small update

We were originally set to close Thursday, but a week ago the state made $4,000 grants available to first time home buyers (us!). So, this has delayed us by a few days, but it's totally worth it. Right now, we're set to close on Monday.

This a picture of our upstairs hallway all completed. As you can see, that solar tube is friggin bright. Definitely get one if you have the chance! Anyway, we hope to have keys on Monday and we'll get painting soon after, so more pictures soon!!

T minus 1 Week

That's right. We're are exactly one week away from closing and finally calling this place ours! We took these photos Monday, and it's been a crazy couple of days since, so we apologize for the delay. The house is about 98% done when we took these, so you might notice a few things not quite finished (like the kitchen cabinets below).

Above is the view from our living room, looking toward the kitchen and entry way (that's the closet door, the entry is on the adjacent wall). The tile is kind of dusty in this shot, so the color of that will be more viberant.

This is the view from atop the stairs. The solar tube wasn't in yet, but it was supposed to go in yesterday. They were vaccuming when we arrived, so the carpet was nice and clean.

Here is Tennille admiring the granite countertops in our kitchen. We've been trying to select a paint color to match to the counter tops/bring out some of the deep golden colors, or even the dark cranberry specs. However, I don't think the camera brought out the right tone. It's pretty darn close though.

And here is a cruddy panoramic stitch of our kitchen. The flash really washed things out, and I was too much of a dork to turn it off... The microwave is going to be changed to stainless steel. The black one is incorrect per our specs and will be replaced, so we'll have all matching appliances.

I should also note that the exterior is also almost finished. It's about 90% painted and the walls were prepped for stucco.

We'll be going back up on Tuesday for our final walkthrough with the construction manager to make sure everything is perfect before we close. We should have more photos then, and maybe a video tour..?

Paint & Flooring

Our visit today was pretty exciting. All the walls have been painted and the vinyl and tile flooring are in place. Everything is still right on track! The cabinets were in our living room, ready to be installed in the kitchen and bathrooms, ready to be installed Monday. The laminate countertops were also on site which will also be installed this coming week. The granite countertop should also be installed then too. We look forward to seeing those!

Entry way tile

Kitchen Flooring (counter tops on the right)

Master bath

Tiny update

We stopped by the new house on Friday after work. Since we had been by earlier in the week we knew not much would have changed. The doors were locked, so we couldn't get inside. We don't know if it's because the parade of homes is going on, or if they just wanted to start protecting the interior. Anyway, we took this shot through the window, and it looks like things are moving along right on track. It looks like all the molding is done and the walls are prepped to paint.

Speaking of paint, that's supposed to be done this next week and the vinyl flooring should be in place as well. The walls will only be painted white, so we will be painting the walls with color (with some help). So look forward to seeing some updates on that after we close!

Suprise Update

We swung by our new place on our way into town today, and were pleasently surprised. The sheetrocking was 95% completed (the garge sheetrock just needs to be mudded) and is ahead of schedule! They've also started on finishing up the exterior. We plan to go back up Friday or Saturday (which was our original plan) to see what's done. They should have the trim work finished, so we'll see!

Housing Update

The framing is officially complete! We went over on Thursday to check in on the progress. The windows are in, and they just finished installing the HVAC, tubs, showers, wiring, and all that good stuff:

As you can see, things are coming along nicely. According to the construction schedule, things should be moving along very quickly over the next month. Insulation, sheet rock, flooring, cabinets, counter tops, paint, and then that's it! Moving time!

As Tennille mentioned earlier, our closing date has move up to Sept. 10th. Our mortgage is officially cleared for closing, so we're getting very excited and realizing how quickly this is coming up! We're finally going to get packing, too!

It looks like we've never posted what our street will look like (for now... There's still the rest of the development to get built, so the neighborhood probably won't be completely finished for a few years.):

Closing Date Update

So a week ago our closing date was September 16, and now it is September 10! Hurray!

Framing Update

The framing on our house is almost done (as you can see). It looks like there's just a little of the roofing left, then they should be on to the next step. Here are a few more photos to show you the progress:

Minor Construction Update

On our way back from Antelope Island, we swung by the new place to see how things had been progressing with the "less-than-wet" weather we've been having lately. There was a big fork lift parked out front, so we thought this time we'd show off the garage and back ally. It looks like they'll be starting on framing the second story any day now! We'll be going up again tomorrow and post an update if there has been any significant update.Ours is the second one in on the right. It's a one car surrounded by two-car garages.

Antelope Island

We went out to Antelope Island this weekend with two of Tennille's sisters that are in town. Thought we'd share some photos:

Walking into the lake

View looking NE

Beach looking NW

I hadn't been out there in long time, and forgot how much wildlife was out there. I thought it was just bison and shrimp! We saw a lot of really neat things. Here's what we saw:

Lizzard

Spiders!!!

Brine Shrimp

Brine Flies

We're headed to the zoo tomorrow, so hopefully we get some good photos there too!

Construction Update

We went by the site today to take care of some paperwork and thought we'd give you an update on the construction progress. Our space is the one on the right. It's kind of hard to see in this photo, but it's framed all the way back to the garage.

Construction Update

Here's an updated shot of our town house's construction. It's hard to see in this photo (cell phone shot), but the foundation is being filled in and the piping is in place. This was taken Saturday, so I'm sure it's come a way since then.

House Shopping

For those who don't know, Tennille and I have been doing a little house shopping (well, townhouse shopping). We fell in love with a new development in Farmington. We fell in love with it so much, we've secured the spot and have moved forward with getting a mortgage. So far, we've been pre-qualified, and everything looks very promising. Here's a few photos we thought we'd share with you:

Community view	View of the foundation	View looking East
View from entry	Kitchen view	Kitchen
2nd Floor	2nd Floor Alt. View	Master Bedroom

These are shots from the model home they have on site, but the same layout we're looking at. The foundation shot is of our actual unit; the porch is in the middle. Anyway, we're pretty excited!

Summer Weather

Well, summer weather is officially here in SLC. A couple of quick and very wet storms have blown through the last couple of days, and we snapped this shot yesterday. I know Tennille is really looking forward to more storms ahead!

Summer Movies

So the summer movie season is officially upon us. So far I have missed the first blockbuster of the summer (X-men: Wolverine Origins). I wasn't really excited for it, so I'm waiting for it to go to the dollar movies or rental.

However, there are a lot of blockbusters I am excited for: Terminator Salvation, Transformers 2, G.I. Joe, Land of the Lost, Bruno, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Angels and Demons and Star Trek to name a few. Then I came across this list. Now I'm thinking I'll wait out some of the bigger movies' opening weekend hubbub and catch some of those other less known films (especially Dead Snow!).

Swine Flu Pt. 2 (oh sorry, H1N1...)

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Swine Flu Precautions

I just thought that before everyone freaks out about the swine flu and goes to extreme lengths to protect themselves, this article is worth a read.

Wasp Invasion

Okay, I might be exagerating, but we did have more than one wasp in the apartment tonight, two. 

Tennille was taking a shower tonight while I was trying to get my xbox gaming on.  She let out her high pitched shriek, so I knew something would have to die.

A full sized wasp was hanging out on the window in our bathroom being a total peeping tom. He was going to be the first go.

I have a mild phobia of bees, wasps, hornets and the like, so there was only one thing to do. Suit up in as much body armor as I could find so I wouldn't get stung. Sometimes people ask me, "Justin, why do you a flack jacket and all this military 'stuff'?" Here's your answer.

After much debate about how to kill the guy, and we decided the best tool for the job was either a wad of paper towels or the end of a broomstick handle. The later was chosen and I went in for the kill. As I was about to kill the wasp, a little flicker of something caught my eye. It was another stupid wasp caught in the shower water in the bottom of the tub. With a couple of quick jabs I took them down. I felt pretty darn cool:

Here's the first victim:

And the second:

We're not exactly sure how they got in since we have screens on all of our windows and weather stripping under our door. Our best guess is either through the ceiling vent in the bathroom or somehow the through the AC. Last summer we had a few box elder bugs get in, but nothing this big. We're going to see if this was just a fluke one time thing, or if it's going to be a reoccuring thing...

Tennille's Newish Car

Sorry for the delay in posts lately. We've both switched positions at work and it's taken a while for us to adjust. Now with that out of the way...

We washed & waxed Tennille's new car (that she bought in a few months ago) today. It was the first batch of good weather we've got forecasted for the spring, so it seemed like a good time to get that first coat on. Here are some pictures of the hard work: