ready, set, go!

It’s been three years since we got serious about building a house and we just passed the major milestone of closing on our construction loan with Washington Federal.  Construction will start in August and the house should be inhabitable in the spring!

I checked back on my previous house building timeline post from April 2014, and the new projected completion date is only two months later than we predicted back then.  The steps along the way that took the most time weren’t quite what we predicted, but I was pleasantly surprised that the start date wasn’t too far off.  Here’s a new timeline and a pre-construction picture of the three of us. 

Bizarrely, last time I posted a timeline, there were only two of us! 

recent photo favorites

 

Some of D’s many interests are reflected in these pictures: books, family, airplane spotting, water play and exploring his new physical strength.   I love the one with his grandma and great grandma!

 

 

 

Deception Pass camping!

 

Our long-anticipated 4th of July camping trip was a smashing success.  Perhaps it will be the first in a new tradition!

Highlights:

• six camping babies and their awesome parents
• three beautiful, shady, spacious, adjacent campsites (141, 142, 143 in the lower loop campground) at Deception Pass State Park
• comfortable weather: 75 and sunny without a cloud in the sky
• two rounds of the game celebrity around our substitute campfire (a lantern) while the babies snoozed in their tents
• a scenic 2.5 mile hike around Goose Rock

This is D’s fourth camping trip and the second of this season, so we didn’t have to buy any new gear, making for a very cheap getaway.  D (and thus Jack and I) slept reasonably well, considering the new environment, and we were the late risers in the group, getting out of the tent at about 7:15.

 

Goodness gracious! Generous grandparents generate gratitude.

 

Over the course of a single week during the hottest Seattle June on record, we received an exceptional amount of help from D’s grandparents and great-grandma.  Here’s a run down:

• Monday – Pick up D from daycare and put him to bed while Jack and I go to baseball and sailing, respectively.
• Thursday – Help us beat the urban heat by babysitting at their much cooler home, complete with a barbecue lunch and a kiddie pool, while I work remotely. 
• Friday – Ride transit in to the sweltering city to pick up D and drive him back to the ‘burbs for another fun day or grass and playing in the water. 
• Saturday – Visit D while I  do some chores.  Gallantly leave with our cat  in tow for the week, to save her from the potentially dangerous heat wave while we are to be away camping.
• Saturday – Have D over for a sleepover while we go on a date. 
• Sunday - Pack a lunch for D and give us a check for house building.  Lend us camping gear.
• Sunday – Give us money for an elevator in our futurehouse.
• Sunday – Give us dinner on the trip home.

We’re unbelievably fortunate.