Easter Weekend in Pickwick

Over the Easter weekend we celebrated William's 25th birthday with some family and friends. Nothing too fancy, just a casual night at The Rib Cage in Pickwick. The next morning we got up early for breakfast at church before Easter services, then came home to enjoy the long afternoon.

Ami & Ty 

Dustin & Nicole 

Christian & William 

Daniel, Kimberly & Nick 

William, Daniel & Christian (What a cool kid!) 

The whole bunch 

Easter Sunday at home 

Landon tried to sit still long enough for a picture 

She's finally starting to look pregnant!

Baby Reveal Party

A few weeks ago we had our "reveal party" - that is, we invited a bunch of folks over to let them know whether we were having a boy or a girl. The culmination of the evening was the cutting of the cake. The color of the inside would reveal the secret. What's coming to the Jones house, bowties or hairbows? We'll get to that later, but first let's check out the party guests...

The cake - what's on the inside, blue or pink?

It wouldn't be a party unless we fired up the Big Green Egg.

Ami, Heather Kee, Jonathan Kee, Ty, Ross Mitchell

Jimmie, Allison & Grace McChristial

Rob, Julie, Ada & Lila Craft

Rusty & Theresa

Rusty, Theresa, Ami, Ty

Susan, Ty, Ami, Robert, Christian

William Dodd & Christian

Time to cut the cake...it's PINK!

Future grandparents excited about the news (notice that Rusty is Skyping with Sarah).

Best picture of the night - William and Brandon Perkins high-fiving because they each guessed correctly.

Raines and Makena (but notice Rob in the back taking off the blue shirt to join Team Pink).

Laken Perkins (with her mom, Tisha) excited about her new friend that's on the way.

Makena, Memory, Raines & Randy Parrish repping the pink Jones soda.

Here's a shot of the evening's honored guest. Doesn't she look excited?

Now the secret's out - Ty & Ami are having a girl!

Dancing With The (Hardin County) Stars

Last Saturday night, Ami and I competed in "Dancing With The Hardin Stars," a fundraising event for the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. We practiced for several weeks leading up to the big night, but it was a lot of fun. In the end, the hard work paid off, because we won! Congrats to the Carl Perkins Center for raising a TON of money for a great cause. More pictures to come later, but here is a video.

No, we haven't moved in yet.

Since Ami is a math teacher, here's an equation for you:

Fired Plumber/Electrician + Christmas Break x Sub-freezing temperatures = Delay

Pictures below tell the rest of the story...

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom tub and shower

Master Bathroom Cabinetry

Master Bathroom Walk-In Shower

Mudroom lockers

Kitchen (as seen from front door)

Kitchen (as seen from raised bar)

Kitchen (as seen from back door)

Kitchen & Dining Area

Guest Bedroom

Guest Tub & Shower

Guest Bathroom Cabinetry

Guest Bathroom Vanity

Powder Room

Fireplace

Front Steps

Getting Closer Every Day

Well, we're getting into the home stretch, and it seems like new things are happening every day. The interior finish work is really starting to make it feel like a house. I could go on and on about all of the work that is being done, but wouldn't it just be easier to show you the pictures? Ok, so in the last couple of weeks the following things have happened...

...walls have been primed...

...shutters have been built and stained...

...stumps have been dug up...

...exterior trim has been painted...

...brick has been completed on the garage wall...

...footings have been dug for the retaining wall...

...shutters have been hung...

...cedar posts have been added to the deck...

...shingles have been put on the eyebrows...

...the retaining wall has been laid around the driveway...

...the front door has been stained...

...walls and trim have all been painted...

...steps have been built on the deck...

...posts and handrails have been added to the deck...

...and (look closely) plugs and light switches have been installed.

From this point on, things are going to change on a daily basis, so I will try and post more frequently. Heating and Air should be completed today, brick on the body of the house may be finished today, the deck should be finished today or tomorrow, tile should start going to down today or tomorrow...stay tuned!