So close....

Only a couple more weeks before we can move in. Woohoo! The collection of boxes has started, and I've packed a few already. The cabinet installation is complete, and they look awesome. I should remark again on the cabinet moving project. It was really incredible how everything came together. Bernadette and Ben were amazing, and really seemed to enjoy the experience. Ben sent an email out after the move saying how they had talked to every one of their siblings on the trip (nine kids in that family), and talked to their folks everyday. This is a little quote from Ben's email, "Our support crew spanned the time zones we crossed, help and entertainment were a cell phone away." It certainly gave me a warm fuzzy feeling to read that. Thanks again to the Buck Wonder Twins. You guys rock.

We can also thank our friend David and my dad for coming over on New Year's Eve day to help us move the cabinets into the house. My brother makes a heavy cabinet, and it was good to have some extra help. Like good Vermonters we employed the help of Mr. John Deere to move the cabinets from the truck to the house. Jess installed a fork-lift kind of thing on the front of my Dad's tractor, and we were able to drive the cabinets around to the back of the house and put them on the porch right outside the kitchen. Two cabinets had to go through the front door (which had to be taken off the hinges), but they made it. Jess installed the cabinets in two days (thanks again to my dad who helped). It's crazy to look at that kitchen and think that it's ours. Today the appliances arrived, so we're pretty close to a functional kitchen.

We're at the point in the process where we need to buy those last things to complete the house. The kitchen sink, the faucets, stair treads, light fixtures, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Needless to say, Home Depot is a very familiar place for us these days. We were there last Saturday night buying 1400 square feet of insulation to put between the floor joists of the first floor. I installed some of that insulation on Sunday, and apparently must have jostled a repair coupling in the radiant floor pipe. It didn't leak right away, but later, after we left, it leaked like crazy, and Jess walked into a basement the next morning that was about two thirds covered with two inches of water. Thanks to Jess' mom and my mom and dad for coming to the rescue to help clean up the mess. We have a ton of stuff stored in the basement, so this wasn't just an empty space filled with water. By the end of the day things were looking better. Just a another hiccup in the wonderful world of house building. On a more positive, and happier note, our good friend Mike Johnson came up from NH to help on Sunday. Mike and Jess worked together in WY, and Mike was the best man at our wedding. It was great to see Mike, and also to have his help. Mike and Jess worked on trim all day. Thanks to Mike for making the trip.

If you're still reading this entry, I should apology for making it so long. Here are some photos of the latest from 199.

Snowy day for the cabinet move in.

Big fridge cabinet required taking the front door off to get it in.

Levi, supervising the moving.

room of cabinets

The lower cabinets getting set.

uppers

All installed, just waiting for countertops and appliances.

Jess and Mike.