New House: drywall, exterior

Our house is coming along!  In fact, it's flying along.  We are supposed to close on August 23rd, but it looks like it might be sooner if everything continues to stay on schedule.  This week the exterior stone is going up, and the finish carpenter is coming.  In a few weeks the mantel and cabinets will be going in, and I'm so excited to see how it all looks together!  Here are some pics of the progress:

Exterior - the hardy board, stucco and trim are done, and so are the soffit and facia, except for the ridge caps.

Ty and Randy made custom shelves in the garage, and they'll be painted along with the rest.  Also, the small bench will be attached to the wall and will have bead board and hooks above it for everyone to hang things on.

Most of the tile in the house is this type - this is the entry.

Ty has almost finished board and batten in Griffin's room.  It will be painted similarly to our last house.

Coffered ceiling in the master bedroom.

Master bath with tile tub surround.

The shower is getting there - the trim is granite, the same that the counter tops will be. 

HUGE decorating shelf - I can't even think of what I'll put up there to fill it all.

So that's the house so far.  I can't believe that in a month and a half it will be done, and we'll be moving again!

New House: Framing

Our house is coming along!  We've been picking things right and left - everything is completely custom, so we have to pick colors and materials for things you'd never imagine, even things no one really sees!  That's been keeping us busy.  Last weekend we picked granite, lighting (chandeliers all over!), and the mantel, and we're starting to get a handle on paint.  The framing is almost finished, and so is the heating.  This week I think they're doing the roof!

This house has a lot of new things compared to our previous house:  There's more square footage, a third car garage, granite throughout the whole house, a barrel ceiling into the master, double sinks, coffered ceilings in the living room and master, and Griffin's room will have a 10 foot ceiling.  We're doing tile tub and shower surrounds and a tile back splash in the kitchen, and I finally get my big walk-in closet :)  Also, the outside of the home will be mostly hardy board and stone.  We're doing a dog room (I know, we're crazy, but we have a big dog and she needs her own space instead of having to put her kennel in the dining room), and the house has 3 bedrooms upstairs, and potential for 4 more and a HUGE family room and a bathroom downstairs.  We're planning to finish the space downstairs ourselves again, and will be finishing some pretty soon after we move in.

Just in case you think we won the lottery, let me set the record straight - thanks to much better interest rates, a great sale on our old home, more money down, and having a builder dad who gets stellar deals, our mortgage will be less than we paid in our old house.  However, it will come out to be around the same, since we have an HoA, which I hate...you win some, you lose some.

Here's a sneak peek:

Here's a front view - you can see all the gables and get a feel for the shape.

Here is a more side-view, where you can see the rock wall in the front.

Daddy and Griff in the garage entry.

There are arches all over the house - I love them!

Mommy and Griff checking things out :)

We are so excited to see things coming along, and we can't wait to see the finished product!

Our house...

It's official!  We are selling our house, and moving far far away to...Lehi again.  I have mixed feelings about moving.  Some have asked me why we're making the switch, and here are my reasons:

• I hate the neighborhood.  Not the NEIGHBORS, mind you, but the unfinished, full of weeds, nasty entrance, no lots on two sides of us neighborhood.
• I hate the mink farm/cows/skunks/lake effects smell.  Sometimes they all combine to create a truly wonderful aroma.
• I can't stand the lake bugs.  Mayflies and mosquitoes everywhere in the summer.  Sometimes I spend 1/2 hour or more vacuuming all the bugs up inside after I've had my door open.
• Our house only has two bedrooms upstairs, and I'd eventually like to have some more children.  We have loved this house, but we are growing out of it.
• This house isn't a house I see us raising our whole family in.
• We have an amazing lot on Traverse Mountain, and a plan for a bit bigger home.  Also, we will be one of the last houses finished in the neighborhood.

So there you have it.  We adore our ward and (most of) our neighbors, so it does make us sad to leave.  We also LOVE our house.  This house was the first house I've lived in since my early childhood, and I was spoiled because since my husband and father-in-law built it, we got to pick everything in it.  It has been a great house to us, and it's full of wonderful memories.  Here are a few pics to send us off:

 My camera has some "quirks," so the picture quality isn't the best, but you get the idea.  We have a lot of fun new changes planned for the new house, and we are hoping to have it finished by September.  Until then, we will be living in a town home in Draper, and playing at the pool every day!