Merry Christmas!

Our real Christmas gift this year was being in our new house. We are in heaven! This is our poor tree. It has seen better days. We will have to take it down before Cameron pulls it down on top of him. It does, however, get the place of honor. No other furniture to compete with it!



We did get a few gifts. I kind of like having a Christmas where my kids aren't running around in circles wondering what toy to play with next.
Ian was particularly concerned about Cameron "getting" his toys. That's why all his toys are stuffed in the closet in Ian's "special place". Ian plays with Cameron's toys because his toys are safely tucked away. Apparently NO ONE is allowed to play with them - not even Ian.

This was a small moment when Cameron wasn't yanking the lights off the tree. His favorite gift is a big bucket of plastic food. Who would have guessed?

It's not easy to get Ian to pose for pictures these days. When we get the CD with our family pictures on it, I'll have to post some, because it was a circus!

Ian didn't get one vehicle from us this Christmas. His cousins did give him a tractor, but it's time to expand his toy tastes.

Tyler got the most exciting gift of all. He got two new pair of work jeans, and a welding jacket. We are hoping to keep his work shirts a little less holy than in the past.

Tyler gave me a pair of cowboy boots. I believe he hopes I will choose to wear them instead of my snow boots to social gatherings. What would the fashion experts say?

What can I say? I have to walk through two feet of snow to get to the car, and again to get where we're going. Snow boots are warm and dry. Besides, we never know when we'll get stuck in a snow drift and have to walk home. NEVERTHELESS I will do my best to dress up my footwear wherever possible. The boots are really cute, and I really appreciate them!

We hope to also buy some shelving and toy storage supplies for our family room as our Christmas this year. Anyone know of anything really neat or something that has worked for them? We were thinking modular shelving would work best for us - but there might be something better out there.

Santa

Every year, the school puts on a little Christmas program at the Ruby Valley Community Hall. Afterward, Santa comes and brings gifts to the kids. About half of the kids are terrified of Santa.


Cameron wasn't one of them. Although we don't have a picture of it, he even pulled a little smile for him.

Ian was scared of him. Although he told me all the things he was going to bring to Santa, including a slice of banana bread, when Santa showed up, he said he'd rather just stay in our seats while little brother claimed their gifts.

By the way - Cameron has teeth now! You can just barely see one of the bottom ones. He now has two on the bottom, and is working on the second top tooth. He really did get his two front teeth for Christmas!

Tyler's Projects

Despite the winter weather moving in, Tyler has managed to finish some of his projects. With the help of Marlow and Logan, he built this arbor, trellis, pergola...whatever it's called. He has since put up some railings - but I'm not willing to venture out in the blizzard to get a shot of it. Doesn't it look great? It doesn't keep the snow off, but maybe we can get a vine to grow up it next summer.

Although I have never witnessed it, Tyler says his father used to always hold screws in his mouth while working on projects. Let's hope he never shoved this many screws in!

Where to Start?

We've been getting a lot of snow lately.

So, we've been taking advantage of the great sledding.

Cameron's not such a big fan.

But Ian loves it.....even if he gets a face full of snow every trip down.

Being stuck inside helps bring out Ian's creative side. He begs me to dig in the flour. He had a good time last time I made rolls.

Kitchen Makeover

Don't you just love makeovers? I will sit through a whole hour of Stacy and Clinton hurling insults at a person about "What Not to Wear", just to see the end result. This is also why I'm enthralled by shows like "The Biggest Loser". Anyway, I'm not sure you can actually call this a makeover....all we really did is paint. Just be glad you don't have to listen to insults to see the results.




I guess I should have included the other wall on the right. It's painted antique white. This is the table and chairs we bought from a smoker. We never thought we'd be able to have it in our house, but my cousin, Lisi came to the rescue. Ever heard of an ozonator (er) (i have no idea how to spell it)? Just stick the offensive piece of furniture in a room with the contraption for a day, and viola! No more smoke smell. It's a miracle - really. Also, we recovered the seats with something we could wipe clean. No fabric for us!

Whoa - it really does look different. Still - I'm not sad to see the red paint tucked away for a long, long time. It was a PAIN to paint with. You could see every little mistake you made. But, I love it.....and will have to be tortured for a long time before I agree to paint it again.

I was just talking with a couple ladies my age today. Two of us had painted our kitchens red, the other was contemplating doing it herself. Funny thing - all 0f our mothers warned against it. COLOR IS EVIL!! But, my mother quickly admitted she likes how it turned out.

Tyler says red is supposed to stimulate appetite, so you may see Tyler and I wearing elastic waist pants from now on. Also, maybe Ian will eat!!

Ian is THREE!

Ok - it was a week and a half ago - but we've been pretty busy since then - moving, painting....you should see our RED kitchen! I'll send makeover pictures when I'm done. Anyway, back to Ian. I can't believe he's three years old.


I had to keep his cake hidden until party time. You can tell he was kind of distraught I wouldn't let him haul the "dirt" on the cake.


Ian got his first pair of cowboy boots for his birthday. Actually, I didn't hide them very well after we bought them, and he found them a week before his birthday. He wore them everywhere. They are a few sizes too big, so he trips a lot. Maybe I went a little overboard on buying them so big - but they're so blasted expensive!! I thought he should wear them for awhile before he grows out of them. So, a few days before his birthday, he got upset, and threw his boots at the wall. Tyler confiscated them for the day, and we ended up keeping them until his birthday. We wrapped them up, and he was just as excited as if he'd never had them.
You can't see it in this picture, but he also got a really nice loader tractor that we bought in Illinois back in September. We braved the perils of perhaps having an overweight bag (it's really heavy) on the airplane to bring it home. Ian was really excited. A few days later, he drove it off the table and broke the roof of the cab. It is now awaiting repair. Let's hope it lasts for Cameron to enjoy too.

I added this picture so you could see what a rockin' party it was.
Cameron enjoyed the spoils of the party. This is after his first oreo (used to make the "dirt" on the cake).

And last, on Wednesday, we took Ian to his 3 year old checkup. Ian nearly flipped his lid when they told him they needed his clothes to be off. I couldn't believe that because he's spent most of the last 6 months in his underwear or naked. It was a rough 20 minutes for us all. He wouldn't stand up to be measured, and I could barely get him on the scale, and I don't even want to talk about the physical check up. Luckily, he didn't need any booster shots, or I'm sure we would have had a class A riot on our hands. The doctor then proceeded to tell us that they threes are often more tumultuous than the twos. I second the motion. We love Ian. He's really a cute, fun kid (when he's happy). May Tyler and I be blessed with the patience and fortitude to resist the urge to sell him to the gypsies this year.

A Little Late

It's only a month late - but Ian decided it's time for him to try on his Halloween costume. It's a good thing too. Another month and he'd have been too tall for it. He not only put it on, he wore it almost all day. We went to Elko, and he proudly strutted through Home Depot, Smiths & the CAL Ranch Store (Ian calls it the Cool Ranch Store....what little kid wouldn't like a store with 5 toy isles?).

Ian Gets out the Wiggles

Tyler brought one of the church keyboards home the other night so he can bring the gift of music to elder's quorum (only one person knows one song). It wasn't long before Ian and Cameron discovered the demo. I was sad after the first jam session that I didn't get his wiggly dance on tape. No worries....he performs every time you turn it on. This is the following morning. I didn't get as many wiggles on here as I wanted. After the wiggles are out of his bottom, they apparently travel to his head. Check it out:

Color Dumb

We would like to paint at least part of our house before we move in: the boys rooms, utility room, the family room and hallway. We want to paint the rest eventually, both to add some color and because we are quite certain flat paint isn't going to work for us. But....I just cannot pick colors. I know these colors in our house could look really different depending on the computer - but I'll put some pictures in anyway.

This is the family room. I want a neutral in this room and the hallway....not white...but not too dark. I want something warm...not really into grays. Is is possible to hide just a few of the little hand prints that'll show up the minute we move in? I was thinking of an antique white - but I'm worried it'll look too gray. Maybe I should just man up and order the samples from behr.

Same as the family room.

The two bedrooms we are going to paint are pretty much the same. This one is in the back of the house, though, and gets a lot less light. We thought it would be the baby room....because it stays really warm and dark. But, we are still in negotiation with Ian. When Cameron moves out of the crib, he and Ian will share a room. Ian says he wants a blue room, but points to green when I show him the paint colors. We have thought about green for the baby room...although I really like this color that behr has called provence cream. It has just a hint of yellow.

I am totally perplexed about the kitchen. I don't have any idea what will look good. Should the dining room be the same color as the kitchen?

I know I'm probably overthinking this - and I know I can always repaint...but I don't really want to. Painting is fun and all - but I don't want to do it again...for a long time.

Help!

She's Back

After a month and a half of captivity in the barn, Bambi has been released. I guess the threat of some hunter mistaking her for a trophy buck has passed. She has gained a good 20 lbs. and is more hungry for human interaction than ever. When she first saw us, she ran up to us like we were old friends. I have opened the door several times to see her standing on the porch, right at the door, as if she had just dropped by to say hello....or to get something to eat, I don't know which. Unfortunately, Bambi's presence is not really welcomed by us. Although we don't have anymore flowers or pea plants to protect, Ian is terrified of her. Last spring, she jumped up on his back and scratched him. He never leaves the house without making sure she isn't anywhere near, and finding an appropriate weapon, just in case. If I ever try to send Ian outside to get anything, he collapses in a heap and cries about how Bambi will "get him".....which may be true. I can't leave he or Cameron out on the lawn for a minute by themselves because, quite frankly, I don't know what Bambi might do to them if she were to show up and be feeling frisky. She can get pretty aggressive. This is our life, held captive by a pet deer. Oh well...hopefully we'll be moving to our new house in a few weeks, which (we hope) will be Bambi free.

Progress Report

Some of you might be wondering when is the big moving day. We are wondering the same thing. These things are on our to do list.

• Finish the pump shack. Tyler has really risen to the occassion with this structure. When the well drillers told us we'd need one, I was thinking of something a little less grand....like an outhouse of some kind. I'm really impressed with Tyler's enginuity. When it's finished, it'll have trim, and be painted the same color as the house. The shingles match the house too. It is fully insulated inside, and will have a thermostat and little space heater to keep the pressure tank from freezing and exploding. (We got some pointers from my cousin Adam, who now has tank preservation down to a science, as he's had three of them explode on him.) Ian said he was moving into the pump shack.
• Get the well drillers to come out again and fix the pump that they installed, which immediately cracked. Usually they say they'll be out on Monday, which really means maybe on Friday.
• Backfill trenches.
• Complete finish grade. No more than 18 inches of the foundation can be showing, and, of course, everything has to slope away from the house. No big deal....except on the west side of the house, there isn't much margin for error. We had a 4 1/2 foot difference in grade, so that's where the biggest challenge lies. Also, there are two big piles of dirt that need to be hauled off or flattened.
• Wire from the phone jacks to the box, located just outside the house.
• Wire cable connections to the outside of the house.
• Carpet the house. Rumor has it, another guy from Winnemucca is coming out to do that this week.
• The finish guys already sealed up the marriage line from inside, but they ran out of a few parts, so they have to come back and finish the trim, replace some broken light fixtures and fix the tub in our bathroom, which filled up with dirt. The water apparently was supposed to be flushed under the house before getting hooked up. You would think someone who does this regularly would have thought of that. It kinda sounds like the house we're in now!
• Pour two sets of entry stairs to the house, and finish and install one set of wooden steps.
• Build a retaining wall on the east side of the house and gravel the parking pad.
• Paint the entire house. Can you believe they use all flat paint on these houses? This is no good for children, as it's not washable. There are already hand prints on the walls. We wanted to repaint, but weren't all that excited about doing it all right away.

Sounds like a lot, huh? Our goal is to be in by Thanksgiving....although that might not be attainable unless we have a little help. We'll probably have to have a painting party.....just as long as the people who spilled a bucket of paint on the last painting project (my precious young women), aren't invited.

The good news is that we got a rebate from the electric company. We got a check for just over $1,000 for having the whole house electric, and energy star rated. That lessens the blow a little of having to pay them $9,000 just to get power up to the house. Also, now we think we can afford to do the final projects so we can move in.

For some reason, I can't post a picture on here. I'll have to try again later. I have a fabulous picture of the pump shack.

Halloween

We had fun dressing Cameron up. He kind of looks like the cowardly lion in this picture. For a week before Halloween, Ian ran around with the hood of his costume over his head, but wouldn't put the entire costume on. As predicted, Ian wouldn't even put his costume on. In his defense, though, he didn't get a much needed nap because we were doing the final walk through of our house. Then he fell asleep in the car on the way to the church. I woke him up to eat dinner, which I couldn't get him to eat anyway. He had a bag of Skittles instead. We should have just bought him a little hard hat. All he wants to do lately is dig with his backhoe, and watch his backhoe movie.

Pictures

It seems like all we talk about is our house....but that's not all we do!

I'm just glad to have a happy picture of Ian. We've been struggling lately. His cousin Karsen gave him a bunch of really cool jammies. We've only been able to talk him into wearing these...and only the bottoms. We hope he warms up to the rest. If they were in my size, I'd wear them myself!

He's so cute! Yes, I know he's chewing on a cord. I thought maybe if I let him play with it for awhile (it's unplugged, of course), he'd get his fill. That didn't happen, so I just have to barricade all my plugs for now.

Ian and I enjoyed the leaves while Cam took a nap. It doesn't feel much like it's almost November. Today, Ian spent all afternoon in nothing but his underwear, playing with his backhoe in the dirt.

Cam really wanted to help carve the pumpkins. He even taste tested them, but didn't come back for more.

Cam is getting big enough to have a little fun with Ian. I love it!!

Tito checking in...

Hello peoples!

I know that Nancy does the vast majority of posting on here, but I couldn't let her have all the fun...so, here's a quick rundown of how life is going. Currently, Ian is working very hard to master the art of going to the bathroom on his own, and right this moment is screaming for help. Back again and catastrophe averted with a Starburst (Ian's favorite) earned for a successful operation. Successful to us means that we don't have to do any extra laundry.

Since Nancy won't tell you, it seems her greatest desire these days is to stop nursing Cam. Not because Cam is a poor "client" or that he is beyond drinking milk, it's just that she longs to rid herself of the pesky nursing bra. She pines for the good old days. Now, never having worn the contraption, I cannot submit an opinion on the matter. But, they certainly don't look very appealing to wear. Not that any brassiere looks very appealing to wear to me. Beyond that, and, "packing around five extra pounds for this breast feeding business," Nancy is otherwise in good spirits and excited about the prospect of potentially, eventually moving into our new house.

Last Monday I ran over to Salt Lake to buy some stuff, including a dining room set which looks great....and smells less than great. It was a screaming deal and now I know why. It came from a smoker's home and so we have been diligently wiping it down with alternating layers of vinegar, murphy's oil soap, and lemon oil. It smells quite a bit better, but we may have to end up selling it in the end and chalk it up to experience, which would be too bad because Nancy trolled through all the tables on KSL for months to find this one. I hope we can keep it, as it suits our tastes very well. Any suggestions out there for de-smelling wood?

Cam is a scooting machine! He motors around all over the place and pulls himself up on his feet whenever he can. I'd forgotten how much work keeping an eye on a wee one can be.

The house: the closer we get, the further away it seems. Case in point: Connecting the well to our house. The "expert" comes out and tells us he is going to put a pump and pressure tank above ground because so much water is coming out of the well that he can't stuff anything down inside it. Hence, the necessity of having a shack built to go over it to keep it from freezing. Well, two days pass and he calls me to ask if I have his shack built yet..........which comes as no small surprise as he had forgotten to ask me to build it. Once he explained to me that he could build it-- for $1500 to $2000--I said to myself, "methinks I can do it for slightly less than that." Then, he tells me that our pump will have to run all summer to run our sprinklers. And again, I said to myself, "methinks this guy is not very sharp." With 150 gallons a minute coming out of the ground at 35 psi, it won't be high pressure, but surely I can do something with that. So, I borrowed Marlow's backhoe and trenched out a line across the yard for a yard hydrant one direction and then put a line over to the creek for a "running creek on demand system." I just tested both systems and I can run a sprinkler, dump 50 gallons a minute in the creek for aesthetics and have plently left over for the house--all this before it gets to the pump and runs up our electric bill. It just goes to show that if it isn't your house, why bother to plan ahead and think things through? Man, I love contractors.

And I also LOVE Home Depot!!!!! I spent $1200 there last week and surely will spend another $1000 this week. I now know the aisles of Home Depot better than the grocery store. Concrete? Aisle 1. Lumber? Aisle 4. Power tools? Aisle 5. Compact Flourescents? 18. Paint? 22. And on and on.

I've been reading Robinson Crusoe...so I can understand the TV show better. Well, not really. But I do feel a certain kinship with ole' Robby. Not that I am on a deserted island, well, almost, but he has to plan, fabricate and build most everything he needs and I'm starting to feel a little like this myself. Installing power panels and meters, wiring and such, plumbing, moving dirt around the yard for finish grade and landscaping, I'll have to install my phone lines and cable lines and on and on.... it's a pain, but there's a certain amount of satisfaction to it. I'm glad Paul is letting me take the month off to get all this done.

Last item and this is a small note, but perhaps some of you out there might feel a little bit like this. Nancy and I had casually gone about our food storage in the past and made small jokes about not worrying about it--because we are surrounded by 200 tons of beef. But lately the jokes have felt a little stale. I'm sure you know why. So, when our neighbor harvested his wheat crop we bought a modest amount (nothing like my parent's "feed the world" supply of 96 5-gallon buckets) and put it aside, along with some pinto beans. We've got some other canned stuff and now thanks to our well, a seemingly endless supply of fresh water. Anyway, you don't really need to know all the details, but what I want to tell you is that I feel much better having a little something tangible put aside for hard times. That's my touchy-feely moment. And now it is over. Ian keeps trying to wrestle me so I had better oblidge (sp?) him.

Hallelujah

The power company has finally arrived. In two days, they put up 4 new poles and strung the power lines up to our property. Unfortuntely, they don't actually hook it up to your house. Tyler and Jesse (my brother) are working on doing that today. Everyone told us it's so simple, and will only take an hour....which is why I'll bet it'll take all day. If there's one thing I've learned in this process, it's to never believe what anyone says. What you have to do is ask at least 5 people, and separate bits of truth from each conversation. That is what poor Tyler has been doing for months. He has worked so hard to get us into our new place.....calling people who said they'd be here, and aren't.....checking on county regulations.....scheduling contractors. We owe Tyler big time.

Next week, we will have the power setup inspected, and, should we pass, will have the power company back out to "heat up the line". I can't wait to see lights on in the house. Of course, it doesn't come with lightbulbs. We have to go buy 50 to fill all the receptacles.

If we could get the drilling company to work for more than 3 hours a day, our water would be hooked up too. But, they should be back next week to finish the job. I don't really understand all the different types of pumps they could have used, but they settled on a jet pump. The pump and pressure tank are all in line to the house. Anyway, they have to put a little shed over everything so our water doesn't freeze. I wasn't all that excited about having a shack on our lawn, but I'm also not excited about our water freezing.
By the end of next week, we should have power and water, so we can have the finish guy from Champion out to seal up the marriage line, fix cracks, install the carpet and finish the molding. He wanted to know if there was anyone interested in cleaning the house for $100 - because he didn't think he could get a cleaning lady out here. Of course, we told him that we will do it, so it can be our clean....and we wouldn't mind having our own $100 back either.

We also have to finish the grade around the house, put in our entry steps and gravel the parking pad. After that, there are a myriad of inspections. I believe Champion has to inspect, FHA, the state, the county.... everyone needs to get in on the action. THEN, we can close the loan and move in. We are so excited!!

We were up on the mountain a couple weeks ago, collecting pine cones, and I took this picture. Our house is circled. The pivots you can see above the house are on the Sharp Ranch, just to the north of us. Even though our little spot is pretty much dust and sagebrush right now, we are totally in love with it....someday we'll have more trees and maybe a little grass to keep our junipers and rocks company. (One of the well drillers was so funny. We have a little well just as we drive up to our house. It's never been cased, and just looks like a spring coming out of the ground. Anyway, this guy was telling me what a perfect spot we had....a swimming pool...maybe a little bbq there...he sounded like he had the whole thing planned.)

Happy Birthday to Tyler!

I thought everyone could appreciate this action shot of Tyler. Ian was so excited about the candles that I had to hide them from him. Then, when we moved the dessert, all of them went out except two. I guess I'm going to have to start using those trick candles that you can't blow out.
Anyway, Tyler is now 32. The big boss gave him the day off, and he celebrated by backfilling our septic system at our new house, and having some very frustrating conversations with some county inspector. I'm not complaining.
Tyler never wants anything exciting for his birthday, so I decided to invite some friends over to share the ceremonial chocomint nummy. I didn't tell Tyler because usually, he doesn't mind finishing off a pan of the "nummy" himself. (I made him a whole extra pan of the stuff - so if anyone is in the area and wants some....) Anyway, the party was wild. The Dahls, Sampsons & Knudsens all came to make a total of 7 kids under the age of 6. At one point, Jackson and Orrin had Ian pinned on the ground. Ian apparently has not had enough wrestling experience, so he just yells until someone tells the other two to get off. I guess we'll have to teach him some moves so he can protect himself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!

Ian's Birthday List

ian has been telling me what he wants for his birthday for weeks. his birthday isn't until december, but tyler's is next week. so, every time i mention what we're going to do, he takes the opportunity to tell me his list several times. i can't tell you how many times i have heard it. sometimes the list varies, but this is all inclusive.

• two equipments. he goes on to explain that this means a backhoe and a loader. he already has both of these pieces of equipment. i don't know why he thinks he needs new ones. this is not on our list for him.
• loader tractor. we have one of these hidden away for him.
• horse trailer. i'm not sure what he has in mind for this. i keep trying to figure out if he really wants big cattle truck, and is getting the two mixed up. let's hope so because we already have a cattle truck for him. it's been hidden since july. we won it in a silent auction.
• cowboy boots. we are planning on getting him some for christmas. we're planning on buying them a couple sizes too big because they're too expensive to buy a new pair every year. tyler already got some for his birthday (even though i told him i couldn't see him in boots), so ian makes sure to include them on his list.

i told ian that we don't always get everything we want for our birthday. sometimes you just have to save your own money and buy it. he got out his little bank yesterday to see how much money he has. he rejected all the "little money", and just kept all the quarters. he is wise beyond his years. he currently has about $2. i have asked him what he's going to do to earn more money, but he doesn't seem to have a plan. i guess that just goes to show you that he's still only 2.

Get This

when we started this whole process of putting in a house, i told tyler that once, just once, i wanted to be surprised at how little something cost. well, this may be the only time it happens. we received a letter from the department of transportation today saying that our approach from the state right of way has been in existence since the 1950's and possibly earlier. yes, yes, all stuff we already knew. anyway, they letter went on to say that because it is an existing approach, there would be NO CHARGE for the permit. to which i say...why, then, do we even need the permit? anyway, i'm still elated that something during this long, painful process is free.

BTW - a copy of this letter was also sent to a woman whose title is "assistant chief right-of-way agent". i can't believe there would be enough work for just a right of way agent, let alone an assistant. this is how our tax dollars are spent.

Driveway Permit

so in the process of getting a permit to string our power line across the road (we finally have the permit - WREC is coming early next week), we learned from NDOT that we have to apply for a permit.....a permit to have a driveway off the state road. i'm serious. the road has been there for 100 years. there have been two indian cabins less than a mile west of us on the same road since before i was born. do you think they have a "driveway permit"?? it cost $600 to get the permit to cross the road. i can only imagine what it costs to have a driveway. all i can say is that if ron paul were still running, i'd vote for him. i can't believe how much money we've had to spend in permits, inspections, rezoning......

Kid Update

ian is going through an interesting stage. the kind where he is constantly gloomy and unfriendly (at least i hope it's a stage). he is, however, making a lot of progress toward being a big boy. he dresses himself most of the time, with mixed results. below is one of my favorite pictures. he's wearing his shirt on backwards and his shorts are on sideways. he's not wearing any underwear, but if he were, chances are they'd be backward too. it's very interesting....there are only two ways shoes, shirts and pants can go on correctly, so 50% of the time, he should get it right, but approximately 95% of the time, everything is backward & sideways.....even if i line his shoes up with the right feet, he'll go for the one on the opposite side. i don't get it.
ian is now potty trained. and...he doesn't poop on the lawn anymore. we tried to be positive, like all the books and such said, but finally we decided we were just going to have to punish him. we took all his tractors away. if he went in the toilet, he could earn them back, one at a time. oh - and he also had to get cleaned off with the (cold) hose....not so bad during the summer - but with a chill in the air...not really desirable. it didn't take long. we're still working on the nights.



ian likes to play hard to get. he looked at cam the other day, who was giggling and smiling at ian, and said, "stop liking me, cam!" we wouldn't want that.


cam is still plugging along. he's 6 months old tomorrow. he's starting to get up on his knees. i don't think he'll be happy until he's moving. he army crawls and rolls for now to get where he wants to go. also...you'd think he was teething. as far as i know, he's not. just really slobbery.

House Tour

when i went to take pictures, i realized that i'd never make a good real estate photographer. but, i guess you will get the idea. half the house is just empty rooms, so i'm just going to include my favorite parts of the house.

can you say counter space? and dishwasher........and stove with FOUR working burners? i'm so excited! thanksgiving at our place. well....if we're actually moved in by then.

the dining room........with linoleum. we are tired of having carpet under our table. it's a mess.

i love the whole utility room, but this is my favorite part. a sink.........to wash dirty hands before coming into the house.

the second bathroom. nothing special about it, except that it is the second one!!

this is the master bathroom. it is bigger than some of my bedrooms i've had in my life. but, it's one of the smaller ones champion makes. the most important thing.....two sinks.....and two mirrors.

like i said - i'm not much of a photographer....you'll just have to come and see for yourselves.

House Installation

YIKES! these guys seemed to know what they were doing, but there were moments i wondered if the house was going to make it....like when i was talking to the truck driver, who said the crane operator has only dropped four houses before. not exactly what i was hoping to hear as they lifted 45,000 lbs. of house over a big hole.
the eagle has landed!
here comes the second half. notice the first half is supported with logs. i assume they added more support later on.

i'll have to take some pictures of the inside tomorrow. the marriage line isn't finished yet - but you'll get the idea. this was a BIG piece to the puzzle, but we still have a lot of work to do. we hoped to be in by november, but i think it's more realistic to plan on december. we are still waiting on the power company. until we get power, we can't move forward with the water and finish work inside.