Alex is going to BYU!!

Well, I can't believe this, Alex came home from EFY (a week long church summer camp for youth - Especially For Youth) and told me that he is reconsidering his college decision.  He is now thinking about going to Brigham Young University (it is an LDS-sponsored university in Utah).  This is so exciting!  I am all for the idea.  The only drawback is that he will not be able to go in September, he will have to wait until the winter term which starts in January.  He is not happy about waiting until then but he seems pretty committed to the idea so far.  Hopefully he will be able to continue working his current job at Roush until December.  Here are some pictures of my 2010 Eagle Scout/Graduate!!

More May happenings

Benji went to the Real Life Farm with his class at school.  He milked a cow and said that it felt "bumpy".  He learned about pasteurizing the milk from cows.  He also got a ride on Tank.  You can read more to see the pictures.

Other May Activities

We've had other activities this May besides the basement.  Click "read more" to look at the pictures.

Alex's Senior Prom

Alex went to his senior prom on Friday night (5/14/2010).  He went with a girl from our church who lives in the Dearborn Ward.  Her name is Emily.  They look so great!  The prom was at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi.  These pictures are taken at an old schoolhouse that is just down the road from us here in Canton, it is The Cherry Hill School (that is where we're having his grad party).  They said they had a great time!

We have walls!!!

They took only 2 days to lay the block for the basement walls.  It was amazing watching them work.  Alex told me that we can NEVER move from this house, he now has a sentimental attachment to it, he helped build the basement.  The owner of the business that did the walls hired Alex to move block & mortar and anything else they needed done.  Alex asked if he would be hiring any summer help and the guy hired Alex on the spot.  He told Alex there may be some jobs this summer that he could work on, Alex will have to call him.  I guess it's better than working at Taco Bell!!


It rained the day the sewer line was inspected, the walls caved in and knocked it around.  John had to re-do it, bummer...

It was a cold and rainy day when they started putting in the block, not very good to be working outside.  The second day was better, still cold, but the sun was out and it wasn't rainy or windy.  In these pictures you can see the two big egress windows that are on the back (in addition to the glass block window which is where a bathroom is going).  There is also a Bilco door on the side, there will be a staircase leading to the outside right from the basement.  There are also three other smaller windows, 2 on one side and 1 on the side with the door.

We're almost done!!!

Moving right along...

Wow, it's been over a week since I've posted any pictures here.  They poured the footers and put down the gravel.  Also, John had to re-do the sewer line since it needs to go under the new basement floor.  We rented a backhoe and he did it himself.  They are starting to lay the block today, they were supposed to start yesterday but it was pouring rain so they couldn't do it.  It isn't raining now but it sure is cold and windy.  There are a lot of pictures this time.

Up in the air

Yesterday (Wednesday 4/21) they lifted the house up to dig for the basement.  It is about 6 inches higher than it will be when it's all finished.  I didn't realize how much higher the other houses were that are next to us.  To make room for the sewer lines under the basement floor we will be about 8 inches higher than our next door neighbor.  It seems like we are way up in the air, but once we fill in the yard it will look very nice.  We are able to stay in the house while they are working, although it feels like a trailer does with the floor flexing and you can not only hear, but feel everyone walking around, even on the other side of the house.

In the pictures you can see the ladder we are using to get into the front door.  There are a LOT of BIG cracks in the drywall on the inside also.  We knew there would be cracks, but didn't realize they would be so big.   In one of the pictures near the bottom you can see Tucker holding up the end of the house!!  ;)

Read more to see pictures.

Progress...

Lots of work done in the past two days.  I knew this was going to be a big project, but the hardest part is making decisions about where things are going.  Like the staircase and the bathroom that will be in the basement.  We have to decide that in the next week or so.  The plumbing for the bathroom goes UNDER the basement floor so we have to decide the location now, and the staircase may determine where the beams go that support the house.  John wants a circular staircase going into the basement, that would be cool.  Click the "read more" to see the pictures.

Day 1

We are having a basement put in under the house.  The current foundation (a crawl space) is falling apart and it is a muddy, yukky mess under there.  John can't go under there in the spring because it is so muddy.  We can't use the attic fan either, it just brings up musty, moldy air into the house.  Although John already took down the mudroom between the house & garage, they started bringing over equipment today so today is Day 1 of construction.  Read more to see the pictures.

Finally got Benji's glasses

Well I finally got Benji glasses, again.  Hopefully these will last more than a few weeks.  You can't tell from the pic, of course, but these have a camouflage pattern on the sides of the frames, very cool for a 6-year old.