July 2009

WOW! Brian and I were away from the ranch for 11 days and things got CRAZY!! The builder said it would go fast from here until the finish and he wasn't kidding. It's so exciting to see it all come together and think about all the fun times that will be shared here by family and friends.

This in the beam work in the family room complete with the lighting fixtures and ceiling fan. There are 4 lighting fixtures(2 on each end) of the family room and 4 beams that span across the room. The walls are painted a khaki color and the trim is a cream color.

This is the view out the screened porch. The staining of the cedar turned out perfect and Kolby will enjoy reading away the hours with great views.

Master bath with the vanity and lighting. All the lighting fixtures are oil rubbed bronze and the cabinets are painted the cream trim color.

This in the shower in Russell's room without the glass doors. All 3 of the kids rooms have showers only and the master has both a shower and tub(because we're special!)

Here's the bunk beds in Brad and Remy's room. There will be a full mattress on the bottom and a twin on the top along with a queen bed in each of the kid's rooms. The master has no bunks(we did that on purpose!).

The ceiling on the screened porch turned out great. It's a type of board that takes stain and then it looks like cedar planks - awesome! I have a feeling there will be a lot of time spent in this room.

Here's the massive fireplace with the stained cabinets on either side. You have to envision a big mantle and Brian's massive flat screen above it and maybe it won't look so tall. It turned out great. We were so worried about the stone because again, you only get to see a small sample and we knew that we would be having quite a large amount of the stone inside.

A bit closer look at the stone around the bar and the granite countertop. The bar will seat 8 and you have to imagine hardwood floors meeting the stone to bring it all together.

This is the view of the bar from the kitchen side. Pretty massive but very functional and we'll be glad to have the room when everyone is there.

We only lack stone above the cooktop and the cabinets are stained and finished. We have stainless steel appliances coming and a gas cooktop along with a Sonic ice machine(whoo hoo!).

Who knew all this could get done in such a short amount of time. Over the next two weeks the tile will be laid, stone finished inside, plumbing fixtures installed, hardware put on the cabinets, the butane tank installed, the screens installed on the porch and appliances installed. The outside painting is complete and septic system is installed so we are getting close. I'll try to do a better job of keeping everyone in the loop but I can't promise anything because I'm getting pretty excited about the house being completed and being able to move in. Brian is trying very hard to keep his calendar clear for the month of August so we can move in and do some work around the place. Nothing like working outside in August when it's cool!

The ponds will be the next project and we're waiting for the Soil Conservation Service to get the funding for the cost sharing project that they will be helping us with. We think there will be 2 tanks that share a common dam and then we will build a third pond separately just below the house. It's all very exciting and we're looking forward to getting everyone to come and visit. We hope you enjoy the blog and are glad you want to share the experience!