we are in! (a long overdue post)

i've been hesitant to do my "we moved in!" post.  yes, we are in, but there is still so much that needs to get done.  i want to be able to show finished product pictures.  not pictures that are followed by a list of all the things that are still missing or incorrect.

today, since jeff and i are both off for the holiday, we had our contractor schedule some of the trades to come by and work since we would both be around.  for the record, i hate having strangers in my home around all my stuff.  especially when jeff is not around.  it is now 10:30 a.m. and we have yet to have anyone show up.  hopefully they will come soon.

despite all of this, we are thrilled to be moved in!  jeff and i have a long list of projects we want to get done.  first up, the garage and yard.  our goals for february include:

1. have a garage sale
2. organize and paint the interior of our garage
3. have rain gutters installed
4. have a rain reservoir system installed

as rooms become complete, i'll be sure to share them with you guys.  but for now i'll share a before and after of the exterior of the house.  last may i announced the exciting news of purchasing my grandparents house and shared this photo: 

and here is what our home looks like today:

i'm not going to give you the long list of everything that still needs to be done.  just know it is not done ;)

and do you see that handsome guy working on the left side of the picture???  that would be jeff who is digging up these things:

from what i'm being told it was a border around flower beds that have since been overgrown.  i don't remember them, but my sister does.  i'm not really sure what we are going to do with them.

~becky

christmas 2012

hope you all had a very merry christmas!  we are not quite done, still one more gathering to go.  but i thought i would go ahead and share a few pictures.

christmas for me went by way too fast.  we moved in to our house in the beginning of december (pictures to come soon - promise!) and i literally got the beds in and then put up my tree.  locals joked that it was probably the first thing i put up.  my tree goes in the front living room in front of a large window and can be viewed from the street.  all the unpacking got put on hold and instead we chose to make gingerbread houses, bake cookies, watch a gazillion christmas movies, view christmas lights and savor every moment of the season.

kelby's kindergarten class had a few local performances.  they sang a handful of songs while their teacher played the guitar.  they really did good.  

this particular song the kids individually walked to the front and announced what they would give baby jesus on his birthday.  kids responded with music, their love, a picture, etc.  kelby chose to give baby jesus a butterfly - haha!  one kid also chose to give baby jesus broccoli - hilarious!

rudolph the red nose reindeer:

little drummer boy:

we also had class parties to attend.  kevyn's class all had elf hats.  they were so stinkin' cute!

kevyn attended kelby's class party with me.  kevyn was thrilled to go to another party, i'm just not sure how thrilled kelby was to have her there.

kelby's class has a class bunny named snowy.  their gift from mrs. z was a picture of each student with snowy.  kelby has since decided her nightstand is the perfect place for this picture.

on the 23rd we had christmas with jeff's parents.  grandma and grandpa like to spoil their granddaughters and they racked up some great gifts.  here aunt "emmy" is showing kelby how to apply her new justin bieber perfume   the perfume was like #2 on her wish list - geez!

kelby and kevyn also received vests and gloves to be used for our upcoming ski trip.  the girls are quite the models ;)

grandma & grandpa and their granddaughters:

when we got home that evening, we wrote a letter to santa requesting that he come one night early.  we gave our letter to "sparkles rainbow" our elf and asked that she deliver it to santa for us.  when then set out some cookies and chocolate milk for santa and some carrots for the reindeer.  

"sparkles rainbow" must have got that letter to santa because the next morning we woke up to some serious giftage under the tree.  the girls must have been pretty good this year.

can you believe that during gift opening mayhem i failed to get one picture???

before we headed out to other gatherings on christmas day, i attempted to rig my camera up for a family shot.  words can not express how painful this project was for all of us.  something about not having a live body to say "1, 2, 3, cheese!" behind the camera completely threw my kids off.  

this is the picture of me and kevyn testing camera placement:

and of the 10+ pictures we took, this was the best one of the entire family:

(ignore the boxes in the background and the lack of mantle styling)

christmas day evening we had a gathering at my parents house.  they too love to spoil their granddaughters (and kids!).  check out all those presents under around the tree!

the next set of pictures crack me up.  poor neely just wasn't having it...

with a crying neely out of the picture, these three thought it would be a good idea to show off their best super model poses.  such monkeys!

my sister and her family:

my parents and the grandchildren:

and our family.  this one is probably better than the one we tried to take by ourselves at home:

can  you guess what these monkeys received in their stockings???  i think kelby looks kinda gangsta in hers ;)

so there ya go.  christmas 2012 minus one gathering.

and, as i promised myself i would, on the 26th i started to unpack the rest of the boxes and order some furniture and missing fixtures.  the next gathering will be at our home and although it is just family, i want my home to look a little more organized than it currently is.  plus, i'm pretty sure they are going to want doorknobs on the bathroom doors.  and some window coverings would be nice too.  say a little prayer for us that everything comes in within the next week - eek!