The Lindsey Five

Welcome to our home!

2011-12-06T13:37:00.001-08:00

Our home, loving called--"The Little Blue House on the Corner"

Take a tour

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We have always loved white--so cheerful and bright.

Our cabinet maker calls it a dutch influence, we say country style. (That's Rachel, all grown up and quite the goofball)

There's our magnificient picture window and open staircase.

At times we fill like we are floating in space--echoes are common:)

(That's Emma our youngest and ever proud of being the tallest!)

Our master bedroom with our own bath!!!

Eight years of trotting to the other side of the house...oh yah,

now its only steps away.

Don't forget the custom closets--another plus when your

dad is the builder.

Our 'quiet room' where no toys reside and no horse playing allowed or...

The green room (imagine the Clue game) or...

The HT room (That's Bekah our resident artist)

The entry. After years of having everyone enter right into the living room

we separated it and feel quite luxurious.

The mudroom in loo of no closets I found this in a

This Old Home magazine. Each of us have a cubby and I can say repetitively...

"Put it in Your spot"

The girls room--all three together. Its what we do best--things in thirds.

And their closet is the envy of many.

We've dubbed the main bathroom the girls because it was designed with three in mind. Two sinks and nine drawers. The unexpected part is the eternity reflection.

Laundry--everything up with less bending!

One of our unfinished room, now the craft room.

3rd bathroom. What a change from 1 to 3!

Our bedrooms are outnumbered.

Food storage room...but wait it wraps around two other sides.

Our family room. From the plan it seemed so small but with great large windows and planning it works well as our present playroom.

Our Theater. Who doesn't want a place to watch movies. Close the door, turn down the lights and blare the music.

Last unfinished room--Dave's Man Cave!

Finally our backyard...slighly unfinished,

but we love our fence and potential.

Transition from splotchy white to color

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Most of the rooms are this great 'Mushroom Basket'

MBedroom in a darker shade and Girls room in fun purple

Laundry Room a yellow we had to lighten:)HT room in great shade of sage

Wood and more wood...aka the Davenport Touch

2011-11-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

That's Sara again. She trimmed all the doors, quite the apprentice carpenter!

Thanks to Davenport Hardwood Floors (my brothers!) we have white oak floors throughout the main floor, minus the bathrooms and bedrooms. Pictured are my mother and Kimball. I racked the HT room:)

Adding color

2011-11-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

Our four way inspection is done (electrical, plumbing, heating and framing), now it's time to have fun. Introducing the shades of our home.

Blue--I've always been a big fan and Dave has been sweet to go along. It take us a couple of months to convince my father to skip the typical brown stucco in favor of....drum roll....blue siding. Our inspiration, Daybreak.

Dave and my sister Sara, hard at work
and

Wallaa...

Just wait until the shutters and porch are done!!

Muscle & 1st Layer of Skin

2011-09-09T18:00:00.000-07:00

The muscle=insulation. We have the traditional, but in the background is the latest (and cheaper) version--blown in. It was up in less than one day.

From skeleton to actual walls...amazing. In some ways the house seemed smaller as your visual perception was reduced. Yet to walk around an actual room was cool. Furniture is easier to see in place and you can start imagining colored walls. Sheetrock=1st of many layers of skin!

Hair, Mouth & Limbs

2011-09-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

Continuing our human analogy, we have the hair=roof. We weren't sure if we could get the dark gray (it being more likely to make a hotter house), but after a convincing argument & new techniques we did!!

Every house should have a fireplace=mouth. The best part is we got the hearth & gas fireplace for a steal!

There is something progressive in building a house when you get the cement poured. Now there are places to walk and the encouraging thought that someday we can access our home by different routes--a front porch with steps and no mud tracks through the garage. In a way, these paths are the arms and legs of our structure.

Blood & Guts

2011-09-09T17:02:00.001-07:00

Yes, that's BLOOD. My dad shot himself with a nail gun. Now the kids pray for his safety everyday!

Plumbing=Guts

Heating=Lungs

Electrical=Blood

Framing--The Skeleton

2011-09-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

So framing is like creating the skeleton of the body. Our kids have understood the process better when we related it to us. Almost within days we had the walls framed inside and a sense of what the rooms will look like (of course privacy is lacking:)

Meet our builder--my dad and the best all-around guy out there--Jim Davenport. He's not only a great contractor, but he also puts up with my requests and questions.

Check out the doors--got to love them. We found the style in Mesa during a home show and fell in love.

Dad even gave us his personal touch--an under-the-stair playhouse!

Fun amidst the work!

2011-06-23T12:42:00.000-07:00

Since we decided to wait to put all the backfill around the house, leaving soil to cover our sprinklers, it has become a play spot for the girls. Not only is it fun to see the changes on the house, but with a piece of discarded wood, you can slide or just play king of the mountain.

Dual Perspective

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Its the transformation that
really draws you in.

First its a sketch on a paper

Second its a skeleton

Finally it has rough skin awaiting color

I mentioned a few posts back that my
father had a bout of inspiration. It started with the stairs and a glance at our backyard view. His thought--a picture window to capture it. That spread to a gable in the back which widen under his capable hands. Even though I lost a kitchen closet I have gained a view to die for...

Top it off!

2011-06-23T12:14:00.001-07:00

Dave was able to help again in putting on the trusses. What a job--between a crane that lifts up four at a time, to men & Sara balancing to put them in place. Believe me, I was grateful when this task was done.

The Man of the Hour-- My father...visionary, daring and absolutely wonderful!

I love this shot as the panneling on the roof is half done.

Surround 'Sounds'

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One of the best parts about having your father build your home is being able to help. Dave was able to spend a Saturday morning framing the wall and leave his mark or nail on our home.

Now with the walls up, we can imagine
seating in the rooms and looking out the
windows.

Cap it off

2011-06-23T11:40:00.001-07:00

What is so amazing that I'm constantly shocked is how quickly a house can come up. We started the digging on a Tuesday and had the basement walls up by Friday. Now its a new week and the floors are on, both top and bottom.

Thanks to my insistent mother and diligent father we have chalked lines on the basement floor and can walk around from 'room' to 'room'. It even feels large, and the best part is finally going from the paper plans we drew up a year ago to walking around on it!

I'm always pleasantly surprised at how what seemed like a simple drawing is more complex and wonderful. These stairs are not only great but they led my father to a wonderful change (to be posted soon).

Small details, big difference

2011-06-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

While it might seem like small details, the next week gave us a stable base for construction. Pipes were set for plumbing...

Backfill around the foundations (black tar is the weather proofing process). Notice the huge window wells--we were fortunate one day to find a great deal on windows saving is tremendously and at the same time nearly doubling the size and style!!

Pouring the basement floor was the crowning event--its functional and completes this phase. As we watched the laborers it was fun to see them "skate" around with boards strapped to their legs and held in their hands--a dance of sorts.

Footings & Foundations or We have a Basement!

2011-06-22T11:31:00.001-07:00

Although my father has built homes for years, I have never followed the process step by step and so closely. I'm learning each process as well as a bunch of new vocabulary words.

The footings establishes the base for the wall. Did you know they are also wider than the walls and include a base for the stairs and bearing wall ?

With a crew of about a dozen men, the foundations are erected and then filled to create....

WALLA!! A Basement

Just as quickly as the hole was dug, the basement popped out of nowhere! We were surprised, but even more so with how tall it was. My father clued us in to the fact that we actually gained a few more inches making our basement ceilings higher than the main floor...and the reason for the height out of the ground was to match the neighbors driveway.

Our new home begins

2011-06-22T10:55:00.001-07:00

After waiting for what felt like years, (okay maybe just one year) we got a suprise call one morning stating that they were digging.

Our drive by on the way to school in the morning was exciting with machines and noise...

but the real thrill was seeing the hole dug on our way home from school!

This is the place monument

2008-07-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Our latest family adventure is a membership to This is the place monument in SLC. We've already been there twice and have yet to see and do everthing. The girls love to ride the horses and pet the baby animals. We have all had fun playing pioneer games, riding the trains and making crafts. This is a must do if you are ever in SLC.

Visit to the Duncan's

2008-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Caleb's graduation and Trevor's baptism (although we missed the actual days), we spend a great weekend with the Duncan's. We took a road trip to a creative metal/sculpture park and then to the Golden Spike National Park.

Zoo

2008-07-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

We had a year pass to the zoo and went often with their cousins Jessica and Kylie. Once we went as a family in the dead of winter...the monkeys were not as playful but the cats and bears were facinating. For our last visit we had the girls pose in front of their favorite animals...Emma loves giraffes and in a rare experience the twins both preferred the zebra (had a horse been there it would have been a three way tie)

Easter

2008-07-14T10:53:00.001-07:00

A Easter egg hunt was a new item this year, we are typically slow on the traditional scene. After the kids found the eggs we hid a couple of time, we let them hide for each other and enjoyed the creativity they found in hiding them.

Emma's 4th Birthday

2008-07-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

Emma celebrated her 4th birthday. In true Emma fashion she loved the hoopla but would rather skip the cake. She's never been one for pastries.

Birthdays

2008-03-05T09:09:00.000-08:00

From a mother who doesn't put on parties I'm determined to do them at age 5,8,12,16, and 18. That meant that this year the twins who turned 5 got a full on party, decorations, invites to friends, the works. It was a princess theme, of course, with all the trimmings and a cake which looked great but wasn't all that tasty. We played pin the crown on the princess and each child made their own crown. Lots of fun.

Immediately afterwards Emma was asking about her birthday and her party, after all they do share most everything. After 2 1/2 months of these queries she turned 4 and was content with a family party.

Family Fun

2008-03-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

The girls love to read with Daddy which means two by his side, one on his stomach and a great book. Dad's favorite is the story of Brer Rabbit.

We've also enjoyed a huge amount of snow this year and the kids

loved to dress up and run around, even staying out longer than the

time it took to get them dressed!

Rachel

2008-03-04T14:36:00.000-08:00

Rachel is our oldest by thirty seconds and personality. She is the responsible one, motherly and feels the need to remind her sisters about the rules. She is tender hearted and wants to do her best at everything. She loves to get dressed up and has a flare for the dramatic. Rachel's favorite colors are pink, red and green and her favorite princess are Pocahotas and Sleeping Beauty.

Rebekah

2008-03-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

Rebekah is our typical middle child. She would probably be Dave's tomboy. She loves to be rough, prefers to play with the boys and already has stitches above her eyebrow from romping around like a horse. She is very playful but also quick with her parent's temper. Rebekah loves to laugh and be tickled which I love in return (kind of a bonding time). Bekah's favorite colors purple and blue and her favorite princesses are Ariel and Tinker Bell.

Emma

2008-03-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

Emma is our youngest and quite a Mommy's girl. She has the prettiest smile and loves to read books. She could watch movies all day, thank goodness she loves playing with her sisters. Her favorite colors are orange and yellow and her favorite princess are Snow White and Belle. She is a cuddler and very helpful around the house especially in the kitchen. She is about the same height and weight as her sisters making our family not one of twins but triplets.