HOLE-Y MOLY

Hi, readers!  (All four-ish of you!)

So, you all know how excited I was last week when I saw a big excavator on the property digging up tree stumps.  Well, imagine my even greater excitement when I got home from work on Friday to find a massive hole in the ground!  A hole even bigger than a house!!  It really was surreal! 

It was around 6:00 p.m. when I got home, and by that time it was pretty dark.  So, imagine being in the dark, standing on the edge of a massive hole in the ground, with a gigantic pile of dirt sand way over your head on the other side of you.  In my head, I was singing "I'm on the edge!!  Of glory!!" (Lady Gaga reference) out of pure giddiness.  It was amazing!

Carleton came home from work on Friday at lunchtime and here is what it looked like:

Unfortunately, we weren't able to take pictures of what it looked like Friday night because it was so dark.  But, here is what it looked like Saturday afternoon, after the excavator man came back to smooth out all the piles:

Look how white the sand is at the bottom!  That sand was not placed there - that's just what it looks like after they dug the land.  (Are we going to be living on a beach??  It looks like it!)

The hole seemed slightly less-large on Saturday compared to Friday night, but only because it wasn't accompanied by larger-than-life piles next to it.  Carleton and I had fun pretending we were standing in the basement of our new house.

Carleton took some really nice photos with his fancy-schmancy camera from several pre-determined vantage points and I will share those in a different post.  I think it would be so fun to periodically update the views from those vantage points - sort of like a time-warp.

So, behind the scenes, our site plan was approved by the planning and zoning department as well as the health department.  We should have our building permit next week.

Also, the bank is coming out next week to check out the property and appraise it.  After the appraisal is complete, we can schedule our closing with the bank (hopefully the week after Thanksgiving).

We have already touched base with a concrete company to pour our foundation and they are scheduled to come out very soon!  And, we are currently looking for framers and getting some quotes on lumber.  We need referrals for framers!  Does anybody know of a reputable framing company?  If so, please let us know!

Carleton and I will be heading to Western New York this week to see my family and celebrate Thanksgiving.  I can't wait to hug my mom and eat her delicious Thanksgiving feast!  This holiday, I definitely have a lot to be thankful for.  I am thankful for family (both my family and Carleton's family).  And, I am really thankful for my hard-working boyfriend who shares my dreams and is making them come true.  And, maybe next Thanksgiving, the turkey can be at OUR house!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

DIRT NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD

This morning when I woke up, Carleton told me to look out the window.  And guess what I saw?!  A gigantic excavator on the property!  Oh, my goodness, I was so excited!

That is the view through the window.  I was in my pajamas and there were lots of men over there, so I stayed inside.  :)

After more than six months of thinking, planning, organizing, preparing, and sweat-equity (on Carleton's part!), we are finally breaking ground!  What a glorious day!!

They are digging up all the stumps from all the trees Carleton and his neighbor have already cut down.  There were a million trees over there, seriously.  Carleton cut down most of them himself and then his neighbor (who cuts down trees for a living) helped him cut down the big ones.

Anyway, after the excavator men had finished for the day, I walked around over there.

That is the view from standing at the very back of the property and looking forward, towards the driveway and the road.  The building in the photo is the big garage which already sits on the property.

Our "dirt" is literally sand!  Look!

 

In several spots, the sand is literally white.  It is identical to the white sand you would find at a really nice beach.  How cool!  Is it weird that I want to save the sand somehow??

I know, I'm so excited about this dirt, it's ridiculous!

These pictures are taken from my cell phone.  I am really going to have to start using Carleton's nice camera.  Although I'm not sure how nice pictures of dirt can really be.  :)

Until next time!

THE SITUATION

Don't worry.  This post has nothing to do with anyone or anything affiliated with Jersey Shore.  Hehe.

I just wanted to explain our current situation in case there are friends or family (or strangers) who are not up to date on what is going on at this point in our lives.  Let's see how easy and non-wordy I can make this......

1. Carleton and I are building a house.
2. The property for our house is located right next to Carleton's mom's property.
3. To save money and closely monitor construction of the house, we have both moved into the basement of his mom's house until construction is complete.
4. We have decided to be our own General Contractor.  (So, basically, Carleton is the General Contractor and I just ask him ten million questions about what is going on because he is good at keeping everything straight and I am not ... hehe!)
5. We have no idea what we are doing and are just winging this.  But, so far, so good!

And that's it!  Wow, only five things and everybody is up to speed!

And now for some family photos:

That was Take 1 .... haha!  Here is Take 2!

Awwww.  Aren't we cute??  :)

GETTING STARTED

We are building a house!!!!

It's exciting and overwhelming and going to be so much hard work, but we know it will totally be worth it!

We wanted to be able to document our entire house-building journey so that we could share it with family and friends ... so this blog was created.  We hope to update it regularly with photos and details of our progress.

I hope you follow along and are just as excited as we are!

-Rhonda