The hallway and mudroom have been tiled and grouted!!  Waiting for the grout to cure, then we'll seal it and we can walk on it!

Our neighbor put up the sheetrock and textured the upstairs pony wall!  Now it's ready for paint.

Wouldn't ya know that at the last section of the power line trench there is a one-ton boulder right where the conduit needs to go.  Dad loves a challenge and is determined to remove it!

Open range on Elk Creek Rd looks like it will be a challenging one.  Rumor is that the rancher brought 3 times (240) as many cattle as last year.  If he takes them to the high country they should stay and eat there, but they seem to meander down the road.  Surely the log truckers don't like it.  It's starting to smell like a barnyard around here!

We got a new toy with a squeaker.  We're doing pretty well with the new chicks; I am anyway.  Osker is having a hard time resisting the chase!

Zambit did not survive the impacted crop although she gave it a good try.

We decided to build a pony-wall at the top of the stairs instead of a railing.  It's framed in, and now a local guy is going to come drywall and texture it.

 The electrical conduit project is moving along!  Drilled a core through the footing of the garage and set the first sections of conduit.  It's kindof hot to work in the trench now.

The mudroom cabinets were installed last week!!!

Tiling the hallway and mudroom floor has started.  It's like playing twister when you're tiling in a small place and can't step on tiles! We borrowed a bigger tile saw, but it is not cutting straight lines.  Dad has been diagnosing the problem and vows to figure it out!!

 Whoo doggie! It is hot!  I'm worthless in this heat.  I like to lay on the cool floor of my new house and wait for someone to take me to the creek!

Osker just turned 2!!  He has stinky ears.   We call him "cheese head".

Mom attacked the small pile of topsoil.  She hauled it around to the west side to fill in trenches and bring the area up to grade.  It's dry and dusty, but it's exciting to see some of the pile going down!

 The trench where the sewer and water lines go into the house has been filled in!  We have been hopping over, falling into, and building a variety of bridges over that trench for a year and a half!

That's the mudroom/hallway tile on the pallet!

And.... our first working toilet!!! Yahoo!!!

Humans don't seem to understand some of the simplest things about dogs.  When you dig in dirt you create a cool spot which is where I want to lay, which is also near you.  I don't want to move.  I just laid down.  Dig around me.

A full wood shed is a heartwarming site, especially when your friends filled it for you.

Passed the garage water and drain line inspection. Trenches are being filled in.  It is hot though, so only a couple hours of shoveling in the morning.

 Got to catch up a bit!

The stairs have a couple coats of varnish on them.  One more coat to go!













Here is the picture you've all been waiting for!  The sewer line connection from the septic tank to the new house and the old house!

The kitchen has a few more cupboard doors and drawer fronts, but not all of them.  Very slow process.

A few ceiling lights are going in too!!








The Wheeling College boys were visiting last week! Unfortunately it rained one day so they didn't get as much of a workout as they hoped.  They did move wood from two sheds, to the one closest to the house for us and filled it to the top!  We're very thankful for that being done!

We passed the propane, water and sewer line inspection for the house, but not the garage.  The 2 garage lines need to be at least one foot apart and they weren't, so the guys manually widened the trench.  They ran into a giant rock taking turns to dig and whack at it.

Hmmmm.... a fox has claimed our favorite toy as his own.  How should we retaliate?

The best thing about summer is playing stick in the creek!  We've got a couple favorite deep spots that we jump in.











This is the trench extending the water line across the yard to the new house.  The Ditch Witch had no problem digging through this soft soil (she gets finicky when there are rocks)!!  We got polypipe installed, soil filled back in, and the sod put back in place.

Dad let Mom dig this trench and install the conduit by herself.  He just tells her it's a good spot to look for arrowheads!!!  The conduit goes into the shed for a future sprinkler connection.

Zambit has taken a liking to our dog bed on the porch!

 I skooted her off!

Finally figured out that she has an impacted crop.  We're doing our best to administer to her...

 Countertops are in.  The cabinet guy seems to be avoiding us.

There are trenches everywhere!  Some pipe is going in.  Weather forecast is for a hot week ahead, but it is cooler in the trench!