Up!

Ready to play with Aunt Emily and Uncle Skip

Say, "Kate, smile!" and this is the result:
See that dreamy look on Will's face? He is talking about the hamburger he had for lunch. (Treat at Ruby Tuesday's after running morning errands with PapPap.)
The Professor.

As of 12/26...

This was the back as of 12/26. Paul worked on blocking and other assorted small tasks (with Will's supervision).
We'll have a cool over-hang. The day I took the kids to Mobile (i.e.: freed Paul to work 'round the clock), he finished evening them out. He also finished blocking the ceiling joists. But the big project he did while we were away was to take down the rotten boards off the back of the peak of the roof (see them?) Once the boards were gone, he re-framed out the peak, put Tyvek up for protection, and installed a new attic vent. (Actually, our existing vent was permanently shut, so this is a major improvement.) When he gets around to blogging about this, he may have some interesting tidbits about the state of the roof and vent. The plan was for him to continue to work on the roof over the existing structure (the current, nonfunctional back bathrooms/laundry) by removing the roof and starting to lay the foundation for an actual roof. More on that later, because roofing and the many confusions over it are seriously big topics. In fact, if we had to point to one logistical issue that stalled the start of this project more than any other, it would be issues with the roof.
This is the structure and how it will basically look... just needs a little imagination to fill in the pieces!

Christmas in NOLA... some highlights

This was the first time we've had a tree since we lived in Ann Arbor. We bought this tree on clearance after Christmas last year and put it up for the first time this year. Will and I made the garland out of Mardi Gras beads, hung ornaments that hadn't seen light in over 4 years, and made assorted decorations. (Will is quite the crafty guy.)
This one was Kate's (she put the nose on all by herself). Will and I helped guide her with the rest.
Will and I put together this ice skater. The best part is that Will wrote his name on the ice behind the figure.
This doggie is 100% Will. Note that the dog's mouth is a "W."
Another Will original -- with glitter and Popsicle sticks!
My favorite ornament... of Paul's 2-year old hand.
Kate and the Christmas tree, Christmas Eve day. We hung everything out of reach of Kate -- she loved messing up the garland and we didn't want to give her much opportunity to get involved with anything else.
After Santa's visit, in the wee hours Christmas morning. The doggie rocker was for Kate and the Black-n-Decker workbench for Will. Both were huge hits. Other treats: Will gave Kate an animal hospital set, Kate got a Baby Stella doll, Will got a talking and racing Lightening McQueen (even Kate can program it; she is alarmingly brilliant) and we all got pajamas. Santa brought both kids Ugly Dolls and they are great (Will LOVES his "Big Toe" and has been taking it everywhere.) Paul and I had some big exciting items, too... a camera lens (for me) and a tile saw (for Paul).
Below, sometime Christmas morning. We opened presents slowly and in waves, finishing some the following day. Here, Paul is asleep on the floor while PapPap and Kate play with the animal hospital (a gift picked out for Kate by Will, "because Kate likes gatos").
Will working on his workbench.
Will colored the ornament below last year.
Granna and Kate open up the Baby Stella doll.
It was so nice to be home for Christmas, even if the day was crazy. It will be very hard to take down the tree!

Attempts for a Holiday Family Photo...

Kate on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Day, they put on the ceiling and roofing joists.

Does the view seem wider than previous pictures? There is a reason, but more on that later.


The photo below is to demonstrate Paul's flipping around the roof. The rest is a little lagniappe.





These are what he's nailing the boards into. Hurricane protection.






Nice view if we were going to have a second story. (We're not.)











They finished the roof after dark -- or really, just throwing the last beams up. (Getting them up was something Paul couldn't do by himself, so they cut and got them up while Paul had help.) Paul finished nailing them all down the next day.