A day at the park...

We took the kids to the Wapsipinicon State park to enjoy a picnic and a day in the sun. Rebel came along and was a very good puppy. The kids love walking her around. The picnic was great and we walked along the waters edge. The kids saw a snake, some baby catfish and even a few frogs. When we left, we stopped at the front gate which has an enclosed area with some Elk in it. The kids loved looking at their huge set of antlers. They have a couple large males, about 8 females and even some babies. They are so majestic. I so badly wanted to be in the woods with a gun in my hand. Oh well, maybe some day I will go on an elk hunt.

It was a beautiful day and we all had so much fun. Next time we go, we might take them up to the top of the tower. I'm already getting nervous thinking about that since I'm still pretty scared of heights. Either way, I'll brave it for my kids.

Were finally in the new house!!!

So we moved in last Friday July 17th. The day didn't start off so hot though for us. At closing, the bank tried to charge us an extra $4,000 at closing because the dam assistant forgot to put down that we payed $5,000 up front to the builder. Good catch on my part. Jaime made them redo the closing costs and sure enough, it lowered our closing costs by 4 grand...Dam banks trying to rip us off.
Saturday was a great day to move with temps in the high 60's. Dad and my brother-in-law Ed drove in from Chicago to help us move. We were also assisted by Jaime's Dad, brother and sister-in-law. Jaime's mom was put in charge of watching the kids while we moved stuff. We give a big thanks to everyone for the help as we couldn't have done it without you.
We once again had a rocky start when midway into the storage garage, we came across the dreaded MOLD. It was every where. Couches, dressers, baby stuff and lots lots more. Everything was put into the garage and I later bought a mold cleaner from Lowe's which works wonders. We were able to salvage some items, however Kailey's bedroom set had to be burned.
Either way, were in and the garage is clean enough to get a car in it. Hopefully well have a garage sale soon and get rid of a few more items.

Were so excited to be in the new house. The kids love it and have settled in well. Rebel is adjusting to the new place as well. It will be easier on her once the fence gets installed in a few weeks.

Take a look at the pics below. Feel free to stop over anytime and visit.

Its finally here....

Tomorrow, July 17th is our closing date on the new house. We are so excited to get to move in and have our own place to call home once again. Its strange to think that it was 6 months ago when we first moved in with Jaime's parents. We are so thankful that they opened up their home to us and allowed us to disrupt their lives for half a year. Living with them also allowed us to save a few extra dollars that will go towards closing costs. We will try to post some pics up soon but it may take some time as we try to get settled in.

Happy 4th of July....

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July. I'm sure the weather was nicer than it was in the Midwest. It was almost the coldest 4th on record. The record low temp was 65 but we got close at 68 degrees. It didn't stop us from having fun. We went to Jaime's relative house where we were forced to stay inside the shed due to the weather. The food however was plentiful. Steak, salads, potatoes, pork & beans, plus dessert and much, much more. No one went away hungry.

After a few hours of being pent up together inside, a few brave soles decided to take the plunge in the pond. Kailey and I quickly joined them. The water was cool, not cold but it was much warmer in the water than out of it. Swimming went on for an hour or two before we all dried off and spent some time by the bonfire. Yep that's right. A bonfire. It was so cold out that we had a nice bonfire going to stay warm yet us loonies were still out swimming. What's a 4th without swimming? I don't even think snow and ice could have kept us away from the water.

We got the kids home around 8pm. Jaime gave them a bath as Cohen had 2 pounds of sand in his shorts from the sand box. Kailey had that good ole lake smell on her. By about 915pm, both kids were in bed and there was no way I was waking them to take them into CR to watch fireworks.

A few updated pics of the house....

Soccer for 3-5 year olds...

So Jaime and I signed Kailey up to learn soccer this summer. Its a 4 week long course for 3-5 year olds on Monday and Wednesday each week. It supposed to teach them basics and get them interested in playing later on. Yours truly is the coach along with one other parent. We have 8 kids on our team. So far it has been a blast. Although sometimes its just like a babysitting job with no pay. Either way, I don't mind because I do it for my daughter. Their is nothing better than spending time with her and watching her learn and enjoy the game.

Team Photo

Kailey after a hard practice.

Kailey's scrapes....she got them from falling on the concrete when she had to go potty during practice.

Right now the kids are really getting into it. Learning to kick, pass and stop the ball. We have a small scrimmage schedule for next week with another team. Well see how that goes.

Kailey's 4th Birthday Party

Pics of the Tile and Siding...its coming along

Kailey turns "4"

Jaime and I took Kailey, Cohen and Grandpa Atwater to Chucky Cheese for games and pizza. The kids had a blast on the rides and enjoyed winning tickets. Grandpa even got involved and was chasing Cohen around the game room. I played "Deal or No Deal" and won the maximum (80 tickets) on my first time. I picked case 11 which had 80 in it. It came down to the final 3 cases and I took "NO DEAL" and passed on 42 tickets. Jaime said "GO FOR IT"....and low and behold my case had the biggest amount possible to win. It was fun. It was kinda funny too because Jaime played right after me and ended up with "1" ticket in her case. LOL.....we Laughed so hard that we won the most and least in back to back games....check out the pics and watch the 2 videos below from that day as well....

Chucky Cheese for Kailey's Birthday...

Game time at Chucky Cheese.....Cohen got some help from Grandpa, which is why he won 2 of 3 matches from Kailey. Even though she lost, she was a good sport and held her head up high.

Kailey's birthday present....

Kailey got this for her birthday from mommy and daddy. We gave it to her on her birthday even though her party isn't for another week. It works great outside because you can unplug it when not in use and if they want to play on it, it takes less than a minute to blow back up.

White man cant dance...

Funny video of Josh being a fool.