One day we'll look back at these pictures...

Here are a few pictures of the half of the house that we are living in.  We have the little room with the stove and fridge, you walk through the bathroom to the main room, and downstairs is two tiny bedrooms.  The kids both just have their beds and dressers in their rooms downstairs and I have other boxed things I didn't want in the barn.  We don't spend much, if any, time downstairs. 

So here's the main living space, kitchen, master bed, baby's nursery, computer room, dining room, and everything else room!

Behind the wipe board is the real door to the room that we have plasticed off so that dust can't get in and the babies can't get out.  Kimball sleeps at the end of the bed in a pack and play.  During the day I drape a quilt over it to help block out the sound.

 Our tall bed is back... I felt like such a grown up when we moved to Richfield and had enough space not to need our tall bed, but that only lasted for 5 months.  So we've had our bed tall like this for our whole marriage minus 5 months... one day I'll have a headboard and then I'll know I'm a grown up!
Our little TV we watch an occasional show on and the huge window that we love.

 The other end of the room... table, dishes, fire place

 And now we are back to where we started.  The little drawers are the kids toys and the stuff behind the green sheet is kitchen things.

 Again, toys, kitchen, Henny picking his nose.

 The bathroom you walk through to get to the room and downstairs.

 Stove and fridge room that is just as wide as the stove and fridge... right inside the front door.

This is at the foot of our bed...  Computer hutch (that I don't use with no internet), Kimball's bed, our "closet" with hang up close, my freezer is under the clothes and a pile of laundry :)

Pretty fun huh!  I'll have to take pictures of how I do dishes sometime :)

In other news, my darling little sister was set apart as a missionary today!  The kids and I will be dropping her off at the MTC in Provo on Wednesday!  CRAZZZY!

Where did September go??

This past week we hit the one month mark for owning our home (not living in it the whole time, but owning).  It seems like we've been here forever and it's flown by all the same!

The babies.

 Upstairs bedroom

 Living room and upstairs bedroom

 Hall and new stairs.  The new stairs are where the bathroom used to be.  You can see the plumbing for the tub on the far right.

 New stairs to basement

 I didn't have a washer and dryer for 11 days.  I had to bust out my maternity underwears, because I had no clean clothes.  I was super grateful to have them back in my life (washer and dryer, not maternity clothes!!)  But I didn't realize where they were going to be set up.

Welcome to "The Dungeon"

 This is what is directly over the washer and dryer.  Yes, that pipe is held together with duct tape, and yes it leaks, and yes it's stinky.

I'm not complaining about having the luxury of a washer and dryer, but I will admit that it scares me to DEATH to do my laundry.  I feel as though a spider will jump out at any moment and eat my arm off.  I'm also super freaked out about the idea of any of our clothes touching the floor.  I've made a mental commitment to throw anything away that drops!  So I'm super careful!

Macey has wanted to do a punch stand all summer.  I wouldn't let her at our rental; I thought it seemed trashy, but now we own the home I don't mind.  So she set up shop last Saturday and LOVED it!  She and Henry drank all of the punch and no one stopped.  Her dad ended up going with a quarter and was her only customer for the day.  Gotta love that dad!

 Why would you ever put this over hard wood floors.  Why why why!

 I've been working like a mad woman to whip the yard into shape.  Here's a few of the things I've removed :)

 I cut out a locust tree with killer spikes and ended up with the tip of one in my knuckle.  I could NOT get it out and when it finally did come out it was a full quarter inch long.  Ouch.

 Thomas and his gigantic 40 cubic yard dumpster.

 It's a lot harder to fill this than you  might imagine.  It took lots of strength and planning to be able to get stuff to the top of the pile.  He's so talented!

 A lady around the corner has a mini horse named Jesse James.  He's SO SO SO cute.  I love him and will own a mini pony one day.

 Macey and the backpack we decorated for her first day at preschool.

 Macey was bribed with a date with her dad if she would spell her name on her own.  She's had the incentive for months now.  The other day she came in with a paper and said, "is this my name" and it was spelled perfectly!  So she went on a date with her dad on Friday to celebrate.

 It's an old school bowling alley and you have to keep score yourself.  I think that was her favorite part!

 The boys and I started on our Christmas shopping while they were out and then caught up with them for a little ride and an ice cream cone!  It was such a welcome break from removing nails from studs.  I think I've pulled 1200 nails in the last week.

Progress on the house seems slow now that we aren't knocking out huge walls all time.  I've decided that we won't ever move in.   It's just a fact, so now I won't be disappointing when it takes 3 years to get half of it done:)  Thomas is working so hard it's just a slow process when life still has to happen.

We are 97% done taking things out.  The carpet is gone and all the ways in phase 1 are out.  I've been cleaning and pulling nails.  Next we will level the floor, put in a beam where we are opening the kitchen and the living room up to each other and start on wiring.

A friend from work (who's wife I adore) offered to help last Saturday afternoon.  It is amazing how much more 2 men can do than one.  Thank you! Thank you!  If anyone has some spare time let us know, I have a little something you can work on!

Alive!

Well we don't have internet and I'm not even sure when we will.  So here's a quick up-date via Thomas' fancy phone!

We LOVE our place!  I feel like we are camping in a house, but I love it.  I still have no washer and dryer and no internet, but we are happy as clams!  It just feels like home.  Owning is SO much better than renting.

We should be done with the majority of the demolition stage this week!  Thomas has single handedly filled a 40 cubic yard dumpster!  He's built new stairs, the flooring is gone, and we've started taking out studs we don't want. He's amazing and has the muscles to prove it!

We spent a fortune at the Home Depot this week.  We committed to almost everything we need and put it on one big order.  I bought cabinets, counter tops, flooring, bathroom stuff, new windows, new doors, new shingles to redo the the roof, and so much more!  I felt like I was on some kind of shopping spree, then the bill came :)  Here's a little hint as to what the new kitchen will hold - 5 foot island to come!!  The people at Home Depto were so good to use!

I've been working like a mad woman on the yard.  I've trimmed a mountain of branches and bought some end of the season perennials to put in. It's starting to look less like a jungle and more like a yard.  Some crazy woman also came by and asked what I was doing with my ugly huge swans.  She wants them!  I'm lucky I didn't have to haul their 250 pound tails over to the dumpster (I tried one day and made it 3 feet before I gave up).  I feel like I should pay her for her service.

And other good news - we LOVE Monroe.  The ward is so nice, the neighbors are so kind, and we are happy here.  I even met a mom who is doing a "mom preschool" where all the kids rotate houses and moms take turns teaching.  I met her on Sunday and Macey stated preschool on Wednesday! She's so excited and this is the type of preschool I really wanted to do.  She now goes M and W for 2 hours.  I get my turn to teach in October and my theme is pumpkins!  How fun is that.

I buzzed Henry's hair last night.  Thomas is the only one who's ever cut the boys hair.  He just does it when he does his own.  He's been so busy though that I decided to do it.  I did it WAY shorter than he normally does ( I just picked a middle length... he said he does the longest!)  it's way cute though.  Henry cried for Macey the whole way home after we dropped her off for pre-school.  He kept saying "Macey, home.  Macey, come."  It was very sweet.

Kimball is huge!  He's such a cute little man.  He started rolling over 2 weeks and has kept is up!  He likes to sleep on his tummy and now rolls to get there.  He has also started napping a little better and laughing.  I love this stage.  He's happy when he's awake and still sleeps a lot.

Pictures to come!

Calm before the storm

The kids were rotten tonight and I was tired too, SO I put them to bed at 7pm.  Sure I might be up at the crack of dawn, but hey, it's quiet right now :)

We move into the back half of our house on Saturday.  I'm busy trying to decide what I want out, what I want accessible, and what to pack up tight to keep in the barn for who knows how long.  I also have no idea when and if I'll have the internet.  So here's a little update!  

Kimball went to the Dr. again to check his ears today.  They look great.  I asked him about the 20 days on antibiotics and he said it was a mistake and he only needed them for 10.  Good thing I asked!

 When Henry and Macey get along it's SO fun.  Macey came inside, told me to get my camera and come take a picture because "we are being cute".  She was right.

 Here are a few more hose pictures.  I think it's funny some of the window decoration thingies are still up.

 Looking from the front door into the living room and into a bedroom.

 In the living room looking into what was the kitchen and a small bedroom, but we are going to take out that wall down the middle and make the kitchen/dining bigger and then open the kitchen and the living room up to each other.

 The purty pink bathroom... the tub is gone and I made $17 from recycling it!  Go me!  Thanks for the tip Dad!

 This is where an abandoned fire place was,  It's completely gone now.  There is a now a giant hole next to it where we are putting in new stairs to the basement.

 You better believe we're keeping this beauty.  I might take off the handles though, yet to be decided :)

 I spy with my little eye at least 6 different wallpapers and 3 different paints.

 Bad picture but here's a little sneak peak of where we are moving into.  The mud room turned kitchen AKA a fridge and stove.

 This is the little hole Thomas cut in the wall so that we could access the back room without going through the construction area. he built the little stairs and the "safety" railing too.

More pictures of the adventure to come!  Wish me luck and sanity!