Another Vacation at the Coast

This post is a little late. We were at the coast with Jessica, Isaac and their three kids a couple of weeks ago. Cliff and I needed some time to recuperate from vacationing (that's not a word, is it?) But here are some photos of Jessica's family. Of course the kids are adorable and I freely admit that I'm biased!

Here is our day at the beach. The fog had rolled in but it was amazingly warm - downright balmy for the north coast.

Jess, Isaac, Johnny and Jeanine walking on the beach.

Cliff hanging back with Will.

Johnny and Jeanine in a fort made from driftwood.

We bought a box of 100 Tootsie Pops before the kids came down from Washington. Everyone was in Tootsie Pop heaven! The view isn't bad either.

Isaac and Jeanine.

Cliff and Johnny.

There was no grass or weeds to mow down so Cliff just gave the kids a ride on the lawnmower. They didn't mind that they weren't mowing at all. The ride was enough!

Our next trip to the coast will be another working trip. We're going to be focusing on the few items we need to finish in order to get our final inspection. It won't be exciting, it's stuff like putting face plates on receptacles and switches and getting a fire rated garage door on. But it's going to be a wonderful day when we get the final!

Vacation at the Coast

Last week Jen, Ryan and the kids drove down from Washington for a vacation so we all packed up and drove some more to the coast. They had never seen the house other than the pictures on the blog so it was a fun time. The kids had a blast mowing the bluff with Cliff and we all had a great time at Navarro Beach one day. Cliff didn't do any work, a true vacation!

Here is Warren mowing

Here is Jake steering the mower by himself!

This is Daniel at 10 mo. old with Billy in the background

This is Aubrey on the beach, she's 2.

Warren and Jake at the beach. While we were there Jen was holding Billy's leash and she took off running with him. I turned to Ryan and asked him where she gets all the energy. He said that he didn't know and then Jake replied, "I've never seen her like this"

Cliff telling the kids stories, the more suspenseful the better!

Jess and Isaac will be driving down next week so I'll have pictures of their kids next. I guess it's normal that once you have grandkids you stop taking pictures of your own kids. I don't think we got a single picture of Jen or Ryan!

News From the Bathroom

What can I say except, "hooray, woohoo", our master bathroom is done. We've had the shower working since January, but no sinks or toilet until now. (As it goes in construction there are always little details to be finished up. We have one cabinet that isn't painted yet and needs a top. That will be where we put our coffee pot. Yes, we like to have our coffee easily accessible the second we climb out of bed!)

Here are a few pictures of the vanities, faucets, cat drinking from the faucet, you know, the usual. (Don't all cats love to drink from the faucet?)

That's all for now folks!

What's Up In July?

Lamps, that's what's up in July. Up on the wall in the master bedroom to be exact.

Cliff spent the weekend painting the window and door trim in the master bedroom and bathroom. It's almost done now. Our next trip up we will install the vanity's, sinks and toilet. Exciting, huh? Well it is for us.

That's not all Cliff did though. Have I mentioned our thriving gopher population? And our 2010 Gopher Competition with one of our neighbors? Let's just say that the count is: Cliff - 4 confirmed kills and 2 probables and Jerry - 10 confirmed and 1 0r 2 probables. We need to spend more time up there so Cliff can catch up!

We also let the cats out on the deck a few times. Here's Iain Murray enjoying the great outdoors.

Our next post should have some pictures of finished rooms. Here's hoping!

May Update in June

Greetings to all. This blog entry is especially for Avik who requested some new pictures. Not that he doesn't think our grandkids aren't adorable but this is a blog about building a house!

Cliff has continued working on the trim in the downstairs master bedroom and bathroom. It's all on now and just needs to be painted. We're so close to having that part of the house done-woohoo!

Here's the bathroom with window and door trim and crown molding. We also brought in one of the vanities and sink just to see how it looked.

These next three are in the bedroom showing the trim. The color on the walls in the first photo isn't accurate, but the last photo shows it well. For some reason my camera doesn't like the light in that room and frequently gets the color wrong.

That's all for now. We know that progress is slow, be patient with us, it will get done one of these days!

Blessings from the Lord

We've been to Washington and back to see the new baby and the other six grandkids as well. (Yes, our daughters and sons-in-law too!) We had a wonderful and tiring time! William, the newest, is a good baby who lets his mom sleep 4-5 hours during the night. He doesn't cry much and stares at his mom for long stretches. His brother and sister are getting used to him.

We tried to get a picture of Cliff and I with all seven kids but Aubrey wasn't cooperating so she's being held on the arm of the couch by Ryan. At least they're all in the picture!

"Children's children are a crown to the aged" Proverbs 17:6

And here is Will, as cute as can be!

Baby News

Our 7th grandchild has arrived! It's a boy and his name is William Hudson Stegman. He was born at 1:30 am Monday, April 12th. He weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz. I don't have a picture yet but will be sure to post one soon.

Cliff has finished the grout in the master bedroom, bathroom and closet. It was a big, time consuming job at 700+ square feet and that doesn't include the concrete stem walls that we put travertine on and needed grout as well. But it's done and Cliff has already moved on to door trim and baseboards. I didn't get any pics of the trim, but here are a few of the grout work.

We're very pleased with the floor now that it's done but still not sure what pattern we will put upstairs in the rest of the house. This pattern was very time consuming and brain boggling! Luckily we don't have to choose just yet.

Until next time!