The Big Move

As of yesterday we are living at 9288 LaFond Drive!  Not a bad  view to wake up to every morning, is it?

 We had wonderful help moving and only two injuries (neither of which required a trip to the ER so we'll consider that a success).  Thank you to everyone who came over to help us get all of our stuff from one end of Helena to the other.  We have a lot of unpacking and organizing to do but are excited to finally be moved in.  We even got our kitchen cabinet door fronts on Friday so CK was able to install them.

 The playroom didn't take long to get filled :)

 Reese seemed to sleep just fine in her new digs.

Packing and Upside down Pickup

It's been a crazy week.  Above is a picture of the Scratch Gravel Hills fire that was burning much of the week.  Luckily, not too close to us but 4 homes were lost and a lot of people were evacuated.  We are moving into the new house (yes, finally!) tomorrow so have been busy packing.  Jan was nice enough to come down for a few days and has been busy cleaning the new house in preparation for move-in.  We can't thank her enough!  Everything is done although we don't yet have cabinet doors/drawer fronts for our island.  After we installed the island cabinets we noticed the stain color didn't look quite right.  Turns out, it wasn't.  They stained them the wrong color, a reddish brown, when we had requested a chocolate-brown walnut stain.  We debated what to do but ultimately decided we would be annoyed if we didn't get it right.  However, we didn't want to wait 6 weeks for new cabinets (which would have delayed our move in).  So...a local cabinet company took them out, sanded them and restained the bases.  Those have been reinstalled so we could get the countertops installed.  They are getting us new doors/drawer fronts with the right stain color as well but those aren't ready yet.  So...we're close.  Counters are in, glass tile backsplash is in, lights are hung...but the cabinets will remain open for a few more days (hopefully only days).

CK also had a rough start to the week.  Tuesday he was trying to move the manlift onto a rented trailer and the weight shifted unexpectedly.  This lifted the back of the pickup (which the trailer was attached to) which disengaged the breaks.  That started the whole thing sliding downhill, the pickup then slid up the embankment  on the right side of the road and flipped over.  CK got to watch the whole thing while standing in the manlift (on the trailer) looking for a good place to jump (which, luckily, wasn't necessary).  Thankfully no one was injured but the pickup has been towed to a Missoula salvage yard and likely isn't coming back :(  Despite CK's hinting at his desire for a new pickup lately, even this was beyond what I thought he was capable of. ;)

So we are down a pickup for the time being but are making due.  The insurance adjuster was a bit skeptical when I told her "We flipped our pickup.  No, no one was driving it at the time."  The pictures above tell the story better than I can.  Of course, the backhoe has come in handier than we imagined.  Apparently it can be used to remove a trailer from a flipped over pickup truck (see below) and also to flip said pickup back over to save $$ on towing (my husband, always the resourceful one).

Reese's new bed and kitchen cabinets

Reese finally has a big girl bed and I think it's obvious by the pictures below that she likes it.  We decided to put the kids in the same room in the condo for the next month to get them used to what it will be like in the house when we move in (before the upstairs is done they'll be sharing a bedroom downstairs).

 Reese and Asher claiming their shared territory

 Our kitchen cabinets came in on Friday and CK has been busy installing them this weekend.  Here's the progress so far.  We chose our countertops this week (Caesarstone Nougat) and they're coming to template them on Thursday.  Getting closer...

We're going to need a bigger car

Since we've finally spilled the beans to friends, family and co-workers I figured it was time to officially announce on here that we are expecting Baby LaFond #3 in mid-November.  I thought you all might enjoy the following family portrait that Reese did in January, well before I got pregnant.  However, as highlighted in red below, Reese added our newest family member (or at least it looks that way now).  Apparently she knew something we didn't.  Or she wanted a puppy.  Either way.

Reese and Asher seem to understand that a new baby is coming.  Reese, of course, wants a sister and insists that Asher wants a brother.  Asher doesn't commit.  Asher likes to look in my belly button to see if he can see the baby.  I think 6-7 months is a long time for a toddler to wait so my guess is their interest will ebb and flow over the next few months.  At this point they're probably more excited about moving into the new house than anything else.  Last week, though, when we asked Reese what she's going to teach the new baby, she thought for awhile and then replied: "I'm going to teach the baby how to watch Nick, Jr."  Yes, parent of the year awards for both of us.

Memorial Day 2012

Memorial Day weekend in Montana was cold and...snowy. :(  That made for some indoor activities for the kids and me and plenty of time for CK to work on the house.

 CK has been a tiling maniac these past few weeks and the master bathroom is really looking good.  Reese, Asher and I took a trip to the house yesterday to inspect the progress.

 view from the doorway entering the bathroom; once you walk through that opening, the shower is on the right and the toilet on the left

 CK cut all the travertine from the larger 18" x 18" pieces

 this is the view from the loft looking down

 slightly different view, the flooring will be carpet/hardwood pretty soon

 and turning to your right looking down from the loft.  from left to right doorways- mudroom, steps downstairs to basement, steps upstairs to 2nd floor

 Dad, I can't quite climb this...yes, Asher, that was by design

House updates

CK has been very busy on the house and it's starting to look...well, almost finished.  Here are some updated pictures from today:

This is the main floor bathroom- grey tile

 and...wait for it...we have a toilet!  One of the biggest milestones yet ;)

 We love our knotty alder doors.  This is the finished pantry (just outside the kitchen) in the middle, playroom door to the right and master bedroom door to the left

 CK built the loft railing so the kids can finally roam around upstairs without me having heart failure.  Looks pretty spiffy, no?

 Asher loves going to the "new house" now because there are endless tools to play with.

 CK started putting in the wood floor, this is the dining room area

 Kitchen floor tile in and boxes of hardwood floor waiting to be installed around it

 This is the entryway.  There will eventually be a front door in that back wall but it's drywalled for now since the drop outside is about 30 feet.  door on the right goes to the mudroom/laundry room/garage

 Asher in the mudroom door

 Laundry room, this is a pocket door that CK is rigging to open per a motion sensor.  Sounded like a great idea when I thought he was doing it for himself but he's assured me that even the fancy self-opening door won't encourage him to do more laundry.  Oh well.  CK also tiled the platform where the Washer/Dryer will go as you can see.

 A closer look at the mudroom floor (same as kitchen and main bathroom)

 CK also built the railing going upstairs past the dining room

 Playroom floor is in- this room needs trim and then it will be the first to be DONE.

 New fridge is in place.

 Master bath travertine floor

 And...the grand finale...my Mother's Day gift.  What every woman wants- a new man-lift.

 CK decided to take Reese, Asher and Grandma on a little test ride

 Asher's face is pretty priceless

 Not sure what I think about this thing, Dad