The framers were kind and let Erin, Nathan and Isaac "help" secure the subfloor. It is going up nicely.

starting of framing

this is exciting! Now if the weather will cooperate. It is supposed to rain or snow for 5 of the next 6 days.

GAO Job

Bad news. Looks like I won't be working at the GAO anytime soon. The budget problem is pretty serious and since Congress has not passed anything to fund these agencies past March I understand where they're coming from. I've included an excerpt of the email they sent me below.

"While we remain committed to this [internship] program and the opportunity to extend permanent employment offers, we are unable to do so at this time given the uncertainty of our budget.  Congress is still deliberating over the federal budget and we are not certain of the resource level we will receive.  Once we receive a budget, we will be in a better position to identify our hiring capability, and budget permitting, make some job offers.  We will continue to keep you up-to-date on our budget and hiring situation."

We're still applying for other jobs, but I think its going to be a long wait and that we'll run in to this budget problem again with other agencies.  Luckily, I have a job and am not as pressed to find one as others just graduating.

It's valentines day and therefore the kids came home with LOTS of sugar, hence, the green finger and tongue.

back filling

I know I am monopolizing the family blog. If we are bugging anyone I apologize. We are just excited to see the house going up.
The first picture is the view from our front sidewalk (the Oquirrh Mountain Temple).
The second picture will be the view out our back window ( that is the Jordan River Temple in the background. Sean and I were married there.) Pictures 3, 4 and 5 are pictures of the dirt being backfilled to the foundation walls.

foundation and plumbing

The first picture is of the foundation forms (they had just been filled with concrete and the straw was to keep the snow and frost out). The second picture is of the the basement. You can see a plumber getting ready to do the plumbing part. You can also see the opening for the cold storage, but not very good. I outlined the cold storage door in red in the third picture.

Footings and foundation walls

Mom wanted to see what the cold storage room is. It will be as big as the front porch (the porch is the "roof" of the cold storage. The first picture is the foundation forms of the house. the cold storgage is on the far right in the back of the picture. (I uploaded this picture later so it is out of order as far as the steps in making the house). the second picture is of the footings of the cold storage in the foreground. the third picture is with the outside layer of the foundation forms in place. the cold storage is more in the background.

We have dirt!!!!!

They started digging today!!!!

Recipes from Laura

Hey there. Sarah, I'm glad you threw that out there, because this is something I've been meaning to do for quite some time... like, oh, 4 months or so! I wanted to put up some of the things I made while there that people had mentioned they liked. Well, actually, for most of these I think I supplied the recipe but Chris made them. I had completely forgotten about the one Sarah mentioned, but I found it! Also, if there are any others I don't list here that you guys remember, just let me know and I'll add it.

Quinoa and Black Beans
Excellent and Healthy Cornbread I've used plain, vanilla, and even lemon yogurt with success.
Autumn Cheesecake
Grilled Veggie Sandwiches - a few things I always do differently are to add portabella mushrooms, and our bread preference is ciabatta.


Banana Bread:

3-4 really ripe mashed bananas (I do 3 med-large, 4 small-med)
1 c sugar (sometimes I do splenda , most often 1/2 & 1/2 w/sugar)
1/4 t salt
1 t bkg soda
1/2 c oil
1/2 c applesauce (you can do all applesauce to make it fat free. my new favorite is to just use 1 c pumpkin puree in lieu of the oil & applesauce)
1 t vanilla
2 c flour (I usually use whole wheat & milled flaxseed - any combination will work as long as it totals 2 c)
a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice. Sorry, I never measure this for some reason. My guess is that it's a few teaspoons, maybe even a tablespoon. Just put some in, test the batter, and add more if you want more.

I'm going to list a few other things we had, and if you want me to put up the recipes I will:

Chicken Divan
Hot & Cheesy enchiladas (the ones that had chicken, hot pepper jack cheese & cream)
Pork Chops
Tamale Pie
Chili

I think that's it. Like I said, if you think of anything else, let me know. And again, I have to say how grateful I am to Chris for being so wonderful and cooking most of the time we were there. What a lifesaver!

And, on a totally unrelated note, I'd really like to see some belly shots Sarah! Love you all.

Recipe Request

Laura,

When you were here you this summer you made a dish that had black beans and corn and other stuff in it. If that's enough information for you to know which recipe I'm talking about, would you be willing to share the recipe?

Family Fun

They all started dog piling, then Caleb got in on the action.

Countertops

The beautiful green, purple/gray is the granite for the master bathroom. The cream and ? is the one for the Main bathroom upstairs. I love them.

This is what our house looks like

Jen gave some great feedback saying we needed to post what our house is going to look like, so here we go. The builder is a sami-custom, so there are a couple of variants to each plan, but here you go. Thanks again. sean

Colors part 2- yes we know it's our choice but what do you think?

Now that you have seen what is around us, we want your input on what we might want to do. We don't want something that just blends in and looks like every other house, but we do want something that stands out...but in a good way. We get three colors for the exterior 1- is the main house color 2- trim 3- gables. We can do whatever we want, to a point. The fence color (yes they regulate that) for this portion is a tan/ beige vinyl, and we would like it all to blend together, so let us know what you think, thanks, love and miss you all. Sean and Connie

Color options.