Working and Lunch With Daddy

Our friends, Andy and Lexi, are building a house and Grizzard Construction just so happens to be their contractor and builder.  Ground was broken yesterday and it works out perfectly that Kellan has become obsessed with trucks and 'dozers recently.  His favorite book at the moment is Machines at Work and it is all about construction sites, construction equipment, and construction workers.  Isn't it funny how some things are just in your genes?  Kellan is only 17 months old so he has never spent any time on any of Michael's job sites.  He started walking at the end of fall so it has been too cold (and he was too wobbly) for him to really enjoy playing and watching daddy work up until now.  So even though Kellan's Great-Grandpa Grizzard, Papa Mike, and Daddy are all contractors, he hasn't had any real experience on the job sites or equipment.  This hasn't stopped him from being in love with tractors, hammers, trucks, and 'dozers.  He has carried around a little stuffed hammer ever since he first got it even though he's hardly ever even seen Michael with a hammer.  "Hammah" was even one of his first words.  He has a wooden one now that he uses to beat on everything around the house.

Michael asked me to bring Kellan out to Andy and Lexi's house site because he would be using the big equipment to dig their foundation.  Kellan loved riding with daddy.

Helping daddy dig with the excavator.

Walking to the bulldozer.

Riding the 'dozer.

It didn't take Kellan long to find the horn button.  He blew the horn until it timed out...then started blowing it again.

We decided to watch daddy for a little while before he took a lunch break.  Of course Kellan found the closest dirt pile.

When we left he cried for the "'Dozer?! Wide? K?! 'Dozer, WIDE, K?!"

This store is actually called Weeks Market but around here its called the Purdy Store or the Purdy Mall.  I've heard lots of people talk about eating lunch or breakfast here but I had never been.  It sits right on the Jarratt/Emporia line but is located in a community called Purdy.  I think their menu changes from time to time but today they had hot dogs, chicken salad, barbeque, bologna and cheese, grilled cheese, and chicken sandwiches.  It is also kind of a mini-general store.

Kellan thoroughly enjoyed his grilled cheese.  So much that we had to order him another one!  He kept calling for CHEESE!  By the time we left we had ordered 3 grilled cheeses, 2 chicken salad sandwiches, a hot dog, two sweet teas, a bottled water and a Hersey's bar :)

Michael will be working on this house through the summer and fall so we will have to make some more trips to Purdy to meet him for lunch and play at the construction site.

Under Construction!

I have said many times how thankful I am that I am able to stay at home with Kellan and how much I want to make the most of my time with him.  There is only one man to thank for that and that is my husband Michael.  Not long after I found out I was pregnant we were talking about what kind of changes we were going to have to make to our schedule and what our possible child care options were going to be.  I remember telling him that I wished there was a way that I could stay home with the baby for at least the first year but I knew there was just no way we could make that work.  He told me if that was really what I wanted to do then he would make it happen.  He said he would just have to take on some side jobs on the weekends to make extra money. 

When he said "side jobs," I was thinking a deck here or there, tiling a bathroom shower for someone, painting, or some other small projects.  When he said "side jobs," he meant building entire houses and selling them.  Not only does he work a full time, very physical job everyday in construction building houses, doing remodels and additions...now he builds houses "on the side" after work and on the weekends.  There is no way we could have financially made the decision for me to stay home with Kellan if it wasn't for how extremely hard he works. 

This was his first project. He started this house at the beginning of August 2010 and it was completed in November 2010. It started out being a rental house for a little less than a year and then sold shortly after. I should also mention that in his spare time he studied a book on electrical work and taught himself how to wire and do all of the electrical work on this entire house. He also does all of the tile work on the floors and shower. There were many nights and weekends that he spent working on this house all by himself (and of course plenty of days that he had his regular work crew over there helping him with big jobs).

Living room overlooking kitchen with ceramic tile floor and granite countertops

Guest bathroom

Ceramic tile shower in master bathroom

His next "side job" ending up being a total remodel on a house that he bought at a good price.  He started this job in January 2012 and finished it in March 2012.  Here is what it looked like before and after.

It is an adorable house and has been on the market for a little while.  We are giving it one more month and if it doesn't sell then it will be for rent.  Here are a few pictures of the inside.

Kitchen with ceramic tile floor

View from the kitchen bar overlooking the living room with hard wood floors throughout the rest of the house

I cannot believe that we do not have a finished picture of the outside of his third "side job" that was another completely new house from the ground up.  He started this house at the end of January 2012 and finished it at the beginning of April 2012.  Right now it is currently being rented.  The renters have the option to buy until January 2013.  Here is the outside during construction...

And here are some pictures of the inside...

Kitchen before it was completed

Master bathroom's ceramic tile shower

And that brings us to his current "side job" that is under construction as we speak!  It isn't finished yet but it looks like we already have a buyer!

This is the house site after he cleared a few trees on July 18th...he dug big holes around the trees with that piece of equipment until the tree fell over...sometimes I wish he didn't tell me what he's doing at work...

This was on July 20...footing dug and poured with fill sand on site



Kellan and I stopped to check on progress after I finished a run...this is Kelly who is planning on buying the house...Kellan LOVED the dog that came over to visit :)

Foundation on July 23

 Foundation July 24

Walls going up July 27

And here it is as of August 4th!

So Kellan's daddy works a lot...a whole lot.  Lots of weekends and nights are devoted to his ongoing projects but he also pops in to see us during the day every now and then for lunch or a snack or just to see what we're up to.  He always makes it home in time for dinner and many times feeds Kellan his dinner and almost always gives him his bath.  He rarely misses a trip to the grocery store and of course you have seen our many "outings" to restaurants, shopping trips, vacations, and day trips.  I think its pretty obvious we're very lucky to have him for a husband and a daddy and also why its so important to me to make the most of my time at home with little Kellan.  Michael is working really hard to make it all possible and we love him very much for it!