House plans

We've picked out a houseplan we like. We actually chose it a few month back. You can see it at this link. I wasn't able to copy the photo here.
http://www.houseplansandmore.com/homeplans/mainview.aspx?FP_ID=f9afc793-132b-4af2-b351-0c1ed163989b

We're leaning toward the cement board siding in countrylane red for the exterior. We've toyed with the idea of geothermal heating, but have decided we'll probably go with a high effeciency furnace and wood burning stove. The geo-thermal is quite an expensive up-front cost, and it looks like for us, it would take at least 10 years to break even on it.

We've been thinking about the layout for the sometime-to-be-finished basement, so that it can be at least rough plumbed and framed. We can finish it later ourselves. Looks like we'll do a full bath, bedroom, family room, playroom, craft area, storage room and office. I'll also include a cool storage area for vegetables and canned goods. Eventually I hope to have a good number of fruit trees and grow a large garden including root veggies that will store best in a cool, dark space.

For the kitchen, I would like white cabinets and a quartz countertop in some shades of gray. I'm thinking of red for an accent color. I'm excited about the island. I can see some stools there with red cushions on them. I'd also like shelves built into the side of the island for my cookbooks.

Sweet Pea is getting excited about building the house, too. Both boys have picked out their bedrooms in the floorplan already. Neither boy has said anything negative about switching schools when we move. But, I guess it's still an ambiguous point in the future, so they're not worrying about it yet.

We are trying to see if there's a way we can build sooner than our original 3 year plan. We'll see. Josh is planning to talk with abuilder he knows next week.

We bought some more arrows for the boys this weekend, since they've lost all of theirs in the meadow. Big Dog needs mosquito netting for camp, but Gander Mt and MC Sports were both out. I'll ask at scouts tomorrow what type he needs and then I guess I'll order it online.