WHAT A SIGHT? WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER IN HER PARTY DRESS AND ACCESSORIES :)

View of the Front - obviously

Living Room/Dinning Room Side

Family Room with Side Fireplace :)

Rear View of Morning Room

 A tremendous thanks to Collin this week, he provided us with our status and these beautiful photos!!  Okay now everyone one on my RH team will have to share the Hawaiian treats headed your way!!!  We are excited about our homes completion thus far, and will make it to VA in time for the pre-drywall meeting on the 10th!  We can't wait to see it.  We will actually be driving up from Norfolk in the early afternoon of the 8th after picking up Rob's POV - We won't be able to Not Stop - ourselves - we will be visiting our new home for the FIRST time since it was a dirt lot with no roads.  And this time hopefully the kids can walk through too.  I want to send a special call out to our neighbor in Lot 3 "Rome Is Where The Heart Is" Blog for posting the culd-a-sac photos that shows ours and lot 11 homes as well - thank you!

THE BEAUTY OF WALLS!!

Lumber Delivery

Finishing the First Floor

Looking down into that Basement!

First Floor Walls Almost Finished!

Phil was good enough to email us this weeks updates with GREAT photos. They range from the delivery of the lumber to the first floor of our new home almost completed.  We were also informed that the home will be ready for the pre-drywall inspection the week of July 8th - just about when we arrive in the area.  I'm going to add a time line page much like our fellow Rome blogger - and future neighbor Melissa.  Hopefully by the end of the week we will have a goal date for closing and I can get Rob to add the count-down widget.

Recent Update

Although there has been some rather severe weather this week they were able to dodge some rain drops and still make significant progress on our new home. They were able to tie in to the city water and sewer mains as well as install ground works (the pipes beneath the basement slab). They installed a drain tile system (a below grade drainage system that prevents water from building up around the foundation) and were able to backfill the dirt up against the basement walls. They plan to prep and pour the basement slab Friday or Monday, and then they will be ready to begin framing! (Thanks Phil, for the specific details and pics!)

GOT FOOTINGS? WE DO!!

Thanks to Phil he provided these photo updates on Thursday last week June 6th, showing the progress on our lot.  They poured the concrete footings and started some wall structure.  I wish I could understand exactly what we are looking at, but I look forward to the next set of progress photos to hopefully better understand what is what and where!

A HOLE IN OUR HEARTS

We have had nothing but exciting news these last two days.  On Thursday as we scrubbed our house in Hawaii for turnover to housing - we got the below pictures..

FINALLY - A SOLD SIGN!

WE ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY READY!

 Then as our Thursday progressed, we got these fabulous pictures!

THE DIGGING HAS BEGUN

PHIL TAKES GREAT ACTION SHOTS!

Then Friday comes around and we are extremely busy shipping cars - having housing inspections driving around with more errands then time and this photo of an intriguing hole appears in our inbox...

A HOLE  IN OUR HEARTS IS OPEN - AND READY FOR FOOTINGS!

Phil has advised that the concrete is ready to start Monday for the footings with the concrete foundation being completed shortly after.  THANK YOU PHIL!  As it ended up on Friday May 31st - we closed the door on our Hawaiian home and the ground opened up to our future.

MEANWHILE -

I had forgotten to get into some new details.  The New Rome Model has come out - version 5 I think, and they have a few additions I may or may not have chosen mainly additional rooms. (But that would just mean more square footage to clean!!)  However my dream kitchen that I wanted from the Stanhope model had a double wall oven!  It was not an option for the Rome in January and when I requested it - I was informed that it was not even a "red tag" item and a no-go from the start.  So I gave up, disappointed and expressed to Tina that RH needs to correct that deficiency - and before our build so I could get one ;) and Low and Behold the version 5 has it!!  Not like I've seen in some of the blogs where people requested it - and got it. But nonetheless it is available.  So as  I grumbled to Tina our Sales Rep about this - And of course in her Awesomeness she came through!  It took about 2 or more weeks, but a DREAM KITCHEN will be ours!  I even went with the all out appliance package and changed to gas to complete the deal - I know it will be beautiful and so functional!  Did it cost me ---- Of Course, nothing is free these days, and I took my husbands patio money to get it, that means I OWE HIM! :) And he must REALLY LOVE ME!!!

NEW KITCHEN LAYOUT

OUR APPLIANCE CHOICES

PERMITTED TO PROCEED!

PERMIT IN HAND!

So we got a GREAT email from Phil our PM - He has the permit and is scheduled to start the ground preparations on Tuesday and break ground by Thursday, May 30th!  Ironically it is the same day we move out of our house here in Hawaii.  Our PM gave us a prospective Pre-Settlement date of 14 August.  We are looking for his more detailed timeline next week. We are going to start our count down calendar when we have the information.  My calculations put the pre-drywall inspection about 5-6 weeks from now - we may actually be in the DC Metro area by then.  

Progress Report

YAY!! We have a street now.  Our Lot is on right side looking at the first picture of the cul de sac where the pile of rocks are in gutter.

Let me begin with a BIG THANKS! to Tina our SR for the updated lot pics.  Now, there has been some breakthroughs in the development of our house.. During our Pre con meeting we were told that our house was originally the 3rd house to break ground based on the date of application of applicants.. which is fine with us..  We were more interested in the June/July completion date when we first started this adventure.. Well, of course the delays are now starting to pile on and with them the anxiety starts to fill us up emotionally.  We were told during the pre con meeting that 1 May would be our ground breaking day.  Since then it has been pushed back due to permits and developer backlog and such.  We then discovered from our SR that our delivery/closing will now be pushed back into mid Aug.. ACK!!!!!  That was not what we wanted to hear, as we are now pushing into the new school year for the kids.. We will basically be moving into the house during one week and the kids starting school the next week.. Not to mention that we will have to extend our stay with my brother-in-law and his family until we can move in.  This just went from staying with them for less than a month, to close to 2 months.  Talk about inconvenience. And they live in Crofton MD, which is at least an hour to our new neighborhood in Aquia, VA.  Its probably a good thing I am military retired, so I don't have to worry about work, but Darla will have some commuting to do in the first month of reporting to her next command.  I will say that I am very appreciative that we can afford to be in a house like this and have family to help us out during this time.

Another interesting development.  Last week, we requested and explanation from our SR or PM regarding the delay in construction and also expressed our concerns, they explained they developers delay in permits, and that our house will now be the first to be built on the street because the first two neighbors had to pull out of the process... sigh!  While I am happy that the house is starting to be built soon, I not sure how happy I am to be the first to be built because that means construction will be going on for probably the next year on our street and the adjacent street behind us.  Pros and Cons I suppose.  Darla is more concerned with our move in date - to worry about construction on the street...easy for her, she will go to work and not be bothered by early morning construction noises!

I do know that one of our neighbors is getting anxious as well at "Lot 3" and she has been blogging more with updates which is good because we can follow her progress as well.  I believe her house is next to be started after ours based on her timeline listed in her blog.  Melissa, thanks for keeping up the great posts, especially ones with pics of the neighborhood:)

As of now, I really don't know exactly what day they will "break-ground".  I am hopeful it will be during the week of 6 May, but I wont be surprised if its the week after.