Raising the walls

Today's progress!

Happy Thanksgiving to All

Addition update!

Front of the house

View from the southwest. Door opening onto the garden area and 4 windows (office and playroom windows.)

Same thing from the west.
I could take pictures from the inside, but they are so hard to figure out when you're looking through 2x4's. All the first floor interior walls are up, the stairs going down, and the 1/2 bath on the main floor is done. Things always turn out a little different between the paper view and the real thing. The playroom seems considerably smaller than I was hoping, however there is a great "playhouse" area under the stairs and 1/2 bath so that will be fun to "create". One guest room seems a tad small too, but the office is bigger than I expected. All in all, it is coming together just right.

p.s. sorry for the ridiculously long post last time. :o(

Oh my, what a day!

Blogs were made for days like today when there are so many mishaps that they must be shared with the world.

The day starts fine with the kids playing on their "late start Wednesday", cracking each other up with stupid jokes. So much laughing that it is contagious. I take them to school and pick up my volunteer "homework" from the teachers. I have a pretty loaded agenda with cleaning house for meeting, bathing the dog so we can stand to have him in the truck with us, packing for the first of 2 long weekends in Chelan. After getting the house under control I go outside to play with Tucker so he canl burn off some energy before bringing him in the house for a bath. I'm kicking a ball down the street for him to fetch. I call him back each time with exaggerated enthusiasm so he will run as fast as he can, thus burning more energy. This is where it all began...he came at me full throttle and didn't stop. My upper body goes over him, down to the pavement with my hands holding up my upper body and my lower body off the ground laying over Tucker's back. Seriously, my feet were off the ground. Who knows where my skirt was? I moved so fast to get back upright. Mind you, we have two men working at our house and to say I was mortified doesn't even come close to my feeling. I didn't turn around to see if they saw anything. I didn't hear any guffawing so that was a good sign. One more kick and I thought I was ready for the bathing. I had to coax him in the house, up the stairs, leaving cute muddy paw prints in the almost clean house. He got in the tub after just a few minutes, more to get a drink than a bath. Tucker does not like the water very much so once I got him in it was a struggle to get him wet. We're talking a standard size tub and a standard size golden retreiver...about the same size actually. He wouldn't stay in unless I was in with him. That doesn't leave much room. I strip down to my unmentionables and start soaping him up. There is no way to get him down in the water unless I pull his legs out from under him...caught by surprise, down he goes...up he goes...out of the tub...soaking wet...and SHAKES!!!! The bathroom isn't so big which means the ENTIRE bathroom has smelly dog bath water covering every surface. After a few slippery circles around the bathroom I put my muscles to work and pick him up, back into the tub. Now I have no mercy, I just want the job done. Kaylee gets some dog treats for me so I can soften the blow of being dunked. He's not even interested in the treats. Down he goes 1, 2, 3 times. But now we have a problem, only one side is getting rinsed. I pick him up, 70 pounds of squirming wet dog and JUST about go over the edge of the tub. I don't know what kept me up except for the thought that if I fall and break bones or something I am not dressed and there are still two men working at my house. Down he went on the other side... ALL DONE! Out he goes onto the floor that is now covered in towels. Everytime he started to shake I'd throw another towel on him. Very obediently he followed me down the stairs to his big pillow in front of the fire to finish drying. Now I have a bathroom to clean, literally from top to bottom. That done I come down the stairs with the mop bucket and promptly drop it. A full bucket of dirty water upside down at the bottom of the stairway. I use the last three dry towels in the house to soak it up. Now I have a stairway to clean. That done, Tucker comes from his pillow frantically and I guess that he needs to go potty. I take him out and I'm so impressed that he went right away. (He's not a house dog and has no potty training to speak of.) The impression was lost on the fact that I'm wearing Randy's shoes for this quick little potty time and Tucker decides he wants to play. He pulls me in circles on the leash, just about toppling me over once again. I hear a little knocking on the window and Kaylee is in hysterics over this amusing scene. (Luckily I'm on the other side of the house from the two men working.) Back in the house Tucker lays down for another nap. I finish cleaning, packing, setting up chairs, give Kaylee a hug for being so good all day and sit down for a little rest before we head over the mountain. The silver lining...I have a clean dog; clean stairway; clean bathroom, every towel in the house is washed and put away; I had two showers myself; and we'll come home to a clean house on Sunday.

Have a good weekend everyone!

The Sport Court

Since the original plan was to add just a playroom, we decided to go back to the basics:

paint lines on the slab, put up a basketball hoop, draw a hopscotch pad and call it a sport court!!
The kids had so much fun last Saturday. (The thought of the sport court lasted long enough to chuckle about it!)

This was my front row seat of the backfilling. I felt like a nosy, little housewife on Monday. I didn't know what window to peak out of: the west entry window to watch the backyard start to take shape again; or the south window to watch the walls go up. I pretty much went from window to window all day!

All four first floor walls are up! The contractor gets here just as my alarm in the morning goes off and leaves just before it gets dark. I haven't snuck my camera out yet to get more pictures. Shame, shame.

I went out tonight just after he left and walked through the walls...dreaming...I stopped at the window where the office will be located and this was the view! (The picture was taken last night, but same thing tonight.) The garden is right outside door, the Olympic Mountains in the background, sunset....ooohhh, no wonder I've been waking up at 3 and 4am with a big cheesy grin!

The slab is in

Something has been happening just about every day, but nothing too exciting.

Today was exciting!! The slab got poured!
Lumber gets delivered tomorrow and framing starts on Monday. I have some very excited butterflies doing dances inside of me :o)

the kids ate breakfast on the window sill

a very long hose on the pump truck

Beauty!

The first concrete pour!

An addition update...the footings were poured on Monday, foundation walls are being put up as I type, and another pour is scheduled for today.

Kaylee's view of the cement truck

Halloween

A bunch of hooligans!

My little flower child,

my big tough ninga,

and my shy little one that wouldn't ever want to dress up because that would be too out of the ordinary...until I don't get her an outfit, then she decides she wants to be Barbie. I can never win! One day she tells me, "I don't want to do that because it looks funny and I don't do funny things." The next day/week she's wondering where her Halloween clothes are. I was trying to be subtle with the cute little festive shirt/socks/hair doodad.

Some very good friends of ours in their finest!