Homestead Happenings - July 2017

 Josiah earned enough "Scout Bucks" through his troop's Christmas tree sale fundraiser to pay for Boy Scout camp at Camp Meriwether on the Oregon Coast. He was able to earn several merit badges including rock climbing. He spent most of his time completing the Frontiersman Award, which included blacksmithing - something he absolutely loves doing.

He's always been a monkey!

Since he was gone for the Fourth of July, when he got home we lit off personal fireworks in the middle of where the old trailer house had been. Rina wasn't too sure about the sparklers. 

 You aren't going to believe the progress of our house in one month. Our contractor, Daniel Jacobson, absolutely rocked it! So at the beginning of July, within one week of breaking ground, we already had floor joists in.

The shop was unbearably hot in July. We had one window air conditioner loaned to us and it kept it around 95 degrees in there. Some homeschool friends of ours heard about how miserable it was for us and sent us money to pay for another large window air conditioner. With the two window air conditioners going, we were able to keep the temperature in the shop around 85 degrees F during the heat of the day which was much more bearable. What a blessing! A big thank you to both our friends for helping keep us cool that summer.

 Soon the subflooring was in. The kids had a great time riding their bikes around it that night.

 Exterior walls went up the next day. The inspector was really great about coming over right away for his inspections so there weren't any delays. Josiah helped with this portion of the house.

 Rina found a very important job of watering the dirt to keep the dust down. It was really quite helpful and kept her entertained. It was so dusty!

 The exterior walls were up in two days, just in time for my dear friend, Cora, to come and check on our progress.

 Here were are standing in front of the windows of what would soon be my homeschool room. It was starting to feel real at this point!

 I took the kids and some Boy Scout friends of Josiah's down to the river to swim, snorkel and catch crawdads. It was nice to have a little break.

 Great way to cool off!

 Next were the interior walls which might have taken Daniel three days to complete them all.

 Daniel and his friend, Senior. Love these guys!

 Even Daniel's friends were dropping by to donate their time to helping him get our home built as quickly as possible. Thanks, Andy!

 Trusses were next. They swung them over the shop and trailer and then placed them on the house carefully. It was quite the process to watch!

 Hallway down to the bedrooms.

 Really starting to look like a house now!

 Rina was on hand to give carpentry tips. 

 I'd take the kids to the pool or the river once a week on my day off from doing Underground tours.

 It had been a very long time since any of us were able to bath in a bathtub. Rina couldn't wait!

Sub-roofing going on.

 Meanwhile, a friend loaned us a backhoe and Michael worked hard both with it and a shovel to dig the main utility ditch to the new house.

 He had his little helpers. The man is so patient!

 Hailey's turn.

 End result

 Windows and doors in and weather wrap and moisture barrier on roof. Whew! Go Daniel!

 Drove to Arlington to meet up with Aunt Stacie and the kids and have a fried chicken picnic and swim.

 Rina enjoyed swimming with her cousins Jess and Lily.

 Our contractor's sons were able to hang out with us a lot that summer. The kids had so much fun playing and creating together. Tavi was able to go to Arlington with us.

 Stacie and I got to hang out in the shade and visit for a bit. Love our sister time!

 Josiah was able to go home with them and spend some time with his cousin Andrew and their Nana who let them go metal detecting around the ranch. They found some fun "treasures".

I went over the mountain to pick up Hailey from summer camp and got to spend some time with my friend, Dorene, on her homestead. I hadn't bottle fed a calf since I was in high school. Brought back memories and I had a really fun visit with my friend. Loved seeing her living the homestead life.

 Picked up Hailey from Cove Camp. This was one of her craft projects she made. She had a great time.

 After Daniel got the roof done, the siding was next. He got both finished in a matter of just a few days.

In the meantime, Michael started working on the electrical inside the house.

 Here he is installing the electrical panel. 

 It was so hot, the kids slept outside quite a bit that July. Talk about some redhead bedhead!

 At the end of July we went on a much needed (and belated) anniversary date to the nearest city. A friend had given us a gift certificate to the Olive Garden and the movie theater, so we decided we better use it. My mom and Larry Pop watched the kids so we could get a hotel overnight in Tri-Cities. We spend most of our time at the Re-Store, Lowes and Home Depot, but it was wonderful to get to pick out all the fun stuff that goes into a home, like faucets and a refrigerator, without bored kids in tow. What a huge blessing for us to be able to connect as a couple after so much stress and hard work.

 As you can see, we feasted at the Olive Garden...

 ...and PF Changs

 Then Cinnabon rolls while watching Dunkirk in the theater. Thank you, Beth, for the mandatory date! Such a blessing.

Brought home light fixtures and a lot of electrical supplies that weekend. Michael had his work cut out for him for sure. It took him about a month to rough-in the electrical in our house.

Daniel was almost done with building our house and we were about to get extremely busy for the next few months as we worked hard to finish the house enough that we could live in it before the snow flew.