Our brick was delivered today!

See, everything IS bigger in Texas!

Well... it wasn't just one brick that was delivered to the job site, there are LOTS of 'em; too many to count. It won't be long until the sticks and bricks come together.

Here's a close-up view of a bundle o' bricks.

Our brick is called "Lancaster" and it has brown, red, and taupe colors in the mix.

It only seems fitting that Mr. Smith's house should be built with bricks that are made in his home state, doesn't it?! I guess that's an added extra bonus. :-)

I realized that I had not yet included any photos of the backside of the abode, so here you go. The rear of the house faces northeast, so we should enjoy nice morning sunshine and shade in the afternoon. As you can see, we will be washing a lot of windows.

Hi, Millie! High Millie?

My girlie-girl is peeking out the 2nd story window.

Sooooo, things are progressing nicely on the construction project. There is a lot of activity every day. The framers are finishing up a few items, and the plumbers and electricians are busily working. There are not many BIG changes in how things look, but the mechanical elements of the house are being put into place. This is all the stuff that will be hidden behind the sheetrock.

I should have taken a photo of the carpenters/framers as they loaded up in their truck tonight. It was quite comical, but apparently a very cost effective carpool arrangement. There were at least a dozen guys piled into one extended cab pickup truck. Five were in the cab, and the remainder of them were in the covered bed of the truck. Illegal? Maybe in more ways than one...

Little House on the Prairie Progress Report -- Day 8

These guys are putting in yet another window that I will have to keep clean. I hope they didn't get any fingerprints on the glass... ;-) We were really surprised to see how much headway was made in one day. It would have been interesting to have gone inside to see what work had been done on the interior, but we didn't want to be in the way. We'll make a trip back over the weekend to take the inside tour.

The sky was beautiful today, with no rain in the immediate forecast. Word is that there will be shingles on the roof by Saturday. That's a good thing, as there is a chance of rain late Saturday night.

All of the windows are installed in Millie's bedroom, Mr. Smith's office/study, and M's upper room.

Things have really shaped up over the past eight days. These sticks are beginning to look like a house, but there is still a lot of work to complete. There are about 14 weeks left in the construction schedule, so we are looking at a mid to late June completion date. Stay tuned!

Weekend Wanderings

It is quite alarming to have the alarm clock ring at 5:15 AM on a Saturday morning; however, all Smiths and Smithlings happily got out of bed to get ready for a road trip to Houston. There were no complaints from anyone, except for the cats who realized that they were going to be home alone for the weekend. (They survived.)

This was our first trip to Katy, TX, to visit my brother Dwight and his family, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We will, no doubt, make a return visit in the not-too-distant future. (M. recalls making a trip to Katy about 13-1/2 years ago with G-ma and G-pa T. He had just turned four, and was really intrigued by water towers. As they drove from Tulsa to Katy, my mom and dad entertained M. by looking for and counting water towers. What fun, eh?! We did NOT count water towers on this trip. Maybe next time. Or maybe not.)

The purpose of the trip was to visit with family, and we certainly accomplished that goal. Mom and Dad are currently staying with the Texas Thompsons, so our group totaled eleven.

Shortly after we arrived, we were treated to a most excellent Turkish lunch/early dinner. I am not sure I can name everything we ate, but all of the dishes were yummy. The rest of the day was spent hanging out around the pool, as we enjoyed 70 degree temps.

Our Host and Hostess

Poolside Waltz

Hula Hooping Grandpa?!

"Two-la Hoop"
Aunt Jean is a good sport.

More bang for your buck? I have no idea what I am doing, but it all turned out okay. I think! I was doing a little damage control after Mom had someone in a Houston salon "trim" her hair in an uneven manner. No big TX hairstyles for Mom this time around.

On Sunday morning we were treated to two hot air balloons flying right over my brother's house.

The girls helped harvest a few carrots -- yum! They also learned how to prepare a few new recipes as they hung out in Aunt Jean's kitchen. We now know how to make several tasty treats with tofu. The girlie-girls also learned how to make banana "ice cream" using only frozen bananas.

It was impossible to get the cousins to pose for a photo without one of them making a silly face or laughing. I tried to get a good picture, really I did. In this pose all three Smithlings are apparently tickled at something one of their older cousins said. I wish I knew was was so amusing, but no one is tellin'.

It took adding Grandma and Grandpa to the mix to get a decent shot. What well-mannered grandchildren. I certainly love those smiles. ;-)

We've been framed!

Well, partially framed... Work on framing the "Smith Haus" began yesterday and will continue for several days. The word from our builder is that the structure should have shingles by late next week. I'm thinking Extreme Makeover Home Edition. ;-)

The Smithlings and I stopped by the construction site at 5:30 in the evening and found eight carpenters still busily working on our house. We were surprised at how much they had accomplished in one day. Not only did we get to watch the workmen, we met another new neighbor, so it was a fruitful visit. I am not sure that we will be making daily visits to "our" house, but there seems to be a lot going on right now. We don't want to miss out on anything exciting.

We just HAD to share the latest developments with Mr. Smith. The kids thought that their dad needed to see things in person, even if there wasn't any daylight left. We grabbed a couple of flashlights and the camera (of course!) and returned to the scene of the building project.

Liesey is positioned at the front door ready to receive visitors.

Our resident engineer and his apprentice carefully inspect the craftsmanship. Nerds! (Thankfully, my boys are not sporting pocket protectors.)

Millie's room seems to have a few obstacles in the way.

I have received a comment, or two, or three, that I am never in any of the photos, so here I am! I guess I prefer to be on the backside of the camera. Here I am posing in the wine grotto, which will somewhat resemble a jail cell once the wrought iron is installed on the window and door.

Sticks!

Our ballerina girl is always looking for places to dance. Construction sites work just fine. The Everest Road pavement and the glow of the streetlamp provided the perfect conditions for shadow ballet.

Ready for Sticks & Bricks

The dirt has been moving on Everest Road, as progress is being made on our new house. :-) It will be easier to do a pictorial update of the events that have occurred over the past several days than for me to try to write everything down, so here goes:

February 20th -- Dirt, dirt, and more dirt!

Mt. Everest?

February 26th -- Mr. Smith inspects the water and electrical before it is set in stone, or concrete.

The ducks in the nearby drainage canal are unimpressed by the building project.

March 3rd -- Liesey's new room has an open and airy feel to it!

Millie's room is also rather spacious looking.

Across the field there is a row of new homes that have sprung up over the past few weeks -- same 'hood, different builder.

March 5th -- the concrete was poured at 6:30 in the morning. I'm sure the neighbors (and the ducks!) loved being awakened by the sound of concrete trucks and workmen.

Someone has been doing donuts in our backyard. Hmmmm....

Here's the view from the back to the front of the house.

Yet another foundation shot...

Millie drew a cat in the temporary sidewalk to greet the workers.

Liesey had to add our family surname to the same walkway just for grins. We have apparently staked our claim! Let the sticks and bricks arrive.

Skate Date

Miss Millie finally got her wish of getting the entire family to go ice skating. Perhaps watching some of the Olympic events the past two weeks prompted our girl to desire the icy outing. If medals were awarded for this weekend's event, I think all would receive a GOLD for EFFORT!