And now it starts to look like a real house...

So much has happened in the last couple of days! They delivered the trusses, building materials, and the builder and crew are here! Also, the geothermal guys are still working away at drilling down.

With our limestone issue we decided to drill vertically instead of horizontally. Not sure if we decided it or if it was decided for us actually! The guys started on the geo holes last Thursday when it was a downpouring of rain ALL day. They stood out in it and got some work done. They needed water to get through the limestone, so Grandpa Dave came to the rescue with a 1,000 gallon water tank. Luckily it was raining and Dave was not harvesting. Not sure what people do who don't have access to water tanks, tractors, etc. So, as of today, they are starting on their 4th (125 ft.) hole. They will do 5 holes at 125 ft. They usually do 160 ft. when they drill vertically, but you know us, we have to be different! HAHA! What a long process!

The trusses were sent down on Monday from MN--west of Minneapolis. We delayed the lumber truck, but didn't get to the truss driver in time. With all of the rain on Thursday, Friday, and some on Sat. and Sunday too the building site was a bit "greasy." Lucky for us that it is on a big hill and it dried up pretty well. Actually, the truss truck driver was hauled in and out of our lot by Mark in a big JD 4WD tractor. It was pretty cool to see the trusses dumped off the truck. There were rollers on it and when he pulled ahead the trusses dumped off the back. The geo guys suggested we move the trusses to a spot that is not in line with their operation because they are going through a lot of water to get through the hard rock, then at 115 ft. they hit a well and water was all over and rolling down the hill. Thankfully, we have run into people who have been pretty considerate.

Tuesday we saw our 1st Nordaas truck with our framing materials. Mark the builder and his crew unloaded it and went to work this morning. He hopes to have a roof on it in about 3 weeks...weather permitting of course! Seems like a nice guy to deal with. They have a cooking facility in their trailer, so when they get to the site they will stay around. They will stay in Waterloo. The guys are from Ft. Dodge. He told me that he built a house years ago in Parkersburg and talked the couple into a storm shelter. They are the only house (brown house by the golf course) that was left standing where the main devastation was. Yes, that is the guy I want to build our house! The couple was thrilled at his storm shelter suggestion too. They had a sudden death of a son of one of his guys, so not sure what the rest of the week holds. A lot to look forward to in the next few weeks.

Barn kitties... So, I knew that we were going to get some kitties, but this is ridiculous! We could possibly have 11 kitties/cats around the place. I think a few ran away. 11! That is crazy! Mark could not say no to the lady he got them from. Don't tell anyone, but I am kind of enjoying them too. I have never been a cat person because I have been allergic all my life. I am stuffy at times, but nothing like I used to be! Maybe the years of allergy shots did work! Unfortunately, Sydney is allergic too! She does get stuffy, but the reward is worth the pain! Maybe we will get to avoid allergy shots by immersing her in cat dander!

Also, while talking about animals...we got a call that our neighbor called Mark's parents on Friday night. The dogs were at his house. Biscuit (black lab) the Great (or Not-So-Great in my opinion) had ripped them out of their living quarters. That crazy dog. A serious contender for Marley's spot! Anyway, so Mark and the girls went looking for them because I was out of town, but they never found them. Mark went to search for them early the next morning and they were in their kenne. He said it looked like they had a LOOONNNG night. They didn't jump or bark and they were very famished. Trixie is the pleaser, so he said her face said "I'm so sorry." She is a follower, not a leader. Anyway, they are back! We need to put dog cams on them to see what they saw!

Mark is moving some dirt to prepare for the builders.

The garage floor was poured amongst the rain.

Geothermal rig...drilling the first hole.

What a mess!

The trusses arrived.

Dumping off the trusses.

Hauling the truss truck through the wet ground with a JD!
Ron the truck driver and the 1st Nordaas truck with shingles, building materials, etc.






Syd & Hannah Montana Em & Hannah Montana

Water and backfill

Another productive day yesterday! The Schmitz guys got the house backfilled and the water guys got the pipe in the ground. I actually saw water coming out of the hook up too! Very exciting. The basic necessities are so exciting. They were trying to get the garage filled with sand, but the water guys had the drive blocked by the entry because they hit into some tile when they were trenching (don't worry, Dave and Larry...they fixed it!).

Here is a shot of the foundation with it backfilled...it is actually all starting to look so REAL.

Mark the builder, not to be confused with Mark the husband, said he could possibly be here next week if the weather cooperated. It is raining today...we will see! I am not going to get too excited until I see the whites of his eyes and a hammer in his hand.

Here are a couple of shots of the inside from the ground right next to the house.

The tubing is for the geothermal system...

From the storm shelter to the main area in the basement...

Slowly making progress!

Our basement floor!

Things are starting to calm down now. We are thankful to make it through September! We moved out of our Raymond house a couple of weeks ago with the help of a couple of good friends and family members! The Saturday night that we moved we left the two outside dogs in Raymond for the night. The next day we got a phone call from our neighbor that the Sheriff stopped by our house. Our neighbors behind us got tired of the dogs barking, so they called the Sheriff's Office. A bittersweet good-bye! Our neighbors on either side said they were not that bad. I am still a little bitter about it.

The rental house is fine. It will do for the next few months. My mom told me the other day that we may not find a place for everything here and that the place might just have to be messy since we are used to more room to spread out. That settled well with me and will help me get through the next few months.



A few positive things have happened since I wrote. The floor is finally poured in the basement--there was a little delay there with the weather. Mark and Steve worked one night in the dark and put insulation around the foundation. The cement guy was afraid that the limestone would wear through the waterproofing. We have electricity! We had to take it about 2,000 ft. down the road, then 1,200 ft. up the lane. MidAmerican actually started earlier than they thought they would and it was done in a very timely fashion. This is great for us because now we don't have to rent generators for the guys to build the house! $$ was saved here! The water guys started yesterday in the rain. I would expect they would be done on Monday. It is all coming together very well. We are waiting for an ETA from the builder...




Preschool is going well too! Sydney just celebrated her 4th birthday this past Wednesday, mermaid style. Emily is chatting up a storm and has such a cute personality. She is trying her hardest to keep up with her big sister.

Getting pictures on this is a pain...sorry for the messy look. I will try to figure it out better next time!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Trenching down the lane for the underground electricity.


The finished product! We tested it out and it works!

Our nicely wrapped house! Thanks again Steve!