Day 50

Today was another big day at the house! Lots of new things to see!

The Bar is here! It's GORGEOUS! I can't wait to see it with the granite and filled with booze!

The tiling around the fireplace is done - just needs grout.

Laundry room is all tiled!

Powder room got its marble!

So did the upstairs bathrooms - although the other upstairs bathroom is still waiting for its cabinet (it should be here early next week!)

The master bathroom has its marble too...so pretty!

But the best part? The kitchen countertops are in.

Here's the center island....it's big enough to have a dance party on! (but we won't!)

More pics of the granite. It's beautiful!

And last but not least, we have steps! These are the ones in the garage, but they are basically the same in the front and back.

Day 49

Today, they came to pour the concrete for the driveway, sidewalk and back patio. Sam was VERY excited!

He clapped his hands...

...and then threw stuff in the concrete (it's one of those plastic things they screw on the ends of wires)

He yelled out the door at the truck....

...and signed 'more' when the concrete stopped coming down the chute while the guys smoothed it out.

We stuck his piggies in the concrete so we will always remember how they looked that day.

Our neighbor, E, came with us to watch and help!

Since the other kids were in school, and Al in Iraq, I found another way to leave their mark in the patio concrete!

The tile guy finished the tile in the master bath.

And in the powder room.

And the wainscoting in the dining room was painted. It looks beautiful!

Day 48

Electrical is all finished up, painting is 99.99% done (just a touch of trim).

The foyer light.

The upstairs railing....the unfinished wood will be dyed to match the hardwood floors (Brazilian Cherry).

Getting ready to lay tile around the fireplace - the actual tiling will start tomorrow.

Getting ready for tile in the master bathroom too - that is the actual tile that will be going in the bathrooms - all of them - there in the middle of the floor.

The pendent lights over the island.

The Bar cabinets ended up not coming in today, but should be in place tomorrow. The driveway, patio and sidewalks will also be poured tomorrow, and the final electrical inspection is tomorrow too. Busy day!

Day 47

Lighting fixtures started going in today, and painting is SO CLOSE to being finished - will definitely be finished up tomorrow. There are a few more lights to put in, and then all the light switch & electrical plug covers (the switches and plugs were installed today) will be installed.

This is the dining room chandelier.

Lights over the master bathroom vanity.

Light over the powder room vanity.

Light in the bedrooms - all of the bedrooms (except the master - it has a ceiling fan/light), closets, pantry, laundry room, hallways, etc. have lights like this. The kids' bedrooms are pre-wired for ceiling fans, so we will probably install those at some point.

Exterior light by the garage.

Front door. It will be painted black - not sure what color the columns will be, though. I should ask!

Like I said above, electrical work continues and might finish up tomorrow, painting will finish, and The Bar comes tomorrow. I think David said that the tile will start going in late tomorrow too. Thursday, the driveway, sidewalks and back patio will be poured, so that will be staked out tomorrow, and also Thursday will be the electrical inspection that brings the meter from the pole to the house. Friday, the kitchen countertops will be installed! It's coming together fast!

Day 46

This picture isn't actually from today....but since painting is still what is going on (downstairs and detail work), I thought it fit. Flat Stanley, who has been visiting us from Iowa, offered the painters a hand. He does good work!

Tomorrow starts electrical!

Day 45

The first coat of paint started going up today....I took several pictures, but the pictures don't look exactly like the color on the walls.

Sam loves to run around at the house!

The color looks a lot more yellow in person.

I love the color, but I'm not sure Al is going to....

I guess that is what is nice about actually owning the house.....we can paint things whatever color we want. But I love the color, and am really happy with it. Hopefully, once Al gets home and sees it in person, he'll like it too. :)

Day 44

Today was a calmer day at the house. It was mostly priming and painting trim and exterior work.

Part of the banister upstairs - it's a work in progress!

Backyard - it needs 4 more loads (!) of fill dirt.

Mostly the drain field for septic tank, and some side yard.

What will be the driveway - next Thursday!

Front yard - they worked on clearing some brush and this also needs another load of fill dirt. The sidewalk will be poured Thursday as well, and the irrigation system will be installed soon too.

Next week will bring some more cabinetry, lights, tile, countertops and moving the electrical from the temporary meter on the pole to the permanent one on the house!