Wow, 6 months?

Well, I guess things get busy when you are building a house, moving, and starting a new job.  Can't believe we haven't updated this blog in over 6 months. 

A lot has happened!

• Lauryn started Kindergarten
• Megan went back to working in the schools
• We moved into our new house
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

Wow, that's a lot of pictures that we need to post.  Hopefully we can do that!!

House Time Capsule. Updated 7/20/15.

Our lot, February 15, 2015

First day of "work" on our property. June 4, 2015

The weeds have grown! June 12, 2015

We have a mailbox!  June 16, 2015

They dug the hole!  June 17, 2015

Footings are in!  June 19, 2015

Foundation walls are up. June 27, 2015

Foundation back-filled and awaiting framing! July 2, 2015

Out for a run and stumble upon this!!!  July 7, 2015

First day of framing. July 7, 2015

Framing Progress. July 9, 2015

Note we have a street light by us...more framing work. July 11, 2015

Making good progress...it's a bit wet inside, though! July 16, 2015

One day of framing left. July 19, 2015

Last day of framing, but basement is still wet from rain. Windows and doors are in.
 July 20, 2015

Walking into kitchen from mudroom.

Walking into main level from entry hallway.

Entry hallway facing front door/front yard.

Entry hall at stairs, front bedroom & bath.

Lauryn's room!

Back of house! July 20, 2015

House with shingles & a framed basement! July 21, 2015

Missing Pictures

Here are the pictures that were suppose to be with the last post!

Cheering on Lauryn at soccer!

Our little slugger at her first Tball game.

One of the fist times without training wheels!

Look!  I just tied my own shoe!!!

Twins game fun!

A great mommy & daughter day!

So fun!

Checking out the Arboretum and the lego exhibits.

Do you think Ethan likes the water?

Brother & sisterly love!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!  WOW!  Already?!?!  That is good news for us as it means our build is coming along :-)

We've been down and out the last 10 days, as Ethan has had a wide gamete of illnesses, including a fever reaching nearly 105, ear infection, pink eye, and upper respiratory infection.  Whew.  Now, Megan has a virus that is kicking her butt as well.  So fun being sick in summer, not to mention in a tiny little condo!!!  This to shall pass!  Ethan is definitely better and Megan will hopefully be better by the weekend so she can enjoy the festivities.

Ethan and Lauryn are enjoying their new daycare/learning center.  It keeps them busy!  We certainly miss the intimacy of our in-home daycare provider, but this is a good 2nd place.  Lauryn goes on field trips all the time!  She has been to the Children's Museum, Mill City Museum, local trips to the library, jugglers, magicians, and park, and mom went with her to a Twins game!  She is learning so much and is just so inquisitive.  Her reflections and sharing after attending the Mill City Museum were amazing.  She really does listen, and taught her mom and dad a few things!

Ethan is definitely the "big boy" in the 10-18 month room he is in.  He will actually be transitioning to the 18-27 month room this month, as he is surely ready for it.  He stares at all the big kids going by and wants to do what they are doing.  We hope it will be a good transition for him and that he thrives being even more engaged in activities and learning.  It is still quite difficult for him to leave mom or dad when dropping off, so that pulls at the heartstrings.  But, we know he has a great time there as we get updates and pictures throughout the day, which is fun!

We are really enjoying the new city of Waconia and all it has to offer.  It is such a beautiful and serene town.  We love the lake, trails, parks, and everything about the beautiful little community! Our bikes have lots of miles on them!

Speaking of bikes, Lauryn is officially a bike rider!  It took her and mom about an hour of good practice one night, and she picked it up and won't turn back!  She is loving her freedom and does a great job getting going, stopping, and turning around.  Last night, she was even racing her bike with the neighbor kids!!  It's unbelievable that a month ago she didn't even want to get on it without her training wheels!

We hope summer is bringing joy for all!

Condo Living

Downsizing from a 3,000 square foot home to a 936 square foot condo is loads of fun!!

It actually hasn't been that bad, except everyone is up in the morning at the same time.  Mom and dad need to get use to going to bed earlier, too!  Thank goodness for the deck, garage storage space and park that is a 2 min walk away. They have been our saving grace!

We've joined the local community center so there are things to do on these rainy days.  We have many reasons to not want rainy days this summer...#1 reason is so our build is on time!!  The scheduled date to dig the hole is June 17th, with the framing starting the week of July 1st.  We will hope this stays as planned, as the #2 reason to not have a rainy summer is so that we can be out of our condo and at the parks!  

We've managed to go on many bike rides on the local trails, and even around Lake Waconia.  We've hit up countless parks, library time, and gone swimming and to the ball pit at the community center. 

And it has only been 2 weeks since we've been staying at the condo!  Not to mention Lauryn is still in soccer and will be starting t-ball on Saturday.  We've also starting practicing riding bike without training wheels!

Mom and Lauryn even biked to the grocery store and came home with loads of produce.  People probably thought it was pretty odd to see a 5 year old crammed in a pull-behind, with groceries shoved everywhere!!

It was incredibly heart-breaking to say goodbye to our in-home daycare provider of the past 4 years.  She has been so wonderful to the kids and to our family!  She will be deeply missed, but luckily she isn't far away!  The new care we have is at a center, and they are GOING all the time.  Today, Lauryn was at a farm planting pumpkins. We can't wait to hear about that adventure!  And Ethan is with numerous older babies his age, so he is stimulated constantly.  We will see how tired the kiddos are on the days they go to the center!  We could be in for some rough evenings.

The last night of playing in "our" grass at the old house!

Half our earthly possessions are in here!

First summer meal on the condo deck! Fabulous burgers daddy!

The joys!

St. John's PreK graduation class of 2015!

Miss Lauryn with her PreK graduation medal and certificate.

Fun at the new community center, Safari Island!

Lots of Changes!

We are crazy busy starting a new life in a neighboring city! But among the chaos, we had the birthday of a very special 5 year old to celebrate!  Miss Lauryn is 5 already and we can't believe how that happened!!  She is such a caring, warm hearted, comical, energetic, and inquisitive little girl!  She always seems to make us laugh or smile, and make us proud with her memory, insightfulness, and caring words.  As she transitions into a school-aged child, we are excited to see her continue to grow and flourish in a new setting.  Although we are heading to new places, we have such fond memories of the nearly 6 years spent on Gilfillan Ave, with a very special 5 year old a huge part of making our time here so special.  We love you Miss Lauryn!  Happy 5th Birthday.  We are excited to see where the road takes you this next year!!!  We are sure it will include loosing even more teeth (we are up to 4 lost, and 2 permanent teeth in!)

I'm 5!

Princess Tea Party Birthday Party.  Put on with love by Janet!

Games with Dad!

Princess cupcakes, of course!

Our Sweetie!

A Boogie Board for all the writing & drawing she does!

This picture describes Lauryn to a "T"!

Resurrection Eggs, Easter Story, and Dye Galore

Spring Break and Easter brought loads of germs and sickness to our house!  We were all sick at least once (Eric REALLY sick, twice!) throughout the week before Easter.  Luckily, we were all well enough to head to Easter service on Sunday morning!  

Mom took the kids to the Carver Egg Hunt while dad was quarantined to the basement bedroom and bathroom.  They had a blast.  What probably took hours to set up was 10 minutes of fun, but it was the best part of Lauryn's day, she said!  Ethan started to realize that he was suppose to pick up the eggs and put them in a bucket.  He didn't fair as well on Easter morning, but maybe that was because Lauryn was so overly excited that is threw us all off!!  

You'd never be able to tell Ms. Lauryn had her tonsils out just a few short weeks ago (3/18)! She has rebounded wonderfully and is getting used to her "new voice"!!