Update

Here is the big reveal - well at least the plastic is down - still some work to be done, but it's getting close.  The color of the stucco came out a bit lighter and slightly more yellowish than the samples we chose - the painter said that is really hard to get a good color match with stucco.  Apparently you should choose a shade darker than you want because it will always appear lighter. It looks ok though and we are just glad it didn't end up looking pink.  Picking colors has really been the hardest thing for me.  Any suggestions for a color on that front door?  We are wondering if we should keep it natural, or go darker to match the garage door which will be brown.

The work inside is proceeding.  The paint is finished and the wood (well laminate) flooring was installed.  They also finished the closets - and I'm loving the amount of space in my pantry.  

Here is how the tile looks for the bathrooms - the tile work is the only thing that hasn't been what I expected.  I don't quite understand how the edges look and how the border just ends.  I thought they would finish the edges with edging tiles, but they just used the squares so you see the edges of the tiles instead of a rounded over look.  To me it appears unfinished.  But looking on the bright side - it is soooo much better than many of the existing homes we were looking at, so I shouldn't complain.  It's just we paid a hefty upgrade for this and I was expecting more.

This week they've been installing the cabinets. Apparently they wait 'til the very last to put the doors on so they don't get damaged.

We are supposed to be closing in about 10 days - I think the holidays slowed us down a bit.  There is still so much left to do:  final electrical and installation of light fixtures, the finish plumbing (faucets and toilets) and water heater installation, carpet, attic insulation, counter tops, appliances, mirrors and shower surround, and the most worrisome - the driveway.  It's hard to imagine they will be able to get it all done in time.  The concrete is what could hold us up the most though - it has to be above freezing to pour, so we are praying for a good warmer day at the end of next week. 

All in all, we are VERY happy with our builder.  They have been very attentive to details and have gone above and beyond what is necessary to build a very quality home - customized the way we wanted.  Of course we had to make some sacrifices because we couldn't afford EVERYTHING we would have ideally wanted, but we are going to have an awesome kitchen and great room - which is where our priority was.

Basement view

We can see windows now.

Foundation Stones

Something cool is happening every day.  The foundation walls were placed today, and the great big pumper truck was filling it all up!  So fun to watch.  Quinn says now he wants to be that guy that runs the cement truck.

There was a great little story in the October 2012 Friend that we read for Family Night.  It was called Abby's Scripture Rock.  The children received rocks, and then wrote the reference for their favorite scripture.  The rocks were then included in the foundation for the Newport Beach Temple.  Since we are at the foundation stage for our house, we decided it was a perfect activity for us to think about what scriptures we want for the foundation for our home.  We each came up with a scripture or two, and even got the kids away at college involved.  We wrote them on our rocks and dropped them down with the foundation before they backfilled.

Footings

We have footings.

Hooray they finally started digging today!!!

The construction of our new home has finally begun.  Digging started Nov 2.  Our builder says 90 days from the time they begin digging, maybe sooner.  It has taken so long to finally get to this point.  It was a long summer of ups and downs trying to get our house sold - it only took 4 different contracts, but it finally worked out. We originally had a lot in American Fork that we loved, but had to back out when our sale failed and then we lost it.  Somehow, through a series of interesting events, we ended up with this lot in Orem.  We are delighted with our builder so far and are excited to be able to watch the construction - waiting for the permit was torture.

Here is the lot before:

Here is the beginning of the digging (Quinn says he wants to be that guy using the big digging machine when he grows up)

Here is the big hole - can you believe all of those rocks?