Break time

I woke up early this morning to head back to Pioneer Trail in order to get some more things put away and rooms set up.  After cleaning one of the spare bedrooms and getting the bed set up, Kevin and I went out to find our puppy.  He was loving the 50 degree day and spent most of the day outside playing.  We found him in the front lawn with a massive stick.  Abel adores sticks and is always searching for the biggest, fattest one he can bring into the house (which always gets thrown back outside promptly).  As we watched Abel drag the stick around the lawn, we decided to take a few minutes and hang with him before going in and unpacking more boxes.  Below was our 15 minute break:



Where we found Abel on our break

Playtime

His big stick

Kevin laying down on the lawn

Tired from carrying around his stick

And his eyes are getting heavy...

The end.

Wedding Fun

A friend from high school got married yesterday.  She was beautiful and the wedding was beautiful and spending the entire day with friends I have seen lately and haven't seen lately was wonderful.  My best friends from high school, Anne, Amber, and Paige traveled back for this special day and we had the rare chance to catch up.  I didn't get the chance to take many pictures because we were too busy chatting, but here is one that Anne sent to me.

I miss them already!

Advice?

I am home today.  It was supposed to be a snow make-up day, but we have had 0 snow days this year, so...horray for today and getting to stay home!  I have spent the morning unpacking and trying to find a home for everything that we have had packed away for almost a year. It's like Christmas!
In the kitchen there is one glass cabinet and Kevin and I have been debating what we should display.  For practical purposes, we put our Fiesta dishes in there.  I am not quite sure if it looks okay and I was hoping to get some opinions.  Other options would be china or other pretty glasswares.  I would love suggestions!

We're IN!

It's official.  We are currently in the process of moving into our house.  It is wonderfully exciting and we are grateful more and more everyday for the opportunity to live in Kevin's childhood home.  We are so blessed!
During this process, we had both of our computers turn on us.  When I sat down last night to post pictures, my darn laptop just wouldn't work and Kevin's computer decided to stop working Saturday night.  I finally have a computer to work on and decided I should post some move in pics quick!  They are not the best because my good ones are on my other computer that at the moment is not cooperating.  These are for my mom who could not wait!!! 

24 hours

Saturdays give me inspiration.  Every Saturday is a complete, whole 24 hours when anything can happen.  I especially love Saturday mornings....they are all about being determined and having plenty of strong coffee to back up that determination.
Kevin was determined this morning.  He wants fast internet.  I mean as "fast as we would get in the city" internet.  That fast of internet just doesn't magically happen on Pioneer Trail.  It just doesn't....unless you dig a big hole and put a big, tall, massive pole up.  So, being the overachiever that he is, Kevin (and his amazing Dad) dug a big hole and put a big, tall, massive pole up.  Hopefully next week it will pay off and we will have lighting speed internet.

Out of focus, but Kevin and his dad working on the pole!

While he was sweating and getting blisters, I attempted a photography project.  I set my camera on manual with the shutter speed at 1/125 and aperture (or f-stop) at 5.6.  This photography project is from Pioneer Woman.  I love her site and you can see the assignment here.
I set my camera on continuous shooting and followed Abel around the farm.  Luckily, Uncle Bacchus was around to entertain Abel and I got a few good shots of Abel driving Bacchus completely mad.

Kevin's parents' cat, Chet, was on our roof and Abel was ready to attack.  He was just waiting for the right, um, moment.

I like the unnatural pics from this shoot.

EARS

LOVE

They are friends (kind of).

Inches away

The refrigerator is in.
The dishwasher is in.
The deck is finished.
And the kitchen is (almost) absolutely perfect.

Why every child wants to be a teacher...today

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm a sucker for this February 14th Hallmark celebration.  It is my absolute favorite holiday as a teacher, because the kids get so excited about giving away their lovely little handwritten valentines.  I also look forward to it because February 14th is one of the days of the year when every child wants to be a teacher.  Why? It's very, very simple.  Snickers, Pixie Sticks, Air Heads, Laffy Taffy, Starburst, Hershey kisses...

On Valentine's Day I gets LOTS of of these precious, diet destroying morsels.  Students that have been in my room in the past can come back and give away their sweet valentines.  This is another reason I love Valentine's Day, because I get to see some of my kiddos from past classes that I don't get the chance to see too often.  The students that are currently in my class get to witness me get these treats and I love to hear the conversations as the day progresses.  They are all chatting about how they can't wait to be a grown up and be a teacher (because the teacher gets all the good candy).  It is absolutely adorable and reminds me of why I wanted to be a teacher.

The goods

So sweet

This was an actual coupon from one of my kids, who I coached in basketball.  LOVE IT!

This Valentine's Day I am also celebrating the first coat of the floors being complete.  They will finish up by Friday and they already look beautiful. 

Hope you all have a candy-overloaded Valentine's Day! 

Playtime

It was gloriously cold on Friday night when I got home from school, but that didn't stop me from rejoicing for the weekend!  Abel played outside for awhile while I took some pictures of the icy evening and Kevin and I had our first 'happy hour' in our almost completed kitchen.  There was 'standing room only' as we haven't put together our bar stools yet, but it was a very happy 'happy hour'.  Hope everyone has a dreamy Valentine's Day weekend!

I love the sky in this one.

Abel chewing on a grape vine trunk.

Kevin dug out some real glasses for happy hour!

House Remodel: (Almost) Finishing Touches

As I said in my last blog post, we made an impulse decision on Tuesday to use the tile on the entire wall of the kitchen.  I unquestionably love that Kevin suggested this because it looks spontaneously splendid.  The tiled wall was completed today, along with the cup pulls on the cabinet drawers.  The floors will get done next week and we are hoping to be upstairs the Monday after next.  It's hard to believe that it's almost here...however it's hard to believe it isn't here, yet.  Weird.
We did cheat a little last night.  Kevin made a pizza for dinner in our installed oven, even though we have a Pizzaz that cooks it just the same.  He cooked our pepperoni pizza on the Pizzaz tray, in the oven, because we have 0 pans unpacked.  I know that there is no difference, BUT it. was. so. good.

House Remodel: Backsplash and Lighting

Last night as we were looking at the backsplash that we both love, we made a random and exciting decision.  We decided that we wanted the tile to go all the way up the wall and above the window because we are that fond of it.  We had a whole box of extra tile, so we thought, why not?  It didn't get done today, because the tile guy didn't have his saw and like I said, it was a random, last minute thought.  The grout did get done today in the existing tile along with the light fixtures, some plumbing, and the wall oven was installed.  Progress, progress!

Our kitchen pendants, our vintage lightbulbs haven't arrived, yet.

Bar with top cabinet installed

Pretty sure Abel is eating paper in this picture, it's his favorite.

The backsplash

House Remodel: Backsplash

I have a feeling things will be changing at a rapid pace this week, so I wanted to document how the space transforms on a daily basis.  The backsplash was positioned today and it's incredible how different it looks with just that one little element in place.  The glass, subway tile was so easy and exciting to pick out and now I remember why...it is just amazingly simplistic and beautiful.

Tomorrow the electricians will be on Pioneer Trail and the light fixtures and appliances will be  installed.  I will be itching to make my way home to see how altered our addition looks in just one day!

Simple, Snowy Saturday and Sunday

If you spend a lot of time with children you always know when a storm is on it's way into your neighborhood.  Kids might not be aware that they have the ability to predict the weather, but in fact they are quite talented.  In the five years I've been teaching, it's always been apparent when the weather is changing because my kiddos never leave me out of the loop.  They generate this anticipation and excitement and they just get so darn....energized.  On Friday morning I knew that the weather man was right because my kiddos came to school a little more jazzed up than usual, which meant there was a winter storm on it's way.  We got about 8 inches in Macedonia starting Friday night and ending on Saturday evening.  Needless to say, I am a definite believer in kids' ability to predict weather.

Since we were somewhat snowed in on Saturday, we were able to enjoy some time with family and friends.  Kevin's sister, Hillary, and her husband, John, along with relatives from Germany, were in town to go through Kevin's grandpa's house, who recently moved into a retirement home.  Most of Kevin's relatives were there, so it was fun to see everyone and spend some time together.    Amazingly, Kevin's friend, Austin, made the trip out on Saturday afternoon to brew beer with Kevin.  The roads were definitely not great, but Austin arrived and got home safely, thank goodness!  It was a productive, simple Saturday, despite the winter storm.

I'm sure my kiddos will have plenty of snow stories to tell me tomorrow and I can't wait to hear about all the snowmen they made and hills they went down on their sleds.  I hope they made it outside today because It sounds like the snow won't last long, as the temperature is supposed to stay around forty degrees or higher this week.  They will have to wait until the next winter storm, which they will definitely let me know about, to do all this fun, snowy stuff again.


I had to grab my camera for some pictures because the farm does look quite breathtaking with all the white, unspoiled snow everywhere.  See below...

Kevin and his Grandpa

Brewing...with his new table from John!

Abel loving the snow!

House Remodel: Cabinets and Countertops

The countertops are in place and most of the doors and hardware are on the cabinets as of yesterday!  I think these two items being completed has been the most exciting component of this entire process.  It is actually starting to look like a real kitchen!  We are on the tail end of this remodel and it is getting really exciting...I am starting to dream about baking all of the yummy looking things I've pinned on Pinterest (my pinning has been a little excessive lately).  We are thinking it will be another two weeks until everything is complete and as badly as I want it done, I know it will be worth the wait.

The bar

Love all the movement and color on the countertops (and the guy leaning on them).

House Remodel: Flurry of Activity

When I pulled into the house tonight there were 3 trucks sitting in the driveway, not one or two, but 3.  I stumbled on my seat belt and dropped my phone on the way out of the car, not caring if any of the carpenters saw me because there were 3 trucks in my driveway!  I couldn't wait to see what was waiting for me inside, but I did wait because Abel needed to go outside and play for awhile and harass the carpenters who were working on the deck and the internet guy who is trying to unearth a way to get us faster speed (which requires digging a deep hole).  After Abel was successful in getting everyone to pay attention to him, I was able to get a sneak peek on the kitchen.  Some of the doors are on the cabinets and the chalkboard wall is painted above the wine bar.  The countertops are going in tomorrow and the deck railings will be positioned.  There might be some progress on the cabinet doors as well.  There is a winter storm coming in this weekend, which seems crazy because we have had "no coat" days at recess all week, and it is timely that the deck will be finished before it reaches Pioneer Trail.  I love trucks because trucks mean progress.  I wonder if I'll come home to trucks (plural) tomorrow?

The deck

Somewhat hard to see, but the wine bar with chalkboard wall.

Cabinets with DOORS!

Where the wall oven will eventually end up.

A view from where the countertops will go tomorrow!