down a few days ago to bake sugar cookies with the boys.  They had a blast! They made pumpkins, ghosts, moons and cats. Then, of course, they frosted and decorated them.  Kaleb would spread the frosting on and then lick it off.  We saved his cookie just for him. The boys had so much fun.  Thanks Aunt Hailee!!!