House Pics to date...

Here are some late pictures of the inside progress of the addition. The drywall was up, inspected, taped, and textured. I painted it last weekend. There was considerable floor demolition of old tile and building up the sub-floor to the level of the original hardwood. Cost me 2 days work but saved us $1200.

Sean eats his peas...

So in order to get the main course of Spaghettios, Sean had to eat his peas. Properly camouflaged with catsup and shredded cheese, Sean has developed the ability to eat nearly anything.

House Interior

So they tore down the front of the house and opened it up. Things are moving right along... Here are the pictures.

House ready for stucco...

Well, the house is still coming along... Termites were swarming last week and of course swarmed to my house. The house is skinned. So we are going to take down the old front of the house next week, finish the rough electrical, insulate, primer the pop-out and then paint.

House pics...

Here are some of the latest house pictures. The siding is up, the door is hung, the roof is on, the AC is installed, the rough electrical is mostly done, the plumbing is roughed. Now we just need inspections and we can pull the tear-down wall and stucco the outside, then drywall, paint, and flooring. 5 more weeks I hope.

Sean has a his 1st BU8 game..

Sean has his first BU8 (Boys Under 8) soccer game today. While there is no official score, we all know which teams wins. Sean did well. No goals but he did get knocked down, got right backup and played on.

Meghan's 4th Birthday with the Princesses...

So we took the girl to Disneyland for her birthday to have lunch with the Princesses. She met each one and was able to talk shop (shoes and clothes) with each of them.

Another house update...

So the walls are done and they are framing up the roof. You can see the huge beams for the hip roof. Hip roofs are little more complicated due to the increased number of beams. Meghan looks on..."Hi construction workers." she says. (Nice blue gatorade mustache.)

Walls are going up...

Sean has his second practice and the framers are putting up the walls.

Kids at the water table...princesses go to jail.

All is not as it appears in the fairy tail, as the princesses have a hard time of it at the water table. Going to jail (an unseen watering can) for repeated assaults, this can only end badly for the high profile animation divas. Will they be escape, be paroled, or released to mete out vilence against one another someday? Their undetermined fates are in the hands of overly-loud imaginative young demi-gods who are clearly making this up as they go along.

Notice the big cardboard box in the background...Our stove (range) broke and we had to get a new one.

House update and Hello Cousins video

The kids say "Hello" to their cousins in a video...sort of. It is a first attempt. Below are the latest pictures of the house. The support posts under the sub-floor are too low and will have to be re-poured. It is a set-back; but I am hoping to have this done and passed inspection by the end of the week. The walls go up next week if not sooner.

Long week...high drama.

So where to start. The server at work went down completely to start the week. The restore is a bit complicated as it involves every aspect of Microsoft technology - AD, Exchange, MSSql, and I rebuilt the raid... Then there was the 5.8 earthquake. Then the house is being worked on. And finally, Sean belly-flopped the high dive at the pool today. The thing about being a parent is you lose the option to just pull the covers up over your head in the morning. To quote my brother-in-law,"This is going to end badly."

Sean on the Slip'N'Slide

Wilson invades the pantry...

I forgot to put the dog gate up and Wilson opened the pantry...

Play date!

Sean and Meghan went to Shane's house for a play date. I don't have a single picture of the boys because they wouldn't stand still long enough... but the girls played dress-up! Meghan was a little upset. I guess being Snow White is not as good as being Cinderella. Shane's mom was a wonderful hostess. They have a great house and yard for the kids. They had a great time and we look forward to the next one.

New Addition...

No not another kid... We are adding on to our house! We are adding 435 sq ft - a bedroom for one of the kids, a 1/2 bath, and a living room. I ran the numbers and couldn't justify a new house even in today's market. That's ok. Everyone in our family like our little house just fine and an additional bedroom will have a great return on investment. We have new neighbors next door. Do you like their motorhome? That aside they are a normal family of four which is a pleasant change from "Unstable Steve" who used a megaphone to yell at speeding motorists on our street.

4th of July

The kids had a wonderful 4th of July. They actually lit fireworks and were not cowering as in past years. Of course I wasn't there because I was selling fireworks at the Rotary booth.

Madison's Visit

My sister Jennifer's daughter came to visit. We went to Knott's Berry Farm.