Windows!

Today we went to LaJunta to do some things. When we left, no one was at the house site, and nothing was happening. When we came home this afternoon, the house has all of the windows installed!


The electricians have also been here doing alot of "electrical things"!


The funny story of the day is about Gabby, one of our dogs. Like I said in an earlier blog, the dogs like to see what is going on down at the house site. Gabby is the one that only likes to go when Tony and I are down there and everyone else has gone home for the day. We were inside the house looking around. Tony and I were at the north end of the house in the bedrooms area. We heard some noise at the other end of the house. We stopped and looked and listened. Gabby had come in, we have no doors yet. She was down in the dining room area looking at the sliding glass door and was seeing her reflection. The hair on her neck was standing straight up and she was growling for all she was worth! It was so funny! She ran for the front door wanting to go outside to check it out, but was too scared. She ran back over to the sliding door and started growling again! By that time, Hannah, our other dog came in to check out the commotion! It just made us laugh!

Lookin' Like A House!

The piles of lumber that were delivered last week are no longer in piles! I left on Friday right after lunch to go to Colorado Springs to shop and buy groceries. I spent the night at Emily and Justin's and when I got home Saturday right after lunch, this is what it looked like! This is looking at the north side of the house where the garage is.


This is the west side of the house. All 3 bedrooms are on the north end, with the living room at the south end. I couldn't get Tony to move this big piece of equipment so that I could get a good picture of the front! HA!


The south end has the living room/dining room and patio.


It's hard to believe that on June 1st, it was still just a pasture!

Framing It Up!

Just a quick up-date! From my blog post from this morning, you saw what things looked like as of 8:00 a.m. this morning. These pictures show what it looked like at 8:00 this evening!


All of the exterior walls are framed up and its really exciting to walk thru and see where everything, such as windows, will be! They also have chalked out the interior walls and I can actually visualize what room is where!


These two windows are in the corner of the living room. Will let in lots of light and a nice view!

Concrete Work Is Finished!

Welcome to our front porch! Or, at least the beginnings of our front porch! We had two more trucks deliver cement LATE yesterday afternoon, and we are finished with the concrete work! The slab in this picture is the front porch, and it will be covered.


This area is the patio. It will have a sliding glass door that opens up off of the living/dining room area of the house. I'm thinking that a fire pit would be fun out here!


We will actually have a place to park the car instead of in the mud! They poured us a nice big slab in front of the garage.


We even have sidewalks! This is the end result of the crews hard work! They finished up last night under the lights! Good work, guys!

The Floors Have Been Poured!

Today was a BUSY day at the new house site! The septic system passed inspection and Tony's Uncle Bill was here first thing this morning to cover everything up. The form setters were ready and waiting when the first load of cement arrived. After 3 trucks had dumped their cement, the crew got to work finishing the floor. It was tough going as they were working in VERY warm temps and a hot dry wind was blowing out of the south! They did a great job, and the floor looks good!


As you can see in the pictures, they are setting forms to pour the drive-way slab, the patio, the front porch, and the sidewalks. We are scheduled to get cement tomorrow afternoon for them.


A load of lumber was also delivered and the framing crew is due to show up in a few days. I talked to our builders today and they are working with a cabinet builder in Hugo, and he is custom building the cabinets for the house! We have seen some of his work, and he does a really nice job!

Father's Day

My sister, Sheryl, and I have the best Dad! We are lucky to live close to him and able to celebrate almost every Father's Day with him! Yesterday we all went to Tressie's dedication and then to Emily and Justin's house for Father's Day lunch. See Tressie's blog at tressiegolding.blogspot.com for more pictures of the days celebration!



Here we are with Dad quite a few years ago!



Why do they always make you look into the bright sun!


Here I am with Dad before Sheryl came along! This picture was taken ALMOST 50 years ago in Honolulu, Hawaii, when Dad was in the Army!

We'll Be Warm!

The plumbers have been here working on the heating system. We are going to have radiant heat in the floor. The unit that they are installing is up to 98% efficient, so we are looking forward to being nice and warm during the cold, windy days of winter!


Tony's Uncle Bill has been putting in the septic system this week. Today he is working on the water line. Two more very essential systems! We are waiting on an inspection for the septic system, and then he can cover up the hole!



The big piles of dirt have all been moved around and leveled. The crew has been here this week getting ready for the cement pour for the floors and garage. We were scheduled for Monday of this next week, but we have been "bumped"! They are putting in a big wind farm somewhere up around Burlington, and they need all of the cement to go that direction on Monday. So, we will be rescheduled, and not sure when that will happen!




Tony and I have spent alot of time this week making final decisions on products and materials for the inside of the house. I believe that our kitchen cabinets need to be ordered this next week sometime so that they will arrive in time! I have never spent so much time on the computer checking out product websites and keeping in contact with our builders! The computer has definitely saved alot of trips to town and phone calls!

Checkin' Progress

We went down last night to check on the progress of our new house. Tony is sitting on the wall which will be the backside of the house. The dirt has already been bermed up on the back side. He is looking down at what will be the floor of the house.


The dogs are also very interested in what is going on! Hannah looks at every day as an adventure! Who can I get to pet me today? Gabby is a little less sure about everything. She only likes to go look around if Tony or I are there. She is scared of all of the big, scary trucks and equipment!



Things are really moving fast! We are finalizing decisions on things for the interior of the house this week so that they can be ordered and arrive in time! This is what our "pasture" looked like on June 1st!



This is what it looked like last night, June 15th!

Don't Blink!

Like the song says, Don't Blink... Just like that summer will be over, and we will either have a new house, or be close to it! It's hard to believe how fast things are going! This afternoon late, 4 more loads of cement were delivered and the foundation is taking shape!


This picture is for my Dad. He spent 34 years driving a mixer truck. He kinda wanted to come out and watch them pour this job, but we blinked, and it was done!


This is what it looked like at the end of the day!

Foundation Work

Yesterday several loads of cement arrived and the foundation work has begun!


These 2 small squares of cement are where the columns will be for the covered porch on the front of the house.


The large forms at the back are for the backside of the house which will be the "bermed" portion of our berm home. This entire wall will be concrete.

Our 30th Anniversary!

Thirty years ago today, I married my best friend!


I hope that we are blessed with at least another 30!

Getting ready for concrete

On Friday, June 4th, the form setters arrived late in the day and worked for several hours.



Saturday after branding, we went down and checked out the progress.

Dirt Work

The excavating crew was out Wednesday, June 2nd, for a long day of dirt moving!






By the end of the day, the dirt was moved and ready for the forms to be set.

Our new house!

Tony and I are so excited to be having a new house built. We welcome you to join us on our journey and keep track of the progress.

Here is a picture of the site for our new home, with our current home in the background.