THE DOAN GANG

Siding and Roofing and Windows, Oh my!

2016-10-15T23:50:00.002-05:00

Just in case you thought I was joking about all the rain we had... Here's exhibit A. That's our "driveway" completely washed out by mud. All this while they're trying to put on the roof and siding. It was a joy. (Not.) Needless to say I'm thankful we made it through this challenge unscathed.

Soooooo- We went with steel roofing and siding. It was a decision that I tossed around a lot just because I was afraid of it just looking like "a barn." Considering the style I was going for was "Modern Farmhouse," I decided the durability, and low maintenance of the metal was the right choice for us. In the end, I'm even happier with the result than I was hoping for.

One of the things we did have to be really particular about was that we actually got WHITE siding. Apparently, the "normal" white steel siding that the majority of people buy is actually a very, very pale gray. I knew I didn't want that. So our crew found a supplier that had a bright white. It was that pure, clean white I was looking for. They had to send back about every type of trim they ordered because the metal supplier couldn't believe we didn't find the standard white to be bright enough to go with the bright white siding. (It definitely wasn't.) So, they had to custom bend our trim in the bright white color. I like to call it #whitesidingprobs. In the end, it all worked out, but it was just an unexpected hurdle having to triple check every piece of trim before it was installed.

Bright white siding- charcoal roof- black framed windows. All the heart eyes.

Jake ran electrical in the soffits for me to prepare for my Christmas decorating obsession. Every house should have Christmas light outlets! It's brilliant I tell ya!

We decided to do a Shou-sugi-ban wood treatment to accent around the garage doors and front door. If you've never seen this process, it's pretty incredible. You literally take a weed burner (or flame-thrower as I like to call it.) burn the crap out of your boards, pour water on them, scrub off all the ash, wash them with water again, and you're left with this perfect dark "stain" effect that is water and bug resistant. We finished it off with a couple coats of penofin oil and voila! I think it turned out beautiful. (Still deciding on what color to paint that beauty of a front door, though!)

Here's our very own rally mantis that was cheering us on in the garage while we worked!

Next up, Jake and his Dad took on the massive task of installing the panoramic door. It was a serious chore. It was stressed repeatedly that the bottom track needed to be perfectly level. Turns out that over a 20 ft. span concrete can vary up to 1/2" in height. Yikes!! Jake found specialty shims online made for just this kind of thing and they worked perfectly to level the track. Then, the side rails and the top portion of the track had to be installed followed by the 6 individual panels.

It turned out so dreamy, though! I've got a video of it in action I'll be sure to post soon.

Next up: Electrical, Plumbing, and Spray Foam!

We've been FRAMED!

2016-10-15T23:50:00.001-05:00

I feel like I need to give a giant shout out to our AMAZING Amish framing crew. We dealt with the most insane rainy weather all during framing and they just powered through. There were so many days that I would go out to the property to check in on things and want to say, "Just go home boys, you're making me feel terrible." But they just worked, worked, worked. And almost always with a smile on their faces. Such troopers.

Needless to say, because of their insane work ethic, we managed to stay on schedule even in spite of the weather working against us. Framing is so exciting because it feels like so much changes in a matter of hours. It's the part that really feels like, "YES! WE'RE BUILDING A HOUSE!" because suddenly it all goes from plans on paper to WALLS. And ROOMS. And STAIRS. It's just fun to watch.

Some pictures of all the progress:

Now onto siding, roofing, and windows!

Build That House!

2016-08-23T09:09:00.002-05:00

UPDATE- We sold our little house on Younger St. and moved to Hamilton and we're building a house! I thought I'd better catch up on our life real quick.
We got 5 acres on the edge of city limits- here's a picture of me being really excited about it:

The land is so beautiful and the kids have loved running around and playing. So much more space and so many adventures await!

First things first, we put in the beginning of our driveway. We had a guy come and scrape off the grass. Come to find out there was an old driveway under there! So, we laid down this awesome driveway underlayment, staked it in, and dumped a bunch more gravel on top. And, VOILA! Driveway.

Next up was prepping for the basement, so lots of digging. Ezra loved the diggers. Best days of his life.

Our concrete crew was awesome. They got the forms up and poured the basement/garage footers and walls first.

Our framers came in and framed up the basement before they backfilled so that the walls had good support and wouldn't shift or buckle from the weight of the dirt.

Then, we needed more dirt to backfill said basement sooooo, we built a pond. Which we thought was an awesome idea, the neighbors not so much. But, that is a story for another time.

Once everything was backfilled, Jake had to trench out the electrical, the gas company ran the gas lines, and the plumber did the ground rough all before they poured the slab for the other half of the house. (Kitchen/Dining Room/Living Room area). They cut big 4.5 ft squares on point into the slab to make it look like tile.

Next, they poured the GIANT front and back porches.

and TODAY they started framing walls!

Yes, ladies and gents, things are happening! We are building a real house! So, move over Ty Pennington we are going to move that bus.

So follow along and I will do my best to keep you up to date on all the lame stuff like keeping concrete covered for 28 days or what size gravel to order for the driveway. Basically, I want to remember this journey. I want my kids to be able to look back and see what we accomplished as a family. Although this has been some of the most stressful times of my life, it's such a dream to have this opportunity. Thanks for following along and give me a heads up if you have done this before and have really good advice (or a really good therapist).

New Hairs

2014-11-13T23:03:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I get these crazy ideas that I have to change my hair.... RIGHT. NOW. So, realizing I was likely being overly dramatic I tried to buy a color that I thought would be a slight change but that would still satisfy my want for change.... needless to say that wasn't the result. But, everyone else seems to really like it. So, either they're lying just to be nice, or I just need to adjust. Either way, goodbye for now blonde hair... it's been a good 4 years.

Currently Cleaning to:

2014-11-11T08:06:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows me, knows I love T. Swift. Her new album doesn't disappoint. This one has been stuck in my head all morning!

Watkins Mill Fall Hike

2014-11-10T22:54:00.000-06:00

Grandparent's Day

2014-11-07T22:55:00.000-06:00

My mom and dad were able to pop in to visit Gideon and Ashelyn for Grandparent's Day at their school. I love that we live close to our families so that the kids have the opportunity to make memories with their grandparents and cousins. It's such a blessing!

Gid's motorcyle

2014-11-07T22:51:00.000-06:00

We've known for awhile that we wanted to get Gideon a motorcycle because he just LOVES riding. Originally we thought we'd wait until Christmas, but then decided since we want to keep Christmas simple and focused on it's real meaning that we would go ahead and give it to him early. Plus, then he got some time to ride it and enjoy it!

Sidewalk Chalk Perspectives

2014-11-04T22:47:00.000-06:00

Gideon drew our Kansas City Temple with sidewalk chalk. It was just a little parenting victory and sweet awesomeness that needed to be documented. Love that boy of mine.

Dear Toothfairy:

2014-11-03T22:45:00.000-06:00

Ashelyn lost her first tooth!!

Halloween

2014-10-31T22:42:00.000-05:00

Ward Halloween Party

2014-10-29T22:38:00.000-05:00

Carving Punkins

2014-10-27T22:34:00.000-05:00

For family night we continued our annual pumpkin carving tradition. I was SO happy with how my owl turned out and the kids did an awesome job on theirs this year. Jake wasn't thrilled with his end result, but you can't win EVERY year, am I right?!

Zombies!

2014-10-24T22:30:00.000-05:00

For church we volunteered to help out at our local hayride that the city puts on. We got to work the zombie field. It was such a blast doing the makeup! I'm pretty sure I was a sfx makeup artist in another life.

We Made a Movie

2014-10-20T22:25:00.000-05:00

Dinosaurs Alive!

2014-10-19T22:18:00.000-05:00

MSQC Family Day at Worlds of Fun

2014-10-19T22:16:00.000-05:00

We had such a great time with all the family and friends from the quilt shop for the first family day at World's of Fun. The kids thought they were super spoiled to get to go twice so close together and Jake and I had so much fun riding some rollercoasters while the kids hung out with the grandparents at Camp Snoopy.

Silly Face Extravaganza

2014-10-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we get a little carried away.... what can I say?

Red Barn Farm

2014-10-17T22:01:00.000-05:00

The kids had a Friday off of school, so mom and I thought it would be a great day to take them out to The Red Barn Farm over in Weston. They got to see animals in the petting zoo, pick out some pumpkins and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. Love these cute kiddos of mine.

Back to Georgia: Infantry Museum & Farewells

2014-10-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

Back to Georgia: Feeding the Geese

2014-10-11T21:48:00.000-05:00

Ezra needed a break after all grown up activities for a few days, so the lady who worked at the front desk of the hotel we stayed in suggested we visit this park and gave us a loaf of break to go feed the geese. He had a great time and it was just the break he needed.

Back to Georgia: Basic Graduation

2014-10-10T21:47:00.000-05:00

Back to Georgia: Rope Ceremony

2014-10-09T21:43:00.000-05:00

Ezra and I headed back to Georgia (we got to roadtrip with my mom and dad) to see my brother Zach's graduation from basic infantry training and to celebrate his progression into special forces training. I'm so proud of his willingness to serve. He is so dedicated and I know he will succeed at all the opportunities that are given to him. Love you bro!

WORLDS OF FUN

2014-10-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

Our friends the Ratliff's ended up having extra tickets for Worlds of Fun for their work's family night. It was so fun to be able to take the kids and have a great family night out for FREE. We didn't even have to pay for parking. Such a blessing and the kids are pretty sure WOF is the best place EVER.

Apple Pickin' Time

2014-09-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

Ezra and I got to go apple picking at the Wood's farm. He had so much fun driving the gator, feeding the horses and searching for apples. They had quite a bumper crop this year so we were able to pick about 50 lbs of apples for FREE!! They were delicious, organic, and unfortunately I ended up wasting far too many after not canning them quickly enough, but boy did we have fun!