Viking Commander Way

So you may have heard: we moved. Out of the apartment. And into our new house. On Viking Commander Way. Don't worry, we know it's a ridiculous name, too. And you better believe I spent hours attempting to change the street name. With the developer. And the city. To no avail. So Viking Commander Way it is.

Our new development used to be owned by the Mayor's family for years and years. Was a very large horse farm that had two loops: a 1 mile loop and a 1/2 mile loop. Our house sits on the perimeter of the 1 mile loop and backs up to the Monon Trail. You can see the rest of our street has yet to be developed but there are already about 20 or so houses built. And they keep going up daily. 

These pictures are somewhat out of order, but they'll have to do. The above pic was prior to the exterior being painted. You can see the raw hearty wood plank siding naked.

Entry stairs

Kitchen before appliances went in.

Below is of our bathroom before the tub and shower doors were installed

Below is the day we closed (and prior to moving in). We went to the house and started putting furniture together and moving a few things. Was so fun to be able to leave our belongings there instead of erasing all traces of our visits.

The girls watched movies in the loft while we worked...

...until they found boxes and got to playing in them.

Music and beverages...how else would you unpack???

Painting complete

Borrowed Jaime's truck to take apartment contents over while Mike was working with the movers packing up two large trucks.

Nanny Natalie thoughtfully brought us flowers...and they were a beautiful touch to our new space

After Thursday, Friday and Saturday moving and unpacking, we invited our closest friends to help us celebrate our new home.

Lukey and Gigi above, Amy and Jill below

Chandelier installed and new table/chairs put together

A view from our stairway...gives you an idea of the colors

Entry way...my Nana's church pew fits perfectly in this space.

View from the living room looking into the mudroom, planning center and entry way

Girls' bathroom...double sinks is where it's at. Seriously. Two kids. Two sinks. Makes night time routines that much easier.

Mudroom looking into kitchen

Mud room

And that is Viking Commander Way in a nutshell. We're loving our new space and can't wait to start decorating. Still have lots of unpacking to do (home decor et al)...seems every day there's something we can't find. Three day weekend ahead of us with lots of rain = productive time at home!

Stay tuned for a Viking themed party coming up. Mike's brewing beer in anticipation. I'm searching for Viking hats. Totally normal activities around the McCulloch house!

Girls, girls, girls...

This summer has been quite unique and very special; we spent 10 weeks in an apartment and had the pleasure of Nanny Natalie returning to our lives for a second summer. We had a lot of time on our hands, as Mike didn't have any yard work (don't think anyone really did with the drought) and I didn't have any housework. Over the course of the summer we became very creative in ways to spend our nights and weekends...finding any reason to get out of the confines of the apartment.

Lots and lots of pool time

 Tea parties

 Natalie took the girls to a (local!) beach

 Lots of care packages were sent from family (many thanks!)

 Car seats in the house = dinner strapped in (their choice)

 Princess tea party at the library with Natty

Trip to the zoo with the Feller fam 

 Lots of play dates with Mags

 Natalie had the girls write to the Disney Princesses...

...both girls were excited to see Tangled (Rapunzel) and Ariel when we'll be there in December. Oh, and eat at Pizza Hut with them, too. Duh. Aparently they will write the girls back...can't wait to see what they get!

 We've discovered some new favorite restaurants right around the corner from our new house

 And more swimming

 Saying hi to the flamingos at the zoo (pic for cousin Taylor)

 Natalie moved out of her sorority this year and into an apartment for her Senior year. A trip to IKEA got her all set for apartment living and she scored us a few great toy storage pieces for our basement, too.

 Night swimming happened frequently

 Natalie took the girls to the Children's Museum and here they are giving their mean motorcycle faces.

 Slight new obsession with the new princess, Merida, from Brave

 Lots of home decor shopping...where Mike thought we just had to have this little number. I'm sorry to say this little gem did NOT make it home with us. Shoot.

 Potty training was a huge success this summer...Laney mastered it at the exact same age as Izzy did. Glad were done with diapers...but now this means TWICE as many potty trips when we're out. You give, you take.

 Fun at the Carmel Farmer's Market

 We watched Ben's baseball game one muggy evening...

 More potty training

 And more furniture shopping. I'm sure the employees at these stores just loved us. We came with bags of activities for the girls. Yep, we're that family.

 The girls with their new accessories a la Natty at the mall

 We saw Brave on opening day. The girls loved it and we snuggled the entire movie. Love my Fridays off with them!

 Laney experienced the dentist for the first time. No hesitation on her part (like her sister when it was her first visit)...she jumped right up willingly. Clean bill of health for Laney. Not so much for Iz. Still not ready to talk about that...

The girls before the princess tea party at the library...all three of them wore dresses and almost every accessory we own for the occasion. 

Izzy does handstands wherever she can...she's still enjoying gymnastics and building her upper body strength. Taking a few months off to try out soccer this Fall. Should be interesting watching 5 year olds chase a ball around a field...I think I started playing when I was 6, so it'll fun to relive the size 3 soccer balls.

Lots and lots of library books circulated our house this summer. This is the first time I heard Laney reading to Izzy. Love hearing their imaginations at work.

Natalie's last day just happened to be on the same day we moved into our house. Just as it was last year, it was an emotional day. Natalie got the girls necklaces with a special picture of each of them together with Natty. The girls got Natalie a special necklace as well. We hugged and sobbed, per our usual...and bid Natalie farewell. But we'll be seeing her soon...the girls are having an IU sleepover next month at Natalie's new apartment. FUN!

So there's the girls' summer in a nutshell. Izzy & Laney went back to school yesterday where Izzy started pre-kindergarten and Laney started pre-school. Back to the grind!