Theres no place like home...

The last few months we have been playing more than working. On our free weekends we have been working on our list of projects. We brought in a few dump trucks of gravel and finished up the driveway and parking areas. I just can't get over how much I like this house.

This week our goal was to move enough dirt to put in a small yard in the back. Living on a hill made this project difficult to say the least. Thomas rented an excavator to help get the job done. He is a pro with the back hoe but this little piece of equipment was another story.

Here is Thomas trying to work up the nerve to drive the excavator down this steep slope on really loose dirt.

Surveying the job at hand

Hold on Thomas

Picture doesn't do this justice. He was seatbelted in but still was holding onto the roll bar

This is where he got a little off track. Hindsight is 20/20, probably would have done this different if he could do it again

Wood Pecker came to visit during the project

Now I forgot to take pictures of him getting stuck or the carnage that followed. We ended up losing a tree or two to get him out but the end result was great. We still have lots of raking to do but once my blisters started bleeding I decided I was done for the day.

View from the below the house

View on the east side of the house

View on the west side of the house

I also thought I should post some pictures of the house. We are slowly trying to get small projects done since moving in 3 months ago. The first project was to fix a mistake, and we finally got the electrician back to move the lights. The next week Thomas' friends from Idaho came over for a softball tournament, one of our good friends was kind enough to patch our many drywall holes. Thanks Donny Chantler!

Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I might have already posted these pictures but I really like my bathroom.

 

Walk-in shower

Travertine with river rock accents and floor

Here are a few photos of the entry way

 

 Living room

Loving the fireplace on these cold fall evenings

Kitchen and dining

Laundry room....I wish I would have done a few things different. I should have kept my original plan to have 3 open shelves. I have a slab of granite waiting...I just need to buy a new dryer. I just can't seem to replace something that works.

I am still planning to have Thomas build my locker style benches/shelves.

Here is view from the kitchen

Powder room

Taryn's room and bathroom

Quinn's room and Jack n Jill bathroom

Avie's bedroom and messy closet

 

The upstairs living room is lacking in furniture but not in space. Hopefully we can save up some money for furniture but until then the kids don't seem to mind bean bags

Hopefully the next few weeks will continue to be sunny and clear so we can finish the back yard project.

It's been a long time coming....

It's been awhile since I've been able to post a new blog. Unfortunately we've been without internet since the move. I never knew how dependent I was on the world wide web. Life has been busy for the last few weeks. We moved into the garage while the house was getting finished, made a trip to New Mexico and are in the process of finishing the new house.

The best part of the summer was our trip to New Mexico. It had been almost 7 years since all of us kids have been together. My brother Ry has added two babies to the mix since our last visit. During our week there we were able to hike into Chaco canyon and visit the Mesa Verde ruins. We loved the time with our family and our daily adventures. Quinn is still drawing Indian houses and grand kivas after visiting the various ruins.

My parents with all the grandkids; Sierra, Cormic, Mom, Taryn, Dad, Avie, Emma, Grace, Carson, Ezekiel and Quinn. I am amazed at what great kids all of them are!

The siblings with their families

The original five; Ry, Dad, Mom, me and Kain.

The cousins! Impossible to get 9 kids to pose for one picture.


And now on to the house. I need to preface that not everything is done. It rains about 6 months out of the year here. We are in desperate need of FUN and have decided to hold off a few projects until this winter. So the blog will continue with these "little projects".

Our fireplace with build in cabinets. They are great...so glad I begged for these.

The living room

The kitchen view from the dining room

And from the living room...

Another view with the fridge and double oven....

A quick view of the tile, it was a bit of splurge but the frosted glass works well with the granite.

Another view of the kitchen. I sure wish the phone guy would finish his job, our phone jacks still need covered. Just kidding Tommy...I know you've been busy with more pressing issues.

Master Bath...shelving and chandelier. The bead board needs painted but that's a project for later.

This is the one part of my bathroom that just angers me. I asked that the lights be placed in the middle of the mirrors vertically. The electrician and Thomas "forgot" and put them this way. I won't repeat the words that came out of my mouth. Needless to say...this will be getting fixed!

The view of the jacuzzi tub...

The master bedroom. It's a bit smaller than our previous bedroom but I love it. I can't tell you how nice it was to get off the air mattress.

Quinn's cork board/chalkboard wall is done. He's been having a blast writing on it and displaying his school work.

I am still in the process of finishing the girls' rooms and bathrooms. I'll post pictures of the completed project.