More plumbing

I have learned a lot about plumbing in the last two weeks..... Looks like there is an end in sight for us today. Here is the arrival of the super, pipe pushing, mole machine.

And here is the machine in action.....

It takes almost an entire cul de sac of trucks, flat beds, inspectors and such to do such a job!

Success! The mole made its way to the basement. Now they attach the copper tubing to the end and pull it out from the basement back out to the street.

Soon we will have water! Now all we need is sheet rock, insulation, carpet padding, tile work and carpet repair..... sigh.....

(good news- Mike comes back home tonight!)

Love,

4Vs

Plumbing Progress

Thursday was a big day at our house! Lots of plumbers and lots of digging.

The goal was three holes- one in basement, one over the water line connection and one in the yard showing where all the important lines are located.

Since our yard is small, our tree is big and our ground is very compacted, it took the guys all day to get the first hole, the basement and the beginning of the third hole dug. Most of the day they spent digging with shovels by hand. I felt horrible for them.

By the end of the day, they had located most of the lines they were looking for. Sadly, they had to dig the holes five feet deep to get the job done. What a tough job!

Should have another day of digging and plumbing on Friday and water by the end of the day!

Wish us luck!

Love,

4Vs

Water, water everywhere!

Well, it has been a busy week in Springfield..... Last Saturday night, 8/15, at 12:30am, the supply line to our upstairs toilet burst and flooded the master bathroom and vanity areas. Mike and I woke up within the hour and spent a couple of early morning hours sucking up gallons and gallons of water with our carpet steam cleaner. We did a good job, but some of the water leaked down to the first floor ceiling in the family room and we have carpet, bathroom tile and sheet rock damage.

We spent most of last week working with plumbers and the fan/dehumidifier/fix it guys. Landlord involved, everything looking okay..... Waiting for sheet rock guys to come and waiting for the tile in the master bath to dry....

Then, on Thursday night, 8/20, kids and I came inside from playing and went to the basement to watch a movie. To our surprise we found about five inches of water in the unfinished portion of the basement. We discovered that the main water line to the house had broken. It broke below the shut off valve for the house, so we had a hard time getting the water to stop.

Thanks to some great neighbors and the water shut off team from Fairfax County, we had most of the water gone by 1am.

Now we are dealing with wet flooring, we insulation, wet stuff and insurance guys. House will need a new water main put in from the street and we are working with landlords and plumbers to get water going in the house again and fix everything.

Good news is that landlords have been great. Plumbers have been great. Kids have rolled with our problems and our next door neighbor has consented to have our house added to his water supply so we have basic water at the house. By Friday, 8/28, we should be back to normal!

Love,

4Vs

Botanic Garden

The US Botanic Garden is located right next to the Capitol. It is not a huge exhibit, but they have some great exhibits. They have medicinal plants, desert and jungle plants, a children's garden and lots orchids.

B and G enjoyed the jungle area the best!

This banana picture is dedicated to Uncle Matt V and Aunt Susan! The kids recognized the plant immediately from their excursions to Aunt Susan's banana grove!

Love,

4Vs

Sunday at the Capitol

Sunday morning we drove MSV to Regan National for his trip to Alabama. Since we were already in the car and close to downtown, kids and I headed into the city to visit the National Botanical Gardens. We lucked out and found a parking space near the reflecting pool for the Capitol- so we stopped for some pictures.

It is exciting for the kids and I to see these great buildings in person- I wonder if we will grow more jaded about them as our DC tour goes by.. I hope not!

Love,

4Vs

Capitol at Night

As we enjoyed our 70s concert, the evening grew late. At the end of the concert, we took a few minutes to appreciate the Capitol at night! Beautiful!

Here is our view for most of the concert- when you come to DC for a visit, we will have to take you out in the evening!

Love,

4Vs

AF Rock Band at the Capitol

Last week, kids and I went downtown on Tuesday night (MSV out of town) to hear the AF Rock Band play "Songs from the Seventies". Stop rolling your eyes- to know me is to know that I would go to something like this- AND we had a great time!

Concert was on the steps of the Capitol building. The band actually set up at the bottom of the stairs and the audience picked spots along the stairs to watch and enjoy. We had such a great view of the Capitol and spent the whole concert looking down the Mall at the Washington Memorial and in the distance the Lincoln Memorial.

Four of the 5Ms also went with us- kids enjoyed dancing and singing along to Peace Train, Janice Joplin tunes, Kiss, Stevie Wonder, Doobie Brothers, Diana Ross and lots of others... In fact, they may have been worried by how much fun Kristen and I had!

A good time was had by all!

Mary B

Family Room

Here is the Family Room. This room opens off of the kitchen and has a sliding glass door to the deck. If you can picture it, the Dining Room/Office, Kitchen and Family room are in a straight line across the back of the house. These are the three rooms where we spend most of our time.

We are still working out the details of this room. Again, Elizabeth was a great help in furniture layout! Thanks E! The room overall is comfortable and we are enjoying it.

Love,

4Vs

Dining Room turned Office

Here is our Dining Room turned Office. Without a dining room table but with a need for study, office/homework space, this room had to adapt to the Vaughns! The room opens to the Formal Living (aka Japan room) and the kitchen. It will be a nice place for the kids to work and MB can monitor from the kitchen.

Here are the study chairs! Some of the Vaughns are more excited about this area than the others!

Love,

4Vs

Brock's Jump

He is working on making the biggest splash possible!

Love,

4Vs

Ft Belvoir Pool

In addition to the polar bear slide, the Ft. Belvior pool has a great view of the Potomac River. The O-Club dining area looks out on the river as well. You can see all sorts of motor boats and sail boats going by. Very pretty!

Pool also has the floating lily pad things that the kids climb and float on. B and G worked as a team to get on and hold on.

Love,

4Vs

Polar Bear Slide

After church on Sunday (we are shopping the Methodist churches of Springfield), we took the kids to the pool on Ft. Belvior. Kids and I had seen it earlier in the week and they were dying to go and play. Gracie really liked the polar bear slide. I don't think I have ever seen one like it before.

Wheee!

Love,

4Vs