New House - Part 5 - Things keep on rolling

When I started blogging about the new house I expected to write posts detailing every aspect of the house, all the decisions we made, anything that was going well or going poorly. However I haven't had the energy and it's now more of a photographic diary. Enjoy ...

A couple of relatively quiet weeks have given way to more fevered pace at the house.  Sheetrock is hung ...

and taped and floated ...

Trim and cabinets are going in ...

And driveway and porch are poured ...

New House - Part 4

The pace has slowed a bit over the last couple of weeks so I figured I should catch up while I have some time.

Baby Q made her first trip to her new house ...
Exterior paint is almost done ...
Plumbing, electrical, and A/C have been run ...
This is a mega joist hanger that took 2 days to install ...
Dry wall was delivered and is ready to be hung ...
And insulation is going in ...

New House - Part 3 - Break Neck Speed

When I last updated this blog, we were eagerly awaiting the new baby and were enjoying watching the newly poured cement foundation cure. We didn't have to wait long for either of those things.

About a week after pouring the foundation, we received this bundle of joy. And a couple of days before she arrived framing on the new house had already begun:
By the time mama and baby were discharged from the hospital, we had progressed to four complete walls:

Since then we've got windows, a roof, siding, and some utilities being run. The overall speed in which everything is getting done is great. But I can't help but be worried. Plus I had planned to capture every square inch of the construction with pictures. However I rarely bring my camera with me and I'm forced to snap a few pics on my phone as I stop in after work each day.

New House - Part 2 - Let it begin!

There has been more progress with my beautiful wife and baby to be than there has been on our house:

The lot sat like this for two months while we sorted out an issue over our property line. That is behind us now and we have finally started the construction process for the new house! It was a race to see what would come first ... baby Q being born or pouring the slab. Despite my wife's wishes the baby is still simmering and the foundation has been poured:

Merry Christmas: Baby, Guns, Demo

This time of year is usually fun and exciting and Christmas 2010 is proving no different.

Ultrasound picture from 18 weeks

The first Christmas present came a few days early. I went with my wife to her regular Dr's appointment and for the first time I actually heard my daughter's heart beat in the womb. 29 weeks along and Baby Q is doing fine! The final 11 weeks will probably fly.

The next present was from me ... I am exercising my 5th Amendment right to bear arms. I bought a gun after much careful deliberation and thought. This was probably a more painful buying process than it needed to be, but having never owned a gun I wanted to explore all my options. I took it out to the gun range today with my brother ... not sure what to say about the gun other than it goes bang. But it was still fun to shoot. The picture is a running joke among my friends.

The final present came from our builders ... We got all our permits and we were finally ready for demo! On Christmas Eve a backhoe was left on our door step (literally). Today the actual demo took place. They let me knock down the first wall and I have to admit that was pretty awesome! After 10 minutes I decided to let the pros take it from there. Another 20 minutes and the entire house was down to a neat pile. It will take a few days to clear all the debris and then we'll be ready for the foundation. The "fun" will start happening fast and furious from now on.

Two Year Anniversary - Washington DC

The Mrs wanted to go somewhere to celebrate our two year wedding anniversary and we found a good deal on flights to our nation's capital using miles. With the baby due in 3 months and a new home built in ~6 months this will definitely be our last trip for quite a while. I think I said the same thing about the trip to Australia, so I may say this again in a couple months.

Anyhow, it was an enjoyable trip filled with good food, good fun, and good company. We saw all the usual DC sites in all their splendor and glory. But rather than bore you with the same old, same old I thought I would share our unique experiences.

For starters, we were pretty sure Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (President of Iran) stayed in our hotel and followed us around while we were site seeing.  After further photographic review it probably was not him, but for a time it was the strangest celebrity siting of our lives.

On our last night in DC we spent time with a good friend and watched the latest Harry Potter movie. The movie was of course fantastic ... but as we left we were treated to a second show outside the theater by DCFD. About 3-4 fire trucks with sirens blaring roared up the street outside the movie theater and blocked off the street. You would have thought a whole city block was on fire but from what we could tell it was a heroic, roof-top kitty rescue. It was too cold to wait around much longer to confirm this as true, but we certainly did not see any flames or smoke.

All in all another great trip. For all the real pictures see my album here.

New House - Part 1

We played our cards right and were lucky to sell both of our houses within 3 months of each other. And despite moving two times during that time and now expecting our first child,  we have decided to go "all in" on this beautiful home:

This is our dream home ... well not quite yet.  To say this house is a disaster would be an understatement. In true Houston style, this will be torn down to make way for something that hopefully my family and I will live in for many years to come.

Suffice it to say the previous owner was quite old and was a hoarder. But friends and family were interested to see what hidden treasurers might lie within the layers of trash. We found $100 in cash, a bunch of old coins, a loaded .22 pistol, and well ... lots and lots of trash.

This will be the first of many blogs where I will chronicle the progress of this grand adventure we are undertaking. I have no illusions that this will be easy or without it's difficulties (my blood pressure is already equal the the cost of this house and rising!), but I hope this will be a good way to share the goings on and try to enjoy this once in a lifetime process.

Wish us luck!