house progress

The basement is finally completed and its now time to put the main floor joists on.

This is the back of the house.

The boys put all the drain tile around the house yesterday.

This will be the view from my livingroom window. Minus the dirt and garbage pile.

This will be the view from the front of the house looking West. That yard is 1 mile away.

Horsin' around

We had a very busy weekend. Miranda was showing at the horse show on Sat. and on Friday the 4-H club had a show. So we spent the 2 days at the riding ring.As you can see, Miranda loves to be on a horse.

We had lots of family and friends out to watch and cheer Miranda on.

Miranda likes to go fast and she did. With a smile on her face the whole time.

After the show, Cindy, Kali and I went for a ride too.

The licorice race is the most frustrating race of all. You have to ride up as fast as possible and take a bite off the licorice hanging from a string without using your hands, on a horse.

The flag race.

Bring him home!!!

Why we travel

I was going through my computer today and I found this movie that I made 1 1/2 years ago before we went to Honduras. It was when we decided we wanted to sell our house and travel as much as possible for a year or so. This was before we actually sold our house and it really became our reality. It brought a tear to my eye to look back at what we had dreamed about and where that dream took us.

chugging along

Slowly, slowly the house is making progress. The basement walls are now sheeted and they are on their way to getting the floor joists on so they can start on the main level.

Horsin' around

Miranda has been waiting to get home to ride horse again. She loves horses and always has a huge smile on her face when she is sitting on one. She has been spending her time practicing for the horse show this weekend where she will compete in Gymkhana (barrels/poles and other races).

Fishing in Grand Rapids

We took the weekend off to scoot up to Grand Rapids. It was the best ever. It helped me remember the joy of travel the last few months together as a family. Spending time together without the phone ringing or big decisions being made. Just which spot to go to and when should we eat.

As we were bumping across the lake the second day. I realized I was having fun. Not that I usually don't have fun fishing. But I was not scared of the waves and wind and well, just the lake itself. I wasn't thinking about the boat flipping from the big waves. I wasn't thinking of the kids falling over. I was having fun, like I used too. Before something in me started to be afraid of things. Before I started having to take a deep breath before getting into a vehicle or boat or any motorized vehicle. Right now as I sat in the boat, the wind whipping through my hair and the tears flying off my face from the wind. I was feeling joy. This is what I had missed all the years I felt fear and apprehension at doing so many things. This is what I longed for. Fun and joy. Speeding across the lake with the wind whipping through my hair.....

Oh ya, we also caught a lot of fish!

The first corner

This picture was actually taken last week but I haven't been there again with my camera. It was very exciting to see that corner up and start to see the structure take some shape other than muddy and flat.

The rock chucker

The footing is poured and the wooden boards that framed the concrete where taken off yesterday by the boys, Colton, Mathew and Edmond.

Then the exciting part came. The rock chucker. Most times when building a house, people get a truck that dumps the gravel for under the concrete floor and you have to shovel and wheel barrel it into place. But Dean heard about this truck that can throw the gravel into place from any corner of the basement. It came to fill the ground yesterday afternnoon. It was really fun to watch. The kids all thought that would be a fun job to have. The driver climber up to the back of the truck and got his controls ready and the chute slid out from the truck and the small gravel shot off into all the corners. The boys where also very excited to know they would not have to shovel again like they did with the concrete footing.

wow, what a day!

We haven't gone through all our mail yet, or unpacked all our bags either. But we have the footing for our new house finished. We spent all day(91/2) hours getting it done so that the walls can start on Monday. Dean had plans to go fishing this evening after the concrete was finished, but he had to postpone the trip as he was just to tired. Colton got out of the van when we got home, and one of his friends rode up on bike and invited him to the pool. He didn't even have supper. He just changed and off he went. Oh, the power of youth.

Pounding in the stakes of the footing.Dean and Colton work really well together. Dean is an amazing teacher and Colton is a great student.

Cutting the rebar for in the concrete.

The frame is finished. Now we have to wait for the big cement trucks.

It didn't go well at the beginning. The truck coudn't get all the way around the hole and so the guys had to shovel, and shovel and shovel the heavy cement. There were times the just had to stop to rest.

Dean hired our nephew Mathew to help and he was such a great worker.

The cement dude. He stayed late in the day on a friday to make sure the concrete all got poured correctly.

The princess. Spent all day overlooking the project and helping out whenever she could.

We did whatever we could to get the concrete closer so they didn't have to shovel quite as far.

Working in this mucky mess was not fun. Every step was taken carefully so as not to slip. There were many times that the boots got stuck in the mud.

Almost done!

Monday is the day the walls go up!!

The new house

 Two days home and we had begun marking our the spot for our new home. We went for our building permit with 3 hours of sleep before us and headed out to the farm. It is finally "our" farm. We have spent the last 16 years calling Mr. Funks house. Evven though Mr. Funk passed away 5 years ago and we have owned it since. It has still always been his. Now we finaly think of it as ours.

Yesterday the basement was dug and by 1pm, Dean and I were getting the forming down to pour concrete before the weekend. With in hours the water started seeping in and the clay was slippery and mucky. It took me about 10 minutes and the boots where off and it felt way better to be bare footed and my feet where now not so heavy.

We got the perimiter all finished and today we will finish the rest so the concrete will have time to cure before the walls get started next week.