The fairs are behind us as is the summer.

This has definately been a different summer than normal for us. Mike got laid off work April 24th and hasn't been called back. We don't know when, or if, he will be called back. We looked at it as a great summer vacation for all of us at first. Now that it's time to get back to normal fall stuff, it's a bit odd. LOL. In May we moved into the house, finished up some school work, worked with the calves and got ready for Jr Nationals. In June we went to Murfreesboro, TN for a week for the Chi and Maine Jr. Nationals. Both of the boys had a great time. They finished 4th in the grooming contest and were quite proud of that. Jesse also finished 2nd in the judging, 7th in photography and 9th in stockman's challenge. All in all, a pretty good time. The boys and I took off one afternoon and went to a go cart track near our hotel. We probably shouldn't have spent as much money as we did there, but man did we have an awesome time. One of the go carts I got had the governor off it. BAHAHAHA. I LOVED it as I went speeding by the boys and even ended up lapping them. They were not as amused and decided we had to race again. In the end everyone won one race. Just so you know, I won by the most though. I think I missed my true calling and should have been a racer. The rest of June was spent doing hay when it wasn't raining. July came and the boys headed to North Dakota (Bismark area) for a mission trip with our youth group and 3 other youth groups. Jesse taught 5 and 6 year olds in VBS and Chris did rec. Both had a great time and arrived home the morning of our county fair's beef show. We worked them hard there and they crashed into bed that night. August brought a county fair and the state fair and a first for Chris. He went today for his first ever class in a public school. He's taking Ag Science I at the vo-tech in town.

So, I don't know where the summer went, but I do know where we went over the summer.

Sorry I left you hanging.....

We did get moved. Ahh....this house is really the first place that's felt like home from the second we moved in. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am. The boys have been busy and are gearing up to be even busier the rest of the summer. We leave Monday for the National Jr. Heifer Show in Murfreesboro, TN. Mike and I were last there 20 years ago and while we're there this time, we'll celebrate our 19th anniversary. If the saying "Time flies when you're having fun," is true then I must be having a blast!

I got the boys pictures for the photography contest printed off today. Unfortunately one of Chris's favorite pictures is trapped on a computer that I cannot get into due to a password. I thought I had it burned onto a cd but I cannot find it there either. ARGH. I tried to recapture it off of my facebook account, but it's not good enough quality there to reprint into an 8X10. Double Argh! And with moving, I am out of ideas that I can accomplish in 3 days. I so wish I could find that one for him because it is a special shot. Jesse got some good pics this year too. He's not quite as into the photography of cattle as Chris. He took as many shots of the dogs as he did the calves. Too bad he didn't get both in one shot.

We have a moving day.....

WEDNESDAY .... only one short week from today we are moving!!!!!

What a difference a week makes.....

I haven't had a chance to update pictures but boy have we made progress!!!!

Last week Mike took off for Wednesday and Thursday and had a holiday on Friday. That gave us 4 solid days to work on the house from early morning to late night. I think I figured that we put in between 50 and 60 hours in those 4 days! Yes, we were exhausted and yes, we ate more quick fix and take food than I would've liked, but we mad a lot of progress. My Daddy and Mike's Dad came up and helped us out quite a bit.

Here's our list of what was accomplished, room by room:

Jesse's room: baseboards stained and installed and bifold closet doors stained and installed.

Chris's room: baseboards stained and installed and the little lights in his closet rigged up so they go off when he shuts the door and the closet doors installed and stained.

Boys' bathroom: baseboards stained and installed, vanity top installed, plumbing for vanity shifted a bit and vanity set into place.

Office: laminate flooring installed, baseboards stained and installed.

Livingroom: walls touched up, trim installed along ceiling, header board stoned and baseboard stained and installed.

Entry: baseboard and door trim stained and installed, tiled laid and grouted.

Dining room: laminate laid, light installed, baseboard stained and installed.

Kitchen: All cabinets installed, sink hole cut for cedar countertop, laminate counters set, laminate floor installed, microwave/rangehood installed, dishwasher purchased, and baseboards stained and installed.

Back entry: Laminate installed.

Laundry room: Laundry sink installed.

Our bedroom: Baseboard stained and installed.

So, we're nearly there. Today the boys and I stoned the breakfast bar. It looks good and I'm so glad we're done with that big project. Hopefully I'll walk around tonight with the camera and get some pics for everyone. Then again, you can come on over and check it out too......just a suggestion.

It's been awhile....

I got a message from Mylene, my sister, yesterday saying I needed to update my blog. It's mostly going to be updates on the house since that's about all we've been accomplishing. I do have a few pictures to share showing the progress. If anyone wants to help us, Mike's taking vacation time starting Wednesday this week and will be off until next Monday. Of course, Sunday is off limits as we're celebrating Easter with Mike's family.

The picture to the right and top is of our kitchen cabinets. I just set them out the other day to see what they'd look like. Mike and I got about 1/2 of all the base cabinets set Monday night. We'll work at adding wall cabinets later this week.



The picture to the right is of the header board above the breakfast bar area seperating the kitchen and livingroom. We're ready to do the other side Wednesday morning.












The picture to the left is of Chris's bedroom door. We're staining the doors all this pecan color.

To the left is our bedroom siding all completed thanks to Dad and Jesse. I did get the trim around the window done on Sunday and it looks great! The boxes are the kitchen cabinets and our bathroom vanity.

This is a close up of Chris's ceiling fan. He and Mike hung that Thursday night.

And to the right is a close up of Jesse's fan. It was also hung on Thursday night.

The boys' bathroom. I really think the colors came together when I hung the shower curtain.

This is a close up of the boys' vanity/sink/ faucet. Notice the dark colored fixture that shouldn't show as much dirt as those shiny fixtures. Yes, the bathroom was made to be used by males. LOL.

There are more pictures to share, but for now I need to get moving. I have a bottle calf to feed, need to go to Columbia for more supplies for the house, help Jesse plan his talk on making a first aid kit for the 4-H center and do some work on the clipping and fitting clinic our 4-H club is hosting later this month.

Colors......

I used to love the variety of colors available to me in the big box of crayons. Even when the boys were little I'd buy the 256 color pack and we'd have a ball coloring together. Well, picking colors for the house has brought that love affair with color to an end. Abruptly.

I went through a whole pile of sage greens before I found the right shades for our kitchen and dining room. Mike liked the darker one enough to use it on our one painted wall in our bedroom. I also went through a pile of tans to find the boys bathroom color. And yet another pile of light browns for our bathroom. I went through a ton of burgandys trying to find the right one for our dining room and office. No such luck. I decided to look at blues. Found one that might work but wasn't sure it was what I wanted in the dining room. One of Mike's aunts suggested an orange (pumpkin or honey). Ummmm...we're just not orange people. Finally I picked out a cottage white. Just a tick off white for the time being. I basically surrendered at the paint counter and gave up. I told Mike he had to pick the color for the media room as it's the "man cave". They've decided to decorate it in a sports bar theme. I said a charcoal and silvery grey would be very nice up there. I was thinking it would be very neutral and could go with the variety of colors. His response? "Not Raider colors." Oh gee whiz. So he started sorting through the 5 million color chips at Home Depot Friday night. We got there about 8:15 and closed the place down. They literally locked the doors behind us. LOL. But he found his color. And we had to get a tinted primer to get it dark enough. So, what's the color you ask?

Well, let's give you a few hints first as to the sports teams that will be represented up there. Jesse and Mike are Chicago Bears fans. Chris is a Pittsburg Steelers fan. We all enjoy the St. Louis Cardinals. They enjoy Mizzou sports. So do you see where we're going??????????

I certainly didn't. The color is Behr's Embarcadero. You can look it up. It's a deep purple! Almost an eggplant PURPLE! I didn't even know the man knew the color. The primer is the color of Pepto Bismol. Yep, PINK. Folks, these are colors that have never been in our house. I'm so confused.

But, I have decided to use this decision to my enjoyment. You see, the boys are off working for someone else today. I'm going up to the media room after lunch and painting the primer on the walls. Then, when they get home I'm hoping to get a picture of their reactions when they see pink on the walls of their man cave. LOL. That will bring me great joy. Hopefully I get the picture and can post it here for you.

So, I'm taking a break.

I've been working hard at the new house for 10 days straight and the old house was showing it, so I've taken today off from the new house. Because of that break I managed to link some pics of the house on here for your enjoyment. We're getting closer and closer which makes me oh so happy. Mike and I have to go after some tile, grout, mortar and faucets tonight. I was hoping we could get the kitchen cabinets this week, but it's not looking too much like that unless we get a chance on Saturday. We'll just have to see how it goes. Anyway, enjoy the pics and feel free to suggest a color for the office and dining room. They're off opposite sides of the entry and need to be the same color. Mike's getting tired of green and tan now, so we need a new hue. I've been suggesting silver and charcoal for the media room, but so far that's all it is....a suggestion. Give us some ideas....we need help. Oh, the media room is to have a sports bar theme.