Sunday Snapshots

I asked Lance to take a couple pictures before church this morning.  Jenna, Shelby and I all cordinated.

Five Fun Friday Fotos!

My roses are blooming and beautiful right now!

 I cannot explain it, but I love this picture of Shelby!

 With all the construction, there is a lot of dirt, the girls were sliding down the dirt pile last night.

 Needless to say, there are lots of dirty clothes around here!

 Yes, that is our cat, wearing a pink dress, sitting in the laundry basket, highly ticked.  No, I do not know why, but I do know who did it and all I am going to say is she thought it was funny.



Taking Shape

For those of you who tried to watch the video of Jenna on the last post, I think I have it fixed now.  

I am trying to keep everyone updated on the progress of the house.  Sorry if you get tired of hearing about it, but we are excited.  Monday forms went up, Tuesday more forms went up and concrete was poured, Wednesday the forms came down. 

Tuesday -forms filled with concrete (looking SW)

Wing walls and basement wall - Forms with concrete (looking E)

 Wing Wall

 Wednesday forms came down.  This is the garage (looking W)

 Whole project (looking N)

 Basement wall (looking NE) tarp is coving existing basement entry.  Mom & Dad or Carla & Matt or for those of you who would like to visit, the stakes in the gravel is the guest bedroom and bathroom.

 Basement wall which will have the stairs (looking SW)



If everything goes as planned, we will have a visit from the plumber, get additional gravel tomorrow and get ready to pour the basement and garage floors on Friday (or Monday if it rains).  Either way, the project is really starting to take form! (no pun intended)

I'm a Little Pumpkin

Here's my first attempt at a video in a LONG time.  Sorry it is sideways!

Incase you cannot view/hear/understand the video, I will type it out.   Jenna is singing out her version of I'm a Little Pumpking which is a knock-off of I'm a Little Tea Pot.

I'm a little pumpkin

Orange and Brown

Here is my stem

There is the ground

When I get all cut up

Don't you shout

Just open me up

And scoop me out

Setting Forms

I had to laugh when my Mom asked me this morning, what did you destroy this weekend?  I think the only thing that was destroyed this weekend was a massive mound of laundry!  I think we are to the point of becoming a constructive people.  We are in the process of adding a sizable addition onto our house.  In the picture below you can see the forms that were set up today.  Hopefully, tomorrow they will finish setting forms and start pouring concrete!

 New basement outline, standing in the garage. 

 Back door and basement access as they currently exist.

 Wing wall

The view in the distance we will see out the picture window when we are finished.

Friday Fun Foto

I was in Shelby's bedroom putting away her shorts and summer dresses. I walk out into the living room to find Shelby wearing Lance's John Deere hat, John Deere coat and one of his boots.

                                              

 I want to be just like my Daddy!

Destructive Behavior

We have had a very destructive behavior lately.  The trend continued on Sunday.  Lance took the chainsaw and cut down three trees out of the back yard.

 We tore down the garage, took the back porch off the house and dug up the sidewalks.

 What are we doing one might ask?  We are getting everything out of our way to get the next phase underway - diggin in the dirt!

This hole is going to be our additional basement space

Farmin'

Over the weekend we made a trip south to visit my folks and help out on the farm.  While making applesauce (see previous post), Dad said he was going to need help moving from farm to farm.  I took the girls and we went to help move the tractor and auger cart, the other tractor and auger cart, and the semi where they needed to go.  On the last trip, Poppy asked Jenna if she wanted to ride with him.  He was going to haul grain to the elevator.  Jenna enthusiastically agreed!  We moved her booster over to the semi and buckled her in.

Poppy Bob said he had "live entertainment" all the way to the elevator.  She was singing and talking to him all the way there.  Then on the way home he had a "bobble head".  Jenna evidentally took a little snooze on the way back to Poppy's house. 

I happened to catch them a minute or two after pulling into the barn lot.

Can you see Jenna?   

 Do you see how big that smile is?

 Look at Little Miss Hot Stuff!

When I asked her if she liked riding with Poppy, she said, "it was the best ride ever!"

No worries, Shelby wasn't slighted.  When Jenna was riding in the semi, Shelby and Mommy caught a ride in the combine with Daddy while he finished off the field of soybeans.  Unfortunately, the camera was at Mawmaw's house and Mommy didn't get any pictures.

Pickin' Apples

My mom and dad have a couple apple trees in their yard.  Mom had a bucket of apples picked and chillin' in the fridge.  She instructs me to go pick up the few off the ground and pick what I see.  So I take Jenna, Shelby, and a five-gallon bucket down to the apple tree.

In no time flat, we have the first bucket full of apples and haven't even made a dent in the apple population.  I go ask my mom how many apples she thinks are down there and tell her she needs to see her granddaughters picking apples (and take a picture for me).  We head back down to the apple tree with three more buckets.  Mom captured the picture below. 

You see, when you are 3 feet tall, it's hard to pick apples.  Shelby thought she was big stuff pickin apples on her momma's shoulders! 

Jenna was picking the apples lower on the tree.  She was only really interested in picking the big ones.

So we picked four buckets (none overflowing) of apples on top of the one mom already had waiting. 

So what did we do with all the apples you ask?  We made apple sauce!  We cored, cut, cooked, pulverized, jarred, and canned 5 canners of applesauce or 34 quarts.  We could have filled the 35th jar, but we decided to have some fresh applesauce for supper instead!  YUM!!!!!

Bye-Bye Back Porch

Project number 2:  Clean off back porch so it may be distroyed. 

These are before pictures...looking south (were the freezers sat)

 Looking north toward the stairwell.

 The stairwell as it was.  Yes, that's dirt under the stairs.  No, those stairs are not the standard grade. 

 Thursday was day one of back porch removal.  When I got home this is what I saw looking north toward the stairs.

 Looking up - I see sky!

 Friday, day two, they demolished the porch and made a huge mess.  They left the floor, in three major pieces to keep the stairwell covered.  We cleaned up the mess after I took the pictures.

Saturday, day three, the floor and foundation were completely removed.  Plywood covers the basement opening and the kitchen door opening.  Getting ready for Monday!