Framing the Basement

Merry Christmas!  This is how we celebrated our Christmas Eve.  My Brother-in-Law, Dan used to own his own framing company.  He volunteered to help us frame on Christmas Eve, so we took him up on it.  I was amazed at how quickly it went together.  We even had a few neighbors stop by and offer to help.

We started before the sun even came up.  Rayna was so excited and was such a good helper

 Our curious chickens kept an eye on things as well.

Ian finally rolled out of bed to help

Brynlee "helping" uncle Dan.  She is stacking the remnants.

 Dan was so patient with all of his underage helpers

Rick thinks this picture pretty much sums up the day.  Dan working, with Rick looking like he's helping.

This was the most exciting part for me - watching them tear down a portion of the bearing wall to open up the room.

Installing the new weight-bearing beam. 

February update:  We have the framing done, the heating and air ducts installed, and a plumber scheduled to come out on the 18th.  My goal is to be completely finished and livable by the end of April

Graham Cracker houses

This is the Rick-is-the-awesomest-Dad post.  He made gingerbread houses with the 3 older kids one day while I was away in December.  He even made one himself.  The houses turned out so cute and he even took pictures of the whole thing.

 

Photoshoot

I got a new camera in December and so I spent most of the month experimenting and practicing.  My kids were all overdue for portraits, as I think school pictures are way overpriced and they never turn out nice...so I didn't buy them.  But my husband has been asking for family pictures to put up in his office for a long time now, so I decided that would be a great Christmas gift for him. 

So I set up the studio:  duct tape brown blanket to kitchen bar, move kitchen table out of the way, wash sliding glass window for lighting, find tripod....Wah Lah!

Here are some of my favorites:

 By the time it was Brynlee's turn, she wasn't in the mood.  This was my best shot, although it is blurry, so I couldn't use it.

She was happy to hold still so that I could take a picture of her beloved tear, though.

We don' thave any pictures of just the two of us as a couple, so that weekend, I had my photographer brother, Braxton shoot some pictures of us in his studio.  He took a bunch of pictures, and they all turned out awesome, of course.  Here are some of my favorites:

Christmas Quilt 2010

VERY simplified compared to last year's quilt, but a much more pleasant experience.  I bought the fabric after Christmas when it was on clearance and so I didn't even need to worry about spending money or choosing fabric.  I just used bias tape to bind it (I found a bunch  I already had) and that was a new experience, but it was pleasant.  Binding quilts is NOT my favorite part, but I would do bias tape again.

Ian's First Merit Badge - Carpentry

December 1, 2010

Ian was able to earn his first merit badge at the first court of honor after beginning boy scouts.  He earned his Carpentry Merit badge after visiting a carpernter's shop and building a foot stool.  Too bad the same night he brough it home Brynlee got a bit rough with it and it fell apart.  Guess we'll have to work on craftmanshp a bit.

His troop was also in charge of the Flag Ceremony that night.

He's cruising right along in the scout program and hopefully by April he'll have completed 7 of the 12 required merit badges needed for his eagle.