BIG changes!

The pond starting to fill up. The green stuff around the pond is.....grass!!!! Slowly but surely we will no longer have a house completely surrounded by mud!
The deer on the left is a common sight at our house. At times there have been up to 6-8 walking across the back or drinking in the pond. Ben...they are waiting for you :)

A close up! Ben...are you jealous?! :)

The pond looks about half full. There is an drain tube at the back center (hard to see in the picture) and that is about how high the water will get.

No rain was scheduled in the forecast on this day. My dad had serious words for the weather man! They quickly constructed this tent over their pour to keep it dry.

Another angle on the tent. Nate took about a dozen pictures of their construction. Very proud builders that day...but also very upset. You can see from this picture the mud we have been surrounded by waiting for our new driveway!

Day 1 the front stoop and parking pad were poured. Looks awesome now! You can see how we have been living amongst the construction. The front of the house has been exposed like that for awhile, the shed in the background covered with just plywood is going on a year or more. The new windows and siding will all be complete before winter hits...that is what I have been told. Those who know us well, know not to hold their breath :)

Everything poured!!!! Yeah!!!! My dad rocks!!! My dad, his crew and Nate did a sweet job on the driveway, walkway, front porch and parking pad. They brought in 2 loads of gravel to put down on the first half of the driveway coming in from the road. GOODBYE MUD!!!!

My new front porch. Landscaping is next years project! I'm planning on buying some rocking chairs and a small table to put out here. I just love it!!!!!!

Our nice big walk up to the front door. The siding is a sage green, white windows and a metal roof...the color on the roof I can't remember or we are still debating.

Tradition! My hand print and name are present at about 6 homes in Iowa City. We loved doing this as kids. Conley and Shay thought this was AWESOME!

They point it out to me every time we are outside. It is so funny!

My dad is the best. He believes in perfection and is the best at what he does. He knew how important it was for our house to be perfect. This is just a couple pieces to the huge puzzle, but very important pieces! We love our new cement out front and the kids love riding bikes with all the new space. We cleaned our house on Friday and kissed the mud goodbye!