Construction- Week Four

With all the rain that we had this week, we only got in three days of work- but they really accomplished a lot. It started with the siding and windows going in on Monday. Finally, after heavy rains, on Friday, the trusses came. They used a crane to lift them over the house and into place in the back.

They laid the trusses on the outer wall of the addition and they laid on the existing roof.

This is what it looked like when they finished on Friday. Since they wanted to make up for lost time, they stayed all day Saturday to finish up the roof so it would be "dryed in" for Monday.

I have to admit, it is really strange to look out my kitchen window and really SEE our addition before my eyes. I really think that it will serve us well and will be very functional for us. Maybe it's not the most stylish addition ever done, but I think it will really work for our family. From now on the work is supposed to go really fast. I'm excited to see the interior walls go in and the roof go on!

Eight is Great...

Miranda has had a lot of changes in the past month. The most important being her baptism! She was so excited that day! She could barely keep herself from jumping and skipping everywhere she went. It was really neat to see Larry baptize her and do the confirmation. Thank you for all those who came to her baptism. On her birthday, she had a Cat party. I painted the girls' faces like cats, they chose collars with bells, made cat ears, and named themselves a cat name. They played some kitty games, had kitty cupcakes and strawberry mice, and opened presents. It went pretty well considering that we were still having construction in two of the bedrooms.

Now that Miranda is eight, she will soon get her own room. She is fasting for one meal on fast Sundays and making sure to do morning and evening personal prayers. She will use her own alarm clock to wake up. She gets to help me at every meal to prepare the food. She gets to learn how to sew also and we are going to try piano lessons again in the Fall. Miranda is really taking it all very seriously and I can sense a change about her- she seems like she is more willing to be responsible for her own actions. Miranda is such a wonderful daughter!

Week Three of Construction

Monday started with the subfloor being laid down.

Wednesday brought the roofer guy an his crew. They made quick work of our shingles and laid down new tar paper. They also put up the outerwalls of our addition! It was so exciting to see it all go up.

Here is some of the siding being put on.

They covered the floor with a giant black plastic cover. It made a huge bathtub over the weekend.

Week Two of Construction

This week started with the foundation forms being put into place. On Tuesday, after inspection, the concrete was poured into the molds via a big hose from the cement mixer in the front of the house.

Fortunately, we've had really great weather so far! I hope it continues, because the construction guys are here from 8-5, Monday through Friday. The good weather makes for happy workers.

I've been really happy with our construction guys- they are awesome and super nice, LDS guys.
Here's the boys room. We've been taking out their mattresses every night so they can work the next day. Now that the boy's room and office are patched up, we're putting things back until the drywall guys come and fix them (when the new walls are also ready for finishing- probably a few weeks).

I was very happy when the excavator returned to smooth out the giant dirt hill, fill in the dirt around the foundation and smooth out the side yard. He did a really nice job. Now we've got to figure out what to do with our lawn that is now 80% dirt.

On Friday, they added the duct work and insulation and began laying the subfloor. Work continues tomorrow! I will be happy when there is a floor instead of a hole for us to walk out of the back door onto. The kids have missed playing outside.

In other news:

1- Miranda's baptism is this Saturday a 5 pm with munchies at our house afterwards.

2- Our clothes washer broke almost two weeks ago- I don't think I've ever looked forward to doing laundry so much as I am now! The new one is supposed to come tomorrow. It's a bigger capacity one, so that is also something to look forward to.

3- I taught my first Relief Society lesson today. I'll be teaching once a month. It went well.

4- Kara is a precrawler- she's actually scooting backwards. She finds it annoying to be moving AWAY from what she is trying to get. I have found her several times, backed under our fireplace stone with her head sticking out.

5- WE have a new nephew!!! We were all surprised when baby Grace turned out to be a boy- but we are just as excited. That makes 10 nephews and 9 nieces for Larry and I.

Before the Chaos...

Aren't my little girls so cute?? I love how their eyes are so different. (Sorry it's sideways). Here are all the girls in their matching dresses from grandma!

Here's what our house used to look like....

The weather is finally getting warm, so the kids decided to have their afternoon snack as a picnic.

Destruction begins! (Hopefully followed by CONstruction)!

The destruction began on Tuesday. They took off our porch cover and removed the side gate so that the heavy equipment could roll through the side yard into the back. They also disconnected our air conditioner that was over there. The next day was fun for us all. While the constuction workers were removing the windows from the office and the boy's bedroom that faced into the backyard, the excavator began digging the new foundation.

Lindsey is looking out at the destruction. The ground was so muddy and soft! We have huge ruts everywhere now.

The foundation guys came by for a bit this week, but they will set up the forms for the concrete tomorrow.

After everything was dug up in the back, it was transported to the front and into a dump truck. He took away 6 loads, I think. There is still a huge pile in the back to fill in around the new foundation.

This week, they will finish moving the windows in the office and boy's room and repair the walls, set the forms for the foundation, fill them with concrete, and backfill the dirt. They may even get around to putting the new floor down! We'll see...

Miranda's Getting Baptized

For any of you who are interested, Miranda will be getting baptized on May 2, 5 pm at the Hillsboro Stake Center. We would love anyone who would like to to come and be part of her big day. Afterwards, we will have some yummy food at our house.