New House Pics

So, the exterior of the home is pretty much finished now. It actually looks like a home now! There are a few more things, like the stain for the timbers on the porch and patio, the exterior lights, and how about some driveway and sidewalk. But other than that, pretty much done. We had a hard time with the color of the exterior siding. It was going to be brown, but then the option of brown for the siding blended right in with the window color, and we wanted some contrast. So we went with this sage green color. It's called coastal sage. It's kind of a greyish bluish green. But in the right light is pretty bright green. It's growing on us though. It's funny because the choices can get overwhelming and we make some decisions that I don't know if end up being the best. But like I said, the house is still really pretty, and every time I see it, I like the color more. And I LOVE the rock, I think it's really pretty. The doors are stained now too, but you can't tell because they are covered in the pictures.





The shop is almost done too. Just waiting on the garage doors for it. It kind of behind the house, so you can't see it from the other pictures, but it is there.



There is a ton of trash and stuff laying all around, but I have been told it will all be cleaned up before we move in. The inside is painted as well! I love, love the color we did the bedrooms and bathrooms. And I'll have to get back to you about the rest of the house. The paint swatch was called ancient olive, it was a green color. I saw it for a brief second right after he finished, so it was still wet, and it almost looked mint green, so I am hoping it dries lighter and less bright and that getting the dark flooring and stuff in helps with that. I'll get some pictures of that after we get the flooring in. Which should be tons of fun if anyone is interested in laying 970 square feet of flooring with us!!

Drake's Birthday

Yesterday was Drake's 2nd birthday! I can't believe my baby is two years old! He's so funny and cute. Even when he has his growly faces. Drake has seemed older and able to do things a lot sooner than Crew did. I don't know if it's having a big brother that teaches him everything, good and bad, or if it's just him. But he's been talking in sentences for a very long time. Crew said just a few words at two years old. It's funny how different they are. Anyway, we love Drakey Baby so much! We are so blessed to have such a fun little guy in our family! And we hope he had the best birthday ever! Thanks all of his Grandpa's and Grandma's for the cute gifts. He loves them all! You must know what kind of guy he is, because you did good. Soft jammies, trucks, dog movies, toys, and toothbrushes are some of his favorite things! Thanks again for making his birthday special! Wish all of you could have been here!

We asked him what he wanted for dinner, and he decided pizza. So, I made some little pizzas and we let the boys put their toppings on them. Drake even got a #2 shaped pizza! It was a lot of fun. These boys love pepperoni!!



Funny thing about these pictures, you can see a progression of change of clothes through them. First, he was wearing jeans and a brown t-shirt, which is what he wore yesterday. Then he's wearing a plaid button up shirt and new cinch jeans that he got as a gift. And last, he's wearing a pair of jammies his grandma Teresa got him for his birthday! Funny boy, had to put everything on that he got!

Drake really liked the little red flyer toy I got him. It actually can be used as a wagon or a ride on toy, but he liked the ride on idea. Infact, we tried to get him off of it for the cake, and he wouldn't budge! The best part is, that it was a clearance item at Target! LOVE THAT!


When I asked Drake what kind of cake he wanted, he said a horsey cake. SO, even though I didn't have any of my tools that I usually use, I figured out how to make it. It's far from perfect, but the boys liked it. I had plans of piping green frosting grass, and putting a fence and stuff, but that didn't happen.



Here's a little walk down memory lane. I can't believe how much a child grows and changes in just two short years! It seriously seems like just yesterday I had Crew, let alone two crazy boys running all over the place!
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Drake was an army crawler! SO cute!


I also remember his cute little teeth and how they came in totally different from the typical. Which is why, last year for his birthday we did a hippo cake, because he only had two little side teeth and looked like a little hippo!

And who could forget the way this boy can be angry when he wants to be! He's still relly cute though!

We love you little Drakey Boy! Hope it was the best birthday ever!

Cowboy Hats

So, our boys are really hard on their cowboy hats. They throw them down when they are pretending to ride bulls and get bucked off. They step on them. They hit with them. They throw them in the mud or tub. They insist on wearing them in the car and so the backs of them get bent funny when they lean back in their seats. They really abuse them. It drives Rett crazy! In April, for Crew's birthday, his Grandpa Kip bought him a new one, and I don't think it was a month later that the thing looked super trashed. Grandpa was actually so embarrassed about the hats that he wanted to get them new ones for the family reunion. So, we did break down and buy them new ones. But I've "lost" them since we've been home, and we're making them play in their old ones and using the new ones only for going out in cowboy get up. Anyway, Rett really has a hard time with the boys and how poorly they take care of their hats. He gives them a hard time about being good cowboys to their hats. Well, a little while ago Grandpa Kip found this picture!



On the back his mother had written "Rett's first cowboy hat, 1 week old". I find it comical that the man can't stand that his boys are so bad with their hats, and yet, in this picture of him, he is missing half the brim of the hat after only one week! I guess what they say is true, Like Father, Like Son! And now I have some real ammo to blame their behavior, at least with hats, on their Daddy!





Drake's hat has actually gone through both boys, so I expect it to be beaten. It's actually so screwed up right now that he couldn't even get it down on his head.





Crew's hat was given to him by Bampa Kip on his birthday, April, and it was trashed not even six months later.

So, after I took their silly pictures today, we retired the hats, into the garbage! I was holding onto them for play hats, but they refuse to even wear them now, so they went away!

First Day of Pre-School

One of Rett's co-workers recommended a lady that does a pre-school out of her house. I was a little hesitant to put him into it at first, but I think it will be really good for him and for me! Last week we went to a back to school night for Crew's pre-school. And today was his first day. It's only two days a week for two hours. Crew has been very excited about being a big boy like his cousins! Since we are still living at Grandpa's we have to drive a little over an hour to get there. Once we are moved in to the house, it will only be a five minute drive. But, for now, we have a little commute. Of course it poured all day, which made the drive and dropping him off tons of fun! Since we haven't been doing much all summer, and the boys are in the trailer with us, they have gotten a bad schedule of going to sleep late and sleeping in till 8:30 or so. Which is crazy for my kids. They used to be up at 6am. Anyway, so I knew we would need to plan on leaving at 7:30 this morning, which meant waking the boys up at 7. Drake especially does not like to be woken up by someone. And surprisingly, he did great this morning. Crew wanted to wear his pj's to school, but I wouldn't let him. After that fight, he was pretty good and excited about going to school. Although he did say on the way there that it was too far away. Once we got there, he was excited while in the car, and got a tiny bit nervous and quiet when we took him in. But Miss Mindie said he did fine and was her little buddy and would move his chair next to her the whole time. Drake was really mad when I wouldn't let him stay at school with Crew. But we got a lot done in the two hours Crew was there. I think we'll be spending most of our time at the library while he is in school until we get into the house. But that's good time for Drake and I. I know it is silly to take pictures of his first day of school, but he's my first baby, so I had to. When we were in the car he asked me to only take pictures in the car, like he's already embarrassed of his mom or something. But I went ahead and took some at the door and then when he was walking out to the car. And it's a good thing because the ones in the car were way out of focus! There is our big boy Crew! We are so excited for him to learn and make new friends! As well as learn that the world is made up of rules and boundaries and that Mom and Dad aren't just being mean to him:) And we hope he has a fun time! I just can't believe my cute little Crew Boo is already big enough to be in school!

Wagon Days

This last weekend we went on a little family trip to Sun Valley to visit Zink, who's in training in Bellevue. He's doing great. Rett's so excited about how well his dog is doing! It wasn't anything extravagant, but it has been the only 4 days off we've had together in a while. Ketchum has a big Wagon Days celebration for Labor Day, and the boys loved all the horses and wagons. We even took their picture from some actors from the shoot out they have on the street! Cute boys. This picture of the really big wagon train looking thing is called the "Big Hitch". It's what they used to carry ore out of the mountains in. There were 6 wagons, pulled by a 20 mule team. They use a "jerk line" that is a rein that is 100 feet long! And the wagons are really tall! It was pretty neat. I just kept thinking, what if those mules go crazy and start doing their own thing. That would be a mess with all the people, wagons, and mules!





The house is coming along. I haven't taken any pictures recently, but it's still chugging along. They are doing finish work right now, which is the base, case, doors, shelves and stuff. Painters are scheduled for Friday and Monday. Then comes the only real work we're putting into the house. We're laying over 1000 square feet of laminate wood ourselves! Nice! After that it should go quickly with just cabinets and finish plumbing and electrical. YAY! We can't wait to have our own bedroom again. We love our boys. We just need some of our own space! We've been doing the trailer thing since the end of May! And it's wearing on us. So, hopefully we're a month or less out!