Wow! What a Weekend!

Whew! It's Tuesday and I'm just getting a post up about our weekend! That's how busy it was!

Dave and I have been on vacation since Wednesday but it sure didn't feel like a vacation. After we took a trip to KC, we got home and got back to work. While Dave ran around town on Thursday picking up our hardwood flooring, my mom and I hit the stores. I FINALLY decided on tile for the master bath (this was not an easy decision - trust me), we picked out paint colors for two rooms, we looked for sinks, and took a peek at lighting and cabinet hardware. In between all of this we helped Dave unload all of the flooring. Those boxes are not light!

On Friday, we picked up the rest of the tile and spent way more than I would have ever thought was possible on door knobs. We also spent more time staring at paint samples, and just generally going crazy!

Saturday brought my dad to help. We poured cement for the front steps, got door locks installed, went to a composting class and then the Shrine Game (my cousin Chris was on the South team - what an accomplishment!).

Sunday saw more cement for the back steps.

Our neighbors are probably wondering why we have bodies in the back yard but I swear it's just covered cement!

We also finished the front steps and decking. Ok, well, we didn't as I snuck away for a baby shower, but the steps are finished. Helping out in my place was Trent - I'm sure he did more than I could!

Dave and I spent Monday running errands. We measured rooms for paint, cleaned up drywall remnants, bought paint, bought newels for the staircase, possibly chose a countertop for the bathroom, decided on and purchased all of the trim and interior doors, and squeezed in a softball game and a movie. (We rented "Burn After Reading" - strange movie).

We are certainly getting closer! There's still a lot to do, but moving in is starting to look like a real possibility!

Even though Dave and I accomplished a ton with regards to the house, the best part of Friday and Saturday was the news from Kearney and Italy. Two of my best friends from high school had their babies! Kinleigh came first on Friday and William followed on Saturday! Check out the links on the side for their blogs. Congratulations to all of the new parents!

Breaks are Great!

We took a break from home building last night and headed to KC. Back in May I had purchased tickets to the Angels-Royals game for Dave for his birthday. In case you don't know, Dave is a huge Angels fan!



The Royals remodeled their stadium - it's pretty nice!


My mom, Erik and Megan came with.

Dave intently watches the game. At this point, the Angels were losing. Our history with Kansas City is bad weather (it always rains on us) and the Angels always lose when we drove down there to watch. We got incredibly lucky last night - the weather was fabulous and the Angels won! Perfect night all around.

We had a great time even though it was a late night getting home. It's back to home building today. Mom and I are shopping for door handles, lighting fixtures, tile, plumbing fixtures, and a fathers' day gift (yep, I'm majorly behind). Dave is picking up our wood flooring, tile, and deck stair components. Busy day ahead!

Lighting!

I think I found my foyer chandelier!

Only problem is it is bronze and the back door and window handles are almond frost...


I can get all of the lighting in the kitchen, dining, foyer and great room to match the chandelier above. I can get bronze for all of the other lighting and maybe even the sink faucets as I haven't purchased any of that yet, but those darn windows and doors are already purchased. What's a girl to do?

We're Making Progress! Well, Kinda.

Progress is being made at the Pool home. Our drywallers have all of the drywall up and are currently muding and taping. They were supposed to be done last week and Mom and I were supposed to be painting this week, but that's a story for another time.

In the meantime, check out the progress. The first time Dave and I walked in there and the drywall was up, we both thought it felt claustrophobic! Yep, claustrophobic. It was weird.

Remember those crazy shingles I picked?

I chose them because I thought they would look nice with the stone which is finally up!

A closer look at the stone...

I think it works.

Dave and I both are on vacation starting Wednesday. We are heading to Kansas City to watch Dave's beloved Angels play the Royals and then it's back to work. We pick up our tile and hardwood flooring on Thursday. My mom and I are spending Thursday shopping for light and plumbing fixtures (wish us luck). On Friday, we will be spending the day sanding all of the balusters and railings for outside decks. Lots of work to be done!

Watch Your Step!

It used to be a 6' fall out the back door but now, thanks in part to my folks, we have a deck.

My parents, Dave, and I spent a weekend installing the decking. We don't have the railings done yet - that's this weekend's project.

I can't wait to sit out there and watch all of the animals.

The front porch is almost done as well!

We Have Neighbors

It's true. We have neighbors and not the 4-legged kind.

They started building their home last week. They are around the corner from us and we can just barely see their construction.

They are even crazy like us and take lawn chairs out to the site.

I don't want to jinx it, but maybe these are neighbors we will like?

Help!

I've been searching for a new comforter set for a while now and I think I've narrowed my search to three but now I'm stuck! I was hoping to get some color on the walls in our room so I was leaning towards the purple or red sets, but I really like the look of the yellow and black one. Too many choices!

Leave a comment and let me know which one you prefer and why. Also, what color would you paint the bedroom with the comforter you've chosen?

It's Not Much

I know it doesn't look like much, but to Dave and I, it's a lot! Yep, the construction of our kitchen cabinets has begun!

We were incredibly lucky in that my Dad knew of a builder in Grand Island who builds awesome custom cabinets. His prices are very reasonable (actually better than the cabinets from the lumber yard) and Dave and I jumped at the thought of custom built cabinets. Dave got a chance to see the beginnings of the cabinets this past weekend and he brought home these pictures for me (and you!).

Also, there's been some talk that the drywall may be in the process of going up. The house is certainly going to look different! No worries - I'll take plenty of photos to share.

Mike's 2nd Race

Mike's 1st Heat Race

Here's the video of Michael's 1st race.

Listen closely to the announcer. "Swapping paint in happy hornetville" is my 2nd favorite line of the race.

My favorite line is at the end - listen closely - when they announce Mike as the winner!

You Went To A Car Race!?!

In addition to the 4th of July celebration we had this past weekend, Dave and I made it back to Grand Island to catch one of my brother's races. For those of you who don't know, my brother and his friend Jessy opened their own business last year. B & B Street Motives, LLC is a auto shop in GI (if you need your car worked on take it there!). To advertise their business, my brother jumped head first into the car racing business.


Dave and I have been trying to get back ever since the season started to watch him race, but with the house and everything else we've haven't had a chance. Dave ended up getting off early on Friday and we rushed back. It was quite the evening!


It started out good - no rain, smiles on our clean faces, and lots of interesting people to watch. Bear in mind that this was my first time watching any car race - I don't even watch them on tv.


5 observations from my first car race...


1. Earplugs - an absolute necessity.



2. Dancing flags make me giggle. Yes, I now know that two dancing flags means two laps left but I know this guy practices in front of a mirror and it makes me giggle.


3. Pit crews also make me giggle. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them turn circles following the cars around the track. I just wanted to yell "Dance, Monkey, Dance!".

4. The people at car races are interesting. And that's all I will say on that point.

5. Car racing is dirty. Michael races on a dirt track and apparently, the wind was in the wrong direction. I was filthy when we left. I had a layer of grime on my clothes and on my face. I'd post the photo Dave took of me after the first few races, but it was not pretty.

Now on with the race...

Michael's firesuit (I keep calling it a jumpsuit - I was informed this was not the proper terminology) is bright orange. As in just escaped from Hall County Corrections orange.

His car is also orange with silver sides. His number is 86M. Also, the category he races in is called the Happy Hornets. I never knew there were so many things at a car race that could make me giggle.

He raced twice. The first was a heat race in which he had to place better than 4th to move on.


He got 1st! Look for a video in a second post (blogger wouldn't load more than one video in this post).

He then moved on to the feature race in which he placed 2nd! Look for another post with a video on this as well.

It was quite the evening. I can't say I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. It was too loud and dirty, but I did enjoy watching Michael (and was super excited he did so well) even though it made me terribly nervous when he rounded the corners. Will I go back? Yes, but only to watch him win again!

Check out Mid-Nebraska's website at http://www.midnebraskaspeedway.com/. They race every Saturday night and I'm sure Mike would love it if you attended!

Whew, What A Weekend

We are exhausted! We had a super busy weekend and have lots to share!

We started off the weekend with car racing (yep, it's true - look for an upcoming post on that.) We then celebrated the 4th and our niece Carley's 4th birthday with Dave's family. Then we went to my aunt and uncle's farm. Even though it was a pretty cold 4th of July we managed to have lots of fun.

There was baseball...

(I love the concentration on his face. He's going to be 85 later this year!)

We had water balloons and lots of water fights...

(I believe Dave referred to this as Emma's first swirlie.)

And we had ice cream... It was delicious!

And we ended the night with lots of fireworks and a full moon...

Whew, that's only 1 day. Two more recaps to come!