The Cutest Guided Tour.

Last night the boys went to a 4H meeting and the girls decided to go check out the house progress. We were thrilled to see that all the interior walls were complete!

We received yet another monsoon during our drive to the property so the sub-floor and all wood everywhere was completely saturated! The basement sump pump was still chugging along as there is no shortage of water in that pit.

I'm slightly freaked out regarding the dry-time of all the walls and floor...are they going to cover it all up before it's dry, resulting in mold? I've been assured that my fears are ridiculous but it wouldn't agree with my character to not question every professional involved..imagine that!

Our fearless 7 year old has been obsessed with Kids YouTube lately and she insisted that I record her while she gives the first official tour of our home. So without further adieu, enjoy!

PS. Please don't judge her mismatched PJ's, we tend to get comfy as soon as we get home regardless of where our night activities may lead.

So, there you have it! Hopefully, she'll give another tour after the home is complete!

As long as things progress as scheduled, our roof should be shingled by next Wednesday and we'll meet the electrician next Friday to choose our outlet placement!

We Have Walls!

So, after being pushed back on the builders "list" we had to wait what seemed like FOREVER for framing to start.

(I couldn't help myself)

On May 7th, we were told our lumber would be delivered on Monday, the 9th and the framers would get to work! Again, I was giddy to finally see some progress!

On Sunday night we sat down to look at the forecast and this is what the week had in store for us!!!

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

On Tuesday, the rain held off for most of the day and when we went to the site we were able to see some progress:

The decking was almost complete and they had the two garage walls erected. I prayed a hedge of protection around the house due to the impending straight line winds. I assume you know what those are...tornado strength winds...go figure!

Wednesday was a glorious day! The sun was shining and I couldn't wait to see what kind of progress they had made. It was so exciting to drive down our demolished driveway to see this sight

Once we were closer it came into view...

And then, the angels sang :)

Here is Kyle standing in the kitchen. At this point, the kids were sitting in the garage because I was terrified they were going to fall down that hole you see that leads to the basement, or indoor pool. We're hoping to see the interior walls up tonight. I think Kyle would bring a sleeping bag out to sleep here if we weren't  going to get another torrential downpour for the next two days.

Concrete Floors!

When you're in the thick of this building thing, it's easy to get excited over crazy stuff. I should know. I almost cried when I finally saw concrete on our porch, in the basement and in the garage.

Isn't it beautiful???

Our good friend came out to do the concrete work and we're thrilled! I really wanted to put  my hand prints in the garage but I was quickly shot down. Oh-well, you can't blame a girl for tryin'!

FRAMING IS NEXT! BRING ON THE WALLS!

Another Week of Crickets

We waited another week for more progress. This was a welcome site on April 13

ONE  WEEK LATER...

 

After another week of sump pump installation and window installation, we have a real basement (with gravel floors but, whatever, it counts)!

In the photo you can see both sump pumps, one is already working overtime, this weather has been insane!

Mother Nature has even provided us with some natural ponds, (mosquito larvae heaven).

Some time in the near future we're going to have to get those holes filled in. They're old pathways farmers used to get back to the fields and also paths used to harvest trees. Basically, our whole site is a swampland right now. We've received 15 feet of rain this spring! (not really, I may be overly dramatic)

Basements...The Next Slow Step.

One more week has passed and progress is dragging! 

On April 7th we found that our footers had been poured and we had a gravel base in the basement.

In case you're wondering, I asked about 15 times what a footer was and I didn't figure it out until I saw it. Again, poor Kyle.

You see those strips of concrete? Those are footers...you're welcome.

 

We once again had another unexpected surprise when the crew was excavating. They told us the front porch would need to be completely excavated due to the unstable ground.

These days I can hear the Wayans brothers in the back of my mind in their classic SNL skit:

Don't judge me, I'm a product of the 90's.

Now we wait for wall forms to be erected and then we get to move to floors.

More Excavating

We visited the job site on March 30th to find a bigger, cleaner hole:

Things were starting to take shape...and fill with water! The trees being uprooted, left pockets of water in the ground, those pockets began pouring into our hole, causing a sump pump to be put in the hole to drain the water. 

The sump pump was pretty effective at extracting the water but it did cause us to make the decision to put 2 sump pumps in the basement. Brown County is completely flat and notorious for  bad drainage. We want to be safe rather than sorry so we paid an extra amount of money to add the second pump.

I tend to ask rather stupid questions regarding the building process and Kyle thinks it's comical. I was concerned that the "Walls" of the basement didn't look like 8 ft. tall walls. Kyle just chuckled and told me they will. Once again, my impatience is starting to get the best of me!

We Have a hole!!!

We decided our little gypsy family needed to get away for a few days. The frustration of absolutely nothing happening at our site combined with the need to give my poor parents a break from having a house-full of people warranted the decision. We headed south for spring break to hillbilly heaven...aka: Gatlinburg!

While in Gatlinburg we received a call from some guy (there are so many people involved I don't even try to learn their names). He told us there were tree stumps on our site. BIG SHOCKER THERE! We were told to leave the stumps and the excavation crew would pop them out. Kyle had a "heated" chat with said guy and I quickly escorted him out of the leather store we were perusing.

That delayed our dig by one more day as we made the decision to let the crew pop them out (as we were told they would do anyway)

On March 29th, our good friends who actually happen to be our new neighbors sent this picture.

Amen! Pass the Tylenol! We finally have a hole!