Pam, Brian, and Lilly

House Building Update - April 8, 2008

2008-04-08T20:38:00.004-05:00

The house is coming along very well. Since the last post, the roofing was completed, the plumbing was roughed in including our ultra-sweet Kohler DTV Master Shower (Digital Controller with Not 1, but 6 shower heads), the electrical was roughed, the HVAC was roughed in (3 Carrier Infinity Gas Furnaces with Heat Pump Coils with Outside Air for Nice Fresh Air, Multiple Zones, Programmable Thermostats in almost every room, and Air Purifiers on the Bedrooms), the alarm/fire detection system was roughed, the speaker system in the family room was roughed in (7.1 Surround Sound), the bricking/stone was started, and the insulation/sheet rock was started. The insulation (Mostly blown in cellulose with some foam) will be complete this week with a majority of the sheet rock complete as well. The brick and stone will most likely be completed the week after next (Brick layers going on a fishing trip next week). The siding will be started as soon as the bricking is done. Hopefully, we are about a month and a half away from completion. It all depends on how quickly all of the cabinets get built and installed.

Front

Garage Window

Left Side

Rear

Right Side

Family Room (Part of It)

House Building Update - February 12, 2008

2008-02-12T21:14:00.004-06:00

The roof decking is complete making the framing 99.9% complete. Framing will completed on Wednesday. Plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and roofing will all start very soon (some this week).

Front of the House

Left Side of the House

Back Corner of the House

Back of the House

Right Side of the House

Lilly at the Top of the Stairs

House Building Update - February 11, 2008

2008-02-11T19:59:00.000-06:00

They started decking the roof today as well as working to finish the remaining framing. They are now 99.4% finished with framing. The decking should be finished on Tuesday with all of the framing done by the end of the week.

Front of House

Left Side of House

Back of House

Right Side of House

Lilly in the 2nd Floor Bathroom

House Building Update - February 8, 2008

2008-02-08T22:05:00.001-06:00

Today, they started installing the windows and finished the coffered ceilings in the study and master bedroom. During Pam's visit this afternoon, she noticed an error in the placement of Lilly's bedroom window. They will have to move the window opening before they can install the windows. The framing is now 98.7% complete with only a few rafters remaining. We are still on schedule for roof decking on Monday.

Front of the House

Front Door

House Update - February 7, 2008

2008-02-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

They are nearing completion on the framing. The rafters are 97.2% done and the roof is scheduled to be decked on Monday (Feb. 11) as long as the wind cooperates. Lately, it has been very windy making it difficult to work on the roof. The windows and doors will be installed on Friday (Feb. 8).

Front of House

Left Side of House

Rear of House

Right Side of House

House Building Update - February 2, 2008

2008-02-02T17:57:00.000-06:00

Below are the latest pictures of the house taken today. Framing is nearing completion and should be finished this week. The framers were unable to work for a couple of days this week due to 30 to 40 mph winds. I would not want to work on a 30 feet high roof in that kind of wind either. The next steps are electrical, plumbing, brick/stone, roofing, and HVAC.

Front of the House

Left Side of the House

Back of the House

Right Side of the House

House Building Update

2008-01-26T17:08:00.000-06:00

Framing still continues. Even with the colder temperatures (20°F in the mornings), they are making good progress. Currently, they are working on the roof rafters. The windows, doors, brick, and stone (Products, Eldorado Stone, Western, Limestone, Monterey) have been ordered and are in. The shingles (Color is Weathered Wood) are on order, but have not yet arrived. We have been working on determining interior features. Go to Pam's blog for interior information. In the pictures below, Lilly's room is the window above and left of the garage door on the left side of the house.

Front of the House

Left Side of the House (Lilly's Side)

Back of the House

Right Side of the House (Mommy and Daddy's Side)

New House - Framing

2007-12-31T16:19:00.000-06:00

After several weeks of bad weather and delays from the electric company, framing finally began on December 26, 2007. They have a lot of the first floor framed. They have not framed the office and master suite areas. The first floor should be completed by the end of the week. Framing should be completed in the next two to three weeks. The windows and doors were ordered last week. The first picture is the front (south side) of the house. The second is the left (west) side of the house. The last is the kitchen.

My Little Pony Live

2007-11-20T21:02:00.000-06:00

Last night, I took Lilly to see My Little Pony Live. Lilly gives the show an enthusiastic two thumbs up. She said that she "loved the show." She really liked the very large teapot at the end of the show. Especially since it was a blowup and it had smoke. She got to dance and sing along with the show which made it even better. There were little girls everywhere. And, just for the record, I was not the only male there. There were other men there and not just the ones working the show.

New House - Foundation

2007-11-07T19:15:00.001-06:00

Today (November 7, 2007), the foundation was poured on our new house. It took about 75 cubic yards of concrete. Lilly enjoyed running around. She will need to get that out of her system before walls start going up. The framing should start in about a week.

Our New House

2007-11-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

Construction on our new house has started. This week the rough-in plumbing was done. Hopefully, by early to mid next week, the concrete will be poured. Framing should start in a week or so. If all goes well, the house will completed in April.

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

For Halloween, Lilly got to dress up twice: School and Trick or Treating. She was supposed to dress up for school to show what she wants to be when she grows up. Naturally, she chose to be a Barbie Bride. Because, what girl does not want to be Barbie or a bride? This way, she gets to be both at the same time. For Trick or Treating, she dressed up as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Pam made the dress last year, but it was too big. It fit very well this year and helped net a great load of candy for Daddy. Lilly was joined in Trick or Treating by Mia (Our friends Robert and Stacy's little girl). Mia was not happy getting dressed, but quickly had a mood change and began to enjoy herself. The night ended with some good times with Guitar Hero III. Because, a day with Guitar Hero is like a day without sunshine.

Is Hell Freezing Over???

2007-04-07T21:50:00.000-05:00

Today, Saturday, April 7, 2007, it snowed in Wichita Falls, Texas! I am getting a little worried that Hell may be freezing over. If so, I am going to very busy for the next couple of years doing all those things that I said I would only do if Hell froze over. Luckily, I will not be the only person that will be busy. I am sure that you too will be just as busy. Anyway, Lilly really enjoyed the snow (Even though it was over 40°F and it melted as it hit the ground). The first video and picture are from the second time that it snowed. The first time it snowed, the snow was lighter (Second Video).

Christmas Eve

2006-12-24T22:56:00.000-06:00

Here is Lilly after Christmas Eve Mass (Midnight Mass at 9:00 pm) wearing the dress that Grandma Q made for her. She did very well even though it was late. She told baby Jesus Happy Birthday. While we were at church, some elves visited and left her new 12 Dancing Princesses Pajamas. She is totally crazed now beside me as I type this. She is pumped about tomorrow. Hopefully, she will go to sleep.

The Finishing Touch

2006-12-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

So now it’s decorating time! I had bought tons of candies and assorted cookies to decorate the buildings. Now of course you need frosting. The frosting is not only makes it look pretty, but it covers up all of the sugared joints between buildings. Also if you make a boo boo you can disguise it with the frosting too.

All the roofs are done in some sort of cookie shingle. The bakery has yellow and pink wafer cookies. The flower shop is tiled in chocolate dipping graham crackers. The bank is done in chocolate wafer cookies and the shop at the end is in Nilla Wafers. You’ll notice that the toyshop (the building on the far left) is not shingled in cookies, but instead is done in Necco wafers. It’s kind of my signature thing. I always manage to get some Necco wafer tiling in. I just think they are so colorful and cute.

The rest of the candy decorations consist of traditional gum drops, starlight mints, mint pillows and red hots. Also present are Christmas gobstoppers, mini M&ms, Nerds (courtesy of Lilly), Twizzlers, 2 gummy bears (again courtesy of Lilly), Peep’s Christmas trees and Christmas sprinkles. And no gingerbread house is complete without a final dusting of powdered sugar snow.

So there you have it. The “I didn’t cuss, burn myself, or drop a piece” gingerbread house of Christmas 2006. See Brian…not Amateur Hour.

Assembling the Behemoth

2006-12-03T21:55:00.000-06:00

So the first step in assembling a gingerbread house it make sure you have all the pieces handy for each section. I put my gingerbread together with melted sugar. It is very hot and if you get it on yourself, you can’t get it off fast enough (think extreme glue gun.). Anyway, it cools fairly fast on the gingerbread and creates a very strong bond. I find though it is a little dangerous to work with (and trying at times) it is much faster going in than the icing method which takes a while to let the bonds set.

So in a matter of about an hour and a half I got the entire thing joined together. I said entire, I mean all except one side of a roof, which I somehow overlooked to make! Than goodness I saved some gingerbread dough for breakage. I used it to swiftly turn out the missing piece and make Lilly a small gingerbread house of her own to decorate because there is no way she will be touching mine.

As usually, my gingerbread house is lit (as was I in the making of it…shout out to Amy Poehler) by miniature Christmas lights. Only I forgot to get them inside until after I had the thing assemble. With a little physics fun (and Brian’s help) we got them maneuvered underneath the walls and inside the shops. What made it more difficult to get them inside right is that the shops have dividing walls in between them. But that’s what hemostats are for, right Dad.

Our First Snow

2006-12-02T17:11:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday, a harsh winter storm moved into Wichita Falls. The temperatures dropped into the upper 20's and snow started to fall by noon on Thursday. When Pam and Lilly got home from school on Thursday, the snow was covering the ground fairly well and Lilly was ready to play. Since it was snowing, she was convinced that it was Christmas. Pam made video of Lilly explaining why it is Christmas.

Cameron Country Jazz Fusion Concert with The Byron Berline Band

2006-12-02T16:32:00.000-06:00

In November (1st and 5th), Brian played concerts with the Cameron/Lawton Community Jazz Ensemble and The Byron Berline Band. The concert is called Country Jazz Fusion since it is a combination of a Country/Western Swing band and a Jazz Ensemble. The videos below are examples of the music from the shows. They are from the November 5th show at the Simmons Center in Duncan, Oklahoma. The first is an old Bob Wills song called "My Window Faces The South." It is a straight ahead Western Swing song. The second song is a tribute to the late Maynard Ferguson with Brian playing the trumpet solo.

The Gingerbread House Progresses

2006-12-02T16:09:00.000-06:00

This morning I finished up the rest of the pieces for my gingerbread house including the tricky curved piece. I ended up not baking it on the candy tin. The can had an irregular bump in it (the ridge to hold the lid) and it wasn’t quite long enough to accommodate the piece itself. So when I pulled it out of the oven (and while still extremely hot) I draped over a plastic container I had and molded it to that. It turned out pretty well and it looks like it should fit.

I also put in all of the sugar windows. The sugar windows started to crystallize as I got to the last section I was working on, but it’s not like you actually need to see in the gingerbread house. Nothing going on in there. Here’s a close-up shot of one of the better windows.

So maybe this evening I will start to assemble the goliath.

The Beginning of This Year's Gingerbread House

2006-11-30T21:26:00.000-06:00

So here is a gigantic batch of gingerbread. It has 6 cups of flour in it! And, it wasn’t enough. I think I still need another half batch to finish all the pieces I need to make for my gingerbread house. Actually it’s not a house; it’s more of a village. It's supposed to be a shopping village. I got the plans on-line. The site has lots of nice patterns and ideas, so it saved me the time of having to come up with the architectural plans. Icould just start working on the house.

On top of my plans it says “for advanced gingerbread makers” of course every time I start a gingerbread house Brian thinks it is “amateur hour”. Anyway, I am almost done making all the pieces. The town is a series of 5 buildings and I have all the pieces except for the last building and one of the interior walls (and I don’t know if you can tell from the picture but I slightly over-baked the bank front. I think of it as more of a brownstone building, but I’ll probably re-do it.) The last building contains a curved corner piece, which must be baked on a round candy tin to achieve the curve.

To make my last batch of gingerbread I’ll need to go to the store to get more molasses, but something about frozen roads will keep me inside tonight. But I hope to be in the assembly phase this weekend. Look for more updates.

P.S. Staci, I know your favorite part is when they drop the big display, but please don’t be too ecstatic if it happens to me. Wish me luck.

Lilly Goes Trick or Treating!

2006-10-31T20:17:00.000-06:00

Lilly really enjoys Halloween. This year, she was a fairy. Mommy made the clothes and Grandma Q made the wings and head piece. We now have lots of candy to eat!!

Lilly's Pumpkin

2006-10-31T13:03:00.000-06:00

Lilly was really excited about the pumpkin that we grew in our garden. So, she wanted to record herself talking about the pumpkin.

Lilly's Dance Class

2006-10-30T21:07:00.000-06:00

Lilly has been taking a combination dance class (Tap/Ballet) through the Parks and Recreation Department in Wichita Falls. Tonight, they gave a performance for the parents.

New Living Room Furniture

2006-09-04T16:18:00.000-05:00

Since the last furniture was bought about a month before we got married in 1993 and the cats had not been real nice, we decided that it was time to buy new living room furniture. Unfortunately, we found out that when you buy a few pieces, that drives you to change curtains, and then to more buy furniture. We are now done in the living room with a new china cabinet/hutch on its way for the dining room.

We Have Zucchini!

2006-06-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

Pam and Lilly's garden has produced a Zucchini. At this point, this is about a $100 Zucchini. But, it did come from their garden. We are still waiting for the Sunflowers to bloom and the Pumpkins to grow. They are both very proud of their Zucchini.

Abby's Birthday Party

2006-06-04T18:39:00.000-05:00

Saturday was Lilly's friend Abby's birthday party. The fun thing for Lilly was that everyone got to go swimming. This was Lilly's first time this year in a big pool. She got in and out of the pool on her own as well as did a good job moving around in the pool. Pam is going to start taking her to Grandma and Grandpa Francis' house to teach her how to swim. Right now, she uses a swimming suit that has built in floats.

The Shriner Convention Parade

2006-06-04T17:40:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, the Texas Shriner Convention had a nice parade in downtown Wichita Falls. It was said to be the largest parade that Wichita Falls has ever had. It lasted a little over an hour. There were lots of clowns and old men driving go-carts. The go-carts and motorcycles were very loud. Lilly liked the parade except for the fact that the clowns were not throwing out candy.

Lilly and Her New Ballet Slippers

2006-06-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

Lilly really likes to dress up like a ballerina. She has several nice dresses ranging from one that Pam made for her to the latest one that Grandma Q. bought for her. Today, Pam took her to a store that sells ballet supplies and bought her a pair of real ballet slippers. At Lilly's request, we took several pictures of her next to her garden.

Lilly's First Bicycle

2006-06-02T19:01:00.000-05:00

Saturday, May 27, 2006, was a great day for Lilly. She got her first big girl bicycle complete with streamers on the handle bars.

Pam Gets Lilly Ready for Germanfest

2006-05-31T21:17:00.000-05:00

Lilly and Our Friend June at Easter Time

2006-05-31T21:04:00.000-05:00

I Don't Think That This Is Right?????

2006-05-31T20:33:00.000-05:00

LIlly's Pretty Easter Dress

2006-05-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

Lilly Has A New Second Cousin!

2006-02-14T07:29:00.000-06:00

Lilly was very happy to meet her new second cousin (Kelby) who was born around 6:30 pm on February 13, 2006. She was only about an hour old when Lilly got to see her.

Our New Years Eve Outing to the Mountains

2006-01-02T19:08:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures from our outing to the Wichita Mountains on New Years Eve. Now, we will not typically be adding nice pictures, but it will happen every so often.

This is where Buffalo Wings are Grown.

Here is Pamela and Lilly Posing.

Lilly is a Hunter and Gatherer.

Some of those Rocks were Pretty Tough to Climb!

Even Lilly had a Tough Time Climbing Them!

But, She Found a Place to Rest at the Top.

Who Knew that there was Treasure to be Found???

And, Lilly justed wanted to Pose on a Rock and be Pretty.

Look! It's Staci on the Kansas Turnpike.

2006-01-02T19:00:00.000-06:00

This is Staci circa 1996/1997 while traveling with Pam and Big Bry through Kansas after a stay in the Great State of Texas. She was being taken back to the Ozarks (*Some Call it Missoura, But it is Really the Ozarks*). She was only 19 or 20 years old back then!!

Do You Know Who This Is?

2006-01-01T14:50:00.000-06:00

I Think I Got An E-Mail About This!

2005-12-31T18:48:00.000-06:00

Lilly and Daddy Ready for Christmas Mass

2005-12-30T21:42:00.000-06:00

Here is Lilly with Daddy right before going to Christmas Mass . We can not show the pictures of after mass due to the amount of tired possessed by Lilly.

Funny Word of the Week

2005-12-30T21:39:00.000-06:00

~CHAW~

Pam Likes to Spank June at Tetrasphere.

2005-12-30T21:06:00.000-06:00

Here are Pam and June doing what they like to do most: Getting Their Game On! They like to try and beat each other as much as possible on Tetrasphere.

I Am Lilly!

2005-12-30T20:59:00.000-06:00

Hi, my name is Lilly. I am almost 3 years old. I like to watch "The Wizard Of Oz," and "Toy Story." I really like Dorothy and Buzz Lightyear. Here is a picture of me in my Dorothy costume and one of me striking a pose.

This Is Our Friend June

2005-12-30T20:48:00.000-06:00

This is our friend June. She is a Dietician at the local Dialysis Center. She is always happy to pose for a picture. See her smiling?