Almost Done...

Over the course of the last few weeks our house has gone from drywall only to cabinets, flooring, counters, paint...all of which have made it look and feel more and more like home to us. We still visit every night, as nearly every day something is new. Hasn't lost its luster and hope it won't for a long time.

The girls still find playing in the empty house so much fun (and a nice reprieve from 9 weeks living in an apartment!). Here they are playing restaurant, where Izzy always orders a Diet Coke and french fries. Atta girl.

When our cabinets were installed. They look black but that are really a very dark, called Mocha. Love them.

View out our back wall of windows

View looking into the great room from the dining room. Can you see Izzy is in the middle of a fit? Mid-foot stomp & arms crossed. Classic.

Kitchen view from living room looking at back door entry and planning nook.

Planning nook and front hall entry

Mud room at the back door

Deck, before house was painted...all raw & treated wood

Mike's pride & joy...his finished garage. Of course he had to upgrade to having finished and painted walls. He judges our neighbors based on whether or not they've finished theirs. Mike is also pumped that one of our neighbors hand waters his shrubs/flowers/trees/lawn (takes pride in his lawn!) with a cigar in his mouth. Mike has mowed the lawn with one since before I met him. Too bad ladies, he's all mine.

Staircase newly built

Judges paneling and crown molding going in. And a diva to boot.

Front entry looking into great room

We have counters!

Painting is now complete. We have a few shades of green, black shutters, white trim and a red door.

Carpet went in early last week and this is how much the girls love it:

It's funny, the first day we had carpet the girls spent a long time up in their rooms playing while Mike and I were downstairs measuring for furniture. Mike looked at me after about 20 minutes and said, "Should we be worried we haven't heard a peep from the girls?" I replied, "You should be thrilled we haven't heard from them!" Living in the apartment you can hear everyone at all times. Heck, you can SEE everyone at all times. Exciting to soon have some quiet time and personal space.

Here's a pic of the sink, oven and wood floors newly installed

It's really starting to look like a home!

Shower stall newly tiled and the girls are playing in it...I'm wearing a smile because we're that much closer to completion.

The last few nights after we visit our house we've gone to the pool for dinner and swimming. It's been fun slowly getting acclimated to our new neighborhood and community. Even more fun to see the nearly finished project. Tomorrow is our first walk through. We close on Tuesday. Movers come on Thursday. I've never been more happy to move in my life. It'll be like Christmas morning opening all the boxes that have been packed up for months. Organizing clothes, linens, dishes in new cabinets and closets. Decorating our new space. This is the fun part. And we're almost there.

I've Been Hangin' Around This Town...

I apologize in advance for the randomness that is this post. However, I was scrolling through my phone and realized I had a few pics I'd like to save (as phones come and go and the memory card goes with them as well) and keep for my memory. So bear with me as these are in no logical order. Just my life. Just hangin' around.

 Working at the Finish Line we get to see new products, new styles, new trends on a daily basis. I love that the accessory buyer come to me with all the new running products. Running sleeves have become quite the trend in the past few years and I'm loving the crazy colors Asics just came out with. Yet another way to stand out on the Monon trail (like we needed any help in that area?!).

 Izzalicious enjoying a snow cone at the pool

 The girls at the Carmel Farmers' Market. If you've never been, they have the BEST sweet corn in town.

 More pool time

 Sisters. So stinkin' cute.

 Driving home from Wisconsin and both asleep at the same time. This has happened NEVER. Pure road trip bliss.

 Counting Crows concert at White River State Park. Beautiful night, beautiful venue, beautiful friends.

 Was a rare date night for Mikey and I. We had an amazing night together. Love.

 Friday CrossFit class at work. Much smaller class than normal, but always the most fun (read: learning new tricks such as hand stand push-ups!).

Scored the girls new watermelon "keenees" from Wisconsin's own Farm & Fleet store. I have an obsession with visiting this store every time we are in town, as they have great steals for children's clothes. These are my two favorite melons snuggling on my lap at the pool. They can be so sweet with each other at times...until it turns into, "She's touching me!"

You're welcome for the random post. Deep thoughts haven't been coming my way lately...just good old fashioned summer time fun!

4th of July 2012

 The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays as it means we get to reconnect with friends and family. And lake time. We spent 5 days out of town (nice reprieve from apartment living!) traveling Northern Indiana and Wisconsin. Our first stop was in Culver at the Miller family's lake place. I'd never been to lake Maxinkuckee and was surprised to see how large it was...and it was beautiful, too! We had perfect weather for lake time.

 Daddy Mike entertaining the girls

 A view of the house, which was definitely not a cottage. This place is where I'd want to live if I were to live on a lake full time. Incredible.

 Watching (probably a princess) movie and snuggling. Maggie is quite the snuggler. If anyone sat down on the couch, she'd immediately curl up next to you. Love that.

 Back outside after naps. This little Explorer 200 offered us hours of entertainment. I'm laughing just recalling how hard Amy and I tried to get that little boat to motor just a few houses down. Wasn't pretty I tell you.

 And it wouldn't be a proper 4th of July celebration without a little watermelon eating contest...

 Daddy Jeff wanted in on the action, too

 Morning on the pier...again the snuggler Maggie moves in :)

 Not the greatest family picture...but we snapped this before we took off for our next stop

 Packed up the car and headed over to Lake Tippy to see the Tynans. After visiting for a bit and making lunch for the Littles, we suited up and headed out.

 Since we just see these little beauties once a year it always shocks me to see how much they grow since our last visit (and these kids grow...look how tall they are!). Laney, Grace, Luke, Maggie & Izzy.

 Love these girls

 And I especially love this girl. Bridget and I always catch up right where we left off. Like no time has passed. I treasure her friendship and am so happy we have been able to keep it going after all these years (and miles!). Miss her so much...

And then we were off to Wisconsin to visit Mike's family. We typically stay in Northern Indiana for the 4th, but this year things were a bit different; Mike's grandma Betty had a stroke a few weeks ago and is in the hospital recovering, which meant she and the rest of the family were staying in Wisconsin this year and not traveling to Indiana. Mike and I realized we were long overdue in a visit up north so off we headed to Janesville.

As soon as we arrived in town we went straight to the hospital to visit Grandma Great, Bob & Laura, and Dave & Deb. Of course Izzy put on quite the show, singing every song in her repertoire and showing off her dance and gymnastics moves. We all found it quite entertaining. After a few hours at the hospital we headed to Aunt Deb's house (Bob's sister) where we always stay when we are in town.

Mike's cousin Steve drove over with Amanda from Milwaukee to spend some quality time with us (and partake in our normal shenanigans).  

Fortunately we were also able to see Mike's cousins Michelle & Chris and his Uncle Jimmy. We had so much fun catching up with all of them and the trip wouldn't have been complete without seeing them. Was somewhat of a wild and crazy night, as it was Jimmy's high school reunion that we crashed.

Was a very fun and relaxing 5 days away from home the apartment. Friends, family and memories galore...I look forward to doing it all again next year. Happy Birthday, America (and Grandma Betty!).