Where Did July Go?

 Road Trip!

My sister and I took all of our kids up to Iowa to visit my Grandma last weekend.  It was a quick trip, but worth it.  I'm so glad Annie decided to go with me!  It only took an extra hour for us with Kaia in the car, so I was pretty happy.  She was the best traveler, too.  All she did was sleep!  The rest of them...not so much.

Here we are.  Ready to go!

Grandma Jeanne was so happy to get to hold Kaia.  

She held her for almost the whole three hours that we were there on Friday afternoon.

Here's Grandma with the great grandkids, Kaia, Owen, River, and Gracie, on our side of the family.

We tried to coordinate getting my cousin's kids there at the same time, but it didn't work out.  Miles ended up having some problems with his asthma and had to be treated for that.

Another picture of Grandma with Kaia

Back at Grandma Jeanne's house.  Owen is under there somewhere.  

He is very tolerant of River and allows him to climb all over him.

These three...looks like trouble.

Gracie holding Kaia.

Playing at a park near Grandma's in Grimes.

Owen is showing River how to scoop sand.

Owen did this the whole 45 minutes that we were at the park.

Look!

Squirrels!

The animals out the window must be pretty fascinating.

Back visiting Grandma the next day.

Another picture of Grandma with her Greats 

(except Kaia.  She was busy eating)

My uncle Jay gets a turn with Kaia

And Aunt Mary

Like I said before, it was a quick trip to Iowa, but well worth it.  Grandma got to meet Kaia and hold her almost all afternoon and a lot of the next morning.  Grandma seemed to enjoy every moment.  Gracie, Owen, and River did well together for the most part and it was a fun trip.

Meanwhile, back on the farm....

Owen's latest find...Nick thought it might be at turkey leg.

Great.

I also took the kids back to school shopping a couple days ago.  We went to the lake to do this, since I knew that the stores down there would be much less busy than Columbia during the week.  At the end of last school year, I had thought that we would be moved by the beginning of the school year, so they said their goodbyes to friends at New Haven.  But, surprise!  Our house is not going to be done. So they will get to go back to New Haven for at least a few weeks, since we are still living in Columbia and school starts in less than two weeks here.  The kids were actually kind of excited to go back there, even though Columbia Schools start three weeks earlier than Southern Boone, which is where they will go once we get moved.  We're hoping by the beginning of September, but we haven't been given a date yet by our contractor.  We just know that it will not be August 15, as it states in our contract.  This is actually going to work out really well, since I also have to go back to work on August 21.  I can't believe summer is almost over!

Owen sure looks good! (minus the socks)

I convinced him that he needs to have at least one outfit that is not athletic shorts and a t-shirt.

More on the house

7/26

Nick has finished all of the porch except the screened in area.

He can't get to that until the crew finishes all the soffit on the back. That is taking forever.

I don't think they have gotten much done as far as soffit and siding in the past week.

The following pictures were taken on Sunday evening (7/30)

The insulation was done.

We didn't really do anything except mow that night.

Nick has mowed more of the yard.  It looks a lot better.

We weren't planning to have the garage insulated and finished, but I guess we get walls in the garage.

Gracie and Owen called them pink walls.  Last week, all of the wiring was done and insulation was installed.  That actually happened pretty quickly.  The sheet rock is ready to be hung.

This is Owen's room with "pink walls."

Looking in from the front entryway. 

The front of the house.  I don't think it has changed a lot since the last time I took this picture.  I though the siding would be done by now, but the siding crew must not be in a hurry.

On Sunday, the sheet rock was laying in each of the rooms, waiting to by hung.  By Monday evening, most of it was done.  By Tuesday afternoon, there was just one area in the master bath that wasn't finished.  Now it just needs the joint compound, a couple days to dry, and some primer.  Then we can start adding color!

 7/31

The entry way after one day of drywall hanging.

I can't believe how fast they got this done!

All of the paint so far.  I'm sure we'll need more, but this is a good start!

 7/31

Oops.  

That board represents the wall of the screened in porch area.  I guess we will have to make some adjustments.  That will definitely not work.  Nick was not very happy about this, but we will get a little bit bigger screened in area.

Nick makes me so nervous sometimes.  There's probably a 10 foot drop behind him and his heels are hanging off the end.  I'm so glad that his coordination and balance are much better than mine.  He finished that side of the house on Monday night.  Now we just need to get the screened in area done and maybe put up some railing.  Sorry Nick, not everyone can avoid falling off of the edge like you.

We got the bid back from the cabinetry company, and of course, it was over budget.  So, we'll have to cut back some.  Hopefully we will get that ordered in the next couple days.  Nick is going to call about the tile flooring today.  I know that will also be over our budget, but we'll see what we can do.  I'm guessing that the drywall will be taped and mudded in the next couple days and we are having it sprayed for primer.  I'm hoping that by the end of next week I can get in there and start painting.

Gracie had her first fall softball practice last night at Mizzou Softball stadium.  That was really fun for the girls.  Right now  there are only 9 on her new team, so hopefully the will get a couple more before they start games on August 29.  I am in the process of signing Owen up for flag football in Ashland and putting Gracie back into the same dance studio as last year.  Speaking of that...her recital pictures were finally post online.  Here they are!

"Cats" ballet

"Star Wars" tumbling

"Try Everything" Tap

Columbia Schools start on August 15, which is less than two weeks from now!  They will attend there until we move into the new house.  Southern Boone Schools don't start until September 5, so they might get to start on the first day down there, if we can move in by then.  I really don't know what to expect, though.  I'm not sure how quickly the cabinetry and flooring can be installed.  I feel like we are ordering it pretty late.  I also go back to work on August 21 at Mizzou.  We might have a couple birthdays to celebrate along the way!  I can't believe this summer has gone so quickly.