~Settling in~

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to post with this one, but I thought it would be nice to post a quick update. I do promise to get pictures up soon, though. We are moved into our new home, thanks to the help of family and friends over the weekend. Dustin's parents helped us with most of boxes, cleaning the old place, and {partially} installing the garage door opener - it was a huge help to have 2 extra set of hands with this stuff during the day. Then after work on Friday, we had 8 or 9 friends help us move the heavy stuff and tie up the loose ends. THANK YOU DONNY, TREVOR, MEGHANN, KATRINA, ALEX, JOHN, HEIDI, AND AARON!!!! And it was great to see our new neighbors, Stacey and Sarah, too! :) We have unpacked 98% of the boxes and have all of our "essentials" out of the boxes and put away. Now, we just need to find time to personalize and really make it our own. Hopefully we'll get the pictures hung, shelves up, curtains in place, candles burning, etc. soon....not to mention paint on the walls. It's all white, so I am dying to add color. I guess it's not that bad, I just prefer a little color on the walls. And of course, Dustin needs to finish installing the garage door opener so we can fully utilize the garage.

With all that said, I must say this WE LOVE OUR NEW HOME and we both feel so incredibly blessed to be in it. It feels so nice to be home owners and it's absolutely wonderful to come home to our home every night after work. The only thing that would make it better is if I wasn't at work so long every day! :)

We look forward to meeting our neighbors and truly getting settled into our new home in the great neighborhood! Stop by and say hey if you're in the area....or if you're out of the area, we have room!

~More House Pics~

Some more pictures of the house, for those who want to see - mainly our family, I'm sure! :) At any rate, Dustin was over there today while the home inspector was over there and was able to snap some of these interior photos.

Downstairs

Kitchen
Dining room and sliding doors to back yard and patio

Family room/living area

Upstairs

Landing area

Guest bathroom

Master bathroom

Master bathroom shower

Master bedroom - looks out to the backyard

Master closet - a walk-in will be so nice again!

Upstairs hallway view from master bedroom

The backyard view from the 2nd level....it's not a barn! The just lay hay down for us so it doesn't turn to mud if there is rain.

~House Updates~

We were on vacation for the last week - wahoo! - so it's been a while since we've had a chance to go visit our home and see what kind of progress they have made. So we drove by this afternoon to get a look. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get inside because the locks have already been changed, which I guess is a good thing; that means strangers can't just walk through our place. But, from the outside a number of things have happened - paint, landscaping, fence, mulch, and probably more! We could also look inside from the back porch and see that all of the floors and carpet has been layed. It's exciting and now we just want to get in....2 inspections this week and closing next week and then it's ours!!!!

~Colorado Trip: First Half~

Avery's First Bath ~ Her cord fell out the second or third day we were here, so she was able to take her first real bath. It was a family affair, as you can see by the other photo below! She actually enjoyed it.

Hike to St. Mary's Falls ~ Dustin, dad, mom, and I went on a hike one day up to the Falls. It was a long hike and we were pooped by the end. We hiked about 5.5 miles and went up about 2000 feet in elevation, from 7000 to 9000! It was a gorgeous view from the top, though!

A few nights ago, mom and dad had everyone (Keithley Family 1, Keithley Family 2, DeGroots, and Shephards) over for a yummy dinner! We ended with some delicious Mexican icecream!

These are of the first few days of our trip...spending some quality time with Avery, hanging out at home or going on walks! WE love her so much and she is so stinkin' precious. Great job Josh and Kari! :)

~Blue Steel~

How funny is this? She totally did the "Zoolander" look last night after dinner. Had to do a quick comparison.

She is absolutely precious and we couldn't have asked for a more perfect niece. We love you Miss Avery Ann.