We Found a House!

We are moving to Grand Blanc, MI in a few weeks and found a great house to rent. Yes, to rent. I am OK with that. I thought after buying a house that I would never go back, but I am actually very excited to have great landlords and call them when something goes wrong. I am completely at peace with renting and with renting this particular house. We can't wait!

Adam and I love fixing up houses, painting, yard work, etc., which we will definitely still do plenty of. We will have full painting rights! From the pics, you will notice that the colors aren't really my style, but that isn't a problem. I will paint most of the house a neutral tan, leave the red wall in the living room and use some of a sea-foam green color that my mom gave me 2 brand new gallons of in the bathrooms or something.

It has 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a full finished basement, built 6 years ago, attached 2 car garage, hardwood flooring. With a little work, this place will be shnazy! The landlords are planning on putting new carpet down upstairs within a few months too. Click here for pics.

A Fun Day

The Adair County Ambulance District had free pony rides along with opportunities for us to sit in a helicopter, ambulance and tire truck. It was so fun, especially now that Adam's finals are finally over and he could go too! Enjoy the pics.

New Merchandise at HyVee

HyVee, the grocery store here in town, has these little kids' carts. Adalin LOVES pushing them around the store, usually running into a few things along the way and sneaking bags of chips or candy in it as she walks down the aisle. She gets mad at me if I put food items in my big cart, because she wants to have them in hers.

I somehow convinced Adam to come with me last night to HyVee to get dog food and we came up with this brilliant idea! Isn't it cute? If they sold Kiras at the store, I wonder how much they would cost? I couldn't put a price tag on either of these sweethearts.

Isis Sandwich Anyone?

Isis curled up in between my pillows yesterday evening. I thought it was funny. I don't know exactly how she did it. I guess if there is a will, there's a way!

Leisure World Bowling

Adam's class is split up into societies, or groups, and his society had free bowling last week, so we took advantage. Adalin had a wonderful time! She (we) threw all gutter balls, except once she knocked down 8 pins! Maybe next time we will play bumper ball instead. :) We stood behind her, both of our legs spread, and helped her roll/throw the ball down the lane. She had a ton of fun and is looking very forward to going bowling with Grandma and Grandpa during their next visit.

I love Adalin's smile here.

Deep concentration...

Way too excited!

Man's Best Friend?

There really isn't any excuse to put up with dogs. I love them and despise them at the same time. Don't get me wrong, lately they have been much better. Last summer/fall Yukon had some major chewing issues. He chewed my duvet and cover, a bottle of oil-based eye makeup remover on my new couch, two ink pens on my new couch, a box of expensive heart worm medication, an entire case of our friend's DVDs along with our entire CD case full of CDs, our Peter Pan movie, multiple rugs and towels, a few pairs of shoes, a few books, a leg of a table and I am sure I am missing a few things.
Why did we keep him? Why did we keep Isis when she peed in the house everyday for 9 months after we got her? I don't know; can't explain it. It's weird. I can usually put a dollar amount on the things they ruin but I can't measure what they truly give back to my family. I really love having pets. I am attached to them. My kids are never going to be terrified of dogs and will learn when they are young how to be patient with animals and truly appreciate them. I love sharing them with my friends who don't have pets and showing them off to people who are dog-lovers. All that they put me through on a day-to-day basis, which is a lot (it seems like I can never keep my floors clean for more than a day or two), a fly on the wall would call me a complete idiot for even letting them in the house or for getting them in the first place. I can't put my finger on it, but they are part of our little family and we somehow love them, despite the work they create for us. It's rewarding.

Interesting Nursery Snack

We often ask Adalin what she does during nursery on Sundays. Here was her response about snack time a few weeks ago:
Adam: What did you have for snack in nursery today?
Adalin: Graham crappers.
Adam: Wait, you mean graham crackers, right?
Adalin: Yeah, yeah!


On Adalin's new bike, Adam didn't really want the tassel/pom poms sticking out of the end of the handlebars b/c they were a little too "girly".
Adalin comes to Adam, who was talking about taking them off the bike, and says: Mom said those tampons are supposed to stay on the bike!
Adam: You mean pom-poms?
Adalin: Uh... yeah.

The Truman Farm

We had a little children's social at the Truman Farm here in Kirksville a little while ago. We got to view their greenhouse, plant a pumpkin seed to take home, pet horses, see cows and go for a "hay ride." It was so fun!
There is something about farm animals and the farm atmosphere that I really love. I have decided I want horses and chickens, a goat and maybe a peacock someday! I am serious... in like 9 years! :(

Adalin didn't have a nap that day. This is what she acts like when she doesn't. Look at that attitude!

Kira kept pointing to the cows and squatting up and down with excitement when she saw them. It was cute.

Horse kisses, I love Adalin's face.

She took a few minutes to warm up to the horses, but she really liked them afterwards.

Adalin's New Bike

We knew that it was high time we got Adalin her first "real" bike. We used a bike as bribery to get her to do something that we have long been yearning for...
You ask her, "Adalin, tell me about night-time..." and she says, "I hold my panties all night!" That means that she (finally) doesn't wear diapers at night! Ah! That may not be too big of a deal for you all, but for Adam and I it is huge. We are very proud of her!
On Adam's birthday last Saturday we headed to the only place in Kirksville that you can purchase a bike (Walmart) and got her the Huffy Princess Bike, complete with pom-poms for the end of the handle bars, flowers on the spokes and a princess fanny pack look alike that velcros on the front and holds a special princess water bottle for those long, excruciating bike rides she will be going on. :)
She picked up the pedaling and steering pretty fast too! I was impressed! I thought it would take longer. She still biffs it when the sidewalk is too bumpy or when she turns too sharply. Te only thing she pretty much can't do on her own is turn around on the narrow sidewalk, but besides that she is doing really well. There will be some videos on the home video blog for you! Here are some pics!

Just some pics for you!