Monday, November 12, 2007

Latest Baby News


Paradise Baby Bedding
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

Friday, November 02, 2007

It's a Boy!


Ultrasound 1029
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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).

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Cabinets are In


Kitchen Cabinets
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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


Airport Hotel
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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


2007 10 13_02_backyard
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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


Kitchen Tile
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

Updated Photo


Exterior on 9/22
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
Here's an updated photo of the exterior with the scaffolding gone now.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

A Bun in the Oven


Ultrasound 0910
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Drywall


Drywall
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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


Brick Complete
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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....


Ryan and Rachelle
Originally uploaded by rkbk03

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


DSC_0355
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

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!

Friday, July 13, 2007

We have a Roof!


2007 07 12_20_exterior
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

The Inside


2007 07 10_10_Kitchen
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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


2007 07 10_02_Sheeting
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Framing Continues


2007 07 07_Framing
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

More Progress


2007 07 02_Framing
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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! :-)

Innocence?


Molly July 2007
Originally uploaded by rkbk03
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!! :-)