Progress Update

So, our deadline to try and have the cabin finished has been 11/15 for awhile now. We've been nervous about the progress, but our builder has been saying he'll meet that date. He's had some delays and things have been taking longer than he'd like, so today he told Dan that he's going to have another guy and his crew do the siding next week so he can focus on getting the basement done. This is great news because it means he is serious about meeting our deadline even if it means hiring more help.

This week we are going to look at limestone for the fireplace hearth and two half-walls in the basement. We're also going to order the carpet so that they can get out there for the measurements. We ordered the countertops last week and they should be measuring this week for installation mid-November. Amber and Brent are coming out on Saturday to help us finish painting the upstairs and finish the doors/trim. Since the doors are knotty pine we aren't staining them but just finishing them in a few top coats to retain their natural color. Our flooring has arrived too from Direct Buy. It looks so nice! I can't wait to get that installed too! Maybe Nov 10th?? The fireplace materials should arrive that weekend also, so that will be fun to get the entire family room done hopefully in a few weeks.

Anyway, one of my favorite things is to be organized and have a timeline for this project. Its been tough since we don't control most of it, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! I know its risky to say this since there are still so many things that can get delayed... but I think we'll be done by Christmas :)

Painting

Today we went out to the lake and the living room/dining room were ready to be primed and painted. The base cabinets were set in the kitchen so we can get the countertops measurements now. Surprisingly, the hay that we spread over our yard last week was still there!

Next weekend we'll paint the other upstairs rooms and put the rock on the fireplace. If we have time we'll finish the trim boards too. We are looking for volunteers for the next couple of weekends if anyone is available and wants to come to the lake to help out! We'll have lots of food, and once its done this winter we'll host a big party too for all our helpers :) So, if you're good at painting or have time to come over to hang out with us while we work, let us know.

Oh, and another school note.. we made it into our class and we've already joined the group for the big final project. Dan and I are in the same group and we have two other students who so far seem really eager to work hard, so that is great!

School

As our small group knows, we've been really worried this week about getting into the final course we need to graduate with our MBA's in December. Well, I got a call this afternoon and they squeezed both Dan and I into an online course in the same section! What an answer to prayer. There was availability at a St. Louis Park campus, but with my travel schedule I would have had to miss a few weeks of class and in an 8 week course that is not good. We've heard this class takes between 30-40 hours of your time each week so needless to say its going to be a busy fall. But, in January we're going to be very excited to take some much needed time off after this hectic school and cabin-building pace. I don't think we'll be going back for our Doctorate degree anytime soon.

The cabin is going ok. Our builder fell last week and landed on his cell phone so we couldn't get a hold of him for a few days. He felt worse on Friday and ended up being in the hospital for a few days with a deep hip bone bruise and bruised kidneys. He's back now but that did put us behind. Last weekend Dan and I brought out 5 hay bales to lay on the yard since we won't be planting grass seed until the spring. The county doesn't want too much run off in the winter. This weekend we'll be doing more painting, but we won't be taking off time next week to be out there. Its a combination of my travel schedule for work and also wanting to utilize our weekends more instead of taking off vacation days. So, if anyone has a Saturday or Sunday and wants to come out to the lake and help there is lots of painting, staining of trim boards, putting together IKEA cabinets to do :)

Tiling is done!

It was a good thing our projects this week were inside - I can't believe how rainy it has been! Today we finished up grouting the upstairs bathroom tub, the master shower and floor. We also used every last ounce of effort to pull in the dock up our hill for the winter. Next year I think a winch would be a good investment!

Tiling was the project we were the most nervous for, so we are very glad we are done! Well, I guess we are still tiling the guest bathroom downstairs and the top of the whirlpool tub, but those are much smaller projects. Painting is much more up my alley :)

Tuesday's progress

Today we were able to finish tiling both bathroom's upstairs and start on the grout work. It was amazing how fast it went with four people. Dan and I are taking Monday-Wednesday off this week to finish the tiling, and then this weekend we are painting. The following weekend we should be able to start finishing all the trim pieces for the door frames, windows etc. We're also going to take off a few days of work the week of October 29th - Nov 2nd and should be putting on the fireplace brick, and laying the hardwood floors. That following weekend we'll tile the downstairs basement floor and put together our wet bar cabinets. We have a plan, and our builder has committed to sticking with it! We know dates will slide somewhat, but now we know that every weekend for the next month we'll have projects to work on out at the lake. We're still shooting for a finish date of mid-November!

It has been exciting to finish a couple bathrooms so that when we walk into the cabin it starts to look done vs. wall-to-wall sheetrock blahness. Thanks Monica and Roger for your help tiling! It was fun to have company share in the work!

I'll give you three tries...

...to guess what we did this weekend!

Dan's mom helped...

Dan even did some himeself!

And here is a view of what Dan and I accomplished in only 6 hours on Saturday afternoon by ourselves!

Upstairs sheetrocking

Today we went out to the lake and it was hot! I can't believe it was mid-80s in October. The upstairs is being sheetrocked and should be done this week. We want to get in and paint and start tiling in the bathrooms; maybe next weekend?

Master bedroom

Whirlpool tub in our bathroom
Fireplace is set

Nate and Owen

Here are some pictures from when Nate and Owen came to visit us. Before we brought them to the airport we stopped at the Mall of America so that Owen could see all the rides. His favorite was the train, which is rode 3 times, but we also all 4 rode the air balloons too.

It was so much fun to have them for the weekend. Owen did very well, but I'm sure he was looking forward to getting back to Mommy, Hayden and Frasier. We thought about them throughout the afternoon on Sunday once they left knowing they were still on the plane back to Singapore! Those 24 hour flights are tough!