A Slow Down

Well, I guess things didn't move quite as fast last week as we had hoped.....

The HVAC guys got in there on Tuesday and cut in for the vents and cold air returns.  But they didn't run any duct work as they need to move a couple of water lines in our basement for the new feeds.  They are waiting on that until all the drywall work is done as to not pull drywall dust into our house and to not leave us with air conditioning.  They figure they can get it done in one day.

Electrical did get in and was inspected and approved!  So we are done with that until final hookup/inspection.

Our contractor, Bill, spent the weekend getting the walls insulated and the poly up on the walls and the ceiling.  Hopefully that means drywall will be starting today?

Here is a look down the hallway from Libby's new room towards where the addition will enter the family room/kitchen area.  We are not going to cut the hole out until the drywall is complete.

Here is a look at the smaller of the two rooms, what we will use as a "toy room".

And here is a look at what will become Libby's new room.

On the floor front, Denise and I got the laundry/utility room completed and took care of some "gaps" that were visible.  It is amazing that it takes one just as long to do a doorway as it does the rest of the room, I guess we haven't figured out the doorway "trick" yet.  Trying to cut the boards just right to eliminate any visible gaps and getting the boards to lock together can be troublesome.  So, all we have left now is Denise's bathroom and out little entry area by our front door.  We could probably pound both of those out in weekend if two little helpers would let us work.  Once the addition is done, we will be able to finish the strip we have left in our family room/kitchen area and down the hallway.  Hopefully by the time our cruise rolls around, all of this will be done.
Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Tuesday Morning

A quick update on the addition here!  Electrical got done yesterday and is supposed to be inspected today!!!  Shingles and windows were installed and HVAC is supposed to be installed today.  Once that is completed, Bill can start with the insulating and drywall.  We are definitely moving along!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

PROGRESS!!!!!

Alright, now we are getting somewhere!

Bill and Crew started on our addition Saturday around 3:00, once all the rain got out of the area.  By the time the next rain storm moved in around 7:00, the crew of three had insulated the crawl space and got the floor joists up.  Then the rain.......

Sunday morning rolled around and Bill and only one of his crew were hitting it at 9:00.  By noon, they had this much completed:

After a brief lunch break, they kept right at it and it is now closed in.  Today, they will get the shingles on and the windows in.  Then they will be done until electrical and HVAC get their work done, which we are hoping will be completed by Thursday.

Here is what the smaller room is like.  It will serve as a "toy room" for us, but could be an office or a small bedroom.  It will end up being 8 1/4 feet by 10 3/4 feet and have a closet.

This would be Libby's new bedroom.  It will measure 10 3/4 feet by 13 3/4 feet and plus some closet space.

And this is looking in the hallway window towards Libby's room.

While this was all going on, Denise and I attacked the flooring in the bathroom, along with two little "helpers".  Here is the finished project, minus a couple of pieces of baseboard!

I hope to take a day off this week so that while the kiddos are at daycare, I can get the utility room done.  Then it will just be the master bath and the entry way left.  Oh yeah, we will have the new hallway to do and finish up the edge between the kitchen and family room, which we can't finish until the new entry into the new addition is cut.  But it is PROGRESS!!!!

Denise and I did have some fun on Saturday night as we headed to Theatre Le'Homme Deiu to see "Power Balladz"!  It was basically an 80s rock show with comedy thrown in.  It was AWESOME, I would definitely go again.  The show was written by Minnesota natives and has been shown in New York and Las Vegas, among other stops.  From the sounds of it, the three main singers (actors, cast) are constant, but they get local talent to play in the band.  The five members of the band here in Alexandria were from a musical school in the Twin Cities, as I found out from the mom of one of the members sitting next to me.  They had to take a week off from classes for this show, and Monday was going to be back to reality for her son.  If you get a chance to see this show, I would highly recommend it if you are an 80s rock music fan!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas!

Construction Update

Well, not much got done on the outside construction this weekend, and I don't think much will get done today.  We woke up this morning to a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, and since then have had a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, a Tornado Warning, a Flood Advisory and a Heat Advisory.  Let's just throw in Hurricane and a Blizzard and get all our bases covered.

Denise and I were able to work on our floors this weekend though.  We got the kitchen and hallway just about done as we only have about a 5 inch strip left to put down.  But first we have to get all the finishing pieces in their proper places.  Let's just say the kids didn't allow that to happen on Sunday.  Most of the baseboard is back on and the quarter round is up in the kitchen except for the center island.  All that will be left then are the utility room and main bath.

Denise leaves for work in Denver today (comes home Wednesday), so it will just be Lucas and I at home since Libby will be staying with Grandpa Curt and Grandma Rosemary.  Maybe I can get a little done on it this week?  We will see.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

The Brickwork Is Complete

Well, the brickwork was completed yesterday! 

The next step in the process is up in the air right now.  Will the excavator come back and back fill and dump the dirt back into the crawl space area?  Or will our construction guy start with his framing?  Our general, Denise's dad, made a trip to Rugby this weekend to spend some time with his mom.  I am hoping the excavator comes first so we can get the dirt off our yard.

Up next, hoping to get our flooring done in the house this weekend! 

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Progress

Well, the footings got poured yesterday and as we were leaving this morning, the block for the crawl space was being delivered!  We just may have some sort of structure up by early next week!

Once you see the outline though, it doesn't look as big as it did on paper or scratched out in the yard.....  Oh well, I am sure we will survive!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

Construction Has Started

Well, we got home last night, and this is what we saw!

Libby knows this is going to be where her new bedroom is, so she had to check the hole out also.

So, today the block layers are suppose to come out and pour the footings and then tomorrow do the block work for the crawl space.  Once that is done, our builder is ready to go on the two bedroom structure!

Also, last night Denise and I got another box plus of flooring down in the kitchen.  We are now to the point where we have to move the fridge and get under that.  Once that is done, we will be heading down the hallway.  Most of our terrible angle cuts are done (I think I have one, maybe two, left).

More to come later!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

New Flooring

Well, we are starting on our construction!  At least Denise and I are.  Here is a picture of the new flooring we started to put down this weekend.  We have the kitchen a little over half done, and then will do the hallway, utility room and main bath.  Once the new addition is done, the hallway of that will be done with this flooring also.

The digging on our addition is suppose to start today.  It was suppose to start two Fridays ago, but six-seven inches of rain put a stop to that.  Then it was suppose to be last Thursday, but our digger got tied up on another job.  So, he is suppose to be there today.  We will see when we get home!

We will keep you updated!
Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

A Few More Pictures for You

Well, I got to thinking that I needed to get a few more pictures up of what has been going on.

Lucas started to crawl on July 4th of this year.  It started out as just a few "steps" and then down to his belly.  He has now progressed to where he will go down the hallway to the bedrooms if we have headed that way.  He doesn't like to crawl on the linoleum though.

 Lucas has also started to pull himself up on things.  Here he is the other night in front of the TV.  He has started to do the whole furniture walk thing.

Here are Libby and Lucas playing one morning.  This was at 7 AM.

 Here is Libby with her new pool.  We broke out the wading pool from last year, but with Libby and Lucas, it was just too small.  So, we had to head out a purchase a bigger one.  Of course, it has cup holders for when Mom and Dad want to sit in it.

Here is a picture of our yard the other day with the heavy rains.  This was at 7:30 when I left for work, it had only been raining for two hours.  We still got another three hours of rain after that.

 And here is a picture of Lucas' thumb after surgery.  It looks a whole lot better now than it did that first day after cast removal.

 Libby on the giraffe statue at the Como Zoo!

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas

WOW! Summer is half over!

Hello Family and Friends! It has been a busy couple of months since the last update, so here we go!

We are getting ready to start an addition onto our house. With the need for Lucas to move out of our bedroom, we decided to do a two bedroom addition on the east side (right in the picture below) of our house. It is going to be an 18x20 addition with one of the bedrooms being about 10x15 and the other being about 10x12. There will be a hallway coming off our current kitchen/family room area. They were to break ground this past Friday, but we got between 5 and 7 inches of rain in five hours. Our rain gauge quit measuring at 4 inches and it rained hard for at least another hour after that.

Our contractor has removed the siding from the east side of the house and has measured for the trusses. The addition will be flush with the front of the house and go back 18 feet, or to just in front of the window in the picture.

Last weekend, July 8-10th, we headed to the Cities. Lucas had a follow up appointment for his thumb and everything is going outstandingly. They will want to see him in a year again. He will not have movement of his top joint, but he can still use it like a lever. He has been using it a lot and has adjusted well. But then again, he is young enough and doesn't know any differently.

Anyway, on Saturday, our family and my sister Stacy, her husband Dave and their twin daughters Abby and Maddy made the trip out to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen. Here is a picture from up on the hill looking out towards the lake across the road.

For those of you that haven't been to the Arboretum and you like plants and landscaping, this is a must see. They have all the different plants broken out by type and their are wide paved trail and little foot paths all over the place. Denise and I would like to do it again, on a cooler day and without Libby and Lucas as the stroller really limited where we could go. Below is one of the foot paths.

Here is Libby and Daddy at one of the resting areas.

And Troy and Denise. Libby didn't want to get completely out of the picture.

Libby, Maddy and Abby looking at all the monies in one of the many ponds and fountains.

Libby loved the waterfall in this picture.

So much so that she had to point it out to all of us!

Libby in the "birds nest" at the entrance of the Arboretum.

Maddy, Libby and Abby in the "birds nest".

The weekend of June 26th, Denise's mom, Rosemary, had all of her brothers and sisters in town for a gathering. On Sunday, we made a trek out to Carlos Creek Winery with them and Libby and I had to have our picture taken in wine cask out front.

On Saturday night, Rosemary and the clan made the trip out to our place for some food and bonfire with Smores.

Libby anxiously awaiting the bonfire to start so she can have her Smores.

The fire pit is about ready to go, much to Libby's liking!

We can fit 18 people on our deck. Just no more than one person try to move at once!

Memorial Day weekend, we made the trip to Rugby, ND, for a Danielson (Denise's maiden name) Family Reunion. It was set up to coincide with Beulah's (Denise's grandma) 90th Birthday. Unfortunately, Beulah was in the hospital in Fargo that weekend, so we made a stop to see her on our way to Rugby. Below, you have Beulah, Curtis (Denise's Dad), Denise, Libby and Lucas.

Here are Libby and Lucas with Great Grandma Beulah. Beulah really enjoyed seeing them and they liked sitting on the bed.

And some random pictures here. Here is Libby helping Lucas eat his Puffs one night!

Libby watching TV (probably Barney) and Lucas tagging along!

So, what does the rest of the summer have in store for us. Well, we have our addition project that hopefully will only take about a month. Our contractor, who also is our next door neighbor, thinks he can pound it out pretty quickly as there is nothing complicated about it. Outside of that, we think we have done most of our running around, so hopefully we can sit back and enjoy the days and nights. Once fall rolls around, we will be busy again with two weddings, a cruise and hockey starting back up. I think we figured it out and between October 1 and December 31, we have three weekends open right now! YIKES!

Well, everyone else enjoy the summer and we will try to keep things a little more updated for those of you that don't have Facebook.

Troy, Denise, Libby and Lucas