1- The roof and shingles are complete!
2- The "rustic"guard rail. (we had all of the kids there when the framer was there. I think he was nervous that the kids were going to fall down the stairs because when we came back later the guard rail was there.
3- Drywall for the basement.

1- More shingles and roof (which is good because it is supposed to rain and snow all weekend).
2- upstairs fireplace.
3- front gables (they didn't do it before because the porch concrete pad had not been poured yet. Now that we have a porch they have columns and can add the front gables)

March 1st

1- The light was bad, but this is the picture of the furnace and the back of the stairs.
2- windows and the beginning of shingles.
3- Front porch and kitchen windows.

1. Front porch
2. Shingles tomorrow
3. Washer hookup
4. temporary stairs to the basement.

We have trusses!!!!! Yeah, Yippie, Yahoo!

1

we have a front of the house.

Ice and Snow storm hits Dallas

Haven't been posting to many pictures of late because I couldn't figure out how to down load my pictures from my new camera but thanks to modern science and the invention of the Adam he was able to come to the rescue yet again so these are old news but better late than never

Blog Update

I changed the layout of the blog to give it a little more character.  If there is anything missing or something you'd like to change I'll do my best to accommodate.

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.