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.

Haircut Day

So today is a day that has been long overdue.... Haircut day. There is a story behind it all, starting with how much Sean loves Connor's thick, beautiful hair. I have to admit, the boy has a gorgeous head of hair. Sean has begged me not to cut it too short, to let it grow and flow like a wheat field in the wind. However, it is difficult to keep clean because of how sweaty his head gets, (being a boy and all) it's constantly getting tangled. Gavin has to have the same hairstyle as Connor or it "just isn't fair", and Brennan's hair was looking shaggy and orphan-like.
A grumpy old man at the check-out at Target made a flippant statement..."Hi girls!" he said when he saw my boys. "We're boys!" Connor exclaimed indignantly as Gavin just gave the old man a dirty look. "Hmm, couldn't tell with all that long hair," grumpy old man retorted back. Granted, I don't usually care what some "old as dirt" man says about my boys, but it did make me realize that they could use a little freshening up.
Just to rule out homelessness.
So short story long I pulled out my shears, blew off the thick layer of dust, and made my boys look like they actually do have a mom that cares. My, my! They are handsome young fellers, after all.

Footprint

Today we have our exterior and load bearing walls with concrete and rebar (sp?) which is fun because now we can see the actual footprint of our home. There is already a big OOPS however.....it looks as though we are a foot over the 10' easement on the left hand side of the house, which means they may have to tear it all down and move the whole house 1 foot to the right. If so, that will delay things by a couple of days, but it's better to get it right now, or else we will have major problems later. (And quite possibly an angry neighbor and a hefty fine.) I am expecting more OOPS in the future...all part of the process, I suppose. As long as they are fixed and don't delay us too much, it's ok. Anyway, it's cool to see where the walls are going to be.

Question.....

I really enjoy posting pics and blurbs about the build process, because I am totally into that sort of thing. However, I realize others may not share my enthusiasm for a dirt hole, framing, radiant floor heating, etc. So, here is my question to all you blog masters out there.....is there a way to have sub-categories under your main blog page or do you need to start an entirely new blog and just link it from your parent blog site? I kind of wanted to have an "Under Construction" section for those of you who might want to see the progress of our house build. Any ideas?

Until then, you will just have to suffer and look at my dirt hole I am so incredibly proud of. Sorry!

Echo.....Echo....Echo........

BOYS LOVE BIG TOYS....(Sean wants to play in this thing so bad!)

We Have A Hole!

You may not be excited about this post, because....well, it's a picture of a hole in the ground. To me, it's the most beautiful picture in the world! I cannot believe that after all the months of waiting we are finally, finally seeing the beginnings of our new home. The kids think that the big scoop is the coolest thing they have ever seen. We watched them dig for a few minutes, and it is quite amazing how much dirt those suckers can move in a small amount of time. It will take a couple more days to finish the dig, (we are only about a 1/3 of the way there) but I just got so dang excited I couldn't wait to post about it.

Heavy machinery & dirt mounds are a boy's dream come true.

You are looking at the beginnings of our basement

(game room, kitchenette, and home theater).

Our view....the park in front is being landscaped this week,
and as you can see there are a bunch of houses
popping up everywhere. It's fun to see our neighborhood growing.

Mositronic Force

I have a knack for totally misinterpreting the lyrics of songs....sometimes to the point of being ridiculous. For instance, "Banana Yellow family, with a pocket full of shells" is none other than "Rally 'Round the Family, with a pocket full of shells" by Rage Against the Machine. It made sense to me....a pale family walking peacefully together collecting shells on the beach. (I never understood why he sounded so angry in the song). Sean heard me singing the song one day in the car and about died laughing. "What??? Banana Yellow Family??" He then explained what the song really meant...shells were gun shells...etc. Duh.

Well, we are all human. Sean was singing the song by Cake "Going the Distance" and misunderstood "Monster Truck Force" to be "Mositronic Force" he even wikipedia'd it wondering what kind of cool force that could possibly be. Much to my delight, there is no such thing. I have to admit however, it is a pretty cool word....deserving of some kind of force. And so, Sean's blog was born. Full of Sean's Mositronic goodness. Enjoy.

Joke of the Day...

Ok, so I finally checked out BEARSKINRUG and I died laughing at some of this guy's talented pictures, comics and sketches. I envy those with drawing/ painting talent AND a quirky sense of humor. I for one was not blessed with both. I've tried....I am just not funny.
Well, I am funny, just not in a good way. Ask Sean.
I am probably not supposed to publish these, but today's comic was cute.

I thought this one was funny, too.
He certainly captured the crazy uncle in the closet
who ends up washing underwear.....a lot.

"Fours"

So I am going to copy/respond to Mindy's blog about being tagged. I know, I wasn't exactly tagged, but it's fun listing some stuff about yourself from time to time. So here we go:

Four jobs I have had: (Just four?)
1) Packaging at Happijac from the time I was 12.
(It really helped out on those Cali. trips in High School).
2) Andy's Chuckwagon when I was 19. I was a waitress for 4 months, and it was awful. (It's gone now, thankfully. COSTCO took its place).
3) Images Hair Design (Layton)/ K Charles Salon (San Antonio)...probably the most fun, tiring, and creative jobs I have had. I really miss doing hair sometimes.
4) Ashford Meadows in Herndon, Virginia. The apartments we lived in. (Amazing bonuses, the most I have ever made at any job, and I was only a leasing agent.) I have worked since then, but it's not particularly note-worthy. Kids are my job now!

Four Movies I Love:
1) The Princess Bride (all time classic)
2) Return to Me
3) In America (foreign film)
4) Awakenings
There are many, many more movies I love. These ones just happened to make the list. I love Indy films, foreign films, thought-provoking films, and films that stay with you or make you appreciate life.

Four Places I have Lived:
1) San Antonio, TX
2) Herndon, VA (15 minutes from Washington, DC)
3) The Woodlands, TX (for the majority of our married life)
4) Mountain Green, UT! We absolutely love living here!

Four Favorite TV Shows:
This one is a toughy since we haven't had TV in our home now for almost 2 years....I know that probably makes us strange, but I don't miss it one bit. Besides, Netflix carries any TV show you could ever want, and no annoying commercials!
1) The Office
(yes, I am totally addicted and all caught up on the latest.)
2) Band of Brothers (HBO TV series)
3) Battlestar Galactica
(Don't Laugh! The new series is awesome,
and I hate sci-fi normally).
4) Extreme Makeover-Home Edition

Four Vacation Spots:
1) Cozumel, Mexico (twice on cruises)
2) Yellowstone National Park
3) Orlando, FL ("Islands of Adventure" theme park is the best hands-down)
4) South Padre Island, TX

Four Favorite Foods:
1) Thai Food...anything with curry and coconut milk, spicier the better.
2) Sushi (don't say "YUCK" it really is so delicious
if you are brave enough to try it.)
3) Authentic Mexican Food
4) Dessert (anything smothered in chocolate and caramel sauce)

Four Hobbies/ Interests:
1) Reading...love it. My ideal day is one where I get "lost" in a book, and read it cover to cover...rarely happens however. An uninterrupted nap is just as nice and equally as rare.
2) Hanging out with family/friends.
Usually good food is involved, too.
3) Exercising. Can't say I love running yet,
but I love the feeling after a good workout.
4) Anything outdoors-y.
Camping, swimming, boating, biking, hiking.

Four Places I'd Rather Be:
For the first time in a long time, I can truthfully say there is no where else I'd rather be. I really love it here in Mountain Green. I wouldn't mind a hot date with my husband, or a day at the spa getting pampered, but I can get those things here...anytime. I feel totally content in my life, and that's a great feeling!

I am throwing the "Fours" to you..... Emily, Lydia, Mike, Jen, Shanna, Natalie, etc. It's fun!

The Brennan Show

What did you just say? Jenny updated her blog??
I know... amazing, but true.
To tell you the truth I haven't picked up my camera in a very long time, and haven't really had anything noteworthy to write about, either.
Sometimes you forget that for an almost-toddler, there are still "first" experiences every day. For instance, tonight Brennan experienced his first warm, gooey, homemade chocolate chip cookie. To say he enjoyed it would be the understatement of the year. I have never seen such satisfaction from a baby. I couldn't stop smiling, (and couldn't stop snapping pictures).

MMMMM.......CHOCOLATE!

Getting clean is even more fun than getting messy!

Splish-splash! Giggle, squeal!

This never gets old.

Hmm, I think we have another Connor on our hands.
Instead of pulling the shower knob up from the top,
Brennan pushes it up from the bottom of the spout.
Watch out light switches, wall outlets, and cabinet doors!

The "Fire Ant"

Connor's imagination never ceases to amaze me. Today he was tinkering in the garage, and managed to find a screwdriver and some old pieces of metal strapping from the baby's broken changing table (the only major casualty of our move) and came up with this:

The "Fire Ant"

Yes, Connor came up with the name, too. (If you don't know what a real fire ant is, consider yourself lucky. They are a nasty little red ant with a big bite and leave behind a itchy, burning welt.) I thought the name was cute, and uncannily accurate of what they really look like. Does anyone else see some kind of engineering degree in his future like I do?
I Love you, Connor. Keep those gears in your head turning, buddy.

Our New Place...(At least for a year)

We're here! Although it was a long drive...(and I mean long), we are getting settled in and are really enjoying our cute new home. Today is a beautiful, brisk day of 57 degrees, which is quite a bit warmer than yesterday's 34 degrees and snow flurries...yep, even in May you sometimes get a late frost here. Strange, because the day we moved in was 90 degrees. (Kinda reminds me of Dallas). Anyway, on with the show. I am making up for the lack of pictures in my previous posts.

This is our rental house which is cozy and very well kept.
It'll do nicely for the year we will stay here while our house is being built
just a couple of blocks away. Convenient.

You can't beat the view from our back porch. I just stand outside
and breathe in the fresh spring air and soak in the beauty.
(Small pictures truly don't do it justice. Please expand this one.)

Here is the view out the front/side of the house, standing on the driveway.
(Snow Basin ski resort is on that mountain in the distance).

Here are some interior shots of the kitchen and living room.
Yes, we are still moving in so don't mind the boxes and clutter.
I'm not crazy about the mint green faux painting in the kitchen,
but the rest of the house is really cute.
Just about the time we are all settled, it'll be time to move again!

Brennan was posing for for a split-second, and
I just happened to catch it even though it's a little blurry.

This is a side view of our house, and yes the backyard is huge.
It is going to be a nightmare to mow, but having a 1/2 acre backyard to
play and explore in has become a fun, dirty adventure for my boys.
They especially like the bumpy hills to the left of the yard for
riding their Jeep and "Junebuggies".

If you are wondering what Gavin is doing in this picture, he is playing catch with the neighbor's dogs only instead of a ball, he's throwing a dirt clod.
(The dogs don't seem to mind.)

The neighbor's two golden retrievers have been a bonus for the boys.
Connor and Gavin love playing fetch with them
and they are gentle and sweet. The perfect pets! They don't poop in my yard,
but anytime the kids want to play, they are right there!
I like those kinds of pets.

Sasha and Sophia are adjusting well,
and love the sliding door for birdwatching and napping.
What a tough life they have.


Because I know I am bad at sending thank you cards...........

Thank you to Jane and Terry for being so hospitable
and opening their home to us for a few days. We had fun staying with you.
A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped us move in.
Thanks Dad, for being there from the start.
I know our furniture isn't exactly light, so I appreciate all of your
backaches and burning muscles on our behalf.
Mindy and Lydia, thanks for all the food and babysitting, too.
Many hands certainly did make light work,
and made our move-in quick and overall pleasant.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Love you all.

Boxes, Boxes, Everywhere!

What are the top three most stressful events a person can go through in life?

1. Death of a loved one.
2. Divorce.
3. Moving- (greater the distance, greater the stress.)

Thankfully, I haven't experienced # 1 recently, and I hope to never experience # 2. I am smack dab in the middle of # 3. Everything is lined up as far as the actual move goes, but I am up to my waist in boxes, piles of things to be packed, a trip to the DMV (license expired on my birthday and I am just now getting around to renewing it), and getting an oil change in my car for the long trip. I am very happy about it, don't get me wrong. But the distance of our move, with three young kids and two cats has me dreading the drive. Sean and I have two cars, so we must drive separate. I guess I shouldn't dread it because it only makes things worse, but I can't help it. We can either make it a 2 day trip (12 hours of driving per day) or a 3 day trip (8 hours a day). I am guessing with a baby it will be the latter choice. Fun, fun!

On a lighter note, Gavin is reading! I guess whatever big brother Connor does, Gavin has to do too! As Connor was doing his assigned reading last night (and struggling a bit) Gavin asked if he could try to read the book. Gavin read the book flawlessly. He sounded out every word, but did not need any help from me. Way to go, Gavin!
Connor is the "Star of the Week" in his class, so he gets to feel really special all week. This morning he brought an "Estimation Jar" full of marshmallows to school for all the kids to guess how many were in the jar. Then they all count them out. (How many? 29....shhhhhh.)
Brennan learned how to wave "bye-bye" and thinks it's a fun game to play with Connor and Gavin. He is trying to stand by himself without pulling up to something, and is letting go between objects like the coffee table and couch...I foresee a walker in a couple of weeks. He's getting to be such an independent little stinker! Babies grow up wayyyy too fast!

I haven't taken a picture of anything in weeks, so sorry no visuals. Wish us luck as we have a very long journey ahead of us in the weeks ahead.

Update to the Update!

So just when you think you've experienced a lot, there's always more. While I was in Utah for my mom's wedding (which was lovely by the way), we received two offers on the house. Well, one was already on the table, but the offer really stunk. ($10,000 off our asking price, which was already very low, plus closing costs of $5k.) Um, no thank you. BUT the nice thing about that stinky offer was another family who loved our house found out that there was already an offer on the home and gave us a full price offer! WOO HOO! They are a nice looking Indian family (dots, not feathers) with three kids and are relocating for his job. I couldn't have asked for better news! Sorry for driving you all nuts with my OCD about the house selling and such.
Our builder called Sean on Sunday and told him there was a cute rental property just a block away from the entrance to the neighborhood where we will be building, so we hopped into Mindy's car and drove up to MG to take a look. We'll take it! It will do nicely for a temporary place and I feel fortunate that it became available at just the right time.
So......barring any unforeseen delays, the moving company will load up our stuff on May 10th. We close on May 11th, but decided to stay at Jane and Terry's for a few days so that the kids can finish their last 3 days of school. (The school year ends on May 16th.) We'd be missing all the fun parties and Connor's graduation, so a few extra days isn't that big of a deal. Sean will fly out to meet the movers, then fly home to drive one of our cars back. Whew! I am tired just writing about it. I am looking forward to it, however.
More good news this week! We finally have our floor plans finished! It's really hard to show them on my blog because of all the architectural lines and measurements, so I have attached a visio drawing that is an accurate representation. Just click on the image to expand it for better detail. Feedback is welcome, good or bad. Any suggestions? (Sorry Connor, no slide to your bedroom). I don't have an elevation picture, because it is being tweaked, but here is the rest:

Main Floor:
(Approx. 2279 sq. ft.)

Basement:
(Approx. 2416 sq. ft.)

Update

Life has been an absolute tornado of activity since April Fool's Day. We listed with a Realtor on April 1st, and since then have averaged 2 to 3 showings a day! Yep, lots and lots of traffic is good... or so I thought. We haven't received any offers yet. Possibly because we are asking for pre-qualification from a mortgage lender before we will accept any potential buyers' offer... (a.k.a. no dough, no go!) Hopefully it will weed out any unwanted hassles, but there are still no guarantees. So I don't know if we've just had a bunch of tire-kickers or what, but I know the right people are out there somewhere!
Where are you, adorable young family who will love our home?
Or grandparents? Anyone? Bueller....Bueller?

You know what the best compliments have been from all the Realtors who have visited? That my "House shows like a model home"...."Immaculate condition"....."Beautifully decorated".... "Nicest house on the market for the price"..... Wow, MY house? That's quite a feat I must say, considering I am NOT a neat freak or wasn't until 10 days ago. I have to admit, it does look pretty darn good but I feel like the "plastic slipcovers on the furniture mom"! It'll be nice when my kids can actually play with their toys again, or I am not so worried about a Cheerio stuck to the kitchen floor. Got to keep positive....this is the week it will sell!!!! (Please let this be the week it sells!)
I am woozy and weary from all the cleaning products!

APRIL FOOL'S!

We like to play jokes on April Fool's Day. Sean is the biggest prankster of all and it seems to have rubbed off on Connor and Gavin. For the past two years, the boys have schemed up their own little "jokes" to pull on me. Last year they put underwear on their heads, shoes on their hands, and shirts on their legs. I wish I could find the picture I took of them, but alas, no such luck.

This year, they came up with this after their baths. I have to give them credit for creativity. (Especially the tusks on Gavin.)

My life is never dull with three boys in the house.
(I am just grateful the joke didn't have any farts involved.)

" I'm An Old Cowhand....from the Rio Grande"

I find it rather funny that my boys have grown up their whole lives in Texas and have never owned a cowboy hat, a belt buckle, or boots. Is that sac religious? Probably....after all, everybody here wears a cowboy hat, and drives a big ol' pick-up truck, including police officers. This week at school is "Western Week" where my boys get to dress up everyday, learn how to lasso, sit around a campfire, go on a pony ride, and hear stories from "Cowboy Bob". Fun huh? Wish I went to Kindergarten!
Connor and Gavin love their new duds. They were strutting around like peacocks this morning as proud as they could be. We ordered them some six shooters (cap guns) for a wild west shoot-out in the backyard. Did you know that nobody carries cap guns anymore? We had to order them online! We live in a sue-happy world, my friends. I am not terribly fond of guns, even toy guns, but c'mon! What boy didn't grow up with a cap gun? It's all about the sound it makes anyway. Just like fireworks!

Here's to my little buckaroos! I sure do love 'em.
(Of course, Brennan wanted in on the fun, too).