The 1st day of school

This was the first day of school. We walked. Matt was on a mission, excerting his independence, I think. Aaron was his crazy self. And Miss Grace was Miss Grace. They have done well these first two weeks. Homework has been hard for Gracie and mornings have been hard for Aaron. Matt is loving Middle School. He is even reading on his own!!!!
**I just read this post again. I made it sound like Matt needed help with reading. What I meant to say was that I don't have to ask him to read, he is choosing to read on his own. I think he has finally discovered the adventures that books can be. Yeah!!

Our trip to Gram's house

The week before school started the kids and I were in the Kansas City area visiting Gram, Jana and Carter. We also did some school shopping and Gram treated us to a fun time around town. I am still waiting for the pictures, so I can share them with you. Gram? This picture was taken at my cousin's house. She and my uncle put a lot of work into this place and it looks amazing! It has been years since the family has been together, my aunt from ND was also there. We had a great time!

Creek Time

We did spend some time at the creek this summer, cooling off and enjoying time with friends and good ol' watermelon slices. Yum!

Before: The kitchen

Besides the boys' room, the kitchen received the biggest change. We tore out some upper and lower cabinets that created a peninsula. You can see where they used to be in the first picture. They created a porch area in the back half of the kitchen. We reused the cabinets along the back wall. The kitchen is much more open now. It doesn't even look the same!

Before: Boys' Room

The boys possibly have the coolest room in the house. This is the attic before. It is the whole width of the house.

More Before Pictures

The hallway, Gracie's room, and our room. Can you guess which one is which? You can see what the colors were before we began painting.

The House: Before

These are pictures of our home before the remodel. This is the living/dining room and bathroom. Notice the floors in the living/dining area, we tried to refinish the floors, but after using every piece of sandpaper in our town, we did not even finish this one area. So, we chose to do carpet. And we are loving the finished rooms!

A break from the house

Some good friends finally came to visit us (after three years of begging!) We were so glad to have them here. We kept them very busy. Saturday morning the guys and kiddos went fishing. They had quite a bit of good luck with the bass! That afternoon we went to some friends' for some 4-wheeling, tubing, and swimming with some diving and rope swinging thrown in. The kids spent the entire time swinging from the rope and I think we were there five hours. Krista and I took two of the kids tubing and that was an experience! The nice little rapids sent me straight into a dead tree and then the kids and I got stuck once, but it was fun despite the cries of "I want off!" "I don't want to do this ever again!" "I don't like this!" And those were from my daughter, who had a death grip on my hand! All in all, it was a great day and we enjoyed the company of some great friends that we haven't seen in quite some time. We always love visitors, so please come see us.

This weekend also provided us with a much needed break from the house and now it is full speed ahead. Thanks, Jim and Nancy, for providing the lodging for our guests while we are in between homes!

Housework

We have been very busy around here. We are moving again!! Don't worry this is a good thing for our family, we have had a little retreat out here in the country and now it is time to move back to town. We are moving back into our home in the 'city.' I use the term loosely. It is actually a town of 1800 give or take a few. We have tried to sell our home there and have not had any luck. The Lord knew that we would need it and here we are preparing to move back in. This time we are making some changes before we move and I will soon be posting before and after pictures. I have an amazing husband who has been busy at work and at home. Today, it was too wet for the guys to work at the house they are building so they taped and mudded the attic, which will be the boys' room. Thanks, Joel, for all of your help today. We also did some rearranging of the kitchen. I am really excited. I have been busy painting and doing more painting and more painting. The kids have enjoyed playing with the neighborhood children. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue to make these changes, I think it is the best thing for our family. I just wish we didn't have to actually 'move' again. This makes move number 15 in 14 years of marriage, you'd think we had it down to a science!

Just Because

Really, what can one say!!! This was just too funny to pass up. It is right off of Burr St. on the way home from Winner, SD.

Lizards

My three children love lizards. They have spent days outside catching them and then putting them in various places throughout the house and outside as well. I believe the lizards on the top of the stick have formed some sort of support group for lizards who find themselves aliens in foreign lands! They sure are holding onto each other rather tightly. Unfortunately my geranium is not looking so good anymore. Some animal invited themselves to a smorgasbord on my front step. Each planter with flowers has been nibbled down to the stems! Life in the country, what can I say.

More bonfire pics

Nothing beats a little sibling love! And despite the way he looks, Aaron loves his big bro and sis!!! He is a boy of many expressions. Please check out the first picture to see what I mean.

The first bonfires of the season

Grandpa helped the kids start up a couple of bonfires. They roasted marshmallows and hotdogs and had a good ole time. We were so excited to see the sun, even if it was just to see it set!

God's Amazing Handiwork

This was the view tonight from the deck off of our bedroom. Breathtaking, isn't it? Don't you want to come visit the Sandhills?

Fourteen Years of Wedded Bliss

Today is our fourteenth wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe it has been 14 years! I am more in love with Dave than I was on our wedding day and I never thought I could love him more than I did. He has asked me if he can write today, so be looking for a guest blog later (to be truthful, I am a little nervous, he has no trouble being mushy!! heehee).

Today, I have included a quiz I found on another blog to prove how well I know my man, but actually the questions were very easy, not challenging enough for me. Dave has already looked them over and I was 20 for 20. Yeah, me!!

1. If they're sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen ? GOLF (at least this time of year)

2. You are out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad ? RANCH

3. What is one food they don't like? SEAFOOD

4. When you go out to eat what do they have to drink? COKE

5. Where did they go to high school? AINSWORTH

6. What shoe size do they wear? 11

7. Favorite Color? BLUE

8. What is their favorite type of sandwich? ROAST BEEF, BUT ONLY W/ALL THE FIXINGS

9. What would this person eat everyday if they could? LASAGNA OR TACOS

10. What is their favorite cereal? HONEYCOMBS OR HONEY NUT CHEERIOS

11. What would they never wear? PINK SHIRT AND/OR WHITE PANTS (CAN YOU IMAGINE??)

12. What is their favorite sports team? NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (DUH!!)

13. Who did they vote for? JOHN McCAIN

14. Who is their best friend? ME

15. What is something you do that they wish you wouldn't do? BE SO HARD ON MYSELF

16. What is their heritage? SCANDINAVIAN

17. Favorite Cake ? GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE

18. Did they play sports in high school? FOOTBALL,WRESTLING,TRACK,BASEBALL

19. What could they spend hours doing? GOLF,FISHING,HANGING OUT W/ME

20. What is one unique talent they have? HE CAN SING AND PLAY THE GUITAR