DONE!!! :) (part two)

We're done!! It's Parade day!

(this is part two of my "we're done!" post.. this one has the photos that Robin took last night... the night before the beginning of the Parade of Homes... we're so excited that we're finally at this point! Now we can mostly focus on packing and getting ready to move next Sunday!)

On to the photos!

If you've never seen or been to a Parade of Homes, this is how it works and what you'd see... (FYI, if you're thinking of attending the Parade, tickets can be purchased at any home in the Parade and all the details of the Parade can be found here:  Parade of Homes site  ...we're house number 15 on the list)

Firstly, the streets are lined with the cars of the attendees, who've all bought a ticket to visit as many of the dozens of homes in each Parade (40 or more often times I think).

When you walk up to the house, in the summer Parade they'll have the garage door open and you'll walk into the garage and get your ticket punched. (next weekend Lyndsey will be punching tickets along with the builder's daughter for a few hours one day)

The chairs are set up so that everyone can sit there and take their shoes off and put little booties over their socks. Shoes (and photography) are not allowed inside the homes in the Parade.

On the right side of the above photo you'll see one of a couple tables containing brochures and photos of all the suppliers in the specific home you're visiting.

Above the table on the wall, Dennis has printed up large-format versions of the floor plans and the construction schedule for our home for people to view.

Once you have your booties on and your ticket punched, you're free to wander the interior of the home at your leisure. You can ask questions of the builder (or their representative) who is always inside the house somewhere, and you can check out most any part of the house you're looking at.

Our house is completely ready for the Parade as of yesterday morning.. it's been cleaned up (several times), decorated, staged, and there's even more photos and brochures inside the house from suppliers. Dennis will also be showing a slide show of his work (this is, after all, a HUGE source of advertising for him, which is why the Parade exists) on our tv and he'll have music playing thru the speaker system in the rooms it's in.

...and here's what you'll see when you walk thru our home during the Parade hours....

the lockers by the back garage door

the half bathroom

Dennis' dad began the tradition of handing one of these out to the owners of the homes he built.. Dennis continues that tradition today.

the front entry as seen from the dining room

the master bedroom

the master bedroom ceiling tray

the master bedroom front window

the reading nook in the master bedroom

the master bathroom

the office

the overlook up in the loft over the living room

the loft

Lyndsey's room

This is Deb the decorator's gift to Lyndsey in her room

Lyndsey's vanity

the girl's bathroom

..and shower

Rachel's vanity

the door to the bonus room (which will be closed and locked for the Parade)

Rachel's room

This is Deb the decorator's gift to Rachel in her room

the loft overlook again

the stairs to the basement

It's been a looooong 4 months but the house is finally finished!

Now we can focus on moving and closing on the sale of our current home. I'll keep updating this all the way thru the move which will begin next Sunday and will be done that following Monday. Robin and I are off of work all that week so we can get the move done and the closing on our current home is Tuesday, so we'll be able to get settled in a bit after that.

Paul