After a Month...

I cannot believe that it is November already.  The past month has flown by.  I feel like we haven't accomplished a lot, but we actually have.  It just doesn't seem like much because it is little things that are getting done bit by bit.  I haven't taken any outside pictures because the house still looks the same out there.  The first two weeks in our house were consumed by organizing and putting up fence so our horses could join us.  Gracie finished up softball, Owen finished up football and we are starting basketball and wrestling now.  The kids are adapting to their new school district and they seem to love living in our new house, despite it not being finished.

Gracie got to be the bat girl for Mizzou softball on 10/28.  She spent the whole day at the softball field and was probably in heaven.  The only down side was the cold weather.  I don't think the temperature made it above 40 degrees that day.

After Gracie's day of softball, she went on a hayride at one of her friends' house.  They had a professional face painter come.  Nick took Gracie and it sounded like a lot of fun!

Owen tried on my Halloween costume from when I was little.

This is his costume this year.  He looks pretty good.

Gracie and Owen getting ready to go trick or treating.

Owen is exhausted after trick or treating.

These pictures really aren't in chronological order.  I'll just explain what's going on and give the date next to them.  We definitely carved pumpkins before we went trick or treating.  We make cookies and carved pumpkins on 10/29.

We also made cookies and the kids decorated them with frosting.

Scooping the goop

This is Gracie's least favorite part

Dad does such a good job of carving.

All lit up

Owen's football game.  He has loved playing this year.  I can't remember which game this was.

Owen getting ready to throw the ball.  His friend Know is in the green shorts.  Knox lives next door to us and he and Owen have hit it off.  They are the same age.

This is supposed to be flag football, right?  

Gracie and Nick reading before bed.  Gracie loves her new room.

We had a pretty bad storm come through a couple weeks after we moved in here.  It carried our trampoline into the lagoon.  Gracie said that she thought this one would last longer than the last one.  I guess not.

This is how you get a trampoline out of a lagoon.  We hooked it up to the lawn mower and had to pull it out.  Not fun.

The horses joined us on 10/16

We spent every free moment of the weekend prior to this securing fencing for the horses.  They finally joined us two weeks after we moved here.

Gracie leading Owen around on Dancer

Owen riding Dancer

The horses seem to love their space.

Owen with Indee

Gracie and Indee

Here is a picture of our house looking toward the east.  

There is a rainbow, but it's really hard to see in this pic.

Lloyd's pumpkin patch is about a mile from our house.  We finally stopped after driving by it almost every day.  I told Owen that he could get a pumpkin only as big as he could carry.  So he decided on a 26-pounder.  It wasn't nearly as big as the apple orchard we used to go to in Iowa, but the kids had fun and they got to choose their pumpkins.

Riding to the pumpkin patch

So many to choose from.

Gracie and Owen

Gracie picked one that was a little more manageable.

We found a cart so we didn't have to carry them.

Back home.

The first bathroom that is pretty much done.  I put the mirror up, and Nick put the towel ring and toilet paper holder in.  The door is on this bathroom, too!  It just needs a handle, lock, and the trim pieces, now.

Owen put up his tiger decal in his room.

Playing in the timber.  Owen and I hiked around for awhile last weekend.  It was a little chilly, but he showed me where he wants to build a fort and all of the places that he likes to hideout.

Owen finding his way on the trail.

We stopped and played with the horses for a little bit.

Nick wanted to burn off the mound in the front yard.  It didn't burn for very long.  I can't wait until we get a skid loader out here to level out our yard.  Maybe eventually we can have some grass instead of mud, too.

The past few days have been full of Mizzou activities.  The kids got to join their dad for a little bit on Wednesday night in his new office at Mizzou Arena while I went back to work for a little bit.  Friday night we went to watch volleyball.  Yesterday was the football game and then wrestling later in the afternoon.  The first wrestling match of the season was held outdoors at the softball stadium.  It was pretty fun and luckily the weather cooperated.

Owen wrestling with one of Nick's co-workers at the softball field.

Gracie took her friend, Brynn, to the football game yesterday.  The Tigers got another win!  

Only 2 more wins and we are bowl eligible!  Anything can happen!

Just another little update...I have accepted a full time position in Mizzou Made Acaemics as their tutor coordinator and will also be working with ELP again starting in January.  I am pretty excited about this and can't wait to start working full time again!  I have been working around 35 hours per week, so it won't be a whole lot different from what I'm already doing.  I have the kids on waitlists for 3 different after school programs, so hopefully something will work out.

The next month will pass very quickly, I'm sure. We are heading up to Muscatine next weekend to see Deb while she is visiting, and I'm hoping to be able to see my grandma again before long.  It's been quite awhile since we've been up there.  But from what I've heard, she's doing well.  

We still have a lot to do with the house.  Nick has a saw, now, so he can finish the trim and casing for doors and windows.  We still need a banister/rail for the stairs. Closets still need shelving and the kids still need their closets finished so they can full use them. The porch is not done yet and the barn has not been started.  However, like I said, we have been making small gains.  The cabinetry in the kitchen has hardware.  Two of the bathrooms have hardware.  I had a glass company come out on Friday to take measurements for the mirrors in the bathrooms and also for a shower door in the master bathroom. I have ordered door knobs for the rest of the doors and will be able to put those in soon.  We have a fully functional kitchen and the house is completely livable.  We try to get a little done any time that we are home.  

Wrestling starts tomorrow and I'm sure that will consume our lives for the next few months.  Nick is helping out with the new program in Ashland, and he has told me that he is going to try to help out again in Columbia once weekly.  Owen is so excited to start!  He is counting down the days.  Gracie has her first basketball tournament in two weeks.  We'll see how that goes!