About this creation
MocOlympics Round 3. I was paired up with Blake Baer and given the category "There's No Place Like Home."
I had no idea what to build for this category. Check that: I had a million ideas, and none of them "popped." Then...
A week ago, Saturday morning, my life changed. My wife and I took the kids to the park, and then my wife wandered down to the nearby model homes. When she came back, her first words to me were, "If this works out, it's totally from God." She went on to tell me that, if we qualify, we can buy a house in the neighborhood.
As an elementary school teacher, with a stay-at-home wife, buying a new house was never an option for us. We've been looking at foreclosures and "bargains" for years, with no success. But, thanks to God's provision, my wife's persistence, and a city program, we are now in the process of buying a brand-new home!

We've already taken pictures sitting on the foundation.

At some point, maybe in November, I'll get to go inspect the frame. Here I am with a mildly-disgruntled construction worker. Hardhat zone: Got it.

I'll probably have to know what to look for on the frame. I'm guessing anything that doesn't look like a frame is bad. Alrighty, it looks like a frame!

The unfinished frame. Let's get going, guys!

Hopefully, we'll get the keys in December!

There's no place like...our new home!

Like I said, we've already taken pictures on the foundation. The idea is to take pictures as we go, and make a book out of it.

The foundation. I added the meter box and random pipe after we drove by a day or two after the picture and saw those had been added.

There's lots of action on a construction site, from litter generation to nailing stuff.

A little more action is going down here.

Since the house isn't built yet, I used the promotion materials and my observations from walking around the neighborhood for inspiration.

My wife really liked this tree. It'll grow into a magnificent tree that the grandkids can climb. That's going to be my tree someday! (I've never owned a tree before!)



Garbage cans! An air conditioner! I'll probably have to fix that someday. Woo-hoo!

The backyard won't be landscaped when we move in. My son is going to love all the dirt. We won't. I'm looking forward to yardwork. Yes, yardwork! I've never had to weed, prune, mow, trim, or plant in my own yard before!


It will have a 40-year roof. I'll be old by the time it needs replacing!

One more look at the front of the house. Though I'm excited, it needs to be said: I'm grateful for how the Lord has taken care of my family through the years. We've had some excellent rental opportuntities in our ten years of marriage, and each step of the way has come with that special feeling, There's No Place Like Home. This new opportunity is just one more way we're experiencing that feeling.
MocOlympics group page
Blake Baer's super entry
Comments
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March 24, 2012 |
What a great house sir! |
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I guess the accual thing was a late christmas present. |
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February 5, 2012 |
Very nice sir! |
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February 1, 2012 |
What a brilliant idea! A lovely build :) I wish you and your family lots of happiness in your new home. |
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December 28, 2011 |
Congrats Wes! Sounds like your family got a really nice Christmas gift this year ;) |
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I made it |
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December 27, 2011 |
We get the keys tomorrow! (12/28/11) I will update with pictures when possible. |
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October 29, 2011 |
that is super duper awesome, epic, total epicness dude just total epicness it's just undiscribeable. now im spe... (speachless)!!!!! 5 [:)] |
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October 29, 2011 |
Wow! You have done an amazing job on this, much better than I could ever do! Congrats, and good luck with the next round! |
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October 29, 2011 |
Oh my gosh! Houseception! A house inside a house. lol. Great job! |
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October 28, 2011 |
wow! love all the construction shots! congrats on your first house. get a good lawn mower..... |
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October 28, 2011 |
A very nice MOC. Congrats on the new house! |
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October 27, 2011 |
Such an adorable home and so much attention to detail. I never seen an air conditioner unit on a LEGO house before. Love the story too.
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October 27, 2011 |
Ahhh...that's so cool!! I love the texture of the roof, the tree with the ropes to correct it (?), and umm...actually everything! Great work! |
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October 27, 2011 |
Very well done! Love all the attention to detail you put in to it. Excellent work. Hope you have many years in your new home. God bless my friend. :) |
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October 27, 2011 |
Wow!! Really great multi stage moc. I want to say grats on you getting your first home! I can't tell you how many times I've seen the framework of houses and in the garage there being stuff like you depicted lol that's good stuff! All your detail work is spot on, that curve in the lawn in phenomenal. Congratulations again. ~cheers |
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October 27, 2011 |
Great entry! Everything is just perfect! The comedic tidbits are excellent as well. Overall, this is a perfect build. |
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October 27, 2011 |
theres just to say, Home sweet home! :) |
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October 22, 2011 |
Lovely house mate, nice work! |
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October 21, 2011 |
Dude I gotta tell ya, owning a house is both the most exciting and scary time of your life. Wifey and I got our first home just before our daughter was born. In these short 5 years we've had to replace all the floors, the roof and remediate both the basement and attic crawlspaces... I won't shock you with the tens of thousands of dollars we've shelled out for this but I will say, that even with ALL the (bleep) that goes on, there's NOTHING like saying "It's MINE!" Oh, and I'd never weeded or mowed or anything like that before either... you get over that REAL quick ;). Best of luck my friend and god bless! OH... and welcome to round 4! haha ~ Chris. |
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October 21, 2011 |
looks just like the real house so cool it's great that you are getting a new home
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October 20, 2011 |
Beautifully done, and congrats to you and your family! I'm sure you'll fill your new home with lots of love! |
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October 20, 2011 |
Fantastic! |
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White Knight October 19, 2011 |
and a toilet too !.....unbelievable !....Home sweet home..... |
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October 19, 2011 |
Awesome entry. Welcome to round 4. I'll do my best to give you a hard time. Good Luck (as if you need it :o) |
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October 19, 2011 |
awesome entry; love the house! good luck for round 4!!! |
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October 18, 2011 |
Nice creation, really accurate too. Glad to see that you are a christian. |
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October 18, 2011 |
Looks like you can build your home faster than the construction guys! XD ... Very cool! |
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October 18, 2011 |
Very nice entry! This makes me think of Extreme Home Makeover. XD Nice work on the house. It looks very accurate, and the choice of building that house was good. I love American architecture! |
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Good job and I hope your home works out. God bless
Josh
<a comment a day keeps a godo group from fading away> |
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October 18, 2011 |
This is the best house i've ever seen in minifig scale before, good luck! |
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October 18, 2011 |
Excellent stuff Wes! This was the hardest competition I've ever been in to date. I could go on saying how I didn't build well, and I was out of my element, but to put it frankly, you just out-built me. High respects for you and your family. May God bless your family as you move into a new house, and may you do well in the upcoming rounds. I'll be following your career very closely. Very closely indeed :) |
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Wes, there are very few builders that can go toe to toe with Blake and his mad skills - but not only does this MOC hold it's own, it wins the round. You've got my vote. LOVE the concept of the construction, and then the finished home. Clean build with some terrific detail and texture. But, it was the unique curvature you put on the sloping front grade that really put it over the top for me - well done. Congrats, my friend. You're moving on. See ya next round, and again...fantastic work! |
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October 18, 2011 |
Congratulations, Wes!
That is one sweet home you´re going to have!
I can´t wait to finally have an own house together with my wife as well. It just must feel so different. Great idea to build of, of course, and a beautiful execution of tons of nice details. Great stuff! |
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October 17, 2011 |
And that Lego toilet is PERFECT! |
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October 17, 2011 |
All the detail in this is amazing. I just noticed how the lawn slopes as soon as I pressed the add a comment button. Arrgh! |
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October 17, 2011 |
A beautiful build and a beautiful story. Love the roof design on the house, and may have to steal that someday. Lee. |
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October 17, 2011 |
What a neat theme..."OUR HOME"! Complete with the children in front on the sidewalk. |
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October 17, 2011 |
=O sooooo amazing!!!
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October 17, 2011 |
Wonderful work, i like the idea of the step by step.
My vote is for you. Very clever. |
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..... now words can describe how... AWSOME this is. I like every part of it, and congrads on getting this beautiful home. How did you make the trash cans tho. |
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October 17, 2011 |
..... now words can describe how... AWSOME this is. I like every part of it, and congrads on getting this beautiful home. How did you make the trash cans tho. |
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October 17, 2011 |
Wow! I don't know whose creation I like better! Blakes is really creative and weird but yours is about a real life situation.....sigh.....I'm glad Im not one of your judges! Great entry though and good luck ;) |
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October 17, 2011 |
Awesome house! |
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October 17, 2011 |
Excellent model. Can't wait to help you move in! The details are great and its a perfect fit with the theme. |
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October 17, 2011 |
Great take on the category and nice house! |
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Great place! It's beautiful! |
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October 17, 2011 |
What a cosy nice house, you really captured the feeling of the quote, very nice. |
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October 17, 2011 |
The way teachers are regarded in western culture makes you think that in an ideal world there would be none... let's hope that dream never comes true. |
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October 17, 2011 |
Great entry, I know that you will love your new house :) |
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October 17, 2011 |
Your enthusiasm and joy over this new opportunity for your family is supremely apparent; I can practically see the glow that must be surrounding you! Congratulations on your impending nightma...um, I mean DREAM of home ownership. =P Fantastic build, win or lose. Good luck with Mark!~H |
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October 17, 2011 |
Woo-hoo, beautiful entry! I'm really pleased for you and your family too, hope that your new home is a real blessing to you guys!
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October 17, 2011 |
What a gorgeous house! I agree with Dave and Blake, you should definitely keep this constructed and give it a nice home on display in your new home. Good luck on both the final vote and your family's next step into home ownership. May you have many happy memories there. |
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October 17, 2011 |
Echoing what Dave said, I would keep this together if I were you. Especially once you get into your gorgeous new home. I've found that whenever God reveals hImself through a situation, it is always cool to have something to remember that time by. This is gonna get really nerve racking, waiting for Mark's tie-breaker. No matter the result, this has been a supreme honor to face off against a builder of your calliber and character. Congrats on your new house mate. (LEGO and real)
God bless,
-Blake |
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October 17, 2011 |
Great idea and excellent execution! |
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Dave Sterling October 16, 2011 |
Brilliant idea Wes! And the build is just fantastic. You've got quite a knack for Town work. I really like the SNOT windows and the roof is just gorgeous. Great work and congratulations on impending home ownership! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Wow! I think I've looked through the majority of the MO builds for this round, but the duel between you and Blake is the closest match I've seen so far. You both have spectacular builds, but the connection of yours to reality and the astonishing accuracy of this when compared to the photos may give it the bit it needs to edge past Blake. Either way though, you're up against a tough opponent, and you can both be satisfied in the knowledge that you have both produced masterpieces. Good luck! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Beautiful! I love the angles on the roof, and the gentle slope of the front lawn the best, although there are a heap of other lovely details too. Congrats on the new house too btw, i hope yr move goes well. :) |
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October 16, 2011 |
Great build, I'm glad God provided for you and your family. Good luck! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Fantastic build! I don't envy the judges on this matchup. |
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October 16, 2011 |
Great build and great story! Congrats on the new house! You really went the extra mile with the phases of the construction, too, excellent idea. But I'm going to have to go with Blake on this one. It's all up to Mark! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Really well done, I love all the detail! 5/5! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Watching a new house take shape is the best. Having a photo journal of the process is cool. But a LEGO model is miraculous. Funny how all the events came together for your family. Best of Luck! :) |
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October 16, 2011 |
Wes,
Beautiful build. Hopefully this will stay together. You've earned my vote.
~DK |
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October 16, 2011 |
Very good entry, good luck. I really love that house. |
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October 16, 2011 |
nice! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Nice. I like the building scene of the house, it's pretty cool. :D And the complete house is amazing. :D Good luck! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Great job! Good luck! |
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October 16, 2011 |
Congratulations on the house and the build! Best of luck with the judges.
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October 16, 2011 |
Well mate, there she is. ABSolutely stunning my friend. The best detail is that tree in my eyes. I really like your angle on it as well. The sentimentality is a great touch. Best of luck to you and the judges! |
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