The Dream House

So I have been MIA for an embarrassingly long amount of time and I apologize.  In the meantime since my last post, Ike and I looked at a bunch of houses. Decided none of them were right and figured we would wait to buy. Then found a house. Not just a house, but THE house. Like....the house of my day dreams and beyond. So we bought it.

Ok it really wasn't like we just went up and bought it. It was weeks of working with our bank and getting grants and having inspections. It was weeks of me freaking out because we were about to take out a loan that we would be paying off for the next 30 years. It was stress with a capital S.

But now we have been in the house two weeks and I cannot believe I ever had second thoughts or dread when it came to buying this house. I love it so much I almost can't even put it into words (referring to the house as "my third child" comes close though).

So here she is.


So what I actually wanted to write about in this post but couldn't get to until I explained how we came to be at this house was the yard work I did today. In the Fullerton house, I never really did anything but occasionally mow the lawn. I just didn't feel like spending time and money on a house that wasn't mine. I know not every renter takes that attitude, and if you are one of those people who landscapes and buys mulch for a house you rent, more power to you. I, on the other hand and what you would call a cheapskate and couldn't bring myself to do it. This house on the other hand, we actually DO own so I don't mind getting a little sweaty to make it look nice.



So this chunk of the side yard had a nasty dead and leafy area between the walkway and the house and today I decided to clean it out! There were three dead bushes and a TON of leaves. These pictures were after about two hours of work.

So then...thanks to a monstrous pile of free mulch at the Green Dump ( a place where people dump leaves, grass clippings, etc.) I was able to put mulch down the entire side! I have always liked the look of mulch but I figured it would be too expensive to put it all the way around the house. I was so happy to see a giant pile of it at the dump!!!

SOOOOOO much nicer right??? And the best part? FREE!!! All it took was four and a half hours of mildly neglecting my kids while they ran around outside and I worked.

Recent Happenings!

Just a few things that have been going on lately:

Jackson's life was made when a family at Church gave us a set of Spider Man sheets. He played on them for hours after I put them on his bed.

 

On a side note, I think this picture of Jackson strongly resembles my brother Jared when he was young and excited.

We had an early out snow day last week and had an impromptu pizza party picnic! The kids loved and I loved not cooking!

Can you tell who is ready to say the prayer???



In the midst of all the freakishly cold days we have been having there has been the occasional day in the 50s when we have been able to play outside.

 

We like to go to the local skate park to run around.

Christmas at the Harveys

Just some fun pics from Christmas at my parents house. Jackson and Brady had tons o' fun with Grandma Jenny and Grandpa Joel.

Grandma's house has cool toys.

My mom and I got to make rolls together!

Have you ever seen such beautiful Peppermint Bark???

My mom made chocolates with the boys!

Brady approves.

Carr Family at the Harvey House

All the Ladies!!!

The Carrs with Grandma Jenny and Grandpa Joel

Oh There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays!

We decided to put another 3,000 miles on our car this Christmas and drive back east! We drove to visit Ike's brother in Wisconsin, surprised my mom  and family in West Virginia and then went on to New Hampshire to spend some time with the Carr family! Oh and we made a pit stop in Ohio to see my brother and his awesome wife on the way home. It was an excellent trip!

A few fun pictures from Wisconsin! 

Cousin Joseph. So stinkin' cute!

 Cousin fun!

 Jackson loves snow.

 Brady, not so much.

Throwing the ball around!

 Happy Early birthday Ike!

 Joseph's  Christmas present! Dino-Joseph!

Jingle All the Way!

We are just a little excited for Christmas.

It's amazing what some quilt batting, red pajamas and a red cardigan can do for your Christmas spirit.

First Snow!

Who doesn't love that first big snow fall? There is just something so cozy about being inside a warm house and looking out your window at a snow covered yard. That plus all the Christmas stuff just makes me feel so happy. I think Christmas trees are the best anti-depressant. If I am feeling down I just have to look at our lit Christmas tree and I feel happy again. What is it about this time of year where everything really does feel magical?

 Snow Angels!!!

P.S Sorry for the lack of posts last month. Jackson accidentally broke my camera. I guess that is what I get for letting my three year old play with it though.

Little Monsters

Jackson recently discovered Monsters INC and Monsters University. He has been playing monster  a lot lately. We made these masks the other day and I actually threw Jackson's away yesterday because he was wearing it 24/7 and scaring people (like at the post office). So we returned Monsters INC to the library and got some Thomas movies instead. I have no problem with him "toot toot"ing at people in the grocery store.