The Barn - Day 3 and Day 4

Well, if you have been following this blog you know that we are building a gym, but it is known as "The Barn"...I was just told that is what it is called...although today he said something about "The Twilight Barn"  or something to that effect...anyway, on Day 3 they started to put up the insulation and the siding, so here is the beginning of it:

After Day 4, the whole side is done, the top white section you see is actually a panel that allows light to come in...somewhat like a skylight!  Hopefully it will be diffused enough that the sun won't be blinding...and knowing my husband as I do, I am sure he checked it all out!!  And right now as I type this HE is on the scissor lift with Armando...he was very nervous about that, he doesn't do heights...although maybe he is on the ground and Armando is moving himself around...I will have to check that out.  Jamie is out at PIR tonight with the Pizza Trolley...so it is just the two boys tonight to finish up the painting.  Well, that's all folks for now...tomorrow, another side will be completed I suspect.  they start at 6:30 AM...kind of early, but that's how they like to work it!

"The Barn"

If you have been following my blog, then you know that we are building a barn/gym...really it is 3/4 gym and 1/4 barn (you know, to store the tractor that we have had for 25 years and it has always sat outside...the riding lawnmower...that now sits in the neighbors garage)..but you can go HERE to read about the first story and to see the pictures of the beginning of "The Barn"..

These are new pictures..."The Barn" was delivered at 6:30 AM on Wed. July 11...the crew for putting this together came on Monday, July 16...today is Tuesday, July 17 and the whole structure is installed...tomorrow they will begin to put the outside sheeting on "The Barn" (I was told that is what it is called...in parenthesis!..."The Barn"  even though it is 3/4 gym!!)

From our patio looking down and across..."The Barn"...

 Jamie is in charge of moving this 'scissor' Lift for Armando to spray paint all the metal

Here is a good shot of Jamie with his hands on the control and Armando spraying.  The reason Scott wanted this all white is because the insulation is covered in a white plastic sheeting and he wanted it all to look the same, not have gray metal strips in the ceiling and the walls...plus he wanted to be sure that everything could reflect the light...

Here is the front view of "The Barn"...the two doors are installed...the bigger opening on the right as you look at it will be a garage door for storing the tractor and other yard equipment.  You might be wondering what Scott's job is in this part of  "The Barn" raising...well, he is in charge of making sure the paint is available for the painter and putting the tubing into another bucket when it is needed...he doesn't do heights!

Armando is someone we found who painted some of our interior walls and ceiling in our house and he stained all the wood window casings in our house...then he went over to Dina's house and painted three bedrooms and did a distress paint look on all their kitchen cabinets to update the room since we had it for almost 30 years!  We love Armando...he is such a great worker and the nicest guy you could know!

So I will be back tomorrow for an update...I believe we will see some walls!!

Father's Day 2012

We mostly had sun...and Caleb was racing in a Motocross at a place called Mountain View in Sandy, Oregon.  I called Dad to see if he was free to join us for the afternoon and watch Caleb race...So we picked him up and had a nice drive and met the Prueitt's there...

Aaron thinks he is quite clever with this little caption on his trailer!!

Caleb posing for me before he heads down the hill to the starting line up for the race...he is Number 8

They have a few benches built into the hillside for public viewing of the track...here is Dad, Lacey, Addie, (her friend) Aaron, holding Tristan

View from the bench...can't see all of the track and certainly not the height of the jumps!

It was a fun day to cheer him on...he came in third in both races we watched...then we all met at a local restaurant for a Father's Day dinner...we sure enjoyed the day with the Prueitts and my Dad!  What a blessing it is to have a fun family!

Caleb's arm....all healed, mostly

New shoes, but the arm cast is what I am showcasing

After the cast was 'sawed' off. we can see the pins in his arm...they were about 4 inches long

The doctor grabbed them with something like tweezers and had to tug and pull and twist and then they finally came out...pretty disgusting hand and arm!                   

Caleb is now getting Physical Therapy to strengthen his arm and wrist...it is helping a lot.  Of course his motivation is to be able to get back on the bike!  And he was finally given the green light by the doctor...so he raced last Thursday at PIR and again this last Sunday (Father's day)...he can tell it is still a little weak, just doesn't quite have the 100% strength to do everything he needs to do to win the race!

have I told you we are building a GYM?

...in our backyard?  well, technically it is the "neighbors" (*wink*) backyard!!!  Yes, you read right...a GYM plus there will be a little room for the tractor and a riding lawn mower...and I think even a room for the exercise equipment that is currently in the office at the neighbors!

This project involved all the boys...including Aaron who was the earth mover...Jamie and Scott who had to check the level and grading with a transit...and then finally someone came and set up the boards for the foundation...of course Scott does not leave anything to chance...so he is there 100% of the time, checking, rechecking, asking questions making sure everything is RIGHT.  And even then, he is back out there looking things over...checking other people's work...because you know he believes in Murphy's Law...if someone can make a mistake they will...so he needs to be the one to check it!

This day, I get a phone call asking to please come down and help him....

He managed to get himself down in this hole around all the rebar (tying together the rebar) and he was stuck...fortunately he did have his cell and called me...with a little hand holding and maneuvering, he managed to get out and the first thing he said was:  "Pouring our foundation and Getting rid of YOUR Biggest Problem!"  (meaning himself!!  ha ha...he thought he was quite clever with that little bit of prose!...because YES, if you ask any of the workers (or the sons-in-law) HE is the biggest problem of all!!!  LOL!!

After getting out of the hole, (which was actually just a huge space that was getting filled with cement for a footing...super big, to support the building)he is standing on the pad...there is about 8 inches of gravel under this plastic liner...you wouldn't believe all that goes into building this gym!

Then came the day of the pouring of the cement...alarm clock set for 3:30 AM...10 (TEN) cement trucks lined up in our field and on the road at 3:45 and the action started...we ended up using 15 truck loads of cement!!  I popped my head up off the pillow around 4:30 AM (no window covering...but hey, we are out in the country!) and with it being pitch dark outside, it looked like an alien landing station with the headlights of all the cement trucks lined up in a row in the field...

The sun is just coming up, making it a little lighter...the pad is to the left

Here is the last of the cement being poured

And finally, this is the coolest piece of equipment...it can go over the cement and is used to smooth out the cement...in the "olden" days, they had LONG trowels...this is so neat, it gets lifted up on a platform to keep it stable while it pulls the cement and finishes it off...to get this off the pad,  a back hoe had to come and lift it like a crane!

We are now into our third week of curing this cement pad, and weren't we lucky that it has rained so much!!  ha ha...we did put a sprinkler on it (two actually...it is a gym after all!) and have kept it wet...I will keep you posted...July 11th the building is suppose to be delivered and a crew will be here to put it up...they figured two weeks to raise the building!!  So stay tuned for more pictures as this becomes a work in progress!  The kids can hardly wait to start playing in it...it will be big enough for both a volleyball and a basketball court!

Continuing the month of May

Our group has diminished...life goes on...this year we are without Elsa...so sad.  We are also without Dina and Ellie for our Mother's Day Luncheon at our church.  Ellie had a big two day volleyball tournament in Corvallis so the Snook's spent the Mother's day weekend down there.  Lily  asked if she could stay with me and go to the luncheon...she even won a cake in the "cake walk"!  Lacey and Addie joined us...this was the first year for Addie and she did really well...she will be invited back again!  We had an awesome speaker who talked of her addiction to alcohol and how all her friends rallied around to get her the help she needed...she was such an inspirational speaker and shared that there is indeed HOPE and the one verse that was used during the speech was from Philippians 4:13  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  All we need to do is remember to trust in Him and to lean on Him...He will take care of us!

Tristan's 3rd Birthday Celebration

We had a big turn out for Tristan's birthday part...and he had a fun day playing with his cousins.  You will not believe what he got for his birthday...as a grandma, it is concerning, it is even for Lacey...but the Dad could not be talked out of it...so you can probably guess....here is a picture:

Can you guess what his "big" present was?

what a surprise when Daddy wheeled in this bike!

I am sure Lily  asked Tristan want he wanted painted on his face and he said, "a fish!"

Lily face painted the number "3" on Tristan's cheek

Papa Ben and Tristan

Getting ready to blow out his three candles!

Do you see the smoke coming out the back of the bike?  The little guy kept revving the motor by turning his right wrist back and forth...he was loving that!  So do you see my concern?  Do you feel my pain?  Caleb already has a broken arm doing this sport, Aaron broke his collar bone and 4 ribs last September...need I say more?  Lacey will have to be the one who watches over this and makes sure he is always safe...always wearing his protective gear...fortunately the bike cannot go too fast, Aaron has it worked out that way...we will make sure he practices a lot on a grassy area in case he falls...a soft landing.  Why can't these kids play baseball? 

Well, it was still a happy day...the sun was shining the kiddos were outside playing, we had pizza, salad and then of course the cake!  Yummm..