It rained for so many weeks that it was beginning to seem like we’d never get to start construction…but things are really starting to happen.
On Wednesday, Ainsley and I were driving down 81st just as concrete trucks were pulling onto our land. So we had to pull in after them.
The best thing about this concrete delivery is that it came in Dolese trucks. The last time we built a house, concrete was sourced from a different company, no biggie at all. However my stepdad was Superintendent of a Dolese plant in southwest Oklahoma for many, many years. He unexpectedly passed away a few of weeks ago. So we considered it a little smile from Papa Ed when our land was swarming with Dolese trucks. We are happy happy he had a little part in helping with our barn, even though he’s not here with us. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a few tears that day.
You know, sometimes you just have to laugh at things. For months, both girls have been looking forward to putting their handprints in the floor of the barn. We were told that they were going to start pouring concrete at 1:00 and the concrete should be ready for handprints around 3:00. Ainsley had a hair appointment already scheduled for 2:00, but it was only supposed to take about twenty minutes, so we had plenty of time. But the stylist was late (I know, sometimes they can’t help it) and after we waited almost 30 minutes, we asked to reschedule and went on our merry way. We rushed to pick Sadie up from summer camp and the three of us were at the land by 3:00.
When we arrived, the crew was still at work smoothing the concrete so we waited patiently. In. The. Heat. It was hot outside. I mean really hot and really sunny. Hot and sunny, and there wasn’t a breeze. Not even a small breeze. We talked with Mr. Tom, who mentioned adding ice to the concrete, but we had no idea just how important it was to keep the concrete cool. Thankfully, Shane showed up about 4:30 and we were told that the concrete was “probably dry enough” for hand prints.
It was not “dry enough”, it was solid. I mean, really solid. I was proud of myself for bringing plastic wrap to keep their hands clean and I even thought to bring a bamboo skewer so we could write in the concrete, but that concrete would not budge. I mean, if I had pushed Ainsley’s hands into the concrete any harder I would have hurt her. Apparently the heat dries up the concrete quickly and it was hot enough on Wednesday, that it set up faster than expected and dried out like an over-baked brownie. We tried two different places in the barn and finally ended up scratching their initials and the year in the concrete. It was so solid that the writing ended up looking like chicken scratch, but it’s there. Ainsley was disappointed about the handprints, but we told her that with all the other concrete being poured, somewhere there would be a different place to do this.
And you know what? I bet this fiasco will be more memorable than if we had succeeded the first time!
By mid-day on Thursday, they were already cutting expansion lines into the floor.
We are so excited to finally be making progress! Now it feels like we are finally getting somewhere! Ainsley was even jumping for joy.
She didn’t know I was watching, but she was having the best time jumping off the pile of crushed rock!
Rumor has it that they will pour the concrete for the house by the end of this week!
