We're making progress!!!

The stairs going down to the garage are now gone. Nate is putting in the floor boards to get it to the next phase and to keep the cold out of the house. Side note...anyone need some van seats???:) This is the room above the garage that will soon be an office/man cave. We will have some storage closets (see the door on the left beyond the seats) for our holiday stuff and business stuff. The room has slanted ceilings, so it is a tad bit awkward, but will be great for an office.

This used to be the stairs going down to the garage. The flooring is almost done and now it won't be letting in all that cold air!!!!

There will be stairs to the left going up to the loft in Conley's room. He used to have a set of steps that were quite steep, so I will feel safer about this. We are going to put some of the kids' toys up there for them to have a fun playroom.

Stairs going up to the room above the garage. We built these so that we can get to this room from inside the house. It is a legitimate bedroom, which will make this house a 4 bedroom house...great for resale, but we are NOT moving for a LONG TIME!

New stairs leading up to the room above the garage and Conley's loft. Nate has some serious skills, but is working around the clock between the pond, remodel and his business!

Goodbye Husband

The diggers started today in the back timber. GOODBYE HUSBAND! Not only is the house remodel (remember he does it all...no hiring it out) in full force, but the pond construction has begun and he agreed to cut up the trees that are dropped in the woods. The little spec of blue is Conley out "helping"...playing in mud :)
The pond starts at the front of our timber and is 1 acre...I think. It will save money to have Nate cut up and move the dropped trees...we just may never see him until winter :)

The trees are HUGE! The kids were loving it!!!

Shay supervising from her spot on the recliner. She had no interest in being outside and was content to watch Curious George while the boys played in the mud.

I am stealing my husband away tomorrow night. Thanks to the Lybecks we get a date night, whoo whoo!!!

Framing 101

Nate is sitting on a plank in the stairwell building the new stairs that will go up to a new room above the garage. I would be afraid that I would fall...Nate never would give it a second thought :) The kids wanted to help in any way!
We currently have no railing on the stairs going down to the basement. The new stairs need to be finished before the new railing can be installed. I'm excited to make this house awesome and to be able to decorate from scratch...the construction process, however, is not my favorite!

Daddy's helper...pencil in the ear, cheesy smile, dirty face! Conley picks up screws, hands Nate tools, vacuums up the messes and carries boards inside from the garage. He LOVES helping Nate. Last night he was even able to use the cordless drill and screw in some nails! His future wife will be thankful someday because he will be as handy and talented as Nate!

Shay turns 3!

Yes, this is the only picture I have of Shay's birthday party with our families. She had a blast. She picked out Strawberry Shortcake for her cake.

I can't believe she is 3 already! It went so fast!!!

Shay:

*Loves Princess anything

*Loves LOTS of ponytails in her hair everyday

*Loves painting her fingernails & toenails

*Loves her brother...wants to do everything he does!!!

*Loves shoes...that's my girl

She weighs 31 lbs and is finally healthy. I think we have the ear thing under control. She has had 1 cavity. She is a little bit of drama, but is always making us laugh! I love being her mom!!!

Florida...we miss you!

The kids and Nate hunting salamanders outside Tom & Mary's house. They may be geckos, not really sure. We didn't catch one, but they were everywhere!
Nate and Tom went kayaking in the "ocean". They stayed decently close to shore, but still very windy that day so lots of waves. They found an island out there that was prime shelling, so they brought back awesome seashells and some fish that they caught.

The kids loved this splash pad. We went there twice for them to cool off! Shay was timid at first (big shocker), but eventually warmed up to getting wet :)

We went to the Kid's Museum one day in Ft. Myers. Conley and Grammie tested out the hurricane chamber.

Playing at a park on the island. The kid's loved being outside in the sun. We swam everyday and went to the beach twice. We had awesome weather...I think it was at least 80 everyday and sunny.

Grandpa Tom, Conley & Shay on a bike ride. The kid's loved riding bikes and playing baseball in the front yard. We went to a water park in Naples one day and had a BLAST! Conley found a slide he loved and we all enjoyed floating on the lazy river.

It was fun to relax and enjoy the sunshine. I read 2 books and actually got a little bit of a tan! The kids did AWESOME on all flights and really enjoyed the time spent with Nate & I and Mary, Tom & Grammie.

I've got it figured out!

I used to despise cooking and mealtime. We leave at 7am in the morning and get home about 5:45-6pm each night. Mealtime is crazy, whiny, quick, stressful and so many more things. It was hard to take the time to plan correctly and shop within our budget.

ENTER MY HUSBAND!!!

Extreme fan of Dave Ramsey he introduced me to the website E-Mealz. I now can shop within our budget and have a plan that is so easy to follow. This is my saving grace!!! Nate and I trade off grocery shopping because the list is so easy to follow. We also cook dinner together or Nate will have it started before the kids and I get home...HELLO AWESOME!!!!

The meals are great! They never repeat in one whole year! It is easy to shop and stay within budget! And I now love mealtime...okay not love (I have two kids) but I like it a little more :)