Lots of updates

So lots has happened since my last blog. First off we had a great Thanksgiving. We went to my aunt's house for dinner with my family. Then the Sunday after we had James' dad, brothers and one of their girlfriends over for dinner at our house. It was the first Thanksgiving dinner I have cooked by myself. It went really well!! On the 6th we went The Singing Christmas Tree, it was amazing. We can't wait to go again next year.

As for the house we now have Stucco, a garage door (with an opener), and all the drywall seams and nail holes are all taped and mudded. We are moving right along to the closing date. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

STUCCO!!

the granite we picked out

garage door

Buddy & Justice

What a difference one day makes . . .

Since they were going to be installing the insulation yesterday I wanted to get some pics before the drywall went up today. So after James left for work I realized he took the flashlight. On the way to the house I stopped at Target and got a flashlight. Then on my way over to the house I again realized James had the hard hats in the car. I figured no one would be there anyway so I just continued. When I got there though, not one piece of insulation was up. :( And to add insult to injury the house next door had stucco!

So today armed with my hard hat this time I went back over and much to my surprise the insulation was up AND most of the drywall too!!! It really looks like a house now. It was so cool to be able to see it with walls. Hopefully tomorrow they will finish it off. Enjoy the pictures below, more to come.

just the insulation


looking into the dining room and kitchen from the family room

from the kitchen thru the dining room into the family room

garage

tunes for the workers LOL (held up by wire)

Stamp of approval

So today we had our pre-drywall walkthru. It went great, everything is where it is supposed to be. We did find out that our close date may be pushed back to Feb 6th, instead of Jan. 15th. Bob the builder, no seriously that is his name LOL!!! Anyway Bob had no idea about the change, so maybe we are on schedule after all we should know before Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be the frame inspection, then Mon insulation will be installed followed by drywall on Tues and Wed. By next week we should have stucco.

On the loan front, we locked into a 90 day lock. The rates came back down after Halloween when they had gone up. We locked today at 6.25% YEAH!!! By Thanksgiving we should have all the final numbers.

We are going to try and get pictures with insulation and drywall. We just have to be sure and get there on time to get them or we'll miss it.

I hope all of you are doing well, and have a great Thanksgiving!!

all ready for stucco

electrical box in garage

plumbing!

Been a long time

Ok it's been a long time since my last post and a lot has happened since then. First we went to Las Vegas. We had a lot of fun and only lost $50. The machine ate it within 20 min so we decided it wasn't worth it. We went and saw 2 shows there. We saw Zoomanity and V the variety show. It is amazing all the people standing on the sidewalks passing out hooker cards. It's ridiculous!!!But while walking the strip we found the water show at the Bellagio. AMAZING!! We stood there forever watching. We stayed at the Stratosphere which was very cool, but it is all the way at the end of the strip so you have to drive to get to the main part. All in all it was a great birthday trip.

In front of the Bellagio


When we got back we found that lots of progress had been made on the new house. When we left we just had a first story and part of a 2nd. When we came back we had a full second and part was being covered in plywood. The dates on the pictures are accurate so you can see the progress that is being made in such a short time. We have our predrywall walk through on the 20th so we should know if we are still on target for Jan 15th. We walked through by ourselves today and they have plumping, duct work, and electrical in.

Well I better get going James is starving. LOL surprise surprise!!

when we left for Vegas

a few days after we got back

a few days later

Cloth diapers . . .

Ok so in preperation for having kids James and I have decided to test out cloth diapers. So far I have given samples to a few friends and their babies, Annika and Hannah, Kristi and Maddie, and Jessica and Violet. The reviews are mixed, they say it is more work than disposables, but they don't leak. I think for the savings they will provide vs disposables we are going to use them. To that end I found a great store online that sells many brands and all kinds of accessories. The woman who started the store now has a blog as well. I encourage everone to take a look and see how cloth diapers have evolved. It is AMAZING!

http://theclothdiaperwhisperer.blogspot.com/

http://www.kellyscloset.com/

Best birthday ever!!!

I had the best birthday ever!!! The day before on Friday after sleeping part of the day to recover from the night of working before, James woke me up with a big surprise. While I had been asleep he MADE me a cake with frosting from scratch! He also had a big bouquet of flowers, that he again made all by himself from 3 seperate bouquets. Isn't he awesome!?!?!?! Then we went to dinner with my family at, duh, Chevy's. James made me open his present last. He did so good, my mom was impressed. Candles, lotion, a book about soulmates, and See's candy, what else could a girl ask for???

Today my friend Jenn came up for my birthday to have lunch. Then we went with my father in law to the Del Webb community since they were having a big event there. By the time we were done James was up so we went to the model of our new house to show Jenn.

I had a great day. Friends, family, and the best husband ever, what more could I ask for?!?!?!

my beautiful cake :)

Amazing what a few days does

So over the last week we have watched the house take form. It has gone from a slab to what looks like a bare bones house. It looks like they should be framing the 2nd story this next week. We even got to walk inside with hard hats. it was so cool to be able to see what it will look like.

earlier this week (view from back)

earlier this week (view from front)

today (view from back)

today (view from front)