More house!

Sorry we have been so delayed at posting...things have been so hectic with all the decisions that need to be made on the new house and stuff to get done to sell the old. Worst thing that has come up...2 weeks after we got a full price offer on the house we got a letter from the Borough that we need to have our sewer inspected. Long story short=> municipal problems=sellers problem=$4500 down the pooper (literally). Someone tell me again why it's great to be a home owner? Oh yea, the sale funds the pictures below:

More cement blocks

Looks like most of the outer walls are done except the one hole in the front right there. They got rid of the moat by filling in with stone and all around the foundation is stone covered with hay.

Elyse turns 1!!

Here's Elyse not too sure about the festivities:



And some pics:

oooh...lots of cement blocks

Here's the beginnings of the house:















This is where the garage doors will be. No, we will not have a moat in front of our garage....just a side effect of construction.

House basement starting tomorrow!

Not to be overshadowed by Elyse's first birthday (pictures coming after the family party tomorrow) the weather will break next week for them to start laying the block foundation! We have had a giant hole in the ground for about a month with daytime temperatures below freezing with the exception of a day to two here and there. I guess the mortar freezes to the metal mixer in when it is below 32 degrees. But tomorrow will be nice as will next week so we'll start getting somewhere!

Here is a bad representation of what the house will kinda-sorta look like:

http://images.familyhomeplans.com/plans/71057/71057-B600.jpg

And here is the floor plan but we will have some variations:

http://images.familyhomeplans.com/plans/71057/71057-1L.gif

We are eliminating the breakfast nook in the back of the kitchen with a straight wall (with cabinets and window there instead) and we will have an island where the left wall of the kitchen is. Also, the whole left wall of the house will go out 4 more feet (so the dining room will be 14' x 14') and the whole front of the house will be pushed out 2 feet so the bedrooms will be 12' x 12' and the family room will 16' x 26'. We got rid of the closets in the family room that jut out into the room, and we will have two sinks in the master bath. Most everything else will be the same. Stay tuned for more photos!!

Brynn + scissors = new hair cut

While decluttering the garage on New Year's Day, a load of stuff was brought into the house. Little did we know that a nice, sharp, pair of scissors was in the pile. Brynn made quick work of her haircutter skills:
Notice how the whole spot from bangs to back of hair is missing...and is nice and close to the scalp!

We're baaaack!

Yes, I know it's been a long time since we posted. Yes, we are still alive. You see, a virus corrupted our computer and we could only get access to the internet while the computer is in safe mode. But to have the camera connected and download pictures, I had to restart the computer in regular mode, transfer the pics, then restart in safe mode, and get the pics online. Seemed to be too much work to overcome. Plus, why have all those pictures on the hard drive if it was going to melt down? In any case, we upgraded the memory and reinstalled Windows so we are back in gear!

News to some, we are building a house! We bought a lot just before Thanksgiving...it is about three blocks from our current home in South Williamsport. We bought it from the builder who wants to build a home for the annual Parade of Homes this summer, but it's being built to our specifications. Since it's in the Parade, we get some perks that we would otherwise not pick or be able to afford. Such as, stone on the front of the house, a gas fireplace, a vaulted ceiling in the family room, remote controlled skylights in the kitchen, tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, plus the lawn will be seeded and landscaped for the Parade, and he is including appliances, too! It's a 1600 sq. ft. ranch home with a drive under basement. See the pics:



This is the lot before anyone did anything.













This was taken last week. Obviously, all the trees have been cleared, and most of the basement has been dug out. They should be pouring the footers this week. Stay tuned!