Final stages of reconstruction!

The house is in its final stages of reconstruction and we are MOVING IN on FRIDAY!!!
What a great BIRTHDAY present!?!

Here's some shots of the recent progress and every day more and more is complete.

We needed to paint all the closet doors because somehow they got overlooked, so mom and I did some painting yesterday. Now they are beautiful and white.We had the family over to see all the progress. The Herndons were pretty impressed with the progress since they've been out of town. Adam has a bet with his Dad as to whether we would be moved in by his birthday (October 14th), and it looks like he may be winning a round of golf.

Just look at that GRIN!

Here are some new finishing touches...

The future fridge
All the crown molding is now up around the downstairs. It is such a nice finishing touch.

The downstairs floor is now half done and will be finished sometime tomorrow.

The bathroom floors and new toilets are also in place.

It all looks so nice and new and today the counter tops went in too! (pictures coming later)

AND the OUTSIDE!!! New numbers and lights

The back of the house had seen quite the transformation...check it out!

It is all so close to being finished.

I can't wait to share more pictures of the last details.

New house here we come!

Extreme Home Makeover-TRANSFORMATIONS

There have been some extreme transformations that have taken place at the house over the past week and a half. I will try to line up some pictures that give you the earlier stages followed by their new and improved stages. Some areas are still being worked on, but this extreme home makeover had come a LONG way! With no further ado...the tour...

The siding arrived and as soon as it stopped raining it began going up.The new windows have all been installed as well. No more torn screens or broken panes!
Come on in...our new front door.

We had the house replastered last weekend because there were so many walls that had new drywall or holes that most of the house needed it. We had also peeled the popcorn off the ceilings last weekend, so the ceilings got plastered. This really helped the house look NEW! Here's that transformation...

While the plaster guys were hard at work, a bunch of us got together to do what we could around the house. Thanks everyone for lending a helping hand! Haley, Robin and I primed and painted our dining rooms future crown molding, which my mom found new on craigs list in a variety of colors...but the price was right!

Then from NO windows and new plaster... to new windows and paint.

The red in the kitchen and dining room coordinate with the new couches that are coming for the living room. I'm hoping it will create a nice flow throughout the space downstairs since it's a pretty open layout.

Doesn't a little plaster and paint go a LONG way!?

Just wait till the kitchen cabinets go in this weekend.

This is what our new cabinets look like below.

The first one has been installed in the half-bath downstairs and the upstairs bathrooms' and kitchen's will all match.

Some bathroom improvements as well!
The plaster guys even stripped the hall ceiling and painted.

We had no idea how to rig something tall enough to get that work done!So those are many of the interior transformations...

Then last weekend while the women painted inside, the men did manly work on the yard. Adam, Everette and Nima ground out FOUR stumps themselves! They rented a stump grinder at Home Depot and went to work getting rid of the stumps that were left when we cut down a number of trees that were leaning on the house and creating a lot of problems.

The house has come a LONG way! I cannot wait to share the progress over the next week. We are keeping our fingers crossed to move in at the beginning of October as long as there are NO MORE SURPRISES (remember rotten back wall). This could mean that we would have our house in a POD back very soon! It is all very exciting!

A Norfolk Visit

Labor Day weekend was ODU's first football game in years. Lucky for OSL, Dan and Lisa live a block from the stadium and they invited a bunch of us over for a tailgate. A few wondered over to the stadium at half time and were actually able to get in to watch the remainder of the inaugural game.

In the midst of tailgating, a few of us took a break to take a ride over to the new Gage residence. What a cute house!

Congrats Austin and Courtney, I can't wait to see how you create your new home together.We even grabbed a few shots on their porch swing.

All I have to say is that it is very convient having the Gages and the Mazzios living only a mile from each other.