I'VE IGNORED OTHER BLOGS AND SOON I WILL CATCH UP ON THEM

But for now this house is the main focus, moving, getting settled in, trying out the backyard - seeing if we can get comfortable here, and dreaming about the very little amount of yard work that will have to be done. Here are some scenes from the other day as we all took a break from the heat and moving boxes, etc...up and down stairs...

The kids seem to really enjoy the backyard and Jakey loves to play in MacKenzie's little house.

All in all, I think we will be very comfortable here. I will share more photos of the house as everything gets set up.

I AM NOT SURE WHAT SHE WAS REACTING TO

I was taking her pic and wasn't paying attention at what she was looking at. I think she was talking to her mom. Third pic down makes me laugh - she looks like such a diva in that one.

IT'S ON THE CORNER

We are on a corner - I have no idea how to live this close to people. I can look out my windows right into the yard next door. I always kind of had a bit of attitude about tract houses that were so close and people who lived so close to each other and now look at us....This will be a different experience. At least we live on a corner - I won't have someone on both sides but I'll have to get use to traffic noises- I have no idea if that is a main street through the tract or not.

This will be SO different than our yard with all the trees but I won't miss the yard work - the constant leaf raking, the constant trimming, ...constant ....cleaning...i'm so over it.


We have begun to get the living room set up - neither the living room or family room is very big - which is fine with me because we will be out and about mostly every day and then in the late afternoon early evening I'll be upstairs.

Seth is planning on getting a flat screen to put in the family room.

My couches are kind of big for the family room ...the light makes it look like they are two different colors, they aren't.


Kids were already enjoying the back patio.


there dining room table fit real nice. I'll get more pics later from the other angle.

part of my big closet.

I like that we don't have a slider to the back yard, just a single door - less glass to keep clean with kids...

part of my bathroom.



I have never seen little windows at counter level - kind of strange.

the kids on the way the day we first looked at the house.

PHOTOS FROM THE NEW HOUSE

It's your basic cookie cutter house - but it will work for us. There are five bedrooms, three bathrooms. The kitchen is the best part - nice and bright and light - my biggest complaint about my kitchen is how dark it is and i've been craving bright light and airy.

It was Seth and Annika's sixth anniversary yesterday, something I didn't realize until we were standing in the kitchen.

In the backyard - there will either be sod laid or seed planted and we are all thinking forget the seed, if we have to, we will pay for the sod ourselves. It's the perfect size yard. I can't wait to have hardly ANY yardwork after living on this acre of ours. I have gathered about 40 pots from the house and will move them over and slowly have a garden with pots. I was hoping to have a cactus garden but until Jake is a little older that might have to wait. I really love the many varieties of cactus.

It's certainly going to be different living with small kids again. Maybe I'll use this blog to chronicle all the funny (and not so funny) things that happen when you are older but live with young loud kids. Oh yes, they can be loud especially in a big empty house with echoes..ha.

It's so funny how this all worked out. That saying about man's best laid plans, etc. For the whole time the house has been on the market, we planned to either find a mobile home to buy or rent a small house, three bedrooms.


There were other plans being made on levels we had no idea. The synchronicity of Seth and Annika planning a move that was to happen in the same time frame as us, was interesting and so for a year, for us both to share in a rent and have small payments sounds pretty good. It will allow us to travel and know someone is taking care of the house while we are gone.

I can't wait to move and then hit the road. It's been a couple years since we have even taken three days away.

And how come I am such a lucky gramma to have not only two cute grandkids - but EIGHT!! ....I must include Hannah (my great niece who is more like a grandkid). So make it nine!

SCENES FROM THE LAST GET TOGETHER EVER (ALL 8 GRANDKIDS) AT THIS HOUSE

I loved it, found myself kind of weepy at times, looking out at all of them playing. The photos will eventually end up at all blogs, probably will be duplicates.

I love it when Jakey looks up and sees me and runs towards me. I'm never sure if it's me or the camera he is running to. He loves my camera.

I'M ON THE LEFT, AUNT LAURA ON THE RIGHT

I came across these and realized now why people were always asking us if we were twins. I would have been 19 and she was about 20 in this. We were on our way to visit the Santa Barbara Mission.