Concrete Done!

So here is the latest on our house. Concrete floors? Check.
We even have the radiant floor heating installed,
so now on with the framing!
Things are going much slower than I anticipated,
but maybe that's just the way things are around here,
right Mindy? ;-) (Speaking of just that, Mindy needs
to post an update with new pics of her house too!)

Connor looking in to what will be the home theater
on the left and the kitchenette on the right.
Straight ahead is the recreation room. (Or until it is finished,
the "ride your bikes around in a circle until you get sick" room)

A better angle on the home theater,
the 2 car garage is the gravel to the left,

and the 3rd garage bay will suspend over the home theater.

Here are some of the bedrooms, cold storage areas in
the far front left and back right, and HVAC room where
all the red tubes are sticking up.
Ahhh, warm concrete floors will be nice.
My next big project? I am going to do some concrete staining
in the bathrooms, kitchenette and workout area.
Never done it before,but I am borrowing my builder's wife
who is supposedly really good at it.
Hopefully, the floors will turn out nice.

Dorks On Parade

My kids (as you now well know), are quite creative. Today they came up with use #99 for an old bike tire. Sean was replacing his tires due to a major blowout involving a thorn patch (we counted over 60 holes in his front tire alone) and the kids had a blast coming up with uses for the discards.
I can only guess what people driving by must have thought seeing my two yahoos running around like this....I hope it gave them a good laugh. At any rate, it's good blackmail footage for when they are older.

They may be dorks, but they are still cute.
I love this picture of Connor.

Gavin's blue eyes and freckles are my favorite.
He refused to smile, though.

Brennan's a stinker, and unfortunately he inherited my teeth.
But to me he's the cutest darn baby in the world.
I love you, Bren-bren.

Gavin's Fun Day

I cannot believe it was Gavin's 6th Birthday yesterday. I cannot believe he is big enough to ride on the school bus. When did he grow up? I don't know why I am so surprised (maybe because Gavin was my baby for such a long time) but his 6th birthday made me realize how fast my precious ones are growing up. It's not fair really. I heard a wise mother once say,
'You need a "pause button" when your children are young,
and a "fast forward button" when they are teenagers'.
Right now...today, pause please.
Gavin sure had a great day. Being my most social child, a small party just wouldn't do.
Thank you to all that came and celebrated his special day with us.
After all, who doesn't like to bowl and eat cake??

This is determination, people.

Happy Birthday to you!

Nice dinosaur.....Nice dinosaur......Chomp!

The hardest part about bowling with kids?
Waiting your turn.

Even the babies had fun! For the first 10 minutes....

Strike, Strike, Strike....

Good one, Cameron!

Aw, Kate is so cute. (Even if she is a little blurry.)

Spooky Cloud

Living on the opposite side of the mountain range that I grew up next to has been a very cool experience. For one, the mountains are much prettier on this side...and two, the storms look really ominous when they roll in. Tonight's storm crept over the mountain like a giant wave. Crept is probably the wrong word for it. Maybe crashed over the mountain is more accurate. It was spooky to watch how fast those clouds were coming over the tops of the mountain. (I did a time lapse of only a few seconds between shots). Pictures truly don't do it justice.