We are all wired!

We had another amazing crew come up and help with running wire for the home. I couldn't believe how fast they all work. There were teams all over the place and a few guardian angels keeping them all safe while they walked through the rafters. It took only a few days to do what it would have taken us at least a month. THANK-YOU, THANK-YOU THANK-YOU!!

As a side note we just got word from the inspector that we have passed the rough electrical!!!

Stucco Begins

Thanks to Kurt Palmer and his crew, we now have the basecoat of stucco on our home. We want to send out a BIG thank-you to his supplier who donated all of the supplies. What a blessing it is to have such great friends. You have all given us so much hope! THANK YOU!

Let the framing begin!

Upstairs framing is almost done.

The downstairs now looks like a real house instead of a dungeon. We have a bedroom, a bathroom, a laundry room, and two small storage rooms. I can't believe the transformation. The large window in the bedroom and the great framing job makes the downstairs bedroom seem very livable. Thanks to John, Mike and Dean for the great job!

You Rock!

We had a large tree stump right next to the home where we were digging out to pour concrete. We wish we had a stick of dynamite!! With the help of a sawzall and lots of labor we were finally able to get it out enough to level the ground enough to pour more concrete.

All the digging we did gave the kids a new appreciation for the movie "Holes"

We have turned the dungeon into real living space by pouring the cement floor. We have also added concrete on the covered patio and included a retaining wall to keep the road water up and away from the home. We couldn't have done it without John there to help. He has been a real lifesaver! He says concrete is his favorite pastime. :)

July 9th - Windows

Ron and Alex Ward along with Doug Headley came up and helped us install the windows for the home. What a great help!!! It now feels like a real home. Thank-you!

Independence Day

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Our good friends the Cartwrights came up to work and provide meals for us all. Mike and his family came up, John was there and invited his dentist and his dentist's father and father-in-law. We had a great time and got lots accomplished. We finished the roof!!! and worked on getting the kitchen floor finished. Thanks to all for a great weekend.

The Mastermind

Mike has been here for more than two weeks, having organized huge resources and recruited help heavily for several weeks before he came up to Shelley. We hope that all that construction debris is not taking its toll. Should we be worried? :)

Roof! Roof!

With the new trusses up and the new addition framed into the rear of the house, it's starting to look like a completely different home. People stop by every day to comment on how great it is looking. One of our local Shelley policemen stopped by and as we talked we mentioned that we were hoping the changes would improve the house and the neighborhood. His comment back was "a gallon of gas and a road flare would have been an improvement!" Most that saw the house early on would probably have to agree.

A Father's Day to Remember

Sacrifice means giving up something good for something better, at least that's what I've heard. But I know that Father's Day is not just a good day, it's a great day. It's the day every dad gets stocked up on breath mints, deoderant, and light-up ties. All the things that let him know what a great dad he is. It's one of those days not to be missed.

Last Saturday night, it became obvious we were not going to have time to get the trusses up and braced before everyone planned to head home for Father's Day Sunday. Despite my efforts to send everyone home after a monster weekend of building, there were several that insisted on staying through most of Father's Day to help raise the trusses. That wasn't just sacrifice. It was one of those rare instances of pure charity.

Old Friends Make Best Friends

Out of the blue last Friday, Dirk stopped by while we were loading up the big dumptruck for about the 12th time. He wasn't quite dressed for the occasion that day, but came the next day with his two boys and spent most of Saturday afternoon taking care of business on the house. The truss boom truck (it's not called a "crane" as I learned when I called them) came Saturday night, but didn't have a long enough reach to get the trusses all the way back to the back of the house, so Jared and John ended up schlepping them back from about mid-way, across some very shaky walls. Guardian angels were on full alert that night.

Many Hands Make Light Work

The incredible thing to us about this last weekend was that it was Father's Day weekend, and yet we had the largest crew ever show up from Utah to help with the house, and all of them really knew what they were doing. After our the rip 'n tear on the garage and some major clean-up by the scouts, Wade and Davin got busy on some shiny new walls for the garage. Ceiling height in the garage before the tear-down? A very jacked-up Camaro unfriendly (yes, there is one in the neighborhood) 7 ft. Ceiling height after all the new walls and trusses? A Christmas-storage friendly 12 feet!

Before any walls could go up, we had to do everything possible to firm up the foundation walls and get them ready to bear the load of the new trusses, so Brent and Kyle took on the dirty job of filling all the foundation blocks with cement and setting J-hook bolts in them that we could secure the new walls to.

A Big Red Surprise

Last weekend was probably the biggest weekend yet. Not only did we have a huge number of men make the trek up from Utah to work with us, but the scouts surprised us all by showing up Friday night as well. They had planned to camp down in southern Utah that weekend (there are some incredible camp sites down toward Goblin Valley), but instead chose to make the long trip up to Shelley to spend the weekend helping with the house. It was unbelievable what they were able to do, and it was so good to see them all again. If we don't have some national leaders out of that group, I'll be shocked.
The scouts made short work of the massive piles of debris that had been created by tearing down the garage and most of the guts of the house, but probably their favorite part was knocking off siding, breaking down doors, and wielding the hammers of mass destruction. Boys and sledgehammers are usually a dangerous combination, but it was great here. Moms, apologies if the boys came home and did more "remodeling" with their new-found slamming and prying skillz.

Fire is always one of the funnest parts of camping, and the boys quickly put together a great fire pit in the pasture area using some of the big river rocks that had been dug out of the basement. Saturday morning, the dutch oven maestros of Troop 1185 produced a popular favorite for breakfast...dutch oven souffle...yum.

Expert Heads and Hands

An incredible crew showed up throughout the day today and more this evening. These guys really know what they are doing. All along the way, things have happened to accelerate and smooth the whole process of transforming the home. The men and boys that have made the long haul from Utah aren't just great hands, they are experts that have made such a major project far less scary than it would otherwise be. Let's just say it would have never happened without them. OK, Jenn says if it were left to me it would have happened, in about 10 years, maybe 15.

The Real Pros

John's help in all this has been huge (he's the bald one on the left. Hey, I need all the folicularly challenged compadres I can get). Those new footings for the addition to the house are his and Mike's handiwork. Not bad for a couple of IF guys. I just had to stay out of their way and lift something heavy to be useful now and then.

Garage Gone Bye Bye

Yesterday Bart came over with his big bad backhoe and saved us a ton of time by just giving the garage a nudge in all the right directions. It probably would have pulled the whole house over if Brad hadn't prepped it so well, relieving all the attachment points so it could fall gracefully in a million pieces.