Roof, some Windows and Doors

Our project manager said we would have a roof by Tuesday.  My mom went out to show our house to my Grandma and they saw a lot more than any of us expected!  Yea!

It looks like they even slightly graded the front yard and where the driveway will eventually be.

Windows all up top! 

A dumpster is a good sign -- it means they will start all the stuff on the inside SOON!

They even installed the front door already!

Now Russ & I can't wait to actually go in and see everything!  We are dying to figure out all the details -- especially since our layout is flipped from the floor plan and the decorated model (which, by the way, we have visited twice even though it is a LONG drive!).
Russ will be going later this week to check out the inside -- so I'm sure I'll have photos of all that to share very soon!

Framing has begun!

The wood was delivered and framing began yesterday (Friday) AND they continued to work today (Saturday).  woo hoo!  NOW our house is starting to look like a house.  

Here are the big piles of wood:

This is the family room, the study (window), and the garage (left to right):

This is the morning room (will be a sliding glass door), the back of the family room, and the opening for the walk-out basement:

This shows the 3 windows in the back of the morning room:

Here is the other side of the house -- from left to right is the living room, dining room (window), kitchen, and then the morning room:

The second floor is starting to go up! That window is the guest bedroom.

More second floor stuff -- from L to R on the 2nd floor, you are looking at the boys playroom, the loft, and then their bedroom (currently open area):

And here are just a couple more showing the whole thing... I was trying to do that funny camera trick where it looks like you are "holding" the building, but obviously we did not create that effect (AT ALL).  Oh well- next time we'll do it right.

Foundation DONE!

The foundation is in!  woo hoo!  Apparently they are also " installing the waterproofing / drain tile system, and install the plumbing ground works for the house"... I don't know what all that means, but that is what the project manager emailed to us for the "to be done" list today. 

We are a little concerned about the lack of level back yard, but are crossing our fingers that we will have at least a little space that we can create some cool landscaping with steps to a bottom area or something like that down the road.  The lot is much bigger than our previous house, so we know we will be able to make it work for us.

Day Number ONE!

And it begins!!!!  It looks a little spooky and completely something the boys wish they could play in!!

Here is what it looked like BEFORE they dug the hole:

Colors and Such

There are so many things to decide with such teeny-tiny little samples to work with. But here are our choices and we are crossing our fingers that everything will work out with our furniture and our taste. :)

Flooring: Foyer, Front Hall, Mudroom, Powder room, and Dining room = Laminate hardwood
Flooring Family Room & Study - Sandswept
Flooring Master Bath - shown in a kitchen- Vinyl - Armstrong Pinnacle Peak Burnt Henna (very similar to our kitchen vinyl color choice, but lighter)
Master Bath tile - custom brixton sand 12x12, saddle 5/8x5/8
Boys Bathroom - Vinyl Armstrong Painter's Path - Painters Pigment (Canyon Creek)
Flooring - Bedrooms -- all the same "winter milk" base carpet
Kitchen Countertops - Butterum Granite (Formica)
Kitchen Cabinets - fairfield maple spice timberlake
Kitchen & Morning Room - Vinyl - Armstrong Pinnacle Peak Caviar Toast
Kitchen Appliances - black GE - we will still need to buy a refrigerator (and a washer/dryer)
Siding - Island Pearl & Door/Shutters - Winestone THIS IS NOT OUR HOUSE -- THIS IS JUST THE SAME EXACT CHOICES FOR siding, doors/shutters, AND stone!
Elevation C - with partial stone - Bucks County Rubble

AND it looks like something might happen soon on site!

Options, Options, and more Options

We have had MANY changes in terms of options we want, then we don't want, then we change and go back and forth over. We have finally come up with the FINAL list of options that we will hopefully be signing off on very soon! We are waiting to hear back from our Ryan Homes rep on the final cost of all our "stuff". We feel pretty confident with our choices because we already knew some of the things on our "must have" list based on our already building with Ryan.

Here is the list of what we picked and added to our ROME model:

Elevation C with Partial Stone Veneer Front

Sliding Glass Door Walkout Basement

3-piece plumbing rough-in basement

Morning Room

Kitchen Gourmet Island

Kitchen Fairfield Maple Spice Timberlake cabinets and vanities

Feature II Freestanding Range and MicrowaveSatin Nickel hardware on cabinets, vanity, and owners bath

Owners Bathroom Type E with soaking tub and alternate layout (bench) with custom tile

Double bowl vanity in both bathrooms

2 ceiling fan rough-ins (morning room & family room)

5 prewire for ceiling lights (can easily be converted for ceiling fans through attic access)

Laminate in foyer, mudroom, powder room, and dining room

Laundry tub in basement

First Floor - with the flipped layout!

Second Floor with the flipped layout!

We are building a Ryan Homes home.... AGAIN!

We are building a new house with Ryan Homes for the second time. Our first house was a Halifax model with almost all the possible bells & whistles (and bump-outs) and this time we are building the ROME model with only a few options because the house is big enough for our family this time.

Here is the halifax:

http://www.ryanhomes.com/find-your-home/our-homes/single-family/halifax/hal00

and we built that home in 2007 when I was pregnant. We picked out all our options for this 3-bedroom 2100 sq ft home before we knew that I was actually pregnant with twins.

NOW, we would like more space for a family of four, so we are building the Rome

Here is the rome:model which starts at 3060 sq ft. :)

http://www.ryanhomes.com/find-your-home/our-homes/single-family/rome/rom00

We had a contingency to sell our halifax in order to build our new home, which luckily for us we were able to accomplish in less than 3 months. Of course, given the economy, we lost money on our sale, but it is all relative considering our new mortgage will more than likely be close the same (if not, lower) than our halifax mortgage payment.

The happy day we settled on the sale of our first Ryan Homes home was January 11, 2012. Our down payment for our second Ryan Homes home is due January 30, 2012 and

they are supposed to break ground on February 6, 20102. We are crossing our fingers for no weather interference!

We have since moved in with my in-laws and we hope to be able to visit and take lots of pictures while they are in the building process.

Here is our lot with our new SOLD sign attached (we attached it because we are dorky).