Week 3: Footers+Foundation

Monday they did the footers...I like how Chris explained it to Audrey..."We have feet to support our body. These help support the walls in our house." :) I have to admit, I didn't understand footers until I heard that, lol.





Change: On Tuesday Chris got a call about our rec room window. He eventually decided to take it out completely (it would have needed a window well, which I don't like at all) and do a better window by the stairs. I learned the difference between a den and rec room. The den is what *I* consider the 5th bedroom in the basement (it has a bathroom! And a closet! It seriously looks like a bedroom.) Chris explained that our drain field is for a four bedroom home. Or something like that.

On Tuesday we got a ton of moving boxes from Grandma & Grandpa who saved them from their move from Texas. We packed up as much of the TV/media stuff as we could. Chris made a trip to the dump. On Wednesday we spent the morning purging and packing the kitchen and Chris made a run to Goodwill. I'm definitely more motivated with him around! The foundation walls were poured.

On Thursday I worked on my closet, which has a million different things...home decor, thousands of photos, picture frames, memory boxes, school boxes, etc. I filled 3 boxes of picture frames for Goodwill and was able to pack some boxes for the move. The dumpster arrived at the end of the day. I threw out the glider we've had since Audrey was born (it was falling apart!) But I rocked Audrey and Abigail in it one more time, lol.

On Friday the girls and I took a break and had a pool day :) Chris took these pics...


This is the side of the house. Towards the back is our rec room window.

Front of the house. Curious to see how they backfill...we don't want rails!

View from the garage...that's a lot of dirt to fill in! Straight ahead is the rec room window, off to the right is the door for our walk-out.

Chris was standing "in" the house! This is a view of the den window, which will have a window well.

Groundworks was completed on Friday. Next up is pouring the slabs and then backfill. I'm really excited to see all of that done. We'll get to see what our yard will look like! And after all that they will begin framing! Woo hoo!!

All clear!

This is what I've been excited to see...the lot completely cleared and a hole in the ground :)

Chris sent these yesterday evening. He's super impressed with the job this crew did.





Foundation will start on Monday and framing should be completed right as I go back to school. Once school starts I know that time is going to fly by!

Beach Beauties

My favorite girls. My favorite place. Perfection :)

Lot is clear!

I took the girls to see our home site on Saturday. We went around 10:00 and they were actively removing trees. We went again at 5:00 and they were done! It was so cool to see it completely cleared.





I'm really excited about our drain field. It's set behind a few trees and looks like a cool place for the girls to run around, have picnics, etc. Chris has been sending me pictures all week, but I loved seeing it for myself. I could really visualize where the driveway was going to be and how big our yard is (we have 2 acres but we're not clearing very much!)

We also got to meet our neighbors across the street. They had just signed their contract with Chris and came by to check out their lot :)

Can't wait to see next week's progress!

House Progress!

Finally!

We had our preconstruction meeting on Tuesday. I met Chris and our project manager for lunch where we went over all the selections. Then Chris took me to see a house under construction so I could see what our blue siding would look like. I really love it and I think it will look great with our yellow front door!

We also drove by our home site, where I was very excited to see a porta potty :) The next day Chris drove by was was surprised to see them clearing!






On Thursday morning he sent me these:




And this is what it looked like Thursday afternoon:



I love seeing the progress. It's all going to be worth the wait! A friend of mine is building the same house, different elevation. She was nice enough to send me a picture of their kitchen-which is reversed from the model. It looks so different when it's all switched around!

I'm a bit anxious because I have all this time...and I feel like I can't quite pack everything up. I've done little things like take down some wall decor, cleaned out a few drawers and closets...I just want to get it all done now before the craziness of school begins. Since we'll probably be moving in November, I can't even pack up our Fall/Winter stuff! We are getting a dumpster so that we can purge as much as possible. That's a big job right there :) Maybe after that I'll feel better, lol.

Beach 2015

What a fantastic week! I so wish I could take the beach home with us. This trip only solidified my goal of retiring here. For reals.




Our house had an early 1:00 check-in time. We left early (before 8) and made it down with no problems in just under 4 hours. We felt like we were really able to enjoy the first day, it wasn't just a "travel day." Our house was super nice and a quick walk to the beach.







The weather was amazing! Only one afternoon was cloudy with a bit of rain. We went to the beach every single day. A couple of mornings I walked to the beach to watch the sunrise.







The girls loved the beach, in small doses. Anne could stay there all day. Abigail and Audrey preferred the pool, but they really had a great time when they were at the beach. I couldn't get enough. I would be out there all day, from sunrise to sunset!

The kids all got along so well and loved playing with each other. I think that's a big reason the big girls wanted to be at the pool, they had so much fun with the other kids. It was interesting to watch Anne. She was constantly on the defense. She did not like it when other kids approached her, especially if she had a toy in her hand. She'd yell and even hit/push :( If Chris or I was holding the baby, she'd yell and cry and point while saying, "No baby!!!" Sheesh. Looks like we have some work to do with this one.

























If we don't retire here, I at least want to buy a house that we can retreat to (BEFORE we retire.) A place where I can spend most of the summer and long weekends. Where the girls can go when they're on college break. It's not about laying out in the sun and getting a great tan...I just love watching the ocean and feeling the sand and breeze. I can't believe we have to wait an entire year to see it again :(

Now we are home and it's nice that I have a few weeks left of Summer. Time to focus on the upcoming school year and getting this house in shape!