Friday, June 06, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Picture of the Day
This is Perryn learning to sit up on the couch.
And this is Perryn falling over.
I promise, I picked him up as soon as I snapped the picture. :-(
And this is Perryn falling over.
I promise, I picked him up as soon as I snapped the picture. :-(
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Monday, June 02, 2008
Picture of the Day
Perryn seems to really enjoy when daddy sings to him and daddy seems to enjoy making up songs to sing. The latest one is "The Diaper Song" which he sings when he changes his diaper. Here's a photo of daddy singing to him on the couch.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Pool Progress
They finished the stonework on the pool today. Here's a photo of it. We also got an email from them that projects the end of June for completion. I was actually thinking it might be sooner because they seem to be zooming along, but I'll take that. We'll be able to enjoy it for most of the summer. Yay.
Picture of the Day
Rachelle and I have different priorities when it comes to dressing our child. If it were up to me, he'd be wearing a diaper and a t-shirt. Simple and functional, because, let's face it, he's not trying to impress anybody. Rachelle on the other hand delights in playing dress up with him. Every event represents an opportunity to dress him in a cutesy baby outfit. And thanks to the generous support of many loving relatives and friends, she has many from which to choose.
Case in point: We made plans to bring him to his first baseball game. We were both looking forward to it. I was looking forward to getting out of the house for a while, enjoying a warm spring day, and eating a hot dog at the game. She was excited because it meant she could dress him up in his little baseball uniform outfit.
Truthfully, I do get a kick out of watching Rachelle and Perryn together. It warms my heart to see how much she loves that little guy. On the other hand, I hope her penchant for cutesy outfits passes before he reaches his teen years.
Case in point: We made plans to bring him to his first baseball game. We were both looking forward to it. I was looking forward to getting out of the house for a while, enjoying a warm spring day, and eating a hot dog at the game. She was excited because it meant she could dress him up in his little baseball uniform outfit.
Truthfully, I do get a kick out of watching Rachelle and Perryn together. It warms my heart to see how much she loves that little guy. On the other hand, I hope her penchant for cutesy outfits passes before he reaches his teen years.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Picture of the Day
Sometimes, Perryn likes to spend time in his bouncy seat. The seat comes with two rattle toys that can be mounted on either side of him. We call them "Mr. Bee" and "Mr. Panda." He'll just sit there, transfixed on those toys, reaching out and batting at them every so often.
Occasionally, he manages to swat one of them such that it spins around on its axle, facing away from him. He *really* doesn't like when that happens. He cries and cries until you come over, and turn it back to face him, and then he settles right back down.
I imagine he's thinking something along the lines of "Hey! Don't turn your back to me!"
Here he his engaged in a staring contest with Mr. Panda.
Occasionally, he manages to swat one of them such that it spins around on its axle, facing away from him. He *really* doesn't like when that happens. He cries and cries until you come over, and turn it back to face him, and then he settles right back down.
I imagine he's thinking something along the lines of "Hey! Don't turn your back to me!"
Here he his engaged in a staring contest with Mr. Panda.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Picture of the Day
We gave Perryn a bath the other week. Afterwards, we dried him off and combed his hair, as usual. Usually, we just kinda comb his hair down flat, but this time I parted it to the side.
Rachelle wasn't too fond of the look. She gave him a pompadour.
Rachelle wasn't too fond of the look. She gave him a pompadour.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Perryn's First Party
Here's a picture of Perryn enjoying a beverage at his first party. It was a pool party we went to on Saturday. He did very well other than one episode when something scared him and he started screaming.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
First Baseball Game
We took Perryn to his first baseball game last night. We have season tickets for the local team and we've been to a few games ourselves, but this was the first one that we took him to.
He did really well... he was sitting in his car seat most of the time sucking on a pacifier. We took him out of the seat around the 7th inning to have a bottle. He was startled a few times by loud cheering or the announcer, but he didn't really cry until the very end of the game.
The people sitting next to us were very nice and took this photo of us. I think the woman really enjoyed watching the baby more than the game - lol.
He did really well... he was sitting in his car seat most of the time sucking on a pacifier. We took him out of the seat around the 7th inning to have a bottle. He was startled a few times by loud cheering or the announcer, but he didn't really cry until the very end of the game.
The people sitting next to us were very nice and took this photo of us. I think the woman really enjoyed watching the baby more than the game - lol.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
It's a Start
They started the pool and have been working on it for about a week now. They just gunited on Friday. I can envision what it will look like now. I can't wait to see it progress. They gave us a timeframe of 8-10 weeks so we should be complete sometime in June. Yay!
Smile?
Perryn was smiling at me like crazy, so I go get the camera and this is the face I get. :-)
I do still think it's incredibly cute, however I haven't been able to capture a smile on camera yet. I guess he'd rather smile at mommy and daddy's face than a big, black, scary looking camera.
I do still think it's incredibly cute, however I haven't been able to capture a smile on camera yet. I guess he'd rather smile at mommy and daddy's face than a big, black, scary looking camera.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Photo Upload
Just a quick note to let you know that I've uploaded a batch of photos to Flickr. These include shots from Perryn's recent visit by his Grandma Cote and Uncle Mike, and from his Pepere Cote.
Here's a link to all the shots that I uploaded in this batch.
Or, you may prefer to browse the photos based on the dates they were taken.
Here's a link to all the shots that I uploaded in this batch.
Or, you may prefer to browse the photos based on the dates they were taken.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Perryn rides in his Jeep
Yes, Perryn has a Jeep.
More specifically, it's a Jeep-brand baby carrier. You know, one of those contraptions that let you carry your baby around on your front. They're supposed to be all the rage among the less-than-one-year-old crowd. So, I strapped him in the other day, expecting him to enjoy every minute of it.
It didn't go so well. He threw a fit immediately upon insertion.
Maybe being upright was just too much for him. Maybe he's still a little too small for it (you'll note that his face is kind of smooshed up against my chest.) Or maybe he just hadn't settled down after the diaper changing session.
Anyway, not to be discouraged, we tried it out a second time yesterday. He still seemed a little unsure about the whole thing, but he didn't resist too much.
And so the final test came last night when we strapped in for a third time and then took a walk around the neighborhood. He settled in just fine, and napped through most of the walk. So, we judge the baby carrier to be a success. But, yeah, he still needs to grow into it a bit.
Oh ... and there's one more side story to this baby carrier. I came home from work one day several months ago, and Rachelle handed me a present, all wrapped up. I opened it up, and found a baby carrier. That was how she told me she was pregnant.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Perryn
Well, as I'm sure a lot of you can imagine, I haven't had a moment to update this yet. Here's a photo I just took of our newest addition to the family. He'll be 2 weeks old tomorrow.
We're busy and sleep deprived, of course. Unfortunately breastfeeding wasn't working out very well for us, so I'm pumping breastmilk and feeding it to him in a bottle, but other than that, things are going fine.
The actual labor and delivery went very well. I had absolutely no pain once I got the epidural. I was surprised by that. I had always thought that the epidural just helped with the pain, not eliminated it. Labor prior to the epidural wasn't too bad either. I had my first contraction at 3:30 in the morning. Perryn was born at 6:30pm, so I guess we'd call that 15 hours of labor. I pushed for 2 hr 15 min and we nearly had to use forceps to get him out, but we managed just in the nick of time. I did have a little more bleeding than normal, but it was easily controlled and all was fine.
And that's our news in a nutshell. :-)
We're busy and sleep deprived, of course. Unfortunately breastfeeding wasn't working out very well for us, so I'm pumping breastmilk and feeding it to him in a bottle, but other than that, things are going fine.
The actual labor and delivery went very well. I had absolutely no pain once I got the epidural. I was surprised by that. I had always thought that the epidural just helped with the pain, not eliminated it. Labor prior to the epidural wasn't too bad either. I had my first contraction at 3:30 in the morning. Perryn was born at 6:30pm, so I guess we'd call that 15 hours of labor. I pushed for 2 hr 15 min and we nearly had to use forceps to get him out, but we managed just in the nick of time. I did have a little more bleeding than normal, but it was easily controlled and all was fine.
And that's our news in a nutshell. :-)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Nursery colors
Here's an additional photo that shows the three colors. Pardon the blue tape that is still up in this photo - obviously it's a work in progress. The darker blue and green will be added to the striped wall as well. It will be a bright room.
Gary paints the nursery
Here's a picture of Gary painting the stripes on the nursery wall. There will actually be three colors when we are done.
Friday, February 22, 2008
8 months pregnant
Here's my 8 month photo. Everything is still going well with the pregnancy. I have experienced heartburn for the first time in my life, but I guess that's nothing major to complain about.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
One of Our Projects
Here is a picture of one of the projects we've been working on. Gary painted the walls two different colors and we're in the process of putting up trim (this wall/corner of the room is done). We left the ceiling as it was.
We had pretty much the same thing in the old house and liked it. Since we have a softside waterbed, we had to do it before we setup the bed which we got done this past weekend. We've been sleeping in the guest room until now. It's very nice to have our bed back!!
We had pretty much the same thing in the old house and liked it. Since we have a softside waterbed, we had to do it before we setup the bed which we got done this past weekend. We've been sleeping in the guest room until now. It's very nice to have our bed back!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
What's New
Things are moving so quickly it appears I haven't had time to make an update in a while. So here's what's going on in a nutshell:
HOUSE - We moved the last weekend in January and we're still getting settled and doing lots of projects at the new house. There are still a lot of boxes around because we want to finish some of the projects before unpacking. For example, we're painting and putting up molding in the master bedroom and it will be easier to finish that project before placing furniture and unloading boxes. In the kitchen it will be easier to get the cabinet hardware on before loading cabinets since when we do that it will involve drilling and making sawdust mess.
OLD HOUSE - Gary has been busy painting the exterior and last weekend Roberta and I also helped. I figured with it being outside, it wasn't a problem for me to pitch in. I just stayed off the ladder and left that to them. We need to clean and do some interiror touch up painting and then we'll be ready to put it on the market and hope it sells quickly. :-)
BABY - We are 6 weeks from our due date, so they generally say that baby will arrive in +/- 2 weeks from the due date... which means we will be parents in 4-8 weeks. Yikes! Unfortunately the nursery isn't ready yet, but I figure the baby won't sleep up there right away anyway, so that isn't the end of the world. We have managed to do quite a bit of shopping and we finished our childbirth preparation classes. I also registered at both Target and Babies R Us. Those were 3 hour and 2 hours excursions, respectively. There's so many things to look at and choose! It was fun though.
During all our projects, we managed to squeeze in a little celebration for our anniversary. We went out to dinner at a nice steakhouse in Frisco and it was quite good. We also have tickets to the ballet this coming Saturday night. I figure we do have to take advantage of being sans child while that's still the case. :-)
I think that hits the highlights.
HOUSE - We moved the last weekend in January and we're still getting settled and doing lots of projects at the new house. There are still a lot of boxes around because we want to finish some of the projects before unpacking. For example, we're painting and putting up molding in the master bedroom and it will be easier to finish that project before placing furniture and unloading boxes. In the kitchen it will be easier to get the cabinet hardware on before loading cabinets since when we do that it will involve drilling and making sawdust mess.
OLD HOUSE - Gary has been busy painting the exterior and last weekend Roberta and I also helped. I figured with it being outside, it wasn't a problem for me to pitch in. I just stayed off the ladder and left that to them. We need to clean and do some interiror touch up painting and then we'll be ready to put it on the market and hope it sells quickly. :-)
BABY - We are 6 weeks from our due date, so they generally say that baby will arrive in +/- 2 weeks from the due date... which means we will be parents in 4-8 weeks. Yikes! Unfortunately the nursery isn't ready yet, but I figure the baby won't sleep up there right away anyway, so that isn't the end of the world. We have managed to do quite a bit of shopping and we finished our childbirth preparation classes. I also registered at both Target and Babies R Us. Those were 3 hour and 2 hours excursions, respectively. There's so many things to look at and choose! It was fun though.
During all our projects, we managed to squeeze in a little celebration for our anniversary. We went out to dinner at a nice steakhouse in Frisco and it was quite good. We also have tickets to the ballet this coming Saturday night. I figure we do have to take advantage of being sans child while that's still the case. :-)
I think that hits the highlights.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
7 months pregnant
Here's my 7 month photo. Things are still going well with the pregnancy. We've started buying some of the larger items for the nursery now that we've closed on the house. We found a crib and glider, etc. Lots of things to get ready, but it's fun.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Garage Project
We got lucky this past weekend and had excellent weather... which allowed Gary to tackle painting the garage floor. Roberta helped with the trim (had to be done with a brush) and also sprinkling the little flecks on the wet paint. The epoxy paint had quite a strong smell, so I stayed away except for quick peeks from the outside to check progress.
I think it looks pretty good and it's really nice to have it done before we move anything in. Cute paint clothes, huh?
I think it looks pretty good and it's really nice to have it done before we move anything in. Cute paint clothes, huh?
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
We closed!
We are new home owners as of Friday. Now the fun begins... Gary has been busy sealing grout lines (we have quite a bit of ceramic tile, so that's not a quick project) and yesterday he started painting the nursery. I've been cleaning out construction dust from cabinets and doing shelf liner in the kitchen. There are a lot of cabinets, so that's time consuming also.
We're going to continue with projects for a few weeks and will hopefully move in after a few weeks, depending on how things go. We're painting a few rooms so we'd like to get that done before I move in since I shouldn't really be inhaling paint fumes. It's easier to paint empty rooms anyway, so I think it will work out well. We wanted to paint the garage floor with those cool speckled paint chips, but we're learning that it needs to be warmer for that, so that is going to be a pain. That would definitely be nice to do before anything is moved in there. I think it will need to be around 70 for at least 2 consecutive days in order to do that, so it's possible, but not sure how likely.
We'll be busy for the next few weeks for sure. It's exciting though.
We're going to continue with projects for a few weeks and will hopefully move in after a few weeks, depending on how things go. We're painting a few rooms so we'd like to get that done before I move in since I shouldn't really be inhaling paint fumes. It's easier to paint empty rooms anyway, so I think it will work out well. We wanted to paint the garage floor with those cool speckled paint chips, but we're learning that it needs to be warmer for that, so that is going to be a pain. That would definitely be nice to do before anything is moved in there. I think it will need to be around 70 for at least 2 consecutive days in order to do that, so it's possible, but not sure how likely.
We'll be busy for the next few weeks for sure. It's exciting though.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas all! Here's a picture of us from last night.
It was a small event for us this year. My parents arrived in TX the first weekend in December, but unfortunately, they were notified on Monday 12/17 that their house had been broken into over the previous weekend, so they left the next morning. They had to go idenify what was taken for the detectives.
Gary, Roberta and I did our usual Xmas Eve tradition - homemade pizza. Gary and I are going over to Roberta's boyfriend's house for Christmas dinner today. His brother and family will be there also.
It was a small event for us this year. My parents arrived in TX the first weekend in December, but unfortunately, they were notified on Monday 12/17 that their house had been broken into over the previous weekend, so they left the next morning. They had to go idenify what was taken for the detectives.
Gary, Roberta and I did our usual Xmas Eve tradition - homemade pizza. Gary and I are going over to Roberta's boyfriend's house for Christmas dinner today. His brother and family will be there also.
6 months pregnant
Here's a photo of me at 6 months pregnant. I wore the same clothes as the 5 month pic on purpose.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Fireplace Completed
Here's a photo of the fireplace now that it's complete. The hearth has been added with a flagstone topper on both the hearth and the very top of the fireplace (not sure you can tell). And of course the cardboard has been removed from the mantle, so this is the actual color.
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Latest House Update
Things are really moving along now. The appliances are in and they were carpeting this weekend. We're expecting to close the last week of December.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Fireplace
We were excited to see the house this weekend, they've done quite a bit. The fireplace is in progress - just missing the topper and the hearth. The mantle is covered with cardboard, but is really a very dark brown.
They've also installed lights, some granite and started staining some of the cabinets. Everything is coming together and we're expecting to close in about a month.
They've also installed lights, some granite and started staining some of the cabinets. Everything is coming together and we're expecting to close in about a month.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Latest House News
The house is still coming along. When we were there this weekend, the major thing that has been done since my last update was paint – although it wasn’t completely finished. They’ve also fixed some minor things we pointed out with the cabinets (for instance we wanted one of the cabinets to be hinged on the opposite side). They installed the laminate counter for utility room sink and the cultured marble counters in the secondary bathrooms (although they are the wrong color).
I believe they are still figuring out what to do about the cabinet stain for the maple cabinets since they were supposed to be getting us a new sample and we haven't heard from them. I’m guessing the granite counter tops won’t be installed until after that is done. I think they are also about to do the fireplace. There was a picture of what it’s supposed to look like hanging on the wall when we were there this weekend.
They’ve currently given us an estimated closing date of December 28th, which is later than we were hoping. However, we don’t want to rush them and we’ll certainly need to make sure everything is complete before we close.
I believe they are still figuring out what to do about the cabinet stain for the maple cabinets since they were supposed to be getting us a new sample and we haven't heard from them. I’m guessing the granite counter tops won’t be installed until after that is done. I think they are also about to do the fireplace. There was a picture of what it’s supposed to look like hanging on the wall when we were there this weekend.
They’ve currently given us an estimated closing date of December 28th, which is later than we were hoping. However, we don’t want to rush them and we’ll certainly need to make sure everything is complete before we close.
Latest Baby News
Here’s a picture of the nursery bedding/décor that we decided on. I like the vibrant colors the most and of course the animals are cute. I found a crib and rocking chair that I like, but have not made a definite decision on those yet. We won’t be in the market to actually buy those larger items until we move, so depending on if they are available at that time or we find anything else, we’ll see.
As for myself, I’m definitely into maternity clothes now – mostly due to pants. I’ve been feeling movements and Gary even got to feel it one night even though the doctor said it would be a few more weeks before he’d be able to. That was cool.
We both got our flu shots last week which were highly recommended by my doctor. Apparently getting the flu when pregnant is a very bad thing. It was also recommended that Gary get one for once the baby arrives.
As for myself, I’m definitely into maternity clothes now – mostly due to pants. I’ve been feeling movements and Gary even got to feel it one night even though the doctor said it would be a few more weeks before he’d be able to. That was cool.
We both got our flu shots last week which were highly recommended by my doctor. Apparently getting the flu when pregnant is a very bad thing. It was also recommended that Gary get one for once the baby arrives.
Friday, November 02, 2007
It's a Boy!
I had an ultrasound earlier this week and we found out it's a boy. We also got to count ten toes - hee hee. He was laying looking up, so we didn't get the typical profile shot. We also got a clear picture of his foot and of his hand pointing. It was cool.
We've officially started buying baby things also. This was a big step since shopping has been so overwhelming! I mean I've shopped for baby gifts before, but ya know... there was normally a registry to choose from - lol. Now we are the ones figuring out the choices. I've definitely been looking for advice from family and friends and I've had some great info from several people.
Of course, It's all exciting but I can't believe I'm almost halfway through pregnancy already (Sunday is the official halfway mark).
We've officially started buying baby things also. This was a big step since shopping has been so overwhelming! I mean I've shopped for baby gifts before, but ya know... there was normally a registry to choose from - lol. Now we are the ones figuring out the choices. I've definitely been looking for advice from family and friends and I've had some great info from several people.
Of course, It's all exciting but I can't believe I'm almost halfway through pregnancy already (Sunday is the official halfway mark).
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Cabinets are In
Here's our maple cabinets in the kitchen. They were put in on Thursday this week. They are unfinished currently. We just provided the builder with a sample of the stain color we are looking for today, however in getting that sample we have learned a lot about staining maple cabinets. Not an easy task. Wish I would have known that before I chose to do maple, but I'm still hopeful at this point the builder can figure out how to do what we want. (We're trying to get a medium brown color, however maple doesn't take stain very well and they tend to get blotchy). I'm sure I'll be posting another picture when the staining is done. Wish us luck. Other than that issue, we're certainly happy with the style and look of them.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Airport Hotel
Gary knew he was staying at an airport hotel this week.... he didn't know this would be the view from his window. I wonder if he's getting any sleep?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Latest Progress
When we visited the house this weekend we found that they have our fence up and have painted the exterior of the house (the parts that are siding, doors, trim, etc). The stacks of stones on the far side of the yard are for the fireplace.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
House Progress
They just started tiling on Friday and it looks about half done. We were pleased with the way it looks so far, but there's no grout yet, so still not sure exactly what it will look like.
All the wall texture is also done. On the outside it looks like they've done some leveling and brought in some sand. We met with the landscaping company this past week and we're waiting on them to send us some drawings to review. The landscape package isn't too bad. We get 2 shade trees, 2 ornamental trees and 25 shrubs.
All the wall texture is also done. On the outside it looks like they've done some leveling and brought in some sand. We met with the landscaping company this past week and we're waiting on them to send us some drawings to review. The landscape package isn't too bad. We get 2 shade trees, 2 ornamental trees and 25 shrubs.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A Bun in the Oven
Yep - for all who read this and haven't heard the news yet, I'm pregnant. We're really excited - of course.
This ultrasound was at 12 weeks and I'm 14 weeks now. I was waiting to post this until I told a few people in person, but couldn't wait any longer to share with everyone (at least everyone who reads this). :-)
I'm due the end of March.
This ultrasound was at 12 weeks and I'm 14 weeks now. I was waiting to post this until I told a few people in person, but couldn't wait any longer to share with everyone (at least everyone who reads this). :-)
I'm due the end of March.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Drywall
They also finished the drywall this week. I'm standing in the family room looking towards the entry in this photo. The door to the left of the photo is the door to the study.
Brick Complete
Here's a picture from yesterday. They have completed the brick now. Not sure why the scaffolding is still there, so not the best picture. I'll take another one when it comes down.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
In Loving Memory....
This photo was taken at the family reunion last month and I'm so sad to say that my cousin Ryan died August 25th.
Another cousin, Stephanie, put together a "Safety Flyer" which she posted in local bars, liquor stores and colleges in Fargo. I'm going to just copy and paste her message here and hope that it will serve as a reminder to anyone who reads it:
We all watch movies or TV, read the news and hear of people being drugged at bars while they are out and think “That kind of stuff only happens in big cities like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles”. We also may think it only happens to risqué people who aren’t careful and that it’s their lifestyle that puts them in the situation. Our family recently has had to learn it does happen in small cities and it does happen to your average everyday girl who loves her friends and family, enjoys life, and is anything but risqué.
Ryan was your normal every day girl. After a night out we’ve now lost her forever. Her friends left and she stayed behind with an acquaintance. From there we can’t tell you what happened for sure. She was not a drug user but PCP was found in her system and caused her to have major heart damage that she could not survive.
Go out, have fun with your friends and live life but please remember safety:
- If you come together leave together
- Don’t ever leave with someone you don’t really know
- Don’t let anyone else in your group leave with someone either
- Always keep an eye on your drink and be sure no one can slip something in it
- Keep an eye on your cigarettes and don’t bum cigarettes - they can be laced
- Be sure your whole group makes it to their car/cab/home before leaving
- And of course don’t drive drunk
It can happen anywhere to anyone. Don’t let it be your loved one!
In Loving Memory of Ryan Marie Dockter 3/19/78-8/25/07
Monday, September 03, 2007
Started Bricking
Here's a photo from this weekend. As you can see they've done quite a bit of bricking on the front.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Vacation
Vacation was pretty great, but could have been longer - of course.
While in ND, Kim (a friend since 1st grade) had a few of our friends over to her house for an evening. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up.
Family had started arriving for the weekend reunion by the time I got to town, so there was family coming and going the whole time. The reunion was on my dad's side, but I also got to see a few members of my mom's side.
The reunion was really nice. It was at my aunt and uncle's lake house and was mainly her family that did all the planning and prep. They did a really great job and we had a turnout of 115 (I believe that's what I heard). It was so nice to see everyone and the lake was a good location to entertain all. The weather was nice also, although I'm sure some thought it was a bit hot. It was upper 80's one day and I believe it got to about 91 the second day. There's always a nice breeze off the lake and there were tents for shade.
The actual travel part of the vacation didn't go so great. Gary had trouble flying in... his early morning flight was delayed 2 hours due to aircraft maintenance and that threw off the whole day. He eventually got in at about 3p. When we left, we got on the plane and were all set to go when they came on and announced that there was a hole in the tire and the plane was not safe to fly. This being Fargo, no spare tire and no spare plane led to the flight being cancelled. It was the last flight out, so we had to reschedule for 5am the next day. When we got to the airport at 4:30 they had no record of me being on the flight - only Gary. Ugh. I managed to get on "standby" and in first class. I don't believe I've ever had so much trouble with flights, etc. Better luck next time hopefully.
While in ND, Kim (a friend since 1st grade) had a few of our friends over to her house for an evening. It was really nice to see everyone and catch up.
Family had started arriving for the weekend reunion by the time I got to town, so there was family coming and going the whole time. The reunion was on my dad's side, but I also got to see a few members of my mom's side.
The reunion was really nice. It was at my aunt and uncle's lake house and was mainly her family that did all the planning and prep. They did a really great job and we had a turnout of 115 (I believe that's what I heard). It was so nice to see everyone and the lake was a good location to entertain all. The weather was nice also, although I'm sure some thought it was a bit hot. It was upper 80's one day and I believe it got to about 91 the second day. There's always a nice breeze off the lake and there were tents for shade.
The actual travel part of the vacation didn't go so great. Gary had trouble flying in... his early morning flight was delayed 2 hours due to aircraft maintenance and that threw off the whole day. He eventually got in at about 3p. When we left, we got on the plane and were all set to go when they came on and announced that there was a hole in the tire and the plane was not safe to fly. This being Fargo, no spare tire and no spare plane led to the flight being cancelled. It was the last flight out, so we had to reschedule for 5am the next day. When we got to the airport at 4:30 they had no record of me being on the flight - only Gary. Ugh. I managed to get on "standby" and in first class. I don't believe I've ever had so much trouble with flights, etc. Better luck next time hopefully.
Monday, July 23, 2007
A Few Updates
I haven't taken a picture, but the house now has shingles on it. That's the only visible difference from the outside. The brick has not been delivered yet. On the inside, the electrical wiring is close to complete and the AC is in. The wiring for the audio/visual stuff is being done today. We met with the cabinet guy last night. It's getting a little stressful with all of these things coming at us at once and we've begun to get "no, you can't do X" type answers which certainly do not make us happy. We still need to meet with the lighting store also.
We met our neighbors whose home is a bit ahead of ours and they seemed to think we are almost to the point where things are going to slow down quite a bit. They actually said it's going to "sit" with nothing happening. Our response was that would be a nice break. :-)
In other news... I got a new boss. I met him yesterday. He seems nice, but of course time will tell. I've had a pretty laid back boss for a couple of years, so I'm hoping the new guy isn't too drastically different. My current boss stepped down to a Manager role, so he'll now be my peer. That will be a little strange I think, but I'm sure we will all adjust.
I'm flying to ND tonight and I am ready for a vacation!! We have a family reunion on my dad's side this weekend so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. I'll be able to see friends this week also. Yay!
We met our neighbors whose home is a bit ahead of ours and they seemed to think we are almost to the point where things are going to slow down quite a bit. They actually said it's going to "sit" with nothing happening. Our response was that would be a nice break. :-)
In other news... I got a new boss. I met him yesterday. He seems nice, but of course time will tell. I've had a pretty laid back boss for a couple of years, so I'm hoping the new guy isn't too drastically different. My current boss stepped down to a Manager role, so he'll now be my peer. That will be a little strange I think, but I'm sure we will all adjust.
I'm flying to ND tonight and I am ready for a vacation!! We have a family reunion on my dad's side this weekend so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. I'll be able to see friends this week also. Yay!
Friday, July 13, 2007
We have a Roof!
Here's a pic from last night. I'm standing in the neighbors yard across the street. All the windows are in, the sheathing is up and the roof is on. On the interior we have the fireplace installed, looks like most of the plumbing done and the bathtubs in the secondary bathrooms installed. yay!
Dad - you will be happy to know that all the seams on the sheathing look good - no gaps that we saw. Most are vertical, with the gaps on the studs, in places where they had to go horizontal, there is at least 6 inches of overlap. :-)
I got an email from the construction supervisor on the one "change" item that was missing and he said he would get it taken care of. (We added a tiny wall at in the media room and it was missing). I didn't think it would be a big deal.
I expect our brick will be delivered very soon and we'll see some shingles. There are a few places on the house that has siding and that is already up also.
Dad - you will be happy to know that all the seams on the sheathing look good - no gaps that we saw. Most are vertical, with the gaps on the studs, in places where they had to go horizontal, there is at least 6 inches of overlap. :-)
I got an email from the construction supervisor on the one "change" item that was missing and he said he would get it taken care of. (We added a tiny wall at in the media room and it was missing). I didn't think it would be a big deal.
I expect our brick will be delivered very soon and we'll see some shingles. There are a few places on the house that has siding and that is already up also.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
The Inside
Here's a shot from inside. On the right side is the doorway to the kitchen from the living room . The opening in wall to the left is the opening above the kitchen sink - looking out on the living room. Above the kitchen is a bedroom.
Looking more like a house
Here's a photo from this evening. It looks like they've completed the framing on the interior. There are now stairs in the main entry. As you can see in the photo most of the windows are in. We've only found minor change that was left out so far (which should be easily fixable), so things are going well.
Gary met with the guy about wiring today and that seemed to go well.
This is the exciting part where things move so quickly... noticeable changes every time we visit. Fun, fun.
Gary met with the guy about wiring today and that seemed to go well.
This is the exciting part where things move so quickly... noticeable changes every time we visit. Fun, fun.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Framing Continues
This was taken yesterday. We now have quite a bit of roof and a lot of finishing touches - art niches and arches. We also have one item we've been waiting for - the back staircase. Yay - we were finally able to go upstairs to see everything up there, including the game room and media room. Very exciting! :-)
We went to do our color selections today. I think we were there about 5 hours. It didn't seem like we were doing a lot of deliberating, so I'm surprised it took so long, but there were a lot of choices to make. We still have to meet with the wiring people and the lighting people too.
We went to do our color selections today. I think we were there about 5 hours. It didn't seem like we were doing a lot of deliberating, so I'm surprised it took so long, but there were a lot of choices to make. We still have to meet with the wiring people and the lighting people too.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
More Progress
This is a photo from last night. They've gotten more of the second story framed.
We have our meeting with the design consultant on Sunday to decide on all our selections for tile, carpet, granite, paint etc.
So we are moving right along. It's so exciting! :-)
We have our meeting with the design consultant on Sunday to decide on all our selections for tile, carpet, granite, paint etc.
So we are moving right along. It's so exciting! :-)
Innocence?
She looks innocent, doesn't she?
Well, don't judge too quickly. I'm working from home today, so as I was sitting on the couch with my laptop in my lap, she crawls up behind me on the couch... and then... just takes a big ole bite on my ear!!?? Completely out of the blue. I would love to know what the kitties are thinking sometimes!! :-)
Well, don't judge too quickly. I'm working from home today, so as I was sitting on the couch with my laptop in my lap, she crawls up behind me on the couch... and then... just takes a big ole bite on my ear!!?? Completely out of the blue. I would love to know what the kitties are thinking sometimes!! :-)
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