Our House

I think our house in South Bend is final and we know it's going to work out! I have been waiting to post picutres until we knew for sure that it was ours! We are excited to get to South Bend and get settled. It's three bedrooms, two and half baths with a finished basement and a fenced-in backyard. It has been fixed up and all the carpet is new, there's new hardwood floors, and all the bathrooms have been remodeled. Here are a few pictures of our house:

This is the kitchen. It's cute, a little smaller than I was hoping for, but it will work fine. The kids can play out in the backyard while I am cooking dinner and watching them out the window. This is the backyard. It's big, fenced in and so nice! The kids are looking forward to having a place to run. Bryan and I are excited to have a place to hang out and BBQ or sit and chat.

This is the basement. It's half finished. This will probably be the TV room and playroom. There is a small room you can see in the picture. It will probaby be our office and maybe share as a guestroom. I'm not sure it will fit a bed in it- we'll have to see once we get there. There is also a room for storage and a place for the washer and dryer.

This is the house. Isn't it cute?! The curb appeal is great. There is a wooden swing on the front porch that the seller's are leaving and the house is at the end of a circle so the kids will be able to play and ride bikes without worrying about too much traffic. Bryan and I have talked about maybe painting the yellow part someday. We'll see if that really happens. I really don't mind the yellow though.

This is the master bedroom. It's hard to see in the picture, but it's a nice size and I love the stripe that goes around the room. The bathrooms are all redone. It will be so great to have our own bathroom! No messes with toothpaste, bows and elastics, tub toys, etc. The kids rooms are cute too, but I don't have any pictures of those yet.

This is the family room. It's cute, but small. The rest of the house made up for this space! I actually think it will work out fine for our family.

This is the formal living room. I have big plans for this room! I want to use my Titanic ship as inspiration and decorate it old-fashioned/vintage like. It will take a few months to save up some money to pull off my idea, but good things can wait, right?!

So, that's it. Having a home is something I have looked forward to for a long, long, long time. It will be great not having to worry about being quiet for the neighbors! The kids will have space to get away from each other when they need some alone time.

I wonder how long it is going to take for it to feel like 'home'. It is hard to imagine anywhere but Vermont feeling like home. I am struggling with the thought of leaving Vermont. I will miss it so much. We have had great experiences here and have made life-long friends. Driving away from here is going to be so hard.

At the same time, I am looking forward to moving on. Bryan is finally done with school and will have a real job! I'm sure we will have more great experiences and make more wonderful friends. I am always up to a new adventure!

Projects

The countdown is on! We move to Indiana in just under a month. The time is flying and I have a lot to do. I have a few projects that need to get done. The first one I did was the girls' dresser. I resanded it and stained it- looks like new! I should have pictures, but I don't.

Bryan found this rocking chair on craigslist for $20. We went to Joann's and bought some outdoor canvas fabric and recovered the seat. Then we sanded the chair down and then stained it with Pecan wood stain.

Before...

After...We can't wait to put it on our front porch and rock while we watch the kids ride bikes and play.

Next, we had a yard sale with our neighbors. I have been cleaning out our house and was glad to get rid of some things. Niah and her friend Gracie sold lemonade and cookies. They each made about $6.00. Pretty impressive!

Only a few things are left on my list:
*Finish Bennett's wood blocks that I started two months ago.
*Make some art boards to give to friends or sale at the next yard sale.
*Cook some meals and freeze them for when my mom and dad come to stay with the kids. (Bryan and I are going to the beaches of Mexico!)

Superstar

A few weeks ago, we got a flyer saying that our housing community was having a talent show. Not really thinking anything of it, I asked Niah if she wanted to do something for it. Her answer was, "Ya, I want to break dance!" So, I put her on the list, not expecting her to really go through with it. Well, the day came. I had been telling her all week that we needed to practice. She got nervous and wouldn't practice that day. I asked her if she knew what she was going to do in her dance and she told me she had it all planned out. She fixed her own hair, chose her own clothes, and picked out her own music. We got to the talent show and she told the girl in charge that she didn't want to be first but that she would go fourth! I was expecting her to get too nervous and not do it, but when her turn came she rocked out! I started the music and she started dancing like her Aunt Kell. (She told me beforehand that she was going to dance like her Aunt Kelly!) I was a proud mother and couldn't wipe the grin off of my face while she was dancing! Niah has some moves. She did awesome!

Family Time

We had another fun day outside. We went and visited a different park for a picnic just for a change of scenery. With Bryan being home, we have had lots of time to do nothing as a family. It has been so nice. Bennett loves the swing. He giggles the whole time he is in the swing.

The girls are learning how to 'pump'. Niah likes to pretend she is a Superhero!

Little Benny Boy has two teeth now! They came in just a couple of weeks ago. If you look closely you can see them. He looks so grown up with his cute teeth.

This week may not be so relaxing. It's about time I get my behind in gear and start packing for our upcoming move. The time will go too quickly.

A Day On The Lake

On Wednesday, the weather was beautiful and we all really needed to get out of the house. We loaded up Bryan's kayak and strapped it to the top of our van (Bryan said it was a little like a Chevy Chase vacation!) and went to a place called Colchester Pond. It was great. The kids had so much fun. Bennett wanted to eat the rocks and the girls liked throwing them in the lake.

It was so quiet out on the water. I love quiet, it doesn't happen very often at our house!

We put Bennett in the kayak to see if he would like it- boy did he love it! Look at that grin. We need to get him his own life jacket so he can go out next time.

I love that the weather is changing. Spring is here. We are taking full advantage!

MIA and a Treasure

I have been MIA from the blogging world these days. It has been a little busy around here and if I'm on the computer then I am usually looking at furniture for our new house! I went to South Bend last week and found us a house. Bryan stayed with the kids while I went all alone. It was not as scary as I thought it would be! It was really fun and the house we got is going to be perfect for our family. I can't wait to get there and get settled. I'll have to post some pictures of the house later.

Bryan and I have been into antiques lately so we went and visited some local antique shops just to see what we could find. We stumbled upon this beauty...I have always loved the story of the Titanic. I remember reading a book about it in 7th grade and I developed a fascination for it. Then the movie came out and that made me love it 10x's more! Yes, I was one of those girls who was obsessed with the movie. I saw it in the theater seven or eight times. To this day, "My Heart Will Go On" is the only song I still have memorized on the piano. When I saw this ship, I knew I had to have it! We left the shop and I couldn't stop thinking about how bad I wanted the ship. So, after selling a few things around the house and earning the money to go buy it, I went and made the purchase. I couldn't be happier about it!! I can't wait to put it in our new house. I love my new treasure.

Easter

We had a great Easter day. Celebrations started on Saturday with an egg hunt put on by the medical school. The kids got some fun prizes and it was a beautiful day to be outside!

Sunday morning we had a visit from the Easter bunny. The kids each got a ball and lots of candy.

We then had some ebleskivers for breakfast. Bryan's mom taught me how to make them and it has become a tradition to make them on general conference weekend. So yummy.

We could not celebrate Easter without continuing our tradition of throwing our eggs down a hill. We found a hill close to our house that was perfect for egg throwing.

Even Bennett gave it a try!

The girls had a blast and were a little sad when all their eggs were gone and broken.

Some of us took naps while listening to conference. Oops! I really tried to stay awake. Something about the general authorities voices make me sleepy- they are soothing!

Bennett played peek-a-boo with us before he went to sleep. He can pull himself up to things now.

The most important thing we did yesterday was celebrate and think about the resurrection of our Savior. I thought it was wonderful to be able to listen to conference on Easter. It really helped us focus on what is important on Easter. I'm grateful for my Savior and all that he did for me.


Photo found here.



We hope you all had a wonderful Easter too!