State Fair

We went to the state fair Friday, Aug. 17.  

We got the fair about 9:00 and went to the petting zoo first. 

Alice enjoyed identifying the animals and feeding a few. 

Alice and daddy feeding the goats. 

We meet Jameson's parents, Austin, and Jenessa at the WHO radio 

both at 9:30 and spent the rest of our day with them. 

 The girls :)

At the 'Little Hands on the Farm' building we got to see a lot of baby animals with their mommies . . . chicks, baby goats, lambs, and baby pigs. We saw a goat about to give birth and then shortly after the baby goat was born. We checked back later that day and saw the baby goat walking around. 

Alice looking at the baby pigs. 

We ate lunch at the pork tent - pork sandwich, baked beans, applesauce, chips, and water for a decent price. For dessert the girls and I shared an ice cream cone and Jameson had a fried snickers bar on a stick and lemonade.

Jenessa and I tried our hand at milking a cow. After receiving a little instruction I was able to get some milk but would certainly need to practice to gain efficiency. 

 Alice and Anna got to meet Clifford at the IPTV both in the varied industries building. 

The girls each took their turn napping in the jogger which allowed us to make to to just about everything! We left the fairgrounds and Jameson's family about 7:00, stopped at Pizza Ranch in Altoona for supper, got the girls ready for bed in the bathroom, drove home and then went straight to bed. All in all it was a great day!

Anna 1st Birthday!

(Commentary yet to come.) 

Our New Home!

Here's a little tour of our new home. 

Our house. 

Machine Shed

 Barn

Back Shed and Lot 

This is walking in from the garage. This hallway will serve as a 'mudroom'. The door on the left is another entrance from the driveway. On the right side of the hallway is an office, a coat closet, laundry room, and basement door.

Then you arrive at the kitchen. Their is a lot of cupboard space and I love the island.

The eat-in kitchen holds a good size table and could hold two tables side by side when guests are over. You can also see the main 'front door' which leads to the porch and screen porch and will function as our guest entrance.

From the kitchen you walk into the living room. Our piano and armoire from our bedroom set fit nicely in there.

From the living room you step down one step to the family room.

This is the room where we will spend the most family time. I love the built in bookcases and cabinets and look forward to using the fireplace in the winter. There are french doors between this room and the living room so we can close it off and use it as a room for guests to sleep.

This room also has a door to outside which leads the wrap around porch and to the 'backyard' with the fire ring (we don't plan to use this door much as we don't want outside traffic in and out of this room).

Back in the living room you can see the hallway on the right which lead to the bathroom and our bedroom and the stairs which lead to the girls bedroom and playroom upstairs. 

Our bedroom. We weren't sure that our bedroom furniture would fit very well but we are pleased with how everything fit. Our dresser fits with several inches to spare before the window and our bed with both nightstands fits. Our armoire has never held very many clothes so it functions well as storage in the living room.

The girls bedroom. We (Grandma T) painted this room so it would match the girls bedding. Alice and Anna started sharing a bedroom the first night we stayed here. It took a minimal amount of adjusting and I think they are both enjoying sparing a room.

 Alice on her bed in her new room :)

 Since the girls are sharing a room, we are able to devote the other bedroom upstairs to a playroom (for the time being). It is so nice to have a place for the girls to just play. I only keep toys in this room that are safe for Anna. There is a closet just outside the room in the hallway area (where the bedroom closets also are) which I have devoted to non-baby friendly toys.

I have been very pleased with how our things fit into this house. Most of our stuff we accumulated while at our last (first) house so we bought it to fit there. It's amazing how much we accumulated in the last 3 years!!! The office is still full of boxes and probably will be for quite some time. The rest of the house and garage (by mid-August) is 'settled in' and found their new 'home' here just as we have.

Moving Time & First Memories at our new place :)

OUR FIRST NIGHT

We closed on a Friday afternoon and camped out at our new house that night. 

As we were getting close to our house Alice got super excited (clapping her hands 

and cheering 'corn, corn') about the corn in the fields.

We picked up pizza from Nana Rosa's in Reinbeck to celebrate our new home.

(Note the bright orange kitchen walls- this was one of the first things to go!)

 It was fun to camp out as a family for our first night. The next day we moved the items from our storage garage down but then spent Sunday and the beginning of the next week back at our old house. 

Our moving process began Wednesday, July 4 and continued until Saturday night. Both our parents came to help, along with Austin, and Jenessa when she wasn't working. 

HOUSE PREPARATIONS!

Wed. July 4

 A little entertainment from the girls :)

Break for the 4th of July parade in Reinbeck. 

MOVING TIME!

Thursday 

 SETTLING IN!

By the time our parents left Saturday night rooms were unpacked . . . kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms.  Everyone was a huge help!!! Mom R, Austin, and Jen helped with cleaning and then unpacking, my mom helped with painting, our dads helped with hauling and moved A LOT of stuff. 

The girls entertained themselves fairly well at times and with the help of grandma's, grandpa's, and Uncle Austin at other times. 

I tried to take this picture when Alice was on grandma's lap but I just missed the moment. Grandma took a couple breaks through the few days to read to Alice. As she would start falling asleep Alice would learn up and give her a kiss to wake her up and get her to keep reading. 

 My mom painted the kitchen and the girls room. Alice took this picture of grandma in her new room. :)

My dad trying to put the garage into some sort of order.

Jameson on his 'new to him' mower.

It was an exhausting 4 days but it was so nice to have things cleaned and many things unpacked in such a short amount of time. We are so thankful for our families help and hard work!!!

PLAYTIME OUTSIDE!

Our new favorite reading spot.

Alice giving Anna a ride in their new wagon.

VISIT FROM UNCLE JORDAN AND AUNT JOY!

I love my daddy!  
   - Anna

Yummy!