The Dug Out

They dug the pit where the foundation is going to go. We now have two mounds of dirt on either side of the where the house will be. This of course is a big attraction to the kids. Oh, a pool of dirt wouldn't it be grand. It's really starting to look like a construction sight.
We have been told there are three dear that particularly like our yard. Today we saw evidence that even the construction is not deterring them. There were hoof prints in the foundation hole and 'droppings' along the outside of the hole. We haven't yet met these four legged neighbors but hope to soon and that they won't be TOO mad at us when they have to jump a fence to get into their favorite back yard.

Timber

Today the HUGE tree along the north of the house was taken down. Yesterday they took out two blue spruce trees and a bunch of shrubs we didn't want. It's incredible to watch these little but BIG changes. The lot looked big before but now it looks even bigger. Roger met another neighbor today while watching the tree come down. It was the lady on the corner of 36th and Tahoma (can't remember what he said her name was). Everyone we have met is so nice and is excited about this process. The lady Roger met said we have created some excitment for the street. Next Monday the foundation will get started. Tomorrow is thanksgiving. Driving by the lot and checking progress has become a daily event.

Demolition Day

Today, November 23rd, was demolition day. I headed out the door, with Jacob Eliza and Charlotte in tow, and was at the house at 8am. I stood there and watched as they were going to begin. Paul Page our new neighbor across the street, his wife Sheri was Monique's OT from Tacoma Learning Center from birth to age three, came and dug up some bulbs of flowers along the side of the house. They will plant them in their yard and then give us some back when we are ready to do Landscape. We also pulled an old bench and planter table out that I want to use around the house when its done. I want to do this to leave a little of the history of the old house. I felt nervous this morning and as they took the first crunch into the house I honestly had to hold back a tear. I stood and watched and thought about Irene Morris who had lived in the house. I have never met this woman but this had been her home for so long. The place she loved. The place where she would sit and look at the rainbows made from the sun shining through the shattered front window that she wanted left and not replaced. Sheri told me that it was last November that she passed away. She had had and anurisum of some sort and spent some time in the ICU befor being transfered to a more comfort care room as she spent her last couple of days. She had been a fisty woman with a strong will. I like her already. I have loved learning a little bit about this woman and hope she would be happy with what we are doing to her old homestead. I know I am an emotional person but this was her home.
As for the demolition is was amazing to watch how quickly the house was destroyed. It was half gone by the time I left an hour later. The man running the machine had such skill. As he demo'ed he would take out metal and stuff that would be recycled and put in a seperate pile. I have no idea how he could see all that between all the wood and such. By this afternoon there will be nothing but a small pile of rubble and by tonight it should be gone. Strange to think people that live right next door left for work this morning with a house next door, this evening when they come home there will be nothing there.

The Plan

This is the plan for the house we are going to be building. Well, its the original plan. We have made some changes. Bedroom #2, which will be Monique's room, will have french doors that open up into the kitchen area. The walk in closet in that room will be taken out. That space will be added to the adjoining bathroom. The bathroom will have a "car wash". A shower that will enable you to push a wheel chair right in. It will make bathing Monique SO much easier. Our backs will thank us! We have changed the size of some of the doors to be wider in order to make it easier for a wheel chair to get through. The strange angle in the master bedroom will be taken out and turned into a normal 90 degree angle. The formal dining room on the right as you walk in the front door will be a living room. A wall is going to be put in so you can't see right into the great room when you are in that room. That makes it a more private, quiet area. There is also a bonus room above the garage. That room will make a great play area or guest room for family to stay when they visit. We hope that family near or far will come stay.

10 Years!

Roger and I just celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary last week. Its gone by fast but we have a lot of memories that have filled that time. Roger had been home from his mission for 7 months when we got married. Here we are now both 31 and yet at times we still feel like children playing house. Roger and I got to go out on Friday to celebrate. Roger planned a surprise date. The theme for the night was "A Walk Down Memory Lane." We started out with dinner at a restaurant called La Creme Brulee

http://www.lacremebrulee.com

A french restaurant that we love. It reminds us of our honey moon in Paris. It was fun. While there Roger had a printed piece of paper on which we had to write a memory for each year under the following categories: A Family Experience, A Family Trip, Goals and Accomplishments, and How we have seen the Lords hand in our lives. It was so much fun. After dinner we got in the car and Roger suggested we grab the mail from the mail box at the new house. When we drove up Roger said "lets show Charlotte the house" I said "Its cold and dark in there." However in we went and there in the middle of the empty house Roger had a table set with candles, Sparkling Cider and Cheese cake. He even brought hats, scarfs and mitts to wear. It was so fun sitting in the house eating cheese cake and looking out at the moonlit backyard thinking this is what we will be looking at. What meant more to me is that we also now have our own memory in the old house that will be torn down. It will be fun to look at pictures and now that we had a memory there.
As I have learned a little about the old woman who owned the house and how loved she was by her neighbors and a couple of members of our ward that knew her I hope that she will be happy with what we do to a place she called "home" for most of her life.
As Roger and I sat there he pulled out another piece of paper. This one entitled "Build on the Future" very appropriate and fitting for what we are about to do. We set out to make goals for the next decade.

Front of House
Living Room of Old house.
Looking out into the backyard from back deck. Our own little forest.

Back view of house

Let the Fun Begin

As the house building process starts, so begins my journaling of the process. We officially closed on the purchase of the house and construction loan on October14th. We have purchased a little old house located on Tahoma Pl. W. The whole thing feels a little surreal. I have always love Tahoma Pl. W its a beautiful street. I have run along that street, in the quiet of the early morning, countless numbers of times over the last several years that we have lived in UP. It's interesting how all this has come to fruition. We have been looking for a 'bigger' house for about a year or so. With Monique we have some specific needs that we wanted to meet. Since she has surpassed what doctors told us her life expectancy would be we thought we had better start preparing for long term care. After looking at what feels like hundreds of houses we started thinking about the possibility of buying a really old house and remodeling or buying something just for the lot. Roger felt impressed one afternoon to call Cameron Masters a guy in our ward who is in business with his brother doing construction for town homes and larger projects. Roger called to ask if they would possibly do a remodel or even a single family construction. Roger explained our situation and that we were looking. Cameron said they had just changed there business model and want to get more into costume home construction. Roger told him some properties we had looked at. Jokingly Roger mentioned that we would really like Tahoma Place W and that there is a house for sale on that street on a large lot but that the house is to much to purchase it just for the lot. Cameron then mentioned that his father was the PR over an estate that was left to a charity by a woman named Irene Morris. He said the property was in probate. One offer had been made by the people across the street but they didn't accept it. The house was not officially on the market but they would consider offers made. We decided to make an offer. We didn't think they would take our offer. Two days later they came back and had accepted our offer!!! We were so excited. So then the process started of picking a floor plan, making changes. Taking plans to structural engineers and many other hoops that needed to be jumped through. We have also put our house on the market and I pray that it sells before we move into the new house. It's been about two and half months since the offer was accepted and we are getting closer to the actual building process. Roger has gutted the inside of the house and is almost done with cleaning up the debris. Once that is done it will need to have an inspection done. Once that is done we can apply for the demolition permit. There is then a 10day waiting period till the day of demolition. Roger's brothers David and Damon came and helped two Saturdays ago. George, Rogers Dad has been here the last two Saturdays helping with the process. I am grateful to him for that.