We're Here

Things are finally settling down and we are about to spend the second night in our new house.  Well, it's not really new, it is the cutest 100 year old house full of charm and personality.  The house was built in 1904 as a dairy house surrounded by acres of land.  The garage used to be an old barn with an attic and hatch door before it was converted to a garage.  Coming from Las Vegas the yard is the first thing that caught my eye. It's BEAUTIFUL.  Trees, bushes, flower, tomatoes, plums, raspberries, etc.   The first thing my kids do when they wake up is go in the backyard and dig for potato bugs.  It is so fun to finally see them play in the yard and enjoy nature.  I can already tell Liv is going to be my wild flower child.  The second we got here she took off her shoes and is playing outside whenever she can.  All the boxes are unpacked and we are getting settled and I love that feeling when something new starts to be familiar and look like home and we are almost there.  We downsized as far as house size goes and let's just say that older houses don't like oversized furniture very well and we currently have a couch in our dinning room.

We had a horrible time with the moving truck/company.  For days they couldn't tell us where the truck was or when it would arrive.  Three days late it finally arrived.  We were very frustrated.  We had to spend a total of 8 days in hotels and that gets old very fast.  We have already been over to check out the kids new school and we just broke in the hot tub in the backyard.  I'm sure I'll have more to share, but for now here is a few pictures to enjoy of my new green, beautiful backyard!

Here is the path to my garage

I love the moss growing between the bricks.

Here is the big tree where the kids hang out hunting for bugs

 

Oh, and everyone here has dogs.  It looks like we might be getting a dog in the near future :)

Moving

Today was the big day.  The day when the big truck came and took all our worldly possessions away.  We have been living in a mess of boxes for the past few weeks and our house is finally EMPTY.  It is such a nice feeling.  We decided to hire some movers to help with this move since this is our 10th move in 10 years and we are pretty sick of it.   So, at 9 o'clock this morning a group of really nice Russian men came and helped us move (we couldn't understand when they told us their names so Shawn and I have been calling them Vladimir, Dmitrii, Yuri and Yorgen-but only to ourselves).  Hiring movers to help has been one of the best decisions we have made yet, and was TOTALLY worth it.  Shawn and I literally didn't lift a box and just tried to stay out of their way.  Shawn was prepared for a full day of rigorous sweating and lots of aches and pains later, but he will have nothing to complain about tonight.  We don't actually leave for a few more days so we will be doing some camping out in an empty house, but don't worry we saved a small TV and the Wii :)  So you might see another post or two from me still in Las Vegas killing some time by hanging out at the pool until we actually leave, but soon we should be in our new home.

Here is what our living room looked like at 8 o'clock this morning..

and, here is what it looks like now...

Las Vegas has been good to us, even the crazy hot summers (Shawn might not agree with that), but we survived.  We have met the most amazing people and have learned so much.  When we moved here Liv was 3 months old, and now she is 3 years old.  So much has changed.  We have grown so much as a family.  My oldest child started school here, two of my kids learned to swim here, and so many other things we learned here in Las Vegas.  I started my photography business here and I am so grateful to my wonderful friends who were crazy enough to trust me to do their family pictures.  Without each of you I wouldn't be where I am today, so thank you.  Thank you for loving us and accepting us for who we are.

Graduation, Visitors, and a Family Picture

We had a fun, busy, crazy weekend.  It started on Friday afternoon with Shawn's parents flying in to visit , followed later that night by my sister, her husband and their three kids.  Saturday was Shawn's graduation from Residency.  We had a nice graduation program and lunch at the Red Rock Country Club.  I also bribed/convinced/begged Shawn to let us get a few family pictures.  Grandpa was the photographer and despite the short 15 minute shoot we got a few keepers.  Thanks family for all your love and support.  Here are a few pictures of Shawn's graduation.

I am not sure why Shawn isn't smiling and everyone else is, but oh well!

And, a few from our family pictures

and here is one of Shawn and I that I love.

Here is the photographer (grandpa)

I just had to put the last one in because it makes me laugh.  Ethan was being a royal stink and wouldn't smile.  So here he is getting a little lecture, while I'm laughing at how funny it is.  I thought all those families whose family pictures I have taken would appreciate seeing that I have the same problem with my kids during pictures most of the time :)

End of Swimming

Today was the last day of swimming lessons.  The boys had a great time and loved every minute.

Here is Ethan.

Here is Cole.

 Belly Flop

Yep, belly flop again!

And, we don't want to forget about Liv.

End of Soccer and a Splash Park

We finally finished our soccer season just in time to move  (technically we still have one game left on Saturday, but with Shawn's graduation that same day we won't be going).  The boys had lots of fun and really enjoyed their teams.  Cole definetly will play again, and Ethan probably won't (just wasn't his thing) but we are glad it is over.  Last weeks games were at 103 degrees, not good soccer playing weather :)

But, 103 degrees is perfect for a Splash Park!!!

Cole's Birthday

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful, crazy, wild, and lovable Cole.

I can't image a day without my sweet Cole.  He drives me nuts, makes me want to scream, make me want to smile,  and makes me so happy all in the same second.

This picture makes me laugh because I realized this morning that I packed all the candles.  So we improvised and just used matches :)  And, yes we sang Happy Birthday and ate the cake for breakfast because that is the way we do things around here.

Shortly after the cake Cole crashed into the table and got a big gash on his chin.  Shawn really wanted to stitch it up but he didn't have any stitches at home, so we settled for some derma bond and steri strips.  This just totally fits Cole to split his chin open on his birthday.

Swimming Lessons

One last last session of swimming lessons before we move.

This is what Liv does while the boys swim.