Green Acres

We've been in exactly a month and it's been wonderful!  It seems like longer though...in a good way.  We have been so busy, yard work, unpacking, more yard work, having a deck built, exploring, campfires and barbecues!  I have to give Best the credit for finding this place and sharing his dream with me.  We are having so much fun as a family in our new beautiful surroundings. 

The kids love the front porch and it's great for messy snacks too!  There is a door right into the kitchen that has a pull screen too.  

When you enter the house from the front door you can see one of the main reasons we fell in love with this house.  The views.  We have lots of changes in mind for this room but the focal point for me will always be that big window.

 And it's a great place to watch for birds, and bunnies, and deer, and pheasants!

Here is a  panorama of the back yard.  The grass line in the back looks rounded because of the panorama but you can get an idea.  It's the perfect size for upkeep with the nature close by!  We have a large side yard to the right and a little nature trail through the trees to the left that leads to our pond.

Best and I couldn't believe this house didn't already have a deck with the incredible views it has but in a way it was for the best.  We were able to choose the colors, size, and materials we wanted and if you know us it won't surprise you that we went with maintenance free!  We also added a large rattan sofa and club chairs for a comfy lounge type feeling and I really love it.  We found another great place for the outdoor dining set you will see...

 Here's the kitchen, to the right of the living room you saw earlier.  I love it and I'm even loving my gas stove!  I was always scared of gas but I have gotten the hang of it.  I love the smell because it reminds me of my grandma's house.  Underneath those big windows is a large banquette.  The kids love it and we lucked out finding just the right table to fit in the space.

This picture was taken looking out that very window on one of the first mornings in the house.  We didn't have the deck yet or I would've been outside with my coffee watching the sunrise.  But sitting at the banquette looking at this was a close second.

We keep the kids binoculars in a cabinet they can reach in the kitchen and they love to look for wildlife while they wait for their breakfast.




Lunch is usually at the bar.  It's right by the sink and dishwasher so I can just talk to them while I work.  They are usually hungry for lunch way before I am!


Here's a view from the kitchen into the four seasons porch.  It's a nice sized room where we spend most of our time reading and playing on the floor with the kids.  It's also a great spot for birdwatching as we are so high up that it's like looking out of a tree house!

 This is the formal dining room that is situated between the front entryway and the kitchen.  It's a great place for our large table and the fish tank and we ate there on Mother's Day.  It's also a great place to work on a puzzle that you want to leave out in progress. 

This is Sister's room for now.  I say "for now" because it's really meant to be an office and when we finish the basement she will have a room down there.  But in the meantime it's just as big as her room was at the old house and it's nice to have her on the main floor with us.  She also has a window the front yard at a great height for her.

 The last room on the main floor is the master bedroom suite.  It includes our bedroom, which has huge windows and the same view as the living room, a shower and toilet room, a walkin closet, and a dressing area with double vanities and the giant whirlpool tub you see here.  We've had lots of fun in this tub and as Peanut say's, "Mom! I can really practice my swimming and diving in here!"

On one side of the living room is a spiral staircase that leads to the bonus suite.  I wouldn't have thought to call it that but that's what the real estate listing said.  It's this huge room built above the garage with it's own 3/4 bath, separate thermostat, huge closet, skylights, and a little nook with a window overlooking the front drive.  As you can see, Peanut's settled in quite nicely and we've taken to calling him "Fonzie" now that he lives above the garage.  Smile.

 His little reading nook.  We've hung some more pictures since we took this but we still have a ways to go with decorating in both his and Sister's rooms.  But for one month in I think we're doing pretty good.

 But besides all the greatness indoors...here is the real reason we thought it worthwhile to uproot and hitch the wagons.  The Great Outdoors:

 

These pictures speak for themselves but I have to let you know that after collecting this bag of rose petals Sissy took herself a rose petal bath....and she even let Bubba get in and soak a bit!

 

 

 

So so happy we decided to take this step and have ourselves a new adventure.  There is much work to do but we are enjoying doing it and that's what makes it so great.  Thank you so much to my Best for working so hard to make this possible for us and finding this little private retreat that's still so close to town.  Oh yeah...did I mention I'm still 2 miles from the grocery store?  Life is good.   

Have a great week friends and family! 

Goodbye 1408

 

1408 4th st. Se.  The "old" place...that didn't really seem very old.  We just lived there 2 and 1/2 years in fact.  When we moved in, and pretty much the whole time we lived there, I insisted I would never move.  But when Best told me he was longing for more elbow room I understood and gave him the difficult task of finding his dream property within minutes of my favorite parks, school, library and the grocery store.  And by gosh he did it in record time!  So goodbye to this house, fast paced life in the "big city" and on to our little country estate.  Smile.

Although so many significant moments happened in this house, like bringing home Sister, I know the kids will have fuzzy memories of it because they are still so young.  Hoping these pictures will help them remember this place where we completed our family.

 

Front entry and "reading room."  It was actually probably supposed to be the formal dining room but we had the fish tank in there, our little "reading/snack table, a ton of books, and it's where the Christmas tree lived during the holidays.  Three fun Christmas mornings in that room. 

 

The kitchen.  I really loved this kitchen.  The island was the perfect size and lots of room for more than one cook in the kitchen!  The Cambria countertops were amazing and the pantry was a great size too.  I even decided I loved the black sink I wasn't so fond of when we moved in.  I guess some things grow on you...
 The living room.  I loved these floors with the stained borders and the two complimenting paint colors.  I always missed vaulted ceilings a touch and definitely would've liked a fan, but we had many cozy fun times in front of that fire place and that is the room I was in when I said to Best, "Ok, I think I need to go to the hospital now, the baby is coming!"

 The office.  I liked the big window, the stripes not so much, but never got around to painting them.  I guess I figured they went with the other paint and well, painting is for the birds!

 I remember the night I put these letters up.  I always sing this song to the kids and I was actually making a stencil for a painted sign but when I peeled the vinyl up I just couldn't bring myself to throw them away.  We read it often and it was a good way to start and end our days.

 The kids bath.  I feel like I spent a lifetime on that floor while they bathed.   Peanut likes extra long baths and they don't bathe together due to bubble preferences....smile.

 Sissy's room.  It was a yellowish beige with a blue ceiling when we moved in and then we didn't find out she was a girl until she was born so we lived with that blue ceiling for about 8 months.  I love the color we picked and might use it again when we finish her room in the new house.  We did paint it ourselves and although it's a pain it saves so much money!

 Hayden's room.  Again, I thought I would paint over the stripe until we realized it was Trojan red and well, he is a huge New Prague hockey fan so I stifled my urge to grab a paint can...ok, it wasn't really that hard!  I feel like he grew up so much in this room.  He moved in at 2 years and 5 months and was 4 years and almost 11 months when we moved out.  Big big changes during that time!   From Winnie the Pooh sheets to Transformers pretty much sums it up. One constant was hockey and we played so many games with those mini hockey players and that ice mat we should be in the record book!

 The view from his window.  We would often look out waiting for Matt to come home and see how high we could count while we waited.   And always watched the trash and recycling trucks.  Birds too.

 Our bedroom.  Not much to this one.   A decent place to rest after a long day but we are so happy to trade in that window we could never open for the great view we have now! 

  Our basement.  Such a great playspace for the kids and the scene of many great playdates and parties.  We loved the flooring and plan on doing something similar in the new house!

The rest of the basement.  This was where we had an air hockey table and where the guys watched hockey.  Again, it was a great space for us but I'm happy the new place is a walk out on to a private lot. 

And here is what we moved into the garage for the movers to save time and money.  They came in and loaded up the big stuff and got most of this in too. 

 And then we took what was left in this truck.  It was exhausting.  But isn't moving always that way?

And here's one of the main reasons we did.  Although we loved our house, we found one we loved as much but in a setting we loved twice as much.  I mean, there are better views than this...

like this perhaps...smile.  And then when you find it 2 miles away...well, it took a little convincing but not much. 

So goodbye to 1408, thank you for hosting some wonderful memories.  

 

The Perfect Nanny

The month of April was a whirlwind of packing and closing down the "old" house.  Goodbye 1408.  As I write this we are already unpacked and settled in the new place but I didn't want to move on and forget our last days on fourth street.  Grandpa Chuck came to visit and help with the kids and it was so helpful to have him entertaining while I worked. 

Pretty soon after Dad arrived we had the movers come and we were left in an almost empty house.  Just our mattresses, a few toys and books.  But reading is something we all enjoy so much and I am fond of saying, "A good reader is never bored."  A trip to the library and we have hours of entertainment!

 

And of course we had fun with our 3D books written and illustrated by Grandpa Chuck himself!

 Two of Grandpa Chuck's main interests are magic and flying and he brought some of both to share this trip.  Here he is showing the kids the "magic vase" which he left for Peanut to practice.

Sissy's pouring water trick which requires a towel and usually floor cleanup...smile.

He was so impressed with Peanut's checkers skills and has promised to start chess lessons on a future visit.  I remember Dad playing with Grandpa and it's fun to see the tradition continued.

And it's also a nice way to settle down before bed after a long day of Transformers and police chase.

Speaking of things that fly, this was a funny one.  She let go too soon and couldn't figure out where in the heck it went!

The kids had so much fun with these little balsa wood flyers.  I love when they are outdoors exercising and using their imaginations. 

Thanks Dad for coming to help and spending so much time playing with the kids.  They have learned so much from you and have so much fun while they do!  I enjoyed our visit too and I'm so looking forward to you bringing Mom back to the new house.  I love you both so much!