We Passed!!!!

We had our final inspection for the house today and WE PASSED!!

We literally worked until dark again yesterday trying to get all of our railings for the deck done before the inspection this morning.  Josh welded and set the handrail going down the steps.  He is pretty darn handy--thank goodness!!  We were also lucky to have help from our dads and my uncle over the weekend. 

We still have a few final steps to walk through with the bank for our loan, but I am very relieved to have the inspections all done!  Now we just have a few finishing touches we can complete at our own pace, cleaning, and moving in (for real this time).  Finally opening all of our boxes will seem like Christmas.  Although we are excited, we are planning on taking our time unpacking.  The first step will be moving all of the tools out of the house and into the garage.  Our family helped clean the garage out over the weekend, so the tools will have a clean home to move into. . . plus I'm going to park in my garage for the first time tonight--just in time for our next mini snowstorm.  Rumor has it, if we get at least two inches of snow tonight, this February will be the snowiest on record since 1912.

Here are a few pictures of the deck, taken just before dark last night.

Remember what that part of the yard looked like before?

Here is the after picture again:

 Crazy!

Fired Up

T-Minus 6 days until our deadline.  Technically 5.25, today is nearly over.  It snowed again today, so Josh is home trying to complete all of our indoor projects and inspections.  I heard from him this afternoon and he was happy to announce we passed the 3 different inspections today:  insulation, fireplace, and final plumbing.  All we really have left is the whole house inspection.  The big hold-up on that one is the completion of the deck.  It is very close to being done.  We had some additional materials delivered today, so hopefully we can get the stairs and rails done soon--like tomorrow.  Unfortunately it is supposed to be cold, so I doubt much of this snow will melt.  Working outside won't be impossible, but it will be miserable.  Blah. 

In warmer news:  yesterday I stayed home from work for the fireplace light-up.  It looks really good.  Plus, it actually puts off some heat.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

Josh is home today.  He just sent me these pictures of our new front door.  He just finished staining it.  I think it looks very handsome.

Very soon the tools will move out of the house and we will REALLY move in.  Exciting Stuff.  It is crazy to think we put our old house on the market this week last year. . . and we closed on our new house nearly nine months ago.  It is also a little mind blowing to think we will have a new baby arriving in approximately six months.  Time flies.

The Heat is On. . .Almost

Only 14 more days until our deadline. 

That sounds a little intimidating.  Luckily, we are feeling more and more confident we will actually be able to finish on time.  We have had lots of help and most of the indoor work has been completed.  Along with 7 other family members, we finished installing baseboards, placing window sills, hanging a new door, woodwork and stonework for the fireplace, hardware and shelf installation for the kitchen cabinets, sealing the kitchen backsplash, vent work in the attic, grout and paint touch-ups throughout the house, and lots of cleaning.  I'm sure I'm forgetting other major tasks as well.  This weeks we have had help painting the exterior portions of the addition, blowing-in insulation for the addition, and adding more lacquer to the window sills.  Everything is looking good.

Here are a few pictures of how the fireplace is coming along.  All we need to do to finish it up is tile under the mantle, add the screens and vents back to the exterior and turn it on (fingers crossed).

We also stained the beam that runs between the kitchen and the addition.  Check it out. 

Things are happening in the Messner house.  That is for sure!  Now everyone hope the weather cooperates this weekend and we can finish up our deck and fence.  Think warm!!

We have a secret. . .

Happy Valentine's Day!!  Josh and I are extra excited to celebrate today because not only is it the day of LOVE, it's also the first day of my second trimester.  Yes!  We are expecting our first baby.  Obviously we are over the moon excited and can't wait to meet our new little one.  He or she is expected to arrive on or around August 14, 2012!!

Here is a sneak peek at the little cutie.

Slight Setback

Over the last few weeks we have made a lot of progress on our deck, but last weekend we had a slight set back--16 inches of snow, to be exact.

It has been freezing cold, so there is still a ton of snow on the ground.  Next weekend is our last big push before our deadline, so start praying for warmer weather and NO MORE SNOW (at least in Denver) until March.  Needless to say, we will be working INSIDE the house this weekend. Josh has been preparing a list of jobs to keep us all on task.  It should be exciting. . . and exhausting.