NOLAN PATRICK!!!!

So I know that I don't blog near enough anymore.  I have a son and 3 daughters who demand a lot of attention.  I have been back to work for 2 full weeks now and all is going well.  Not getting enough sleep yet, but that will come!  Here are some pictures of Nolan over the past several weeks.  He is 2 months old already and getting so big, so fast!

Nolan - A future UNI Football Player?  If he plays basketball like his daddy, maybe a future UNI Basketball Player!

My little monkey boy!  I love him so much.

This is the little suit/tux that he wore for his baptism.

Of course, all of my children have to have clothing that says something about their aunt Cathy.  This one says, "My Aunt Rocks".

Grandpa's Little Buckaroo!

Little Handy Man

Moving Right Along

So today was our first snow day of the school year! I haven't updated on the blog lately so here is a good chance to do that. A lot of these pictures are from fall before snow, but some are from just yesterday. Front of house - Some things won't get finished until spring, but the outside is mainly done.

Another view of the front. 4 wooden posts on front porch will get stone and white trim. Then it will be mostly enclosed.

Back of house. Deck isn't quite done in this picture, but it is now. We put a small retaining wall on each side of the back of the house. It will be interesting for all of the mowing with the slant of our lot.

Kitchen cabinet installation finished yesterday after the wood flooring got put down Wednesday of this week. The flooring is a maple hardwood and it is dark. The cabinets are hickory with a light stain.

Rest of the kitchen.

Main floor bathroom got painted yesterday. It is a slate blue.

More painting got done yesterday in the living room.

Laundry room also got painted yesterday.

Master bathroom shower is all tiled. Just needs to be grouted.

Closer view of the master bathroom shower.

Basement bathroom got painted yesterday also. It is a green.

Not sure if anything is happening up at the house today. Not venturing out in the snow unless Terry gets home and he can drive me up there. Hoping to move to new house at the end of February!!

Halloween, A 9th Birthday, and the House

So the last few weeks have been busy. I am sad that my holiday weekend is almost over already! 4 weeks until Christmas vacation though. Here is a little update of what has been happening at our place! The Saturday before Halloween, we went to my mom's to carve pumpkins. In this picture, one is painted and that was a door prize at the gathering. The cat pumpkin was one I helped Laci with. The "Trick or Treat" pumpkin was Madison's and she got help from her dad on it.

These are the others that were done that day also. The cat with ears is Laci's second pumpkin. The skull is Madison's second pumpkin. They did a lot of these two pumpkins on their own and actually they turned out quite good. The cat in the back was Olivia's pumpkin.

For Halloween this year, the girls were all Crayola Crayons. I had gotten Laci and Olivia's last year after Halloween on clearance. Then we found one for Madi also. Madison didn't really like that I had them all "match", but I told her this would be the last time I had them do that!

Madison's 9th birthday was on November 8. It was a Tuesday this year and I had parent/teacher conferences at work. We took her to Build-a-Bear the Sunday before her birthday and then the Sunday after her birthday, the family came up for cake and ice cream. She got a lot of money this year. We let her spend some, but a lot of it went in her piggy bank.

Looking so grown up anymore. Where has the time gone?? Madison is also currently busy with parks and rec basketball. Practice is on Sundays and games are on Saturdays. We have one more practice tonight and a game Saturday. She is loving 3rd grade and is on student council this year. She is also in gymnastics once per week.

Also, the house continues to progress. The electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling were to the point that they could be inspected last Monday. Then insulation started. This is a view of the deck of the back of the house. The railing and steps need to be done yet, but it looks nice.

Insulation in one of the bedrooms. The insulation is foam insulation between the studs of the exterior walls. That is all done, so now drywall can begin. They will hopefully drywall the ceilings this coming week so that insulation can be blown into the attic.

The large garage doors were installed last week before Thanksgiving also. They need garage door openers attached and they are carriage house style doors, so there are some black hardware pieces that need to be placed on the front of them also.

Shakes are done on the peaks of the garage and the front of the house. Now a lot of the work in the interior. There are some exterior things that will have to wait until spring like the cement sidewalk to the front door and a slab of cement out the back garage door. Also, seeding the lawn and possibly the work on the front porch. The front porch pillars with be stone around the bottom and white at the top. Then a railing will be installed also. Moving along nicely and can't wait to be in and have our dog back!

A 40th Birthday!!!

Not much has changed for this beautiful 40 year old!! A few pictures to reminisce!! Cathy with Kendall when she was still a little one!!

Also with Madison. Madison looks so little here and she truly loves her godmother and "Auntie".

At the hospital when Olivia was born. From L-R: Amanda (Cathy's stepdaughter), Madison, Cathy with Kendall on her lap, Laci, and me holding Olivia. GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!!!

Auntie holding Olivia. Cathy got to be in the delivery room with me for Laci and Olivia's births. She was also the first to notice shortly after Olivia was born that she had dimples.

Holding Olivia again!

Saturday was Cathy's birthday and we surprised her with dinner at The Brown Bottle. She got a funny gift from our cousin Michele. Cathy likes to wash Ziploc bags to save and reuse them. Michele wrote in the card about "I think 40 is going to be stressful enough for you, so here are some Ziplocs you can just throw away." We all had a good chuckle. Cathy hasn't been looking forward to 40, but she did enjoy her birthday and I think was glad everyone came to help her celebrate!

I can truly say that I am so blessed to have such a wonderful big sister! At times when we were younger, we didn't always get along, but I can't imagine life without her. I also realize that having a sister is such a wonderful gift and am thankful that my girls have sisters that will be their forever friends also! Love you Cath!!!

The House Building Continues...

Since last I posted, a lot has been happening with the house thanks to the beautiful weather we have been having. Supposed to get colder tomorrow though. The roof is shingled. All windows are in the house. The garage is missing the window right now, but that will go in soon. The patio door is in and the two walk-in garage doors are in also.

View of the back of the house with all the windows in and the patio door.

The stairs to the basement are in also. Makes me a little less nervous walking through now because there isn't a big hole in the floor.

Today the plumber started working and the electrician started working also.

Today they also started putting the soffit on the back side of the house also. Siding will be coming soon!!!

A Fun Weekend!

This weekend was really busy but fun! Friday night we had rehearsal and dinner for Terry's twin brother's wedding. Saturday morning we were up early and got ready for the wedding. Terry was a groomsman and Madison was the flowergirl. Here are a few snapshots from the wedding - I didn't do very good at taking pictures. This is the mother-son dance. Gloria and Tracy are dancing on the right of the picture and during the dance, Kim danced with Terry and Tracy's dad, Tom.

Also, during the mother-son dance, Terry and Todd joined Gloria and Tracy. Troy was no where around, so he missed out!

Here is a picture of Madison and Olivia by the dance floor. They danced quite a bit, but we left somewhat early. Laci wasn't feeling well.

Sunday we went to Tracy's to watch them open presents and then after we did a bit of shopping. The girls all got new pajamas! Madison's have peace signs all over them.

Laci's have "BFF" on them and a couple of monkeys.

Olivia's have a moo cow on them. They say "I get my cool mooves from mom". Olivia has a stuffed cow that she can't live without, so we just loved these pajamas and had to get them for her.

Looking More Like a House!

Framing began in the last week or two. The crew was off for two days last week because they donated their time to the Extreme Makeover house that was being built in Iowa. Framing of the main floor.

This is a view of the west end of the house. The doorway that is near the middle of the picture is the doorway to our master bedroom. The doorway that is on the left of the picture will be the laundry room/mudroom.

This is the kitchen area. In the left side of the picture is the framing of the walk-in pantry.

Living room area with a bedroom in the background.

Today the roof started to take shape also. Moving right along!!!