first snow

We are all getting very excited for Christmas around here! Yesterday we ended up taking all of our ornaments down and cut the tree up for fire wood. We didn't actually NEED fire wood, but the tree was beyond dead. Throughout the day I would hear ornaments falling off the branches because they were drooping to the floor. Luckily for us, my mother in-law bought us a little 3ft fake tree last year when life was too crazy to get a real one. So we pulled that out, set it up on a platform, and redecorated our tree! I think next year we should probably wait until December to cut a tree down.
(we went out thanksgiving weekend this year)

This morning, I got to dig through all of our boxes to find the kids snow gear. Once it was light out, We all bundled up and tromped though our backyard to play in the snow before it all melts. As always, Wyatt loved it, and Ruby focused on trying to make the perfect snow angel. All Shep wanted to do was stomp in the mud puddles that scatter our driveway. It was pretty cute.
I wonder if we will have a white Christmas this year?

decorating time!

This Christmas, we decided to go up to Mt. Pilchuck to cut down our tree. We brought hot cocoa, snacks, and a lot of warm extra clothes. The kids got to play in the snow and mud while we searched for the right tree. We ended up picking one that had split off into two trees midway up the trunk. The next day we put on the Muppet's Christmas album while we decorated the house and tree as a family!
I can't wait to start making more family traditions in our new house!

one less trip to the store

Taste tester for our yummy granola

 

 

When you don't feel like packing the kids in the car to go grocery shopping you get a bit creative with what you've got in the cupboards. In this case, we had everything we needed for homemade granola. I put the bowl on the floor and let the kids mix their hearts out as I added the ingredients. We used oats, almonds, coconut, honey, oil, raisins, and added some dried banana after baking. Unfortunately I burnt the first batch, but the second one turned out great!

Later that day I attempted to let Shepherd paint. He lasted about 10 seconds, then wouldn't stop putting his paint covered hand in his mouth.

Do it right the first time around

Saturday morning was the start of our first big project on the house. Our mud room was not built properly and every time it rained the studs and part of the floor got soaked...which has resulted in wood rot. As we were doing all of the demo, we found we needed to replace two whole walls and the sub floor, instead of just the one wall we were planning on. At least now we know it will be done right and there will be no more surprises in that room! Jeremy surprised Ruby with her own tool belt, work gloves, hickory hammer, mask, and crowbar. She was very excited and helped by prying off some of the drywall. I think she lasted about 10 minutes :)

bees nest we found when we demoed the ceiling

trick-or-treat!

This was the first Halloween where Ruby went trick or treating, and she loved it! We went with family this year and her cousins showed her the ropes :) She got a lot of loot and she has been sharing it with all of us. Of course, the day before Halloween we still hadn't decided on costumes for the kids, and so we took a family trip to the Goodwill. Jeremy found a HUGE stuffed bear that he planned on altering to make a costume for Ruby, and it turned out great! He even sewed the buttons on in the front! Shepherd went as an army guy, because that's what we had on hand.

We also got to carve pumpkins as a family. Jeremy carved faces, I carved out "BOO". Also my mother in-law was staying with us for a few days and she carved sheppy's pumpkin with the letter "S".

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our house

It is a Friday morning, the kids are still in bed (yeah!) and I actually have time to write and edit pictures...I love the early mornings! We have been in our new place for about a month now, and both Jeremy and I are trying to document every possible design idea for the house, so when we are ready to do a certain room, we will have plenty of inspiration to look back on. I made sure to not be lazy this time around and take before pictures of our house, inside and out. So make sure to check out the after pictures, which will realistically be put up in the span of 5 to 6 years I'm sure! The first on our list of urgency is to replace the electrical panel, install washer/dryer (yippee!), and rebuild the mud room. All of those projects are on the list for this weekend. It sure is nice to be married to a carpenter/all around talent in the construction world:) I love you Jeremy!

Ok, so the silence didn't last too long... I'm coming Shepherd!

In case you didn't know, we bought a major fixer-upper and bought it as-is, but boy do we have plans for this place!

Living room

Kitchen, left

Kitchen, right

laundry room off the kitchen

Laundry room

                                             Mud room off of the laundry room

Our room

Our room

Kids room

kids room

Bathroom

new house, new adventures

Consistent blog posting is something I am no quite good at yet...sorry! Funny thing is, I always have time to check out others blogs, which always seem to be updated just about everyday. How do those other moms do it?!
      Well, a lot has happened in the past two months, including us going through the process of buying a home! When it came time to move, everything felt different. Although we were exhausted at the thought of packing and moving, AGAIN, it meant that we could finally settle down and put all of our creative ideas into a place that we own. Yesterday I found myself smiling over the mundane tasks like getting the mail, sweeping the hardwood floors, and pulling the garbage cans up our driveway. Yes, these things are a part of life wherever you may live, but I smiled because in some ways it just reminded me that we are here to stay...no more moving every year, or in our case every 7 or 8 months. yikes!
       We recently took our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. Last year we went right before Halloween and it was almost impossible to find a pumpkin that wasn't rotten, so we decided to go the first weekend it opened :) A completely different experience, I tell ya. Ruby was having a hard time choosing just one and Shepherd just wandered around, touching every pumpkin in sight. Gosh, I love those kids!