Our Newest Addition

John and I have been dreaming about building our own home for so long.. and it has never been possible which is fine.  It wasn't meant to be and we were ok with it.  But that didn't mean that that dream would never come true.. Because it now has.  We are building an "addition" behind our house, that will later become the main house.  We will then knock down the existing house and build a garage in it's place.  Here are some pictures of the slow, but steady, progress.

It started with having to move sheds.  We were able to just pull this one into position.  But the other shed had to get pulled and twisted and then pushed into place.  Lots of fun!!

a 'before' picture 

We've been wanting the rip out this hedge for awhile, and although the neighbor wasn't too happy, we did, and are happy!  It's lightened up the front entrance and widened the driveway. 

Then we leveled the driveway and took out a load of mud.  Every winter the driveway becomes a mud mess and we use pallets to walk.  Not anymore :) 

We also had to rip out a tree, which I have no pics of since I had to help pull it down.  So we burnt it in a big bonfire which lasted one night and all into the next day. 

Then we added shale to the driveway.. 

Taking off a layer of topsoil.. to be used later to level out some of the yard.

It snowed... 

starting the footings. 

and then it rained.. what a mess.  John used buckets and a water pump to try get most of it out.  But it took more than a week to dry out.  Found out later that both of our neighbors roofs were draining into the hole also. 

The result of walking through that mud hole! 

Didnt get any pics of pouring the footings either because I was either out running errands for john, or helping pour. 

Because of all the rain, this corner kept caving in.  it was so frustrating.  Especailly when it started caving in under the supports for the deck.  John had a solution tho 

Ready to pour foundation.  We chose to use ICF which is an insulated styrofoam blocking system.  It will keep the crawlspace nice and warm. 

footings for the stairs 

access window for in the crawlspace 

Hope you enjoyed it! I know its more exciting for us, but that is whats going on in our life, so that will be my updates for awhile :)

Summer

Once again, its  been about 3 months since last post.  I think about posting often, but...

So, since the last post, we have been away from home lots. From the first day we left, to the last day we came home, it was 106 days.  We were home for 20 of those days!  John was able to get lots of work in Quesnel, roofing, so we camped out there in our old neighbors yard!  It was amazing to have a place to relax, and access the shower and laundry.  I think we finished shingling 10 roofs.  I helped with all, the girls helped with a few.  My hat goes off to all roofers who do that kind of work all summer long.

In that time, our Sadie had 3 puppies.  The girls experienced their birth, which was pretty amazing.  It was a little bit of a challenge to add a large box to the already limited space in the trailer. But it worked.  We celebrated their milestones, from opening their eyes, to walking, to barking, etc.  They are pretty cute! But we can't wait until they go, as they are quite mischeivous.  They are 10 weeks old now, and are going on the 18th, 2 of them to Chilliwack.

We were able to plant some veggies in the greenhouse, and thanks to our neighbor and friends, who watered them while we were gone,  it is thriving.  We have beans, beets, carrots, strawberries, cucumber, celery, tomatoes and peppers... oh and mint!  We love mint tea, even chilled!

Emmy celebrated her birthday in Quesnel, and again in Dawson Creek.  I can't believe my baby is 10!  She is the sweetest... and has her daddy's dry humor.  She is an animal lover, and an amazing artist.

We can't wait to go to Alberta for my brother;s wedding.  We are hoping to take some time and camp. We have owned our trailer for 2 years, lived in it for 8 months, and never taken it camping!  So it;s about time.  John has been putting in long days, leaving home at 6:15 am and not getting back until 7:30 pm.  He is working out of town and has to go in the opposite direction first to pick up his employee. Here are some pics for now.    All my other pics are on another computer which is getting fixed right now.

 Some crazy clouds at sunset in Quesnel

 Newborn puppies.  They were about 6" long at birth, weighing between 5-7 ounces

Both girls spent lots of time watching.  We had to limit how much they held them though.

A sign Mckenna made!

Emmy got some cash to buy clothes for her doll, and a stand up paddleboard.  We had friends over for dinner, and had fruit with a chocolate fountain for dessert.  

Life...somewhat gypsy style

I cannot believe that its been almost 3 months since my last post.  Time flies.  In that time we have:
- taken a long weekend trip to Quesnel
-celebrated Mckenna's 11th (got that???  11th!!!!) birthday
-had some snow
-enjoyed that same snow melt ;)
-built a greenhouse
-visited family in Chilliwack
-gone to Barkerville (love that place)
-and temporarily moved to Quesnel

That's right, friends and family.  We are spending most of the summer in Quesnel.  It started out with a self-employed job opportunity for John, that never panned out.  Then a friend, who is listing his house here, needed help with a new roof and some painting.  So all 4 of us helped him with that.  And then the work started pouring in... just by word of mouth.  The more people John talked to, the more work he was getting.  It's mostly roofing, which is hard work, especially in the heat.  But both the girls and I are able to help him.  We went home for a week in the end of April for Mckenna's birthday.  And then we went home for 2 days, right after the long weekend, so one of John's sisters and her family could see where we lived, and then we could also get some work done around the house.  We have enough work lined up to last all summer.  I'm sure if we went home, there'd be work there too, but it takes John away from the family, so if we can make it work here in Quesnel, that is what we hope to do... for now.  I will overload you with the little pictures that I have :) They won't necessarily be in order :)

It doesn't take long to decorate a small house!!

Her biggest birthday request- cowgirl boots

Another birthday request- that I make her a horse birthday card

Another special card- handmade by Grandma.  The front cover is Grandpa and Mckenna having icecream together which we hope they can actually do at the end of June/begninning of July

its so special when you get to share your birthday with friends.  I was a little nervous since the weather forecasted rain.  Add 4 extra girls in a tiny little house... Well, the first rain drop fell as I was on my way back from bringing them back home.  Needless to say, I had  a few crafts that they could work on, and I didn't tell their parents what time they would be home.  But we were able to enjoy dinner together, and there was still disappointment when I said it was time to go home.  So I would say : SUCCESS!!

One of the crafts was a picture frame.  So I took this picture so they could put it in that frame.  

can't go without a silly one!

opening gifts.  a mini album to scrapbook!

a special little box made by one one of her friends containing a necklace made out of horse hair, and beads that basically match her cowboy boots

                                                                 silly sisters♥

The birthday request was a vanilla caramel one.  So I made vanilla cupcakes with butterscotch in the center.  Then iced it with French vanilla or French chocolate icing! 

fancy table settings!  Love the dollar stores

personalized party bags!

One good thing about having family want to come visit you in Dawson, when you currently aren't living in Dawson, is that you take time on the way from where you are living (Quesnel) to stop and sight see some things.  Found a beautiful lake/picnic area, and stopped in Chetwynd (known as the chainsaw carving capital of BC) to see all the chainsaw carvings.

John loves the dogwood flowers

I unfortunately don't have any pictures of Kenna with the carvings.  She was way behind me.  But Emmy's pretty cute and loves to pose (shocking if you would see pictures of her when she was 4!)

Hope you enjoyed it!  I had fun putting it together and remembering :)  No promises of when the next post will be!  It will be a Barkerville/ Dawson Creek museum post though.