Putting on the deck

Russ, Rob, and I put up the framing this weekend for the deck. We got lucky with the weather and didn't get rained on. Everything went up really well thanks to Russ's knowledge and experience.














You can see also that most of the roof trusses have been put up. We are waiting for a few structural beams to come in before the final components are finished. If the builders get all of the sheeting on the roof by the end of the coming week, we will be getting ready to begin the roofing next weekend. Things continue to move forward!

Upstairs Framed

It's really starting to look like a house! Only five days from the last post and the upstairs is framed up. They've even started to sheet the exterior. The plan for tomorrow is to start to put on the roof trusses. You can see them stacked up on the back right hand side of the picture. I went out today and walked around and it is really amazing to actually be able to have some kind of perspective about the actual size of the space we will be living in. We only have 3 months left (barring in unforeseen circumstances) before this thing is ready to move into. We can't wait to have everyone out to celebrate our new home. First things first though. We still have a lot of work to do.











Here is the view from the other side of the road. You can really see that the scope of the excavation has been rather large. We have been looking at how this should re-vegetate and are pretty confident that it will blend in nicely with the hillside when they hydroseed it in October with a natural mix of grasses etc. We still have to choose exterior colors and we are looking at something that won't make this thing glare from the hillside. That's coming up! Stay tuned!

Basement Framed In

The basement was framed in last week and the sheeting put on for the upstairs floor. You can see that the lumber has been delivered to begin the exterior wall framing early next week. In the background, the well pump is being installed. You can also see on the right that more dirt has been moved to meet the county's cut-back slope requirements for our driveway. Things are moving along well!

It's Almost Shootin' Time

Bruce, Nate, and I headed out to go an prep a blind for opening day. It looks like it is going to be on October 6th this year. We got a box of clays and popped away at them for a while this morning. It was painfully apparent to us that we probably will need to do more shooting prior to opening day. It was also painful shooting 3 in. goose load after goose load. I put Nate's sweatshirt between my shoulder and the gun because my pump is real light and kicks like a mule. Can't wait to opening day!

Foundation Slab and Underground Plumbing In!

The foundation slab was poured today. Elise and I went out after work and checked it out. All of the underground plumbing has been installed and there also has been a drain installed around the entire foundation. Framing is scheduled to start on Friday!!!!! This thing should really start looking like a house soon!



Here is our new power pole. The well has been dug and is just to the left of the second pole. We're good to go with all our utilities except for the propane tank. That will come in play in a couple of months.



I know this has nothing to do with the foundation or the house but it was a beauty I caught up on the Clark Fork last weekend with my brother in laws Keith, Casey, and my nephew Daniel. Enjoy.

Walla Walla Anniversary

Heidi and I celebrated 7th Anniversary touring the Walla Walla Valley wine country. We spent three days and visited several wineries in the area. It was a lot of fun and since it is fairly close to home, very easy to get to for a quick three day weekend. There are over 130 individual wineries in the area and we only scratched the surface. Wine touring in Walla Walla is fairly easy. There are three different areas that hold the majority of the wineries. You can find good information on the wineries and a map of the area at the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance website. It has a ton of info and you can pretty much plot out your tour using the map. I've included links to the wineries that we visited under the pictures. Check them out.


Waterbrook Winery


Sleight of Hand Cellars


Heidi and I were able to spend one morning at the local farmers market. Lots of people and vendors were there. The produce was right off the farm and cheap.


Spring Valley Vineyards


Northstar Winery


Saviah Cellars


Basel Cellars Estate Winery


Preston Premium Wines



Here is all the goodies we brought home from our trip. I also included a couple of links to a few wineries that we visited that we didn't get any pictures of. We would definitely go back.

Fort Walla Walla Winery
Va Piano Vineyards
Zerba Cellars

N.I. Fair

Elise and I went to the fair on Wednesday night. She had fun in the critter barn with all the animals. She wasn't afraid to touch the snake or pet an alligator. She had lots of fun.