Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Sweet, sweet revenge!

Bad goat was on the lamb last night! The llamas and bad goat had managed to jump over their fence and into the yard of their owner's home! Boy, did I ever feel karma was on my side!!

Please note the tree on the left with no flowers or leaves. 24 hours earlier it looked like the tree on the right!

Here bad goat is giving me the one eye chicken.

Don't try this at home...

So, not much scenery from my latest trip to Simi Valley, Ca (I rushed back for an earlier flight and didn't go up to the presidential library). I did have to take a picture of some of the local landscape. The rock outcroppings in the area are gorgeous. I would have liked to have more time there. There are houses built arond these enormous boulders and trees growing through them. It looks like someone took a handfull of rocks and threw them at the side of a dirt hill. Amazing. (Sorry for the poor quality of pictures as it was done without looking at 70 MPH)

Monday, April 28, 2008

Kimmie's nemesis

This past week, Colby was gone Wednesday thru Friday and I kept seeing weird poo in places it shouldn't be... Well Saturday morning I was finally able to catch the culprit! Yes, my friends it was a shrub eating, rosebush killin', poo flinging goat! This is a picture of the goat, staring at me after I tried to walk him home. Bad goat also won't allow me out of the house after that! Every time I would come out he would proceed to attack with hooves a flaring and horns a hitting. Finally I was able to talk with the bad goat's owner, who got him to come home with good ol' oats. Goat 1 Kimmie 0...

My, you even vacuumed for us!

Sunday's visit to the house was amazing! The house is ready for a quality control inspection. We were told there are only two more before the house will be ours!! They finished landscaping both the front and backyards! I am starting to envision the gardens we will plant! I would start now if they would let me! I am so darn excited, I want to bring a hose and start watering!
This picture was from Tuesday as we didn't take a new of the front this time. The stickers on the windows have been removed and everything has been cleaned!
Mom, I thought you would appreciate a picture of the vacuumed carpet! I thought they had very good form :)
Neat angle of the front window, and wall coming together.
Later this week we should know our new closing date. This week's QC will give them the final list of things to fix and finish before our walk thru!

Sod, plants, and a front door!!

The house seems to change every time we go there! This past week we were excited to see the house really looked like a home. The front yard landscape was started and the back was almost finished! They delivered the appliances as well!
The only thing missing in the kitchen is the last few tiles behind the stove.
Looking out the back door at the yard.
The front door wrap was removed and the handle was on!
This is looking from the dining room at the stairs. We both really liked the angles of the half walls.
Colby checking out the smurf tubes. His IT degree at work! All I know is that the tube will allow us to have TV!!! Which we haven't had for 2 months and three days, not that I am counting or anything!


Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Weather in _______ is _________

Well, today it's Salt Lake City and the weather is getting worse. I won't bore you with pictures today but it was overcast and mid 40's when I landed and now it is getting windy and starting to snow. I'm so glad I am leaving soon. Thursday's trip should be much better. Headed to Cali and hopefully to some sunshine.

We talked to our agent, Chris yesterday and he said it was ridiculous that they wanted him present to walk through the house. We will test that theory tomorrow if we make it back to the house.

As far as we can tell, here is the rough list of what is left on the house:
Plumb Trim Complete
Heat Trim Complete
Fireplace Trim Complete
Mirrors and Shower Doors Installed
Wire Shelving Installed
Carpet Installed
Deliver and Install Appliances
Finish all millwork including stair systems (if applicable)
Install Interior Package (Door Knobs, Towel Bars, Door Stops, etc.)
Install Landscaping
Final Inspection Complete
Final Drywall and Paint Touch Up
Final Clean

It seems like a pretty short list for 2 months to go but we haven't heard about any changes yet. We keep going out and expect nothing to have been done but they have been busy busy busy.

Hope everyone is doing well!!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Still movin'

Well, we finally have proof that the house is still moving along even though we haven't been able to get inside to see it. Now that the cabinets and little detail items are in, they have locked the doors up. We will have to make appointments to walk through with our agent. We talked them into giving us the key for a few minutes on Friday and here are some of the new goodies we found.



This is the entryway tile Here is what our special backsplash looks like. We were pleasantly surprised with how they did the back of our bar area.

The tile on the fireplace is all done and looks great.
These two are of our master bathroom...


Kim is super excited about our guest bathroom countertop. I will even admit she made a good choice.
All the cabinets throughout the house are installed. Next time we will be measuring for all our appliances. Ready, set, shop!
All of the lighting fixtures are installed and we love the standard choices we got. I think they are exactly what we would have picked out anyway.
Here is the rock on the sides of the garage. I enjoy the different texture and depth of the bricks. it adds some character.

We are hoping to get out again on Wednesday so look for more updates later this week!!!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Sheetrock phase complete!!!

I took a solo trip out to the house yesterday and found a few nice suprises. First off, the driveway was poured and the path up to the stairs was done. Then I noticed the gutters had all been installed (not a big item, but nice to see.) Then I went inside and saw that they had finished painting inside which was the last step in the sheetrock phase. as I wandered through the house, I got to the garage and found all of our cabinets and doors had been delivered.

That means we have moved on to the "Interior Trim Phase" that includes:
  • Electrical Trim Complete including Light Fixtures
  • Install Cabinets and Doors
  • Hard Surfaces Complete (Vinyl, Tile, Laminate, etc.)
  • Plumb Trim Complete
  • Heat Trim Complete
  • Fireplace Trim Complete
  • Mirrors and Shower Doors Installed
  • Wire Shelving Installed
  • Carpet Installed
We can't wait for everyone to see it all in person.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Hello All!

Kim and I had a great weekend in Vancouver (WA) this weekend celebrating Christy's 30th birthday. Unfortunately, we got there and realized the camera was still in Des Moines. Oops. I think I am going to have ot strap it to myself at all times.

We went out to the house yesterday and found a new paint job on the house inside and out. The first coat of paint is done outside and it looks great. inside, they have put down the first primer coat. Of course they fumes meant a very quick trip inside before we had to come back out and breathe again. The back patio has been poured and we have a very reasonable step down from the back door. We had been a little worried after looking at how the model home turned out.