The Big 6!

 Conley's 6th birthday was last Saturday the 16th.  He wanted a pool party with 6 friends...so that is what we did.  He had a blast swimming with his buddies!!!  It was a hot sunny day, the rain held off until after dinner!!!

 Aunt Jill and Nate doing a little teamwork to light the candles.  It was windy and they didn't want to stay lit.

 Conley and his buddies.  He got some great gifts and his buddies were so excited for him to open their presents...so cute!!!

 Piñata busted open and the boys scoring some candy, cars, army dudes and bouncy balls.

 Conley really wanted a scavenger hunt.  So we printed off pictures of things around the property and they ran in search of the clues to find the "X" marks the spot...that is where the piñata was.

 The boys running to the next clue.  They were so funny!  They each took a turn opening an envelope at the next clue.  They loved it!!!

 Grant running to the next clue.  You can see the two little sisters in the background trying to keep up.  Conley's buddy David has a little sister the same age as Shay.  Elizabeth and Shay love playing together, so they also had a fun day!!!

 Birthday boy taking a swing at the piñata.  Of course it was a pirate piñata holding to the theme of a scavenger hunt with "X" marks the spot.  Conley wanted Nate to dress up as a pirate and chase them while they did the scavenger hunt...that was nixed from the day :)

We had the grandparents, grammie and Aunt Jill for dinner and a few more gifts.  He was wiped out from a long day and was lounging playing his DS.  Aunt Jill got him a new game, so now he is hooked!

Sunday Conley, Jill, Shay and my dad went to the driving range to hit golf balls with Conley's new clubs (a gift from my parents).  It was a beautiful day for golf.  Shay of course took some hits with Conley's clubs...doesn't matter that the clubs are for left handed people :)  Hopefully my sister took some pictures of golfing that I can post soon!!!

Dirt Bike!

 For his birthday Conley got a dirt bike & the gear from Nana & Grandpa Tom and us.  Of course I was very nervous, but we have a the gear to keep him safe and the dirt bike has "training wheels" until Conley gets better riding.  It is the cutest thing!!!

 Here is our stud next to his new toy!  He LOVES it.  He rides around the circle where you first pull in to Mary & Tom's house.  It is so fun to watch.  I will work on getting video uploaded!  He isn't a huge fan of the chest protector so we are slowly getting him adjusted to that.  For now just the helmet and gloves are REQUIRED.  Tonight he rode with his Fox Racing boots on, but can also ride with his tennis shoes.

 It's a Yamaha 50cc (I think this is how you say it, Nate will die if I get it wrong:))

 Con ready to go.  He finally is able to get it started with the kick start.  He is excited to ride with his buddy Lincoln who just took the training wheels off his dirt bike. 

 Shay is racing Conley around the circle.  Shay is on the big wheel and Conley is in the background.  She did try out the dirt bike yesterday, per her request.  I'm sure when Conley outgrows this bike she will take it off his hands :)

Conley riding laps around the circle.  Of course now Nate needs a dirt bike to ride with Conley.  I'm sure that will happen shortly.  It is fun to watch Conley ride!

Nascar Nate...

For Nate's birthday, his parents bought him a racing experience at Newton Speedway.  It was AWESOME!!!  Nate had a great time and loved every minute of it!

 We parked in pit row and walked right up to the track.  We hung out and watched guys race because Nate had a class before he could race.

 Here is Nate in his class.  They had a class for about an hour before they were allowed to get in the car to drive.

 The kids checking out Nate's jumpsuit and helmet.  Conley and Shay loved watching all the commotion. 

 Nate standing beside his race car.

 The green flag.  He had to follow the pace car for 2 laps and practice passing with the 2 other guys in his group.  The green flag meant he could let it rip and he did!

 The checkered flag.  Nate did awesome!!!  He lapped both guys in his group.  He drove the max speed almost the whole time.  What an awesome experience!

 This is before he raced.  We love how the steering wheel is sitting on the windshield.  They were in full gear and strapped in pretty tight...very safe!

 Done racing!  All smiles!

 Nate paid to ride with a pro.  They had 2 professional drivers that drove anybody who wanted & paid 4 laps around the track.  Nate said it was CRAZY AWESOME!  These cars were faster than the cars they let Nate drive.  Nate felt that they were going to spin out at the corners they were going so fast. 

The professionals would drive with the "normal drivers" occasionally.  Here is Nate getting passed by the pro.  The pros probably would be going 50mph faster than the "normal guys"...so fast!!!!

Progress...but not pretty!

 We are in the demo phase.  We have made big progress...Nate will read this and insert an "I" (as in Nate) for the we.  I'm moral support and I keep the kids entertained and to bed on time.  

This is the back of the house with the greenhouse tore off.  The deck on the right hand side is also no more and the porch is also coming off.

  For those who do not know...the plans are to put an addition on the back of the house.  It will be roughly 25ft wide and 50ft long.  So the length will be about the length of the current house.  There will be a new deck & porch on the right hand side of the house.

This is where the greenhouse used to be.  You can see the sliding glass doors on the top floor that walked out to the spiral staircase.

Shay's room.  The wood floors have been taken out.

We are going to sell our interior doors and cabinetry at Sharpless Auctions.  Nate is getting ready for a load to be picked up.

The kid's bathroom.  The cabinetry is all pulled out on the left, the toilet gone and the glass doors on the shower gone.  This bathroom will be made bigger and the layout will completely change.  Each kid will have their own vanity, a separate room for the bathroom and door into the laundry room!!!

Mom is supervising while the boys (Nate, my dad and Tom) remove the kitchen cabinets.  This was no easy task for the upper units.  Apparently they put those babies in with no intention of EVER taking them out.

My goal is to take lots of pictures!  With the money I made from selling stuff during the move I'm buying a new camera!!!  I hope to document this entire process!

***On a side note, we never turn down free help ;)  But always feed them!!!

Monday Funday!

 Shay had Sydney (best buddy from Kids Depot our old daycare center) over on Monday for a couple of hours.  They had not seen each other in a LONG time, but picked up quickly where they left off.  We painted fingernails, played house, ate lunch and of course had to swim.  The girls just loved playing together.

 It was hard to get them to stand still!  We are so lucky to be staying with Mary and Tom during the summer.  The kids love swimming and having their buddies over.

 Conley is learning the ropes as a beekeeper.  Tom suited him up on Monday while the girls were swimming.  Conley was bummed he couldn't have a friend over, so Tom distracted him with some bee work.  Conley LOVED it!!!!  He was hands on with the bees and didn't get stung.

 The future beekeeper.  If you are in need of honey or bee pollen...we can hook you up!

Grandpa and Conley off to work.

We did many other fun things this past weekend, those posts will come soon.  Nate raced a nascar car at Newton Speedway on Monday (a gift for his birthday), I took many pictures of the house in progress and I still have pictures from Shay's preschool graduation.  I will soon be caught up!

Our new home!

We have officially moved out of our house.  ALL of our belongings are in a storage unit except our clothing and business/office necessities.  It is weird to only have that little amount to be responsible for.  We are extremely thankful to Nate's parents who graciously offered to take us in.  This is a huge blessing for Nate to be able to work on the house (they live 2 doors down from our house).  We are hoping to have our remodel/addition completed by Christmas or BEFORE!!!

 Our new room.  This was Nate's room growing up.  The desk cabinetry was already there.  Of course (no surprise) an unmade messy bed...our specialty.  Our room is right across the hall from Conley and Shay.  Both rooms are huge and provide lots of room for the stuff we moved in :)

 Of course we didn't want to put our tv in storage so we brought it with us.  It is HUGE for this room.  Nate's parents have CABLE!!!  We are slowing becoming addicted.  Luckily this is temporary ;)

 Nate hard at work!  He has the BEST work ethic and is extremely talented at what he does.  Fortunately the desk was already in this room, we just brought the two file cabinets on the right.  We are still organizing our stuff, but it is feeling like home :)

 For those who have not seen our remodel blue print...I am getting a HUGE closet.  It is one of my demands.  I only had 2 non-negotiable items...BIG closet and a laundry ROOM.  I am getting both...yeah!!!  Here we are stuffed into a big closet (yet not big enough).  We have sold a TON of our stuff...love that purging process (big shocker).

 Of course, still awake.  The kids are sharing Mindy's room growing up.  It is huge and has a huge closet. They are sharing a king size bed and are doing great.  Shay does not require much sleep and does not go to bed early.  Usually she lays quietly until she falls asleep.  Conley is asleep the minute his head hits the pillow.

 A wall of closets.  Nate's winter clothing is at the end and the kids take up the front half with clothing and a few toys I let them bring over.

Shay pretended to sleep for the picture.  Shay was showing me what Conley and Shay sleeping looks like (her words).  This transition has gone quite well.  We are excited for the changes to our house.  It will be a busy summer but we are ready!!!  Feel free to visit us anytime at our temporary home!

Lumberjack...take 2!

 The trees behind our house have come down...or been forced down.  They needed to be taken down before any construction started.

 Any opportunity to break out the chainsaw is a good thing around here.  Nate quickly brought down the 3 trees along the back and the tree & bushes on the west side.

 The lumberjack hard at work!

 Of course his helpers had to get out in the action.  Prior to this picture they were scooping up dog poop and dumping it in the woods.  Nate paid them a quarter for every pile of poop...they are trying to earn money to spend at the ice cream store down the street when it opens.  

 Here is the pile of limbs and branches.  Many of you can guess that this pile will be blazing soon enough.  Pyrotechnics are Nate's specialty!

For some reason this picture turned out dark, but the entire length of the picture is a wood pile.  We are not putting a wood burning stove in the remodeled house, so if you know someone in need...send them our way.