It's Been too Long!

It's been way too long since I've posted last!  There are so many things are are going on right now it's just been crazy.  

First off, I've been SO SO busy with these three little kiddos!  It's been completely different for me to be at home with all the kids.  I love them to death but some days have definitely been hard.  We've kept busy doing things outside, and investigating our new home.

I'm going to share with you a few of the highlights from the month of July.  

Olivia had her first taste of baby food at the beginning of the month.  She really liked it and has enjoyed eating everything ever since.

We celebrated Brett's birthday.  Me and the kids made him an ice cream cake.  I think it turned out pretty good!

Then of course it was the 4th of July.  Such a fun holiday around these parts.  The kids just love the parade and all the fireworks.  It was a fun filled day for everyone.  We actually had fireworks a couple of days.  Alyssa really loved the snappers.

Next, my parents came to town.  It was so great to see them as usual.  And since Brett has been working pretty long hours since we've gotten here, it was extra nice to have some company.  While they were here there was a big storm and Luke pulled up some chairs by the sliding door to have a front view.  Alyssa has really gotten into frosting decorating, so we decorated cookies together.  The big project was fixing up Alyssa's dresser.  This was a garage sale find a long time ago, and was painted black.  Now it's so adorable!  

Brett and I have had a couple of moments to ourselves since getting here too.  We got to see the new Independence Day movie (which Brett is a huge fan of), and we've been out and about checking cows.  For most people, this is a super romantic thing...

Besides all that, we've just been having a ton of fun around the ranch.  Things have been getting better, and we've been settling into our new home.  I'm still searching for a job, but I'm really trying to just enjoy and treasure the quality time that I'm getting to have with my kids.  Some days its been really hard, but I know I'm going to be a little sad when I finally do find a job.  I'm not going to ever have this kind of quality time with them probably ever again.  How weird is that to think about?  

I can understand why women and men decide to stay at home with their kids when they are young.  It's such a magical time.  They love you unconditionally, look up to you and just want to snuggle and be with you.  

Moving Update

This past weekend we got our first shipment of stuff moved up to our new house thanks to some friends that brought down a huge trailer to load things in.  We got most of the basement moved over.  I think we've probably got two loads left though.  We'll see how well we can pack another trailer.  We also took up the Mustang to park in the garage there.  That's all that car seems to do...

Anyway, so once we got there we headed over to the new house to start some cleaning,  Brett cleaned all the walls and I started on the floors.  There is just so much dust that we're going to have to make another couple of passes at the floor I believe.  Plus we're still moving things in, so people are going to be tracking in all kinds of dust still.  

Once, we got that kind of taken care of, Brett started installing the closet organizers.  We decided to go with organizers from an online company called EasyClosets.  They were wonderful to work with, and will design your closet for you if you'd like.  We talked on the phone and finally once we knew what we wanted and were sure about it, we made our purchase.  We purchased four closets worth, and they were shipped to our house for free!  So awesome.  We've actually had them sitting around for awhile...probably since November so it was time to get them installed for sure.  I'm pretty impressed with them and Brett really liked them too.  They weren't too hard to install once you got the hang of it, and I'm pretty sure they're not ever going to be going anywhere if you know what I mean.  These are the two organizers in our kids bedrooms.  

Olivia and I had to take a break from the fun so we sat on the only thing that was in the house, a rug.  I impressed myself with this purchase.  We bought it online and I just prayed that it was going to match the paint and everything in the room.  It's PERFECT!  I couldn't be more happy with it.  

Then we started to get things put into the living room.  We brought over our sectional couch and our new entertainment center.

Boy was it nice to see something that we've been talking about for years finally come together!  We have had the couch for years in the basement and now it's finally going to get some good use.  The entertainment center we found at our local Sam's Club!  It was an awesome price and just the right size so we couldn't refuse.  Olivia is already enjoying the new digs :) 

In a nutshell, that's pretty much all we got done.  With three kids it is kind of tough.  Also, little Olivia had one really terrible day where she just cried.  I'm pretty sure she was having some tummy issues that day.  Poor little thing.  But here are a few more pictures just for fun!

What a Week...

Oh boy!  It has been one crazy week for my family.  I can't even begin to explain how crazy and complicated it has been.  I'll start with last Friday night...

On Friday night, Luke had a mild fever and was acting pretty irritable.  Saturday, Brett took him to Urgent Care.  Luke told the doctor that he had a scrap on his leg, so he got a Bugs Bunny band-aid.  We also found out that he has and ear infection.  So we got him some antibiotics and thought we were done with it.

Sunday things were more noticeable.  I put two and two together and determined that Luke has Hand Foot and Mouth.  What a bummer.  Needless to say, we've been cleaning our house and washing our hands like CRAZY people.  We've also been trying to keep both of the girls away from him as much as possible.

This is the first time we've had this in our home, so we didn't really know what it was all about.  After some research and communication with our doctor, I finally am starting to feel like our home isn't an infected cesspool.  I don't do well with sickness or things that are highly contagious.  It makes me crazy!

For those of you that don't know what Hand Foot and Mouth is, it's basically a rash.  People get it mainly on their hands, feet, in their mouth and on their butt actually.  Luke had it mainly in his mouth and on his butt.  The mouth part made him miserable.  He wouldn't eat or drink for basically a whole day.  We had to force him to drink.  It was so sad.  Everyday it has gotten a bit better though.  I'm glad he didn't have it as bad as some people get it.  I've googled and looked at some pictures.  

Today he is feeling like a million buck basically.  We took him back to the doctor yesterday to get the ok, and he's back at school.  Neither of the girls have gotten it....yet, and I hope that they don't.  Brett and I also haven't gotten it and surprisingly I was less nervous about us getting it then them, and we were the ones touching him!  

The next thing that happened this week I have to give a little bit of back story to.  Basically two weeks ago, the company that Brett and I work for told us that they are going to be laying off 85 people in the offices in our area.  So we've basically just been waiting and waiting to hear what the fate of our jobs are.  It's been roller coaster of emotions for both of us.  

We knew that things were going down this week, and unfortunately we had to take turns staying home with sick kiddos!  What a mess.  Monday I stayed at home with the kids so Brett could go to work and see what was going on.  The layoff started on Monday, but Brett didn't hear anything at that time.  Then Brett stayed home on Tuesday and I went to work.  Tuesday morning I got called in and was laid off.  I packed up my office and headed home at about noon.  

It's so surreal to be laid off.  I have worked for the same company since I got out of school.  It's been 9 years almost exactly.  Brett and I talked a lot about what our options were before any of the layoff even happened.  But now that it's finally here it's just strange.  I've never not had a job like this before, and I've never been laid off before.   

Then we just had to wait it out the to see what was going to happen to Brett.  He went to work on Wednesday and called me at about 1030 to tell me that he was also laid off!  So here we go!  The name of my blog is about to actually take place! 

WE ARE HEADING TO THE RANCH!

Our Deck

I think we've been working on our house now for two years.  Talk about crazy!  This spring we decided that it was definitely time to do some work on the outside of the house.  Since it's been such a nice spring, its been ideal to get some things done now before summer hits.  It's been a bit slow moving due to some weather up in the Dakotas, but since we're not there anyway it doesn't really matter.  When we were at the ranch over Easter, we got to see some of the work completed, but there was still a ways to go.  The outside work is not completed, but the deck is finally!  

Yesterday, we got our first pictures of the deck and I can't wait to share them.  It looks so much better then I could have ever imagined.  I am SO pleased with our contractor's work.  He never ceases to amaze me.  I totally trusted him with his design too.  We went in telling him that we wanted an over hang of some kind over our front door and our mudroom door.  He told us ok no problem.  He never told us exactly what he was going to do, but it's perfect.  

Here is the front door!  It give our once very rectangular house some more character that I LOVE!  Plus it gives it a rustic flare that I love.  It gives our house the entry way that I was hoping for.  

This next pictures shows how the deck wraps around the side of the house, which leads to the mudroom entrance.  As you can see there is a form in the foreground of the picture.  This is the pad for the driveway, or for the little bit of apron that we have to get into the garage anyway.  

Then for the mudroom entrance which is just around the corner where the deck is headed.  It looks so wonderful!  The overhang will give the entrance just enough protection for those cruddy days. I know Brett will enjoy using this entrance.   

Then, as you can see, the deck continues on around to the back of the house!  In total the deck wraps around more then half of the house.  It's awesome!  

I can't tell you how excited I am about this deck.  I can picture us sitting out on the deck enjoying a glass of wine and watching the sunset.  I also can picture my children running up and down it having races.  Our house is starting to look more like a home and I just can't wait to move in!  In another year that is...that means many more updates to go!

Fall Family Picture Reveal

I'm finally getting around to doing this post.  I haven't waited too long since we only had the pictures taken a couple of weeks ago.  So here they are!  The big reveal :)

We had them taken on a Tuesday morning b/c we happened to be up at the ranch for a long weekend because of weening.  Everyone was in good spirits that morning, the sun was out, and it wasn't crazy windy anymore (the two days before were ridiculous!).  Needless to say, I was feeling pretty good about our odds of getting a good picture.  So I got everyone ready in their outfits and Kat from Little Life Photography was right on time.  She went to take a look around the area to find some good picture locations, and when she got back we all took off.  

The first challenge was Izzy, the family dog.  She decided that as long as we were around the house, she was going to come and sit right next to us.  Not that we all don't love Izzy, but we didn't really want her in our family pictures.  So, while Brett was trying to get her to go sit somewhere else, we snapped a few pictures of me and the kids.  

Alyssa was SO excited to take pictures, 

but Luke on the other hand...he was less than thrilled.  And he definitely let us know.  I'm pretty sure he was having a rough time with his molars coming in that weekend.  As you can see in the previous picture, he had his finger in his mouth.  He didn't want to be put down either.  Unfortunately, that means we didn't get any pictures of Luke on his own except for one...on the 4-wheeler.

We we able to get a picture of Luke with Brett and I individually, but nothing together or with Alyssa.  And even those were forced.  Hopefully we'll be able to get some good pictures of the kids once #3 is here.  I've got another photo session scheduled in February :)

We were able to get a few pictures of the family that I think turned out really well though, so I can't be upset about it all together.  I'm actually really happy that we FINALLY have a new family picture (right before #3 comes into the picture).  Our last family pictures were taken when Alyssa was 1 and she's 4 now...I'm a bit behind.

After we took the pictures in the trees, Luke decided that he was done and he was going to just break down. So...we let him have a little tantrum in the grass, and Brett and I got a few pictures with each other REALLY quickly!

It's been awhile since we've gotten a picture taken of us together.  And there's my little #3 bump as well.  Technically, these are the first pictures that we've taken with our whole family :)  I kinda like that.

Overall, it was a crazy morning, but we did get a few great pictures to be happy about.  I just can't get over how cute our little family is!  Now you'll have to wait until February to see more professional photos of our growing family.  I know I can't wait to get more :)

Our House: The Beginning

My Husband (H) and I have been talking about building our home since we got married.  Last year we finally pulled the plug.  We found a bunch of local contractors to help in the matter.

The first decision was figure out where exactly we wanted to build our house.  I know H had thought about it a lot over the years, so we started with that.  When we finally decided on the location, we had the earth moved.  It was such a crazy day, and I'm thankful that we actually got to be there that day and take part in the ground breaking.  It all started in April 2014.  Almost a year later, our home is pretty much completed.

Here it is in the beginning.  This is ground breaking day.  It was a pretty nice day at the end of April.  We had some idea of the orientation we wanted the house.  Once we got the contractor and the dirt mover up there we had to make a few changes.  On that day, I wasn't exactly excited about that changes, but now that it's there, I don't mind them at all.  There was also concern about the location of the garage.  Originally, we were going to connect the house and the garage, but...the house ended up being a little to long for the location to be doing this.  This is also a decision that I am ok with since it's still VERY close to the house.  

It was a very surreal day.  We were finally starting this whole thing.  Now that I look back at it all, I would definitely have done a few things differently, but overall I am so excited about what we have created.  

Starting a New Adventure

This is obviously my first post and I'm very excited to be doing this.  I have always loved to journal and have thought that maybe blogging would be something fun for me to try.  So...here we go!

My family is going to be embarking on a HUGE life change.  Since I married my husband we have been talking and dreaming about when we are going to be moving back to the family ranch.  The time is drawing nearer.  We started construction on our ranch home last April (2014).  We still haven't completely finished it yet, but it's so close now.  I'll add more about the house later, but here's a picture to let you see what we've been up to.

I have lived in a city my whole life, maybe not huge cities, but a city nun the less.  I have no idea what to expect or how this is going to all play out, but I think I'm ready for this huge life change for me and my family.