Getting things in order...

We met with Adair again today, found out that the bid for the excavation and utility trenching will be $10,000.  Which is way higher than we thought, but our lot is more complicated than most as well. For one we have the 122 ft long easement to bring the utilites down and we have to have the guy cut across the asphalt to bring all of them to one side of it then patch the asphalt.  Then, our soil has a lot of clay, so the excavator needs to fill the pad with 2 ft of shale so the house doesn't shift.  All of this adds to the cost of our build.
We are still trying to find a mason to build our fireplace, so we are unsure of how much extra that will cost us as well. Adair does have a special discount for military members that gives you $2,500 of upgrades on the home.  So, we are trying to best decide on how to spend that. So far, we have decided to upgrade the appliances to stainless steel, add a side garage door, and add hardwood flooring in the kitchen and maybe the dining room as well.  That should use up all of the credit.  We originally wanted granite countertops throughout the house, but we have decided to shop around for granite on our own to see if we can find a better deal. More on that later.
Our next step is applying for the construction loan. We are waiting on Kevin's next pay stub and then we will submit the application to Adair Financial.  Hopefully, the process will go quickly and not take too long. We want to make the most of the spring and summer weather for building.  If they start right away then we should be in the house by September!

Here is a drawing of our lot with the house situated on it. This is what we are handing over to the city with the permit application. I LOVE how big our backyard will be!