Posted by stamper on Jul 26, 2007 in
house 
Todd’s expression says it all…. “Look what I did!” Doesn’t the old adage go something like bad things always happen in threes? For us, our water issues have, each progressively gotten worse, first it was the water heater, then a pipe leak and now the “moving day” fiasco. When we moved the refrigerator out the water line for the ice-maker didn’t get completely shut off, resulting in water everywhere and since we don’t live there or even visit regularly, it was 3 days before it was noticed. I always believed that I liked water, but after this particularly wet spring, I’m changing my mind! 
Hopefully this is the last of it, we were scheduled to close on Monday, but have a feeling it may be postponed a bit while we make repairs. Wish us luck!
Posted by stamper on Jul 5, 2007 in
house A lot of excitement around here this week. Instead of our annual trip to the Lake, we stayed in Lincoln, celebrated my birthday and the Fourth of July which turned out to be somewhat disastrous for our new house. On day 18 in our new residence, what was supposed to have been a ground flower, turned torpedo and lodged itself completely through the siding above our 3rd stall garage…….. had it not been for some quick reflexes and the benefit of daylight, our home may be minus some sq. footage. We were rather lucky.
The boys also experienced a bit of excitement on Monday… having been forbidden to visit the water retention area (aka lake) near our house, they found an alternate site along the bike path (also now on the forbidden list). Anyway, while down there, they spotted a huge fish and managed to catch it bare handed… I think a sport called noodling? The ironic part is that Trevor and Emily just got back from a weeklong fishing trip to North Dakota in search of fish like this, who knew they’d find one next door!
Posted by stamper on Jun 30, 2007 in
house This week like many before it has been busy. I completed a 3 credit hour graduate class (Nebraska and the Overland Trails) and relished the idea of being a “college girl” again. The highlight of the week was being a participant in an episode of criminal trespassing (all in the name of education of course). We climbed through barbed wire, tiptoed past cows/calves and kept our eyes open for bulls and cow pies just to see the wagon trail impressions (swails) that happened to be on private land. We also visited the musuem 2 miles away, but I think the whole illegality bit added a sense of adventure to our day! Even though it was a lot of time, effort and a fair amount of exercise, I’m sad it’s over……..perhaps a masters degree is on the horizon!
Another major accomplishment is that after only 2 weeks in our new house, we are actually able to park in the garage! It doesn’t sound like much, but you didn’t see the sea of boxes! Shane was over this morning and hung our shutters and several neighbors/strangers have stopped by today to tell us how nice the house looks, the only thing we need to finish the look is grass!
Other milestones include, hanging pictures on walls, getting the office furniture assembled and turning this structure into a place we call home. Even though it’s far from finished, we are making progress! Click here to see interior photos.
Posted by toddjensen on Jun 28, 2007 in
house This past Tuesday our Little Green Track Club endeavor came to an end. Amy and I have been coaching the ‘Teddy Bear’ group which consists of 120 3 year olds. We have them throw bean bags, tennis balls, dancing, obstacle course, sprint starts, chalk writing, and bubbles. The final track meet complete with the walk of champions and races ended without skipping a beat. It was quite warm with little breeze, though seemed as if everyone was enjoying themselves. Ryan and Eric are the last two competing in our family.
On the home front, we’re 90% moved in, old house sold, sod slated for today. It’s been a bit of a challenge with 4 kids that love to play in the yard. Oh and did I mention a dog that needs walking every 15 minutes (due to lack of fence, which is due to lack of sod). Oh and a quick plug for Mike once again, even though we closed, he’s still be quite attentive, fixing the last minute items and helping us get settled in with as little pain as possible. Amy is in school this week, she’s been wading through rivers, walking through pastures, chatting about Nebraska heritage. She caught a nice photo of some flowers along the way.
Posted by stamper on Jun 16, 2007 in
house 
The big day arrived! We spent the morning moving, we hired Two Men and a Truck to move us thinking that we had a lot of stuff. The movers looked at what we had and laughed, saying we didn’t have very much at all! They had us packed up in 1.5 hours, but since they are paid hourly they took more time (3 hours) to unload their truck. They were finished by 12:30 and we managed to get to our 1:00 closing on time. Lisa Kryzcki, builder Mike Adams, realtor Jim Austin and a representative from Charter Title were present. *Please note the pained expression on Todd’s face!
Upon returning to our new house, I realized that it just isn’t home yet, that it’ll take some time and more noticeably, it’s too quiet. I keep expecting to walk into the next room and find someone to talk to (Wade, Shane, Rich… that would be you!) Glad to hear that you guys will be stopping again next week!
Posted by stamper on Jun 15, 2007 in
house With a closing date of June 15th looming in the near future, it took a lot of effort and dedication to get the house finished in time. When the weather didn’t cooperate, Shane ended up installing deck railing in the rain and staying until 10:30 Thursday night. For his efforts, he’s earned the “Sheer Determination Award!”
Honorable mention also goes to my dad for taking Emily and Trevor on an 8 day unknown length fishing trip to North Dakota….. however since he’s decided not to bring them back as scheduled, perhaps I should be honoring Emily and Trevor. Rich from Couch Painting also deserves mention for his patience and perfection while the movers unpacked the van during his finishing paint/stain work. Thanks guys!
Posted by stamper on Jun 6, 2007 in
house The interior of the house is coming along and it’s time to add the finishing touches to the exterior. The front is looking great, basically just needing shutters and a little paint on the columns.
However, the deck work has just begun. Shane isn’t too excited about the metal rail system I selected since each piece must be painstakenly installed, but at least he has a happy-go-lucky apprentice (who just happens to be Builder Mike’s younger brother Mark) to help. When the camera appeared and word of the blog spread, Mark proceeded to ham it up, showing off his muscles and even removing his shirt so the world can “get a better look!”
It’s been great to meet all the shining personalities who are hard at work on our house: Mike, Shane, Wade, Cary & the All-Star Electric Crew, Mark, Lee, Rich and everyone else involved over there, you really are STARS!
Posted by stamper on May 31, 2007 in
house Oh the “fun” component of a new house has descended upon us. Every day brings more “good” news, I’ve begun to brace myself each time the phone rings! It all began with the fabric selected for the great room chair….. discontinued; moved on to our wood floor…….backordered; continued on to our kitchen countertop…… company buy out w/suspended shipping; lighting that doesn’t match (two pendant lights similar yet different)….. that have been discontinued and a nationwide search to find two that are the same; a lightswitch in the middle of our mudroom cubby…. we just didn’t have a clue where to put them; and a sconce that shattered in shipping. Oh, and did I mention a house that hasn’t sold yet and a need for a repeat mammogram? I can only imagine what the next call will bring!
HOWEVER……… upon each storm a little sunlight eventually falls…. Our foyer chandelier is actually visible from the street, and I’ve been granted a FRIDAY off, complete w/a hospital visit, but with only 4 days left in the school year, I’ll consider it a hidden blessing.
In talking with the electrician today, I realized how true it is that one only hears about the bad stuff and that so much good goes unnoticed……….. like the fact that all of our outlets work (thank you Cary for bringing that to my attention! Anyway, the point is, no matter how much things go awry, they usually end up working out and tend to become the very best stories.
Posted by stamper on May 22, 2007 in
house I arrived today at the house to find the staircase nearly completed and a kitchen nearly ready for appliances! It’s great fun to walk down a staircase that’s a near replica of the one I had as a tot, brings back a lot of memories, though not ALL good. 
Anyway, I asked Wade the trim carpenter if he wanted to be featured on the blog, he shrugged, kept working, and then…. wahla, there he was just as I snapped the picture! (I think he even ran!)
We’ve been creating extra work for Wade, not only has he trimmed the whole house, but we’ve added cabinetry to our laundry room upstairs and he’s building custom cubbies for our mudroom off of the garage, not to mention the extra insulation we added at the last minute which made each window jam a bit too short, but never fear, Wade’s here!
Posted by stamper on May 17, 2007 in
house Okay, I’ve already admitted that I’m not a decorating guru like my mother and sister (imagine homes straight out of decorating magazines) well, see for yourself…
Anyway, after seeing this, the GIANT plant shelf dilemma unfolds. What DOES one do with this space? Your opinions and ideas would be greatly appreciated!
