Busy Busy Busy

There is never down time in our lives it feels.  My brother makes fun of me for "reading blogs" and "facebook-ing" all night long, but I have tried to explain that I don't even get on the computer  until 11 most nights so I'm not usually on that long but it is late.  The good news...at my house tile is all layed in the bathrooms, just needs grout.  Carpet is being layed onWednesday.  Once that's done we can pretty much live there cuz at least we'll have a place to sleep.  Anyway, here are some other fun and random happenings lately.

My son....he's crazy.  One day he "escaped" from bed and I heard him out playing in the other room but just tried to ignore it.  Then suddenly I hear a little 'mama?'  and he'd crawled up behind me like this....

But wait.  This is not the first time he's gotten in this situation.  For some reason he can't unbuckle himself from this car seat or at least chooses not to!

Like I said, he's crazy.

One thing Keaton loves is flags.  He's called them flags for a long time  but recently every time we see one he says "Look its the United States of America"  which often prompts him to start saying the pledge.  (thank you preschool) Along with his patriotism, he enjoys uniforms as I suppose most little boys do.  One uniform he recognizes right away is a scout uniform.  He knows he's not old enough to be a cub scout but talks about it all the time.  This week my mom took him with her to the Blue & Gold Banquet and let him wear a shirt.  He was totally elated!  He has a hard time keeping his fingers together but he can tell you..."On my honor I will do my best!"

Also this week Keaton had his last soccer game.  It's funny, his first game he did really well.  The next few it was like he forgot what to do at all and seemed to prance around the field rather than get the ball.  At practice he's good at running the drills but get out there with all those other crazy kids and it all goes asaide.  However this game he was back on top of the action.  So  maybe it was the pressure and adrenaline of the first and last games who know.  I guess you can't expect much more when you have twelve 3-year olds on the field at a time.

 This This is Keaton at mid field doing the kick off to start the second half.  He's going the right way, the other boy on his team is facing the wrong direction...a common occurance.

The boys were super excited to get their trophies.  Keaton and a friend were showing off their trophies to each other.  They were bragging "I got a trophie" as if the other boy didn't have the exact one in his hand.  Next came "Mine has my name."  and magically they each had their name.  It was actually kind of cute to see how proud they were.

The week ended with my Grandpa's 80th birthday party.  The funny thing about it is that his birthday was actually in the middle of January but since they wanted all of his children to be there they pushed it back a bit.  Which meant it really was a surprise party.  It was a wonderful party hosted by the Neal's.  The barbeque was delicious and everyone brought great sides.

 We had a little quiz about Papa's life which was fun to hear some stories we hadn't heard before. 

 Then is was time for family pictures, which need to be done much more often than it actually happens.

Keaton got to take a picture of Sarah our photographer.  It was a bribe to get him to stand in the picture.

And last but not least my mom and her siblings showing love one to another. Gotta love family! 

Thanks to my Papa and Nana Levi for starting such a great family together.  We are so blessed because of your dedication and faith!

p.s.  This new format drives me crazy...all of my words should be left justified all of my pictures should be centered but I can't seem to fix it right...and where is the spell check!

Progress...

So it's taken over a week but all the big painting is done, minus trim and doors...and the beginnings of the tile are have been put down...

Also, here is Keaton's first attempt at graffiti.  He can never make a K on paper, maybe it's the fine motor skills holding him back.  Anyway hope this is a site that I don't ever see again.

My Valentine

The big celebrations were at school of course.  Keaton got lots of Valentines from his friends and of course way too much candy.  Besides the 10 kids and 6 teachers in his class, lots of the "big kids" from child development brought them treats too and helped them dip pretzels and strawberries in chocolate.  Yummy!

Took this picture of us Friday morning before school.  It took me a while to figure out my camera was not on auto but some other setting that was making all my pictures suck.  Anyway it's a cute pic despite the grains etc.

On Valentine's Day I gave Keaton a balloon.  He woke up and found it on the table. He saw his name on the card and really started to go crazy.  He told everyone about his balloon all day.   I have to remember to buy my poor child a balloon more often.  It really has been hours of enjoyment.

Day 1.5

Warning - over the next week my blog may be a daily diary of my house....

 I should have moved the ladder but I was tired and lazy

I finally got my keys on Wednesday.  Thursday we had a family math night at school.  Friday we went out to the house at about 6 pm.  I I cleaned the nasty nasty bathroom so we had one to use and pulled up the sheet vinyl in the bathrooms and kitchen.  My brother unscrewed all the switch plates and outlet covers etc.  My dad was in the attic trying to figure out why my kitchen lights don't work and my mom was cleaning the kitchen and dusting windowsills.

Saturday was the big day.  I had Keaton's soccer game and a baby shower but my dad went over early to get started. He figured out the lights didn't work because every one of the 6 bulbs were burned out.  He took off air vents and light fixtures, fixed the hall toilet and did a little drywall repair to the ceiling in the kitchen and pulled off all the baseboards in kitchen and bath.  We headed to Home Depot in the afternoon for paint.  Back at the house we painted the ceiling in the laundry and kitchen, taped off doors and windows and cleaned and replaced all fixtures in the kitchen.

We didn't get the kitchen walls painted like we had hoped.  But I started one wall just to compare the color against the tile I picked out.  What you can't tell from this picture is that the previous color turns very pinkish and the tile I like has more yellow tones plus since my furniture is dark and I'm putting wood in the living room I thought I should lighten up the walls just a bit. 

Next week will include 5 nights of painting.  Oh the fun!

Scripture Power

Keaton's first scripture in church...just one month after becoming a Sunbeam.   It was pretty typical...at first he didn't want to talk and when I told him the reference he even said.  "I'm not going to say that" but in the end he repeated the words half mumbled and kind of quietly.  It's the start of many more talk, scriptures and prayers to come.

John.  15:12 - This is my commandment, That you love one another as I have loved you.

Bottomless Bowling

In the comfort of your own home you may enjoy bowling in your underwear...

Or maybe you prefer golf?

Or finally you may be a tennis fan, which happens to be Keaton's favorite Wii Sport.  However, it is hard to snap photos as tennis balls are being hit at you! 

My House....Before

For those that have been asking.....here it is.  I did a final walk through on my house Thursday, signed all the paperwork on Friday but apparently we're in a line to actually get funded so that is supposed to be Wednesday.....these last two weeks have taken forever.  But while I was doing my walk through I snapped a few pictures.  I plan to put new flooring in and repaint the whole interior so I thought I'd take some "before" pictures.

This is obviously a kitchen.  Through that door is the laundry room which also has shelves down the entire back wall for a pantry.  Also the door to the back yard.  On the right would be more counter, the sink etc. and it's open to the living room.  You can also see the lighting fixture that should go over the table. On a side note, they weren't supposed to leave the fridge so I've been shopping for a black one, but if the white one is there and free I may just keep it.

Miscellaneous couch left behind. Behind that couch would be the wall into the kitchen.  You can see the light coming in from the front door.  That half wall you see goes into the hallway.  There is a middle bedroom that has double doors, the garage, Keaton's bed and bath are to the right and the master is to the left.  Since this room is such a walkway and since the garage goes into the hallway I'm planning on doing the wood laminate in the entry, living room and hall.  You can see that the carpet desperately needs to go.

This is the picture from the original listing...just for reference.

This room will be my playroom/office. It has the double doors that open up to the living room. Keaton's toy shelves etc will go in the closet or under the window.  I want to get a corner desk for the corner that you can't see :)  This room needs the lovely horses taken down and currently has no flooring at all. 

This is Keaton's room.  Not much to see.  It looks really small in this picture but it's pretty normal.  This is the only flooring in the house that is not trashed but it's going out with the rest of it.

The back yard is pretty good sized though the patio is small...on my to do list (probably not in the next 6 months) is to pour a bit more concrete.  Push the rock to the sides and put some grass in the middle and find a spot maybe in that back corner for the swingset.

Last but not least, the front of my house.  Just needs some trimming up and maybe some plants that flower...or some flowers :)

I plan on 3 weeks of "remodel" before I move in.  I feel like I'm making a big deal of this but it is my first house and it's just all mine.  If there is a good side of being divorced, I get to make all the decisions myself and it can be just what I want it to be....well with many budget restraints of course.  I am super excited to get my furniture out of storage and remember all the things I have.  Check back in a few weeks for updates.