«
Construction Daily
|
Main
|
Final Shoot Day
»
July 21, 2007
Housewarming Party
Today was the big housewarming party! It was basically a dual-celebration, in part for Tristan's second birthday and also to celebrate moving in to our new home. A few weeks ago, we were trying to figure out when to have the housewarming, and the HGTV producers told us that was all they were waiting for. Oh yeah? They said "have the housewarming party and we'll leave you alone" and so we just picked a day! We knew we'd never have the house totally finished by Tristan's second birthday, but what the hell let's just get this all over with so we can lock the doors and get some much-needed rest.
So we put out the word to friends and family and had an amazing turnout. Of course George, Pam, and Bill were on hand to shoot some interviews, and Sean MacLaughlin flew out from Colorado with Lori Legler to produce the footage.
It was also very important to us to invite back all the construction crews who made it all happen, so we invited all the Lancaster County Timber Frame staff and all the Ron Hawes staff and subs. They didn't all make it but those who did were very glad they got to see the place all put together. So many times the subs see a house while it's just framed and never see the finished product, so we thought they'd enjoy it and sure enough they did! The construction crews came out in the morning, then we took a break so the boys could get a nap, then had the main party in the afternoon. We had a great turnout, and actually hired an acoustic guitarist to break-in the music loft. It was very cool to hear how well the acoustics of the space translate the stringed instruments - lots of good music ahead for sure.
We spent the afternoon visiting, telling construction stories, eating, and of course drinking wine. The response to our homemade Viognier was amazing, and we finished almost every bottle we had saved for the event. Of course part of the TV shoot had to be a speech and toast, so that fell to me. It was incredibly hard to get the words out - so many people to thank for their support, hard work, and words of encouragement that kept us going through so many difficult challenges. It's hard enough giving a speech like that for 60 family members, but imagine doing it with a TV camera one foot from your face. I'm an emotional slob anyway, so I pretty much lost it through the whole thing.
The best part of the day was when we asked everyone who was there to sign the tasting bar. So many well wishes and wonderful thoughts that we're going to leave in place when we cover the bar to keep everyone with us forever. Can't stop reading all the notes, as they are so encouraging and supportive!
Having everyone over and putting our first big party behind us really makes the house feel like a home. Before today it was a structure (although a pretty damn cool one) but now it has a heart.
Enjoy the pics
Posted by
Stephen
at
July 21, 2007 11:32 AM
|
