Big Dog--Bring on the walls!

Lots of progress this week even though it was a bit rainy (the driveway took a big beating from the rain and big trucks).

ICF has been stacked--pic taken 9/22.

Addy and Daddy taking a break from all the house activity to eat a freshly picked honeycrisp apple...we picked 3 bushels.



9/23

The big truck line-up...everyone jostling for space at the site.

Big Dog is what it's called. Pouring concrete is what it does. The mason is manuevering the tube so that the concrete makes it into the foam blocks.

The basement will have 1 big window on the east and west sides. Dan the builder put the windows at 5' 4" so that I can reach without too much effort (it should be obvious who is writing this).

Addy and Daddy mesmorized by Big Dog. The mason only stumbled from his position 3 times (that I saw)...yikes!

A view into our living space as the IFC is located on the east, west, and north sides. The south side will be framed in with 2x8's due to all the windows.

You can see the worker on the far right who is operating Big Dog so that the red cylinder is slowly moved down the line.

Addy watching the guys while sliding down the mini sand dune.

If you look closely you can see the foam filled with concrete. Hopefully ICF is all it is cracked up to be. Aaron and Dan the builder in the background.

The black cables lead to the 150' geothermal wells. They are working on the 4th of 5 wells.

One last pic of Big Dog.

Foundation work has begun

Addy playing as usual

With the footings poured you can begin to visualize the house. The front of the house will be on the right of the picture

The drill truck after a day of drilling the geothermal wells

Blocks are being stacked as a frost barrier underneath what will be the back wall of the basement since it will framed in with wood

Camping at Wilderness State Park

We had a good time this past weekend with the Dhaseleers. It was Addy's first time camping. She wanted to try out her sleeping bag that she got from Gabby and Oof for her birthday.

Addy spotted this stump at our campsite that was pretty fun to jump off.




Addy in the tent.

Addy and Rachel wrestling in the tent.

It was Josh's birthday so he got a cake and a cookie cake.

All the kiddos swinging.

David, Addy, and Ellen after a long day of burying Aaron under the sand.

Slow down...

A little out of control...

The first annual Wiers/Dhaseleer camping trip.

Rachel walking the balance beam.

Ellen teaching Addy how to use the walking stick.

Our tent on the left dwarfed by the Dhaseleer Dome (Kingdom Six). And they said they didn't have room for Addy!

The s'more was a bit messy. Overall, Addy was a good sport with the camping trip.

On another note, we are still waiting for our adoption referral. I really feel that this is the week. We are at the top of the list for a boy or a girl. Each time that phone rings we bolt to see who is calling! Stay tuned...

Bring on the Walls!

The mason started this past Sunday. So, we have resumed our nightly trips to the lot.

So, you can see the outline below for the ICF (insulated concrete form). The wooden outline on the left is the front of the house.

Addy is standing by 1 of 5 posts that will be the location of the geothermal system (we will be having vertical wells). These will be at the west side of the land.


Addy kept reporting that one of the big trucks was gone. She now has an affinity for big trucks/excavators/backhoes.




Another view of the outline.



Aaron and Addy scoping out the progress.

Excavation complete for now...

So, the excavation finished up on Thursday (for now). The foundation might get started late this week but most likely Sept. 12th will be the day. After seeing progress so quickly, it is going to be hard to wait a week before work continues.

But, our attention is also focused on our upcoming adoption. It looks like we are close to the top of the list. So, we could be getting a referral any day now. I have a feeling we will get the call in the next 1-2 weeks. Whenever the phone rings on Mon-Fri, I have this quick hope that it is our social worker calling with the news. The house construction has been a nice distraction as we wait for the referral.

Day #4: Mini Grand Canyon

After Addy awakened from her nap today she said "I want to go to land."

See the parking spot to the right of the driveway for those cars without turbo power during the icy times. Oma and Papa? Oh, I am sure the prius will be able to make it!

The hole is getting deeper. Trenches have been dug for the footings (we think). We have our eyes peeled on Addy as she is walking around.

Addy felt there was a little too much sand in her boots. She would rather go barefoot.

Addy was trying to catch our attention as she spotted a slide!

Addy sure has good eyes. Check out the yellow slide in the background.