New House Progress

 Oh so slowly we are making progress on the new house.  John and I spent about 4 hours over there on Sunday, in the wind and rain, getting one step closer to the addition starting.  We worked on cutting the bottom 10 inches of stucco out so the new floor joists can butt up to the existing frame.  You can see it in the back of this picture.  This porch, with the addition, will eventually be out master bedroom. 

Out back the footings are poured and we worked on cutting stucco out here as well.

 Lilly's room is done with the exception of the closet doors and cleaning up the wood floors. 

 Lucy's room is getting closer.  I need to get at least 2 coats on her trim and paint the closet doors as well.  Both kids rooms need the ceiling fans installed and all of the outlets changed out. 

 

My kitchen pantry is framed and dry walled!  The pocket door is painted and hung too!



Free time to work on the house is something John and I have very little of.  We continue to do as much as we can on our own, with the help of my parents.  We are hopeful we can get it wrapped up in the next four months!

A Little Bit of Everything

Vail

We ALL went to Vail again.  Took some pics.  Enjoy.

Busy Busy Busy

We just finished one absolutely crazy week.  I am not home from Topeka until 6 most nights, and Lilly had swimming lessons at 5:30 every day.  Somehow we made it all work.  

She absolutely loved every minute of it, and had to be forced out of the pool each night.  She thought it was funny her teacher's name was Hanna!  Lilly has always liked the water, but was always hesitant to try much on her own.  By the end of the second day she was jumping off the diving board and swimming across the deep end with her life jacket on.  She even jumped a couple time without her life jacket. 

Sweet Lucy was such a trouper just watching from the side.  We made a family night out of it on Friday and stayed for a nice long swim when Lilly got done, and even went back Saturday afternoon.

Needless to say we had some tired babies and late dinners this week. Hay harvest should be starting in a couple days, so the business will go on a while longer!

Weekend in Pics

Omaha

I am in Omaha for a few days for a feeding therapy workshop. John is home with the girls and apparently doing well, unless you count the expired milk that curdled in the fridge.  Had to make Mac and cheese without milk and twice the butter. Most likely this was my fault. Can't wait to see the kids tomorrow!

Just a girl and her farm

Little Lu is 2

How is it possible that Lucy is already 2!  We were lucky to get to celebrate on the day of her birthday with lots of family in town.  

Quite possibly the favorite gift, next to the LalaLoopsy doll that has been banned from daycare. 

Great Aunt Karen requested a picture of Lucy with her card and money, and somehow this was the best we could get.

Blogger on my phone is being difficult and wont let me put the pictures in order.  She was a super big girl and blew out her candles on the first try! 

Here is a link to birthday #1, and the day she came into our lives

Easter

Yes, once again, I am super slow getting things posted.  Easter was great.  Saw mom and dad in Olathe and then returned to Holton for Easter with John's side of the family.  

All of the littles got new jammies, and about a hundred other goodies, from Nana and Papa.

My kiddos got towels for the pool.  

Ruffle pants/capris/shorts have officially taken over half of our summer wardrobe.  John initially turned his nose up at them but is slowly realizing how stinkin cute the girls look!

Hopefully It won't take me month to get Lucy's birthday pics posted.  I can't believe she turns 2 in 2 days!

Miss Them ?

  I was recently criticized for not posting more pictures of my children on my blog. Well here they are sporting their brand-new cowgirl boots.   Lilly got hers for Christmas from her Nana and Hanna and Lucy has been jealous ever since.  

  I found Lucy her very own pair, super cute and purple!

2 month update

 

 

I know what you are thinking, why the heck has it been so long?  Well, I have been busy!  John finally finished basketball season.  He and I went to Wichita where he reffed the 4A semifinals and finals.  He even tossed the tip in the boys championship game.  Yay John, he is kinda  a big deal.  Never mind he got boo-ed for giving the Eudora head coach a "T."  My parents were super helpful, as usual, and kept the kids for us.    

I have also been spending time working on the house John and I bought from his late grandfather.  It is quite the fixer-upper but we love the yard and the location.  It took me several hours to get all of the wallpaper down from what I think will be Lilly's room.  Luckily there isn't much wallpaper in the house.

I also managed to slam my own finger in the car door, so that has slowed me down a bit.  Hurt like hell, but didn't chip my fingernails.



After getting all of the holes patched, I worked on sanding the drywall.  I forgot to grab a mask to keep the dust out of my nose and mouth, so I kinda improvised, and ended up looking like a terrorist.  

Ok, so the bedroom walls are all nice and patched and the room is ready for paint.  I am going to attempt to paint the ceiling myself and will then tackle the walls.  

On the current to-do list is patch and sand the wall paper seams we cut out between the two bedrooms,

drain, fill in, and replace the current septic system, which is conveniently located under a sun porch,

and empty and wash the last 15 or so giant canning jars that were left, still full of tomatoes and pickles, in the basement.  Totally nasty, but I just can't bring myself to throw the jars away.  I actually found one jar that was labeled 1976.  I am guessing by the way the tomatoes looked, they were more than a bit outdated. 

We have all of the lumber purchased to start the addition and will do so as soon as the septic is replaced.  We have picked out the new kitchen cabinets and have a few other odds and ends purchased for the rest of the renovations.  We hope to move in mid to late summer, and my goal is to blog as much of the process as I can