Concrete

We finally have concrete after cancelling twice and waiting almost 1 1/2 weeks. The footings and stem wall are in. Now on to backfilling around them and stacking the walls for more concrete. Below is a view of the foundation looking towards the south (at Helena). The concrete pour went very well, We had 3 full concrete trucks. The 1st truck we mixed in plasticiser (to make the concrete flow well) and calcium chloride to make the concrete set quickly. This was used to pour the footings under the ICF blocks. The plan (that worked great) was by the time we finished pouring the upper footings the ICF footings would be cured 30% or more and ready for the walls to be filled by the final truck. It took 3.5 hours to pump the 28 yards of concrete.

Here is a picture of the footing as they step up from the garage level to the basement level of the 1st floor.
I wanted to get a good picture of the "fastfoot" product - It is the fabric material attached the bottom of the ICF blocks, as you can see it worked great for the traditional footings and to pour the ICF footings.
Here is an overview of the 1st level looking towards the NE.
This is the opening for the lower level shop/garage door, it will be 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

Somewhere over the rainbow

After all of that nasty weather here yesterday we were rewarded with one of the clearest double rainbows I have ever seen.As you can see below, the rainbow ended at Jen's house...hmmm...apparently she hasn't been sharing that pot of gold with the rest of us. Things I wish I had known before we moved out ;)
Reese and CK taking in the view
Luckily, we didn't get the tornadoes they had in Billings that essentially destroyed the huge sports/concert arena they have there. Unfortunately, though, the rain was too much and the concrete pour has been delayed until tomorrow.

75 and sunny...and hail?

This was the scene this morning when we drove up to the property to check out the progress...a gorgeous day. Reese, CK and Tanner even got in a bikeride.

Then this...

Gotta love Montana weather...as they say, wait 5 minutes and it will change.

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there!

Reese's room

Tonight is the first night of Operation get-Reese-to-sleep-in-her-own-room. For awhile now, she has successfully been sleeping in her toddler bed in our room and, for the most part, sleeps there all night. Moving her to her own room is actually happening because we'd like to get Asher sleeping through the night (or at least more than now) and we can't really let him "cry it out" in the same room as Reese or we'll end up with two crying children and, consequently, two crying parents :) So one of them has to go and it makes most sense for it to be Reese.

We know what to do. Consistency of routine. Bath. Brush teeth. Read book. Night night. Suffer through a few nights but push on until she's used to her new surroundings. Yeah, we know what we need to do but we are also dreading doing it. I actually wanted to start last night but my flight was delayed and I didn't get home until after midnight so it wasn't a good night to start. So tonight's the night. I'm putting it on here because that will hold us to it. Hoping if we start tonight we'll have 4 nights in a room of both of us home to "help" so that by the time I leave next Tuesday we have made enough progress that CK won't want to give up when he has to tackle it on his own.

Sad part is as soon as we get her through this then we get to tackle Asher and getting him to sleep more. But, as painful as it might be for a few weeks (please not months!) we know it's worth it in the end to have two kids on good routines getting lots of valuable sleep (and the added benefit of getting more sleep ourselves).

While CK was busy getting the walls ready to pour concrete I was in Chicago this week checking up on a former client and teaching some of our new hires about what I do. It was a nice break from my regular project routine although it really felt more like double the work since my project didn't stop while I was gone, I was just doing it from afar.

House Progress

Things are moving along with the house, not as fast as we hoped but with no real delays we are happy with the progress so far - I mean, really there is only one of me. Here is a view of the footings and stem wall ready to pour - looking towards the SW.

This view is from the "backyard" looking South towards Helena
Here is a view from the hill south of the house looking to the north - notice the sleeping giant mountain on the right hand side of the skyline. At this point you can see the house from I-15, not really the house but the Insulated Concrete Forms - white styrofoam pieces - for those non technical types who read the blog.
This is another view, looking west from where the garage will be, Here you can get a good view of the "fast foot" product which allow you to form footings without wide pieces of lumber (these normally keep concrete from seeping out the sides). The fast foot is a woven sheet of reinforced plastic material that you staple to the 2x4 footing boards acting a bag into which you pour the footing concrete. We are also using this product for the footings under the "ICF" stem wall (you can see it unattached) lying on the trench floor. You can also notice the 2 levels below, the "far level" or lower level is the shop/garage area and the higher level will be the basement portion of the house.

Asher at 6 months

Asher turned 6 months old on the 8th and at his doctor's appointment on Friday he was 21.2 lbs and 29 inches (yes, both are over 100th percentile). For comparison, at this age, Reese was 27.5 inches and 20.4 lbs. I celebrated Asher's half year milestone with my first 10k in a long time at the Governor's Cup here in Helena and managed to run it under 57 minutes. 5 years ago that would have been a disappointment but given how little I've been running (and sleeping) I was pretty proud of myself. It was a gorgeous day for running and it felt good to just run.

Both of the kids are fighting a cough so none of us have been getting much sleep. We were able to get some smiles, however, with a few BBQs at Val's house in the last week to celebrate Andrew, Steve and Kaitlyn's birthdays.

Asher enjoying his first swing ride

Sliding with Daddy
Pushing Asher on the swing at Val's house

We've started to supplement my milk with formula (since I can't seem to keep up with our growing boy) but Asher's tummy isn't taking too well to the formula yet. So this is Asher saying
"Grandma, why are you making me wear this PINK shirt?" The answer is, of course, because this was the 3rd backup outfit we brought (he had already gone through his two and now had to borrow from Reese's stash). What you don't see is that Mom was also on her 3rd outfit for which we did not plan. Thanks Val and Steve for the change(s) of clothes!

Reese found the cupcakes...
Yummy
Helping Asher with his hat
Playing in the playroom and sort of sharing toys
Reese teaching Asher to read
Starting to look more alike?
Asher all smiles because he can sit up and play with his sister
Still have my bald spot, though
Reese's hair is starting to look almost girly

Kid pics

Thought I'd post some pictures of the kids (since that's really all you want anyway ;)


Now let me tell you about this whole walking thing...it's pretty cool
Reese eyeing Asher's belly: "Yep, mine's still bigger"
The view from our future house...not too shabby
See the master bathroom right there? See it?
The driveway, someday
Asher geared up for softball season
Sitting up all by myself (ok, and with the assistance of a pillow)