The good news is the framing was finished last week.  The not-as-good news is that everything else by comparison will be slower and less visually exciting.  There was a delay on our windows  being made and they're just coming in this week.  Danny and his guys already went to start Sam & Rachel's house last week but will return for the windows and doors. 
      We're making decisions right now like which color of shingles, siding and stone veneer.  I have the roofer scheduled to shingle the roof next week.  The house should be pretty well sealed after it's roofed and the windows & doors are installed.  The exterior sheathing panels are made specifically for that purpose and are even taped with a special sticky tape that makes it well sealed. 

     The plumber, Scott, has been at the house this week roughing-in the plumbing lines.  I've also given the go-ahead for the heat & air guy to order the material for a groundsource, geo-thermal system.  If you're not familiar with what that is, the simple version is:  long pipes are buried in the ground outside the house which keep a consistent temperature throughout the year which is much, much closer to the temperature we want inside our house than the outside temperature.  As a result, the system only needs to heat or cool that air a little to meet our needs and we use much less energy to do so.  As a bonus, any extra heat goes to warm the water heater, again saving some money.  The "bad" part is the upfront cost.  A ground source system is considerably more expensive to purchase than traditional forced air but the reasoning is the energy savings will pay for it within a handful of years.
       Here are a few pictures of my parents when they visited a couple of weeks ago.  Silvia & Rose love playing at the house, and having Grammy and Pop J there is extra super fun.

As it turns out, Bonnie is an excellent firewood stacker.  I never doubted her.