May 26, 2008

A "Memorial" Day






Yesterday, Kimberly and I came home from her parent's cabin in Wisconsin to the sound of the weather radio going off, warning us we had about 15 minutes to batten down the hatches before a severe thunderstorm hit us. It was the worst one I've seen in 3 years out here in Minnesota. We watched a rain wrapped tornado pass about 3 miles south of us and then endured at least 15 minutes of severe hail, some stones as big as golf balls. Here are some pictures and videos. The damage pictures are from just west of where the tornado hit and the worst damage is, probably where the funnel cloud was just getting ready to touch down. In the very first picture, just to the right of the tree is the tornado. I watched the video this still was taken from frame by frame and that is definitely it:

May 18, 2008

Update: Becoming Minnesotan



Got my first gun this last Monday. Special thanks to my wife for permission! It sat in a case in the attic all week waiting to be fired, and finally got it's first exercise on Saturday afternoon. My brother Danny and my Mom were out visiting for the weekend, and Danny and I went with my brother-in-law Aaron to a local farm to go shooting. It was a gorgeous day and we popped off over 250 rounds between the 3 of us. Here is the brilliant piece of firearm that Kimberly has taken to calling "Big Daddy":

Final interior phase of the loft conversion: COMPLETE!!!

Sophia finally got her new room 2 weeks ago. What used to be the loft is now officially a 3rd bedroom, and now it belongs to Sophia. She was sooooo excited! For all intents and purposes, the room is done. There are a couple of minor touch up items that have to be finished, but that is it. Then, I just have to finish the the exterior of the room over the stairwell. It feels good to get this much done, though.

May 5, 2008

Final Stages of Loft Conversion




The conversion of our loft into a 3rd bedroom, which began about a year ago, is entering it's final stages. Yesterday it took a couple more steps towards final completion with the installation of closet doors and an entry door casing. Last week, the finishing drywall was done in the closet and everything was painted the final color. Then the carpet was put back down in the closet and entryway and the floor trim began to be reinstalled also. All that is really left is the installation of handles in the closet doors, and the installation of casing and stop around the closet doors. That will complete the inside of the room in entirety, leaving only the outside of the door frame in the hall to complete.