You Asked For It...

I am FINALLY getting pictures of the house up...Ya!!!

Prepare yourselves to be thoroughly disappointed. The pictures aren't great and the house continues to change every week. I'm hoping the house will continue to improve, slowly yet surely, over the next five years until we get it just right!

But, for those who haven't been able to see it yet, this is what we've got so far.

This is our new home. It's put together a bit like a split level. One side stacked on and under the main house, the other stacked on and under the garage. It always seems bigger when you're walking through it because of all the stairs...I think there are eight total sets of stairs in the house...

This is my favorite...the view! This was taken off the back deck. I need to get some good ones of the trees behind the house before the snow comes...they are every shade of orange, yellow and red...beautiful! It reminds me of Fall in New England...good times!

This is the main living area. Notice the paint hasn't been finished...but we're getting there! The color sucks in the picture, but it's a really nice red, and it's a lot lighter during the day because of all the windows (we get a LOT of sunlight during the day, which I love).

Here you can see the transition between the living room and kitchen. It's nice and open. You can also, sort of, see the color of the main living room and the hallways. It's a light tan color which looks really nice in contrast to the red of the accent wall.

This is looking into the kitchen from the living room. We're painting the kitchen in the same red as the accent wall in the living room...it will look great when we're done. I love this room and spend most of my time here.

This picture was taken shortly after we moved in so nothing's been painted and you can see our TO DO post-it's on the wall! This picture was taken from the main living room. You can see the stairs up to the bedrooms and laundry room and the stairway heading down to the garage and lower levels...lots of stairs!

The storage rooms are my pride and joy. This is the larger of the two storage rooms. It's the Food Storage room. This contains our one year food storage for a family of seven. It's all put away in categories based on what it is (dessert items, spices, snack food, pasta's, etc...). Everything has been counted and categorized on an Excel spreadsheet so I could tell you exactly how many cans of Green Beans I have at any given moment. I update it when I go shopping and before I leave to the store I check it to see what I'm low on so I don't over buy things I don't need...very handy! The suitcases that are lined up in the middle of the room are our 72 hour kits.

This is what I refer to as the Dry Storage Room. It contains all the non food items such as toilet paper, cleaning supplies, grow boxes, camping equipment, etc... The box freezer isn't in the picture, but to the right as you look at the picture. Again, everything is counted and in it's own Excel Spreadsheet.

And what house wouldn't be complete without a sports court? The bottom floor of the house has a basketball/racquetball/rock climbing wall or whatever you want to use it for room. I really didn't think I'd use this room much, but I have to tell you, it's been a lot of fun to go down there in the evening after the kids have gone to bed and get my butt kicked in a game of horse, dodge ball or elimination! It's been a great way to get a bit of exercise without going out in the cold, and I'm definitely enjoying it!

Those are all the pictures I had that turned out. I will definitely post more as we finish things up or I get a good one. Not shown above were Joe's office, the front entryway, the master bedroom/bathroom/closet, two kids bedrooms, toy room/craft room, downstairs living room, two guest bedrooms, Ben's room, and the three sort-of rooms that make up the 'recording studio'...a place where Ben and Joe like to fiddle on musical instruments!

So, that's the new place in a nut shell. It's a work in progress, but we're hoping to make it a masterpiece! I am loving the ward and the neighborhood. And bonus - we're right next door to the park, which the kids love, and there is a stream that runs right through our back yard where the kids and Joe go fishing (seriously, they've caught some 12 inch fish! Some they've caught with bare hands). The best part of all, however, it that you can see Captain Moroni standing tall on the Bountiful Temple right out our front door! We also have a great view of him from our bedroom window. It's quite a sight, although Joe complains that it's too darn bright when he's trying to sleep at night! He he he!!!

So, if anybody is looking for a good (or not so good) game of dodge ball, come on over (just don't mind the dust...we're under construction)!!!