Every Day Brings Us A Little Closer...

So Andy came home from a week long trip to Wyoming tonight and besides seeing me and the kids, he really wanted to see the progress on the house in person.  We met over at the house and gave him a tour.  He was amazed at how little there is left to do.  He spoke with our Ivory sales rep and there was some concern if they'd be ready for a final walk through before closing on Thursday/Friday.  Thank goodness Andy can be very persuasive!  We've already got the movers and packers lined up and the banks are closed on Monday...and Andy will be out of town the following week which leaves me with a ton of boxes, two kids, a dog and no help!  If we have to wait until the following week, things just won't be as easy...but if that's the worst thing that happens, life isn't so bad.  We're hoping and praying that it all falls into place as planned this week.

Here are some of the newest pics:

This is the kid's playroom.  I plan to hang curtains on the French doors so I can close them and hide the mess when necessary.

This is the stairway finally carpeted.  Isn't it funny how you change your ideas on things like hardwood stairs vs. carpeted stairs with kid #2?  I use to be terrified that Riley would tumble down our hardwood stairs in Lancaster...Now I just have rug burn to worry about!

This is the floor in our living/dining room.  We originally chose a darker stain, but think this will look better with our cherry furniture and dark rug.

Our appliances were finally installed.  They don't include a fridge so that we purchased at a local store and going to have to install it later.

They put the finishing touches on the bathroom too.  We are going to have to find a solution to the shower door banging into the wall, but that's a minor issue.

They installed my light over the sink as well!  Thank goodness.  The plantation shutters, touch up paint and clean up appear to be all that's left to complete.  I am beyond excited to move in...to feel like we're at home, to start living again instead of just surviving!

Thank you to everyone who's listened to me rant about how I hate our tiny little apt...it hasn't been all bad.  It gave us a terrible case of cabin fever which in turn has forced us to get out and explore Utah and all it has to offer.  Take today for instance.  Since Andy was out of town, and it was a Saturday, I decided to take the kids to The Living Planet Aquarium.  The place was packed, but they had a great time looking at all the fish, jellies, sea horses, sharks, sting rays, snakes and frogs!

This is Riley in the Utah wetlands section...if it weren't for this exhibit, I would never guess Utah had wetlands!  It's desert dry most of the time.

This is the under the sea section where the kids could pretend to be fish and crawl through coral...pretty cute idea.  Sissy enjoyed it!

I'm hoping that once we get ourselves settled, we'll continue to go and do things...we've barely scratched the surface!  Riley doesn't ever want to move from Utah because of all the kid-friendly activities and places...that's one thing they do right out here!

We've Set A Date!

As of right now, we're scheduled for settlement on 1/14/10!  True to form, they do things different out here in Utah...even though we're settling on Thursday, we won't get the keys to the castle until Friday afternoon.

The plan is to move some of our stuff ourselves...dishes, clothes, some toys, etc.  We will have movers take all the boxes and furniture from storage and they will also pack up the apt. and move everything from here too.  How sweet is that?  I think Andy's going to try to schedule the movers for Monday so we can get some things organized before they come.  Hopefully we can get movers on the 18th being that it's a holiday.  Riley has off Monday and Tuesday of that week so I'm hoping he can be of help with his sister while things are chaotic.

Here are some of the latest pics I took today...

This is the laundry room - finished!  Countertop was installed this week.

Our beautiful kitchen.  Countertops and plumbing fixtures installed this week.  They need to install the appliances and the legs for the island countertop.

Here you can see the backsplash that got installed this week as well.  They put a color wash on the tile before sealing it and I love how it turned out.  The flash made the light/colors a little more harsh, but you get the idea.

I'm going to be in heaven with all that counter space.  We have all but none in our apt.  It makes cooking a meal rather difficult.

Whatever will I do with a vegetable sink?  I'm sure it will come in handy, but I have a feeling it will collect more dust than anything else.

This was my favorite part to see today.  Now the kids can run around upstairs without mom and dad having a heart attack every time they are near the stairs!

Closet doors are hung.

Door knobs installed.  I know, I get excited over even the tiniest things!  It just all means progress!

Today they are staining the hardwood floors.  The carpet will get laid tomorrow and then on Friday, the floors will get sanded and sealed.  Our plantation shutters will be installed early next week and then it is just a few touch ups and we'll be in our new home!

I know I've said this before, but I can't wait!  It's been a long 4 1/2 months in cramped quarters.  This apt is a pig pen and it drives me nuts.  I have to clear away the "stuff" to clean, but there's no place to put the stuff, so it just goes back on top of the freshly cleaned surface...I'm ready to feel like I can start living again - a place for everything and everything in it's place!

We are officially booked for guests during the last week of February!  I assume that gives us enough time to get organized and ready for company.  We can't wait to have Nanny and Pappy come visit!  My parents are so good at helping me with decorating - it will be nice to have their opinion and advice.  It will also make us get out and go skiing...something we've been putting off because we can't find all of our gear...it's packed in a box...somewhere!

Getting Closer...

One of the first things we did after arriving home in Utah was to go check out the progress on the house.  We didn't expect too much because of Christmas and New Years.  We were so excited to see the lighting fixtures installed!  They also were finishing our garage (that somehow got forgotten) with trim and paint.  We found one error while there as well.  I had requested a can light over the sink and they initially installed the fixture, but then when we got there, noticed that someone had patched the space and closed it up...Kind of a dumb thing to do since it IS listed on the electrical plans and it was there initially!  Oh well, that shouldn't hold us up too long, just glad we can go there regularly to catch any errors and get them fixed quicker.

This is the lighting fixture in the entry...I can't wait to see it all spread out with bulbs in it!

These are the lights that are over our island.  There is supposed to be a third one yet at the other end.  We also have a bunch of can lights in the kitchen.  In the photo below, you can see the patch where they removed my can over the sink.  Why do men think they know what's best for a women in her kitchen?  You can tell this was removed by a man who has never attempted scrubbing pots and pans in the evening and become frustrated because her body is creating the shadow over her work space!  It was there for a reason - plus we PAID for it to be there!  (sorry for the rant...it's just been one of those days around here)

You can see where the under cabinet lighting will eventually go by the wires hanging down.  I also had to convince Andy to splurge on the cabinetry at the stove...it bumps out and has spindles on the sides.  The same thing will be repeated at the ends of the countertop on the island.

This is where my double ovens will be...I had them in our last house and love it!  So much cheaper to heat up one smaller convection oven instead of a huge one for everyday use.

This is the solution to my pantry woes in Florida.  We had a beautiful 4 bedroom home (with a 5th br option) and a TINY pantry.  Who designed that?  Probably a relative of the guy who took out my sink light!  This pantry will have MORE than enough space.

Look familiar?  It's similar, but not the same as my nook lighting from Pa and Fl.  Those two were exactly the same.  I happen to like this one a little better.

We should have no problem seeing in our family room.  Tons of can lights, eyeballs at the fireplace and a beautiful ceiling fan.

I can't wait for them to finish the spindles on the stairs.  Riley and Kendall were running around upstairs and the area at the top landing is a great space for someone to fall head first down to the tile floor below.  Needless to say, I have tiny freak outs while we're upstairs.

Countertops are being made - they created the template while we were gone.  Hoping to see them the beginning of next week.  It's coming together...they need to install counter tops, plumbing fixtures, carpet, stain the floors and then some odds and ends and we can move in!  We're in the home stretch now...Still working on patience, but the closer we get, the more anxious we all become!

Hay Fever

While we were in Pennsylvania, we wanted to introduce Kendall to Aunt Jenn's horse Tessie.  Riley loves seeing Tess.  He's ridden her numerous times with Jenn, but refused to sit on her solo this trip.  Tessie has even been to two of Riley's birthday parties in the past offering rides to his friends.  Kendall loved seeing her and all the cats at the barn!  I wasn't sure if she'd freak out over Tessie's enormous size or fall in love with her.

Aunts, and Uncles and Cousins, Oh My!

My cousin Jon and his wife Laura invited all of the Hershock Clan over to their house for brunch while we were home.  Just our luck, my other cousin Lori who just had a baby about 9 months ago and lives in Wyoming was able to come home for a visit.  Her husband wasn't able to join us, and neither was my brother and his family, but other than that, we had the whole crew together.  What a treat that was for us!  I got to visit with aunt, uncles and cousins!

Jenna is showing Kendall one of her presents.

Jenna showing Kendall another present.

Jon getting some snuggle time with Kendall

Baby Madison loved playing with Riley.  She kept trying to push him over.  He was so good with her and really enjoyed the time together.  She's a real doll!

My beautiful little "niece."  (My cousins are all elevated to Aunt and Uncle status)

Madison having fun pushing Riley over!

Madison playing with Riley's new truck

Aunt Lori getting some snuggle time with Kendall.

Uncle Jon tickling Riley

Toys and Joys

Oh to be a kid again!  Our kids were so excited Christmas morning.  I wish I could have bottled that joy and saved some for those dreary days when we need some Christmas joy.  Santa delivered the kids' gifts on the 24th since we were leaving later that day for Pennsylvania.  Sissy received a pink "princess" tent that she spent most of the morning playing in with her toys.  Both kids love to go in it and laugh together - in fact that's where they are right now!  The kids played with their new toys while Andy and I finished packing up the loose ends before we headed out to the airport.  We were very fortunate that we were able to spend time with much of our families and friends during our short visit.  We saw all of my cousins including Lori and her precious Madison!  What a treat that was to get all of us together at Jon and Laura's for brunch!  We spent some time with Andy's sister Jenn which was wonderful to catch up and let the kids enjoy her.

The best part for me was to be able to spend some quality time with my oldest and dearest friend Beth.  She and I both have 5 yr. old boys who are such good friends.  They see each other so seldom these days, but when we get them together, they pick up right where they left off...just like she and I do!  We took the kids to an indoor play area to burn off some energy, then dropped them all off at their grandparents while the two of us went out for lunch.  What a wonderful treat to be able to have a conversation without little people interrupting.

My other friend Chris organized a dinner with some of my friends from the school where I use to work.  We all met for dinner and drinks and what a great time we had!  We were so loud (and obnoxious) that they put us in a private room and shut the door!  I miss everyone so much and I'm so thankful that I got to see them during this trip.

Jackpot!

Riley pretends to be a cheetah so Santa found him a cheetah shirt!

This year, Riley ripped open each gift and then played with them once each one was unwrapped...in years past he'd want to play with them immediately after he unwrapped them.

Santa brought Sissy a puppy to help her learn her body parts and colors.

This was her favorite present...she came across it by stepping on the present and hearing Elmo's voice from inside.  Otherwise we would have had to help her be interested in unwrapping it.

She knows he's in there somewhere.

Ahh!  Success!  She loves this toy!

Riley's favorite garbage truck.  What kid wants a garbage truck?  This is the second year he's asked for one so Santa finally decided to bring him one.

K enjoying some snuggling with Aunt Jenn on Christmas day.

Riley got his first watch.  Now we'll have to teach him to tell time the "old fashioned" way!

That's my girl - going for the sweets!

Daddy is such a tease.  She loved his lollipop and made her work for each and every lick!

He's really not putting her in a choke hold!

Kendall loved Grammy's Christmas  tree.  Once she checked it out, she pretty much left it alone.  Thank goodness!

My handsome little man.