Can we go to the house after dark time?

   So, Saturday turned out to be VERY windy and much colder than anticipated.  The boys had looked forward to going to the house to work.  But it was so cold and with the roof off, the inside wasn't pleasant either.  Josh and Jack would be working to remove the rest of the roof structure.  So, it just wasn't going to be a good day for the boys to be at the house. 
   Needless to say, they were very disappointed. Joe was especially upset because he had work that he needed to do!?! :)   Before his nap, he asked if we could go to the house after his nap. After his nap, he asked if we could go to the house.  And then at dinner, he asked if we could go to the house after dark time.  I quickly realized he meant "tomorrow morning" (after the dark passes). I told him we'd go to church and then go to the house.  He was fine with that answer and rambled for a couple minutes about the work he needed to do (nailing and un-nailing)
   So, fast forward to after church Sunday.  I was helping Joe change his clothes and he asked, "I don't have to take a nap?" very enthusiastically.  I told him no b/c we were going to the house.  "right now?" he asked...and, boy, was he excited!  He quickly got changed and was ready to work.

  Here are some pictures of how the house looked Sunday when we arrived (the roofing completely removed).

Then, here are a couple pictures after we got the last large truss lifted onto the roof. Yes, it was dark...7:00 pm!  But we were determined to get all 9 up once we figured out how to get them up. Fortunately, Jack is a very determined AND strong man to stand on next to nothing and still manage to pull these up while Josh manned the winch that was helping control the pulling.  Meanwhile, I stood around pretending to help and doing a lot of praying. 

  

 Now, Monday will be spent placing the trusses...! Hopefully it's less windy than Saturday and Sunday!

Amy, you did want a lot of light in the kitchen, right?

  That was what Jack asked me....just after I found out that he and Josh had actually started removing the bad roof over the back part of the house.  You'll notice in the pictures below that there is a whole lot of sunlight able to shine in the kitchen right now...making for a very well lit kitchen!

Using his digger, Jeff buried all the insulation and the leftovers from the burn pile...and dug another hole for the "remainders" from another burn pile!

And...Jeff dug up the concrete stairs from the side entrance (west side of house).

 Here is what the house looks like as of noon on Saturday (when I left).

 

Now that's for the birds...

   The block is laid for the garage.  Pea gravel (Jake and Joe's favorite to play in) is being dumped and spread...readying for the garage floor.  Soon some garage walls will be going up...which means a roof can go on and the bad roof can be replaced.

  So, with nearly all of the guttering off the house, we now have birds welcoming themselves inside the house periodically.  I'm sure it's the ones whose huge nest (or nests) we have thrown out to the ground while taking off the guttering.  However, we're hoping that all the birds don't figure out how much open space they can take advantage of before we can get the guttering back up.

   Yesterday, it was a fairly warm day.  So, the boys played (and "worked") while we worked--for real.  My assignment was to clean up all the metal, aluminum, and wood that Jack had been pulling off from the guttering.  It took awhile to get the wet wood lit on the burn pile.  And I realized I could smell the plaster and the nasty inside smell as the fire began to burn.  Glad it's out of the house.
   Jake and Joe enjoyed playing on the huge dirt pile with their digger and dump truck.  Then they "helped" me for a bit.  And then they set out to "spread gravel".  On the way back to Mama and Papa's, Jake said, "That was a fun day."  Joe piped in with "Yeah, nobody said they wanted to go home either!" (which was what happened last time we were at the house...after about an hour)

  Today, it was to be warm again.  So, I convinced the boys that we should go back to the house...so they could play in the dirt pile.  (There's a threat of rain/snow and cooler temps the next couple days.)  The boys headed right for the dirt pile...dump truck, digger, bobcat and 6-link chain (Joe found somewhere) in hand.  They were using the chain to help pull out the stuck trucks!
  Meanwhile, my assignment today initially involved a power tool (angle grinder) with sparks!!!!  I was trying to grind off the nails from the hardwood...a slow, tedious job.  But it has to be done.
  The boys eventually headed to the gravel to start spreading it.  But it start to spit rain.  So, they came in and helped hammer out nails on the hardwood flooring.  Notice, I said hammering.  I was relieved of grinding off the nails (which was too tedious for my liking).  I was told to try to hammer them out...which proved to be much more to my liking--and a lot faster!  Plus, the boys could join me...Jake gets the piece of hardwood and brings it to me.  I hammer nails down and Joe helps wiggle them out, drops them in the nail bucket, and Joe carries the nail-free hardwood to put it in the container.  We got a system going for a little bit and it was fun!
  
  Then, we took a haircut break (long overdue)...Jake, Joe, and Josh got cuts.  Then, Papa let Jake and Joe cut his hair (with no guard on the trimmers).

Can we bake a cake, Mom?

   Last week as I was talking with Jacob about the days ahead, I was explaining President's Day and how we celebrate Lincoln and Washington's birthdays on that day.  So, why wouldn't my child's first response be "can we bake a cake?"...any reason to bake a cake is a good enough reason to do it, right? :)
  Well, I did tell Jake we could bake a cake (and I wish you could have heard Joe's response when he got wind of the idea...).  However, instead, we went to Conner Prairie in Indy.  They were having a free admission day...so why not?
    Upon arrival, the boys wanted to start outside with the open activities.  So, gloves on, jackets on, and warm sunshine to look at...we headed out to the wind.
   The boys enjoyed seeing (and standing in) a hot air balloon.

   They (with assistance) built a model timber house (in the FREEZING cold).

   They watched some line dancing while warming up in the barn with some hot cocoa.

   They watched (and heard...clearly) the shooting of a rifle.

   They enjoyed several crafts...including making George Washington hats and Abe Lincoln masks and clothespin replicas.

   They had fun in the play area and the "old-time games" (all of which were made from wood) game room.

   And, of course, they enjoyed the science lab area where there were lots of sports related activities.

Overall, the boys enjoyed the day and could have stayed for several more hours had they not been so worn out!

All kinds of workers...

 Jeff comes with his digger. He dug the footer for the garage and helped knock down a couple branches in the tree that we'll be cutting down (it's got hollow spots).  

The boys loved watching Jeff work.

The well that we'll leave access to near the kitchen.

More of Joe...

So, here are some great quotes from Joe lately...

--We had gone into the restroom while at church so Joe and I could use the bathroom.  I was washing my hands and heard Joe said, "Hey, Mom, did you put the hat down?"  I said, "Did I put the hat down? Do you mean the lid?" Joe replied from the open stall door as he looked at the toilet and pointed to the lid, "Yeah, did you put the hat down?"

--While at Grammie and Grandpa's, Grandpa commented that he must have slept well because he had snored. We asked Joe if he slept well.  He said, "No, Grandpa was snoring and it kept me awake."  I believe Grandpa quickly said, "Well, did you snore at all?"  To which Joe promptly replied with a very serious tone..."No, I didn't snore. I don't know how to snore!"

--(I'll pick up more in the middle of this conversation with Joe...but we were talking about small group last night.)  Joe emphatically said, "Ally wasn't there!"  I said, "Yeah, I know. Ms. Katie was sick. So, Jack and Ally couldn't come. And Mr Mike had to do some training at work...he's a police officer."  (pause, pause) Joe responded with great purpose in his voice, "He changes DIAPERS?"  Somehow I quickly realized that Joe's only reference to the word "training" must somehow be soley attached to the phrase "potty training".  And I laughingly replied, "Mr Mike is not potty training other workers. Is that what you thought when I said training? (nod by Joe) He's helping teach them about a new job."  Joe simply said, "Oh!"

--"Mom, can I take my flashlight?" (in the car).
   "Well, remember how I told you it's not really something we need in the car."
   Joe tosses up one arm as he says quickly and directly, "But I want to. (pause) I want to have it in case you need help to see in the froggy."  (It is foggy out today!) :)  "I don't want you to hit any other cars."

--We got of the truck and headed toward the store.  Joe says, "What's this store?"  I said, "It's Target." Joe says, "What do we do here?  Do we shoot things?"

It's still standing...

Well, where do I start?  How about this...the front door...come on in...

  The gaping hole from the original staircase is filled. In fact, all the larger holes have been filled with plywood. (The only holes left are vent holes.) Yet, I still have that weird "near falling" feeling if my feet shuffle to uneven ground when I'm not looking at the ground.  Amazing how on guard the body is even when you aren't consciously thinking about danger around you. 

  With the original staircase gone, the new staircase (with temporary steps) has been built.  (The boys loved watching this process and are glad to not have to climb the long cold ladder to get upstairs! I think Basil, the coon hunting neighbor's dog is also glad to be able to do his rounds upstairs, too!)

   On Sunday, Jack and Josh successfully jacked the load bearing wall in the south/west rooms, knocked out the original wall, put in a steel beam....and removed the jacks...and the house is still standing.  As a side note, this was the event I didn't want to be at the house for b/c it is so nerve racking to me.  However, I was already at the house when I realized what they were about to work on.  Needless to say, I began praying...constantly...!  And, I didn't feel so good when Jack jokingly said--with sledge hammer in hand ready to knock out the jacks, "Amy, do you have your fingers ready to dial 911?"   Now, since I'm typing this, and you're reading this, you know that the outcome was successful.  Still freaks me out a little, though!

  I have had the "definitely not so fun" job of cleaning...from ceiling to floor.  I have been climbing in the rafters clearing cob webs, insulation, and wasp nests.  And, I have just about finished up sweeping down all the walls in the house.  I notice how different it looks...not sure if it's that noticeable, though! (I'll post pictures anyway b/c I've spent some much time on it!)

  Having such mild weather has really helped with entertaining the boys while we work on the house.  They have found a fun spot near the cellar door to play in the dirt.  Today, I worked for a little bit while they played golf.  Then I played baseball with them before heading back in to work. They played in the dirt for an hour until I was done.  And then we went on an exploration hike in the woods behind our house.  Jake's comment as we left the woods to head to the car..."Thanks for making me tired, Mom!"

Other random pictures...

Subper bowl

  Joe was so excited, he came running across the room saying..."The subper bowl has already started. The subper bowl is on TV."  I laughed out loud and said, "I bet you can't say that 5 times fast!"  He did...and it was even more funny!

  Jake got done with his shower.  And after about 2 minutes of watching the Super Bowl, I looked over to see him leaning on the couch...asleep!

  Ironically, by the end of the 3rd quarter, I was the only one left awake watching the Super Bowl...! Now that is unusual!