Kruger Family

Wacky Kids!

2009-11-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture I took of the kids this morning. I guess this nice weather makes them think we need to go swimming! Have a great weekend!

Weekly Deals (according to me)

2009-11-04T14:43:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I would start sharing some of the deals I am finding each week. It has become a bit of an obsession (in a good way) for me lately! Last week is going to be hard to beat because I was able to get 7 boxes of cereal for $.71 each, and that was with getting a box of Kix that I thought was going to be cheaper than it was, so the average would have come down tremendously had I not gotten that one! :) Anyway, below are the deals that I found for this week, which don't include coupons. If you find any great deals, please feel free to share them in the comments! (I love a good bargain!) Keep in mind these are the bargains I hope to take advantage of.

Hy-Vee-they have had some really good one day sales lately, so the deals are not as hot there this week, but still some good ones!

-Free Breakfast for all veterans on Veterans Day, November 11! (I can't take advantage of this, but what a nice way to celebrate our veterans!)

-Pepsi Products 2 Liter Bottle $.88

Aldi

-cream cheese $.79 each

-milk $1.89 per gallon (Vitamin D, 2% and Skim)

Fareway

-Fastco flour $.88 each

-bananas $.29/lb.

-Fastco shredded cheese $.99 each

-Coke 2 liter Bottles $.79 each

-AE sour cream $.67 each for an 8 oz. carton

-1 lb. bag of Dole Baby carrots $.79 each

Also wanted to share some websites I have been following that have helped me get better at saving money when it comes to shopping. You can click on the Alice.com site on the right to sign up for a free account. This site is amazing. They have some good deals and some that are not so good, but it is delivered to your door, FREE shipping, and they don't require you to clip coupons...they automatically take the coupon off at the checkout for you. If you click on the link on the right, you will get $10 credit after you have ordered $50 worth of stuff. :) Feel free to add any websites you follow also in the comments section.

www.moneysavingmom.com

www.lifeasmom.com

www.coupons.com

www.dealseekingmom.com

Long time, no blog!

2009-11-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

I know it has been forever since I have blogged, but I am back now with a renewed desire for doing it. :) I am super excited about a lot of things we have been up to lately. So many things going on in the Kruger house...

Mike has been super busy at work! It is not uncommon for him to get home at 7pm or later lately, but that is also a good thing. We definitely miss him at home, but it is good for business to be so busy that he is getting home later.

Brady started preschool this year. It has been weird not having him home all the time, but he is loving it. He has made some friends and finally can tell us their names. He has also picked up on his colors FINALLY! We were getting so frustrated with trying to teach him at home his colors, but whatever they are doing at school seems to be working. He had his first school pictures, which turned out really great.

Bree is also benefiting from Brady going to school with some sweet one-on-one time with Mommy. We have had tea parties, gone shopping, and done other girly things just the two of us. While we miss Brady, it is nice to have an opportunity to do some girly things. Her personality has blossomed in the past few weeks. She definitely knows what she wants. I am thinking the girly time couldn't have come at a better time. Her favorite movie right now is Cars!

As for me, where should I begin?! I have been working with 6th grade girls for 180, our church middle school ministry. It is awesome! I absolutely love all my girls and have enjoyed learning about Christ. One of my most recent passions has become coupons and saving money. This was actually spurred on by the other leader in my small group for 180, Vicki. We had a sleepover for all the girls at my house in September and she started to share with me some websites and other tips that she uses and it has become almost an obsession for me. I have found some really great ways to save money and get a LOT of groceries for a little bit of money. :)

Sorry this is such a long post, hopefully, it won't be so long between now and the next post. I will try to post pictures soon.

A Taste of Our Own Medicine!

2009-06-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I guess it is payback time, and we are on the wrong end of the payback! The following is the conversation between Brady and Mike this morning. A little background: my sister's daughter has been brain-washed by her uncle and aunt to be a Cyclone fan from a very young age. My other sister gave us two huge garbage bags full of stuff that my nephew can no longer wear/use. Some things were conveniently placed on top of one of the bags.

Brady: Daddy, is this a Hawkeye shirt?

Daddy: Yes.

Brady: Daddy, I want to wear this today.

Daddy: But Brady, we just bought you a new Buckeye jersey.

Brady: Yeah, but I like the Hawkeyes better! (imagine a dagger going through Mike's heart)

Daddy: But Brady, the Hawkeyes are yucky!

Brady: But Papa has a Hawkeye shirt.

Daddy: Yeah, but Papa is silly!

Brady: Yeah, but he has a Hawkeye shirt.

Later in the morning, before getting dressed, my friend Hollie calls and Brady wants to talk to her about his shirt.

Brady: Hollie, I got a Hawkeye shirt.

Hollie: Oh Brady, the Hawkeyes are yucky!

Brady: (silence and gives me back the phone) Mommy, I can't wear this shirt today. (Thanks for the support Hollie!)

So, I thought the issue was dead...apparently not. When Brady got up from his nap, he asked to put the Hawkeye jersey on. I guess now we know how my sister feels.

Next!

2009-05-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we finished soccer and are now on to Bam Bam Ball. I think he is going to enjoy this much more because it isn't so much contact with other kids! The rules of Bam Bam Ball are different than t-ball, but it is just to get the kids in the habit of running to the bases, instead of running to get the ball after they hit it, and going after the ball when someone hits it.

Each player bats once every inning. They use the big plastic bat and a rubber ball on two coffee cans taped together.

Brady's first hit went to right field!

Daddy was standing at first base directing traffic (there was a parent at each base letting kids know where to go). As you can see, Brady decided it was a long run and needed to take a break to sit and draw in the dirt! :)

The bases weren't shortened for the little guys, so it was a long way to run, and it didn't help that the wind was blowing (plus, I think he may have gotten his speed, or lack there of, from his momma)!

Brady's coach was standing at home plate to give everyone a high five when they made it all the way around. When the last batter came up, that kid had to run all the way around the bases, which was a LONG way for little legs. Brady happened to be the last batter one time.

When it was their turn to be in the field, the all lined up at the pitcher's mound. The first one in line fielded the ball and took it to put it on the tee (or cans) and then went in the dugout until they were all done.

Brady has great coaches! They are so patient with the kids and do a great job of explaining what to do each time they are required to do something!

Where's Daddy?

2009-04-05T20:31:00.002-07:00

The kids decided it would be fun to see how much stuff they could pile on Daddy tonight.

Then they would jump on him.

Where's Waldo?

Bree was making sure he was still there! :)

Brady would show off his muscles to let Daddy know he was so tough!

And then they got in some good snuggle time!

How blessed am I to have such a wonderful husband who is a fabulous Daddy to my children! They absolutely adore him and cherish every moment with him and he cherishes every moment he gets with them!

Bree Baking

2009-04-05T20:31:00.001-07:00

Bree and I made cookies tonight. She kept sneaking little bits of cookie dough when I would "turn away," which is funny because I absolutely love cookie dough and Mike is grossed out by it (he loves the cookies, just not the thought of eating raw eggs)! It is so much fun to do these things with her finally! Brady likes to bake, but would much rather wrestle with Daddy. I am excited to do more girly things with her!

Vacation

2009-04-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting around to posting some pictures from our little weekend getaway to the Wisconsin Dells. We had a great time staying at the Wilderness Lodge resort with my parents, sister, Dawn, and her family and my niece and two of her friends. The indoor waterparks are so much fun, even for the adults, and the guys enjoyed watching some of the NCAA games on television. It worked out great for me because I love to swim and Mike loves to watch college basketball, so when it was nap time, he was happy to stay in the room with the kids while I went with the others to the water parks! I didn't take any pictures at the parks because I didn't want to lug the camera around all day and have to worry about it when I was in the water also. Guess I need to get a water camera next time! :)

Shelby wasn't wanting to get up one morning, so Mike decided to give her a little "help"!

We weren't sure how the kids would deal with the giant moose because they tend to freak out when they see big people dressed in costumes, but both did okay. However, Bree wasn't going to take her eyes off of the moose!

Mike thought that Brady needed a sword (to torture his mother and sister with at home), and this is were Brady stowed it when we were walking back to the room! :)

Bree trying on some of Shelby's shoes. Shelby always says that Bree doesn't like her, but I think Bree had a change of heart this weekend! She wanted Shelby most of the time and didn't let her get too far away from her!

And so it begins...

2009-04-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

Brady has officially started playing sports. While many of you may already know this, soccer is not a huge hit in our house, but Brady is playing this spring (it took some real convincing on my part to get Mike to allow it). I think I had a pretty good argument though. This will be a great opportunity to meet other kids his age in our community and a great way for us to meet other parents in the community. So, his first practice was last night so I made Mike take pictures since I had to be home with Bree, who is doing much better now. He was sure to let me know that he was the ONLY parent taking pictures! :) He already has his first game on Monday evening. Could be interesting! We ventured out today to try to find some shin guards and shoes and a ball (since it has been banned up to this point) that would actually fit our little man. So far, we haven't had any luck finding any shoes that are small enough, and most of the socks with the padding in them are WAY too big, so we ended up buying some shin guards and a ball.

Sickies!

2009-04-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

April Fool's Day has never been a holiday that I have cared for, especially after teaching and dealing with students pulling pranks all day long. Now, it is even worse. We thought we had missed the flu this year because when all of our friends and their kids were getting it, we didn't. WRONG! Last night on our way to meet Steph for supper and go to D6, Bree puked all over herself in the car. That was pleasant! I brought her home and gave her a bath and hosed off the clothes before putting them straight in the washer. I even got it on my clothes, so I was struggling not to gag myself. Anyway, hopefully it was an isolated incodent because she hasn't gotten sick since the car. (Maybe it was my driving) :) This morning, we have spent a lot of time snuggling, but below is a picture of her snuggling with one of Mike's old "guys" as she calls them. You can tell she doesn't really feel that great when she is just laying around all morning.

Don't eat the baby, Hollie!

2009-03-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the conversation that I had the pleasure of witnessing yesterday! Remember this is between two 3-year-olds! I am allowed to share now that Hollie has officially spread the news! :)

Gabe: Remember what is in my mommy's tummy?

Brady: What? (probably thinking Gabe is going to say something about whatever she ate that morning)

Gabe (in his cute little excited voice): A baby. She has a baby in her tummy!

Brady (with an extremely priceless confused look on his face): What?! Did she eat it?

Gabe: No. It is just in there.

Poor Brady is so confused that his friend's mommy has a baby in her stomach and why in the world would she eat a baby! Gotta love a 3-year-olds mind and how it processes things!

The excitement of a 3-year-old (and a 31-year-old)

2009-03-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

This is what an excited 3-year-old looks like when he is trying to go to sleep the night before going on vacation (and to see Nana, Papa, Shelby, Aunt Dawn, Uncle Greg, Zach, Alex, Noah, Layne and Emily)! The poor thing had so much trouble getting to sleep!

This is what an excited 3-year-old looks like when he gets up early the morning that he gets to go on vacation!

The problem is, he said "Mom, I am ready to go see Nana now." (not in a yucky tone, but a subtle one that is just letting us know). The only problem is, he says this at 7:30 in the morning and we aren't leaving until Mike gets home from work at lunchtime! He is so excited that he can't stop talking! On Monday, he called Nana to tell her that there were 5 days until he saw her. She called him on Tuesday and he has called her every day since. I am not sure which one is more excited! Mike has taken half the day off and we are headed up to the Wisconsin Dells for the weekend, so it should be a good time!

He also got some new shoes for the trip, which as you can see above, he is so excited about them that he wore them to bed last night, causing a little bit of a blister on his heal. When he was showing them to his dad this morning, he said, "Dad, look at these shoes that Mom got me. They are so cool!" What a sweet little boy! I had the same problem he did. I couldn't get to sleep last night and was up by 6 am getting started on my "to do list" before we leave!

Has Spring Sprung?

2009-03-18T21:52:00.001-07:00

We have been having SO much fun outside this week! The weather has been great, so great, that we only have come inside to eat and take naps and go to bed! Strangely, Brady has decided that he doesn't need a nap anymore. Funny thing is, when we don't go outside, he takes a nap, but when we spend a lot of time outside, he just has trouble falling asleep until he crashes at about 8 pm! I thought it was supposed to be the other way around! Oh well.

He recently was given a bike from my sister, who used it with my nephew. It is the prefect size for him and he loves to ride it. He has been riding it so much that I thought he was ready to take the training wheels off. However, one try at that and he was done. The bike was no longer steady enough for him! So, for now, the training wheels are still on. When Daddy has a free day, we plan to try again. For now, the extra support will have to work.

I have also been meeting with a Conversational English Partner who I met through a Thanksgiving dinner with our connection group (will explain in a different post). This week she brought her daugher with her since she is on spring break. We were meeting to go over some stuff for her interview with a university to be a professor, which was this week, so we really needed to work on some stuff. Her daughter was playing and all the sudden got really quiet. Below you will see why. I just can't imagine she was very comfortable!

Pictures, Pictures and MORE Pictures

2009-03-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

I must be a streaky blogger (not one who runs around naked, just one who will do it for a few days and then not do it for awhile!) I didn't realize it had been so long since I had last posted. Time really does fly when you are having fun! We have been having too much fun playing and I forget to update the blog! The weather has been so nice that we have been trying to get outside as much as possible. However, it is the nicest day so far and Brady and Bree are staying with Nana and Papa, so I don't get to enjoy it with them. Instead, I am enjoying some time to catch up and do some things that I don't normally get to do. I have spent a LOT of time in Des Moines this week watching girls state basketball games, which has been SOOO much fun! Monday, my dad decided to come up and spend a few days with us and go to a few games and when he went home, he took the kids with him! It is awfully quiet around here!

No, I don't want you to take a picture of my cute hair do!

Having fun with the pillows and blankent.

When I came home Friday night, (it was late) Mike was in bed and Brady was asleep on the couch. Apparently he had come out of his room and climbed up on the couch and fallen back to sleep!

Sneaking up on Papa while he is sleeping!

The kids love to play with Papa!

The Prodigal Son (according to a 3 year old)

2009-02-18T19:20:00.000-08:00

Every Wednesday night during the school year, we try to make it to D6, our church's family ministry. We have been fortunate to be in a church that offers programs such as D6, which comes from Deuteronomy 6. This year has been awesome! It is the first year that Brady has really been able to remember most of the parts of the story and then tell us about it. The Bible story teacher in his class is also the pastor at our church, which has been awesome. He is absolutely great with the kids! Anyway, he is very animated in telling the stories, or so it seems from the expressions Brady uses when he retells the story (and I have heard from others who are in the class helping). Below is the conversation that Brady and I had after D6 tonight. The Bible story was from Luke 15:19-24.

Me: What was the story that Pastor Troy told you tonight?

Brady: It was about crying and being happy. And then he took all the money and then he looked in his bag and the money was all gone. And then he went to the store to find some food and money and then there wasn't any and then he went back to the store and there was some.

Me: What happened after he found food in the bag?

Brady: Cause then he looked and there was some, so he took some home to his Daddy. And then he said, "Tickle, tickle." (not sure what part of the story involves tickling, but according to a 3 year-old, there is tickling!)

Me: Did you run home? (I asked this because one of the teachers told me they ran home when Pastor Troy told them to).

Brady: Yeah. I just had to run home quick with Pastor Troy in the circle. And then, Pastor Troy just throwed me up in the air with Gabe and all my other friends. (Pastory Troy must have been pretty tired after throwing all the friends in the air...there are 20 friends in his class!)

It is so interesting to see what he has to say after he comes out of class, and even when I find it hard to believe, it turns out that he is mostly right when he tells me something. (One time he told me Pastor Troy brought a bird in to the class, and he really had!)

Hairdos!

2009-02-18T12:43:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love having a girl so I can do her hair in lots of fun ponytails! So, I thought I would post a few pictures of some of the different ones. I think today is one of my favorites and yes, she will sit and let me do it, as long as she is watching something on tv and sitting up on the bar stool (which she hasn't figure out how to get down off yet!). I love to play with her hair. I tried to french braid it, but I don't know how to that well, and her hair is so slippery that it wasn't staying very well in the braid. Anyway, here are some recent "dos."

Not sure why she was unhappy, other than that I probably just put her down and she didn't want to be! Not one of my favorites, but still cute. :)

My mom used to do this to my hair when I was younger.

Probably my second favorite. I love putting in multiple ponytails! You can't really see it, but she has two on each side that are connected.

This one is my favorite! However, when you look at her from the back, she looks much older with this hairdo (until you see her little girl bouncy run)!

The white blanket conversation

2009-02-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Brady was having a very hard day today! He didn't want his dad to leave after lunch (because it is SOOO terrible to be at home with mom!), so he was having a melt down, a very tired boy melt down. So we were sitting on his bed talking and this is what the conversation was like. I love how he processes things and and expresses what he is thinking!

Brady: I want my white blanket from the closet. (the blanket he loves to fall asleep with and chews on the corner until there are holes and feathers go everywhere)

Me: We need to take it to Nana's to fix it, so we can't get it out right now. We will take it with us when we go on Friday.

Brady: But I want her to come to our house today and fix it.

Me: No, we will take it with us when we go on Friday and have her fix it.

Brady: But why did she have to change it to the new blanket? (He used to have a smaller version of this blanket that Aunt Robin brought back from Copenhagen, but he chewed holes in all 4 corners more times than could be fixed and Aunt Robin brought back a bigger version when he got a bigger bed. He thinks we left it at Nana's house because it was chewed so badly that it is beyond repair. It is actually in our basement boxed up so I can pull it out at his graduation. :) Anyway, he thinks that Nana somehow magically changed that blanket to the new, bigger one.)

Me: What? She didn't change it. Aunt Robin gave you a new one because your old one didn't fit on your bed and your old one is broken. We can't fix it.

Brady: But I want the old white blanket that is at Nana's house.

Me: We can't fix the old one. We will take the new one to her house when we go on Friday.

Brady: But I want friends to come over tonight.

Funny how things came full circle to a new topic. I think it was more of a "I'm so tired, but don't want you to leave because then I might actually fall asleep" type of conversation! Below are some pictures of the infamous white blanket!

I know it is crazy, but he actually fell asleep sitting up with the "white blanket" in hand. Just goes to show you can go to sleep anywhere if you have the right tools!

If you look closely, you will see how nasty the corners look from being chewed on!

Once again, the white blanket is the answer to all sleeping problems! :) Doesn't he look so sweet when he is asleep?!

Once again...

2009-02-16T12:52:00.000-08:00

So, it has been awhile since I have updated this, so here it goes. We have been keeping pretty busy and for the most part, healthy, with a few minor illnesses that didn't keep us down for long. It seems like we have had a ton of doctors appointments though.

Bree just had her 18 month check-up last week (only 2 months late), and is still growing. She is actually low on the growth charts, but growing at a steady rate, so no worries. She was 9 percentile for weight, 37 percentile for height, and 72 percentile for head size! Brady has had similar numbers, so as Mike says, we have "bobbleheads" for kids! As she has grown, so has her hair, which has been so fun for me. I love trying different ponytail styles in her hair, because no matter what you do, she looks so cute! (maybe I am biased)

Brady has been on a roll lately with his story telling. Here is an actual conversation we had the other day, and Papa Richard is in trouble for this one (even though he says he doesn't remember telling Brady this)!

Me: Wash your hands and dry them.

Brady (shaking his hands after washing): I don't need to use the towel. This is how Papa did it when he was a little boy like me. He just shaked them so they would dry. That is what he told me.

Me: Which Papa?

Brady: Papa Richard.

Me: Well, you can't always listen to what Papa Richard tells you. Sometimes it might get you in trouble! :)

Brady: Yeah, he is pretty funny sometimes!

Amazing what he comes up with! Papa Richard and Aunt Robin have been in most of the stories lately...not sure if that is such a good thing! :)

Here are some pictures, since it has been so long. My goal is to try to do a better job of updating at least a couple times per week. We will see if that actually happens or not! :)

Having smooties on a Saturday morning, which has become a weekend ritual at our house.

Bree is also known as the "Princess" in the Kruger house!

This is his stash of snowballs that we made and Brady was so anxiously waiting for Daddy to come home!

Boxtown and lots of kisses!

2008-11-10T12:22:00.001-08:00

We finally got some time to work in the basement this weekend! We had been wanting to get the main room set up so that the kids can play down there, even though it isn't finished. It is a little more room for them to wear off some energy. When we built the house, we had our builder save us all the boxes from the cabinets and appliances so we could make stuff with them. Brady is in heaven! We spent a good portion of the day, when the Buckeyes and Cyclones weren't playing, cleaning up so that we could set up a play area. Then, on Sunday, Mike went to work making a little town with all the boxes. It was a lot of fun! We were watching the Clark boys, and they seemed to enjoy it, too. We made one of the boxes into a "McDonald's". The pictures were taken before the sign was added, but you get the idea. The boys were going in the box and saying "Welcome to McDonald's. How can I help you?" Then, once again, Bree and Ty were kissing each other good-bye, so of course we had to get it on camera. Today, I caught Bree on camera with her shades on, puckering up, so we thought we would share "kisses" with all of you.

A Kiss For YOU!

It's been awhile!

2008-11-06T14:59:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. It has been a long time since I last posted! I have been getting flack from certain people in my house about updating the blog, so here you go. Since I last posted, Brady turned 3, I had a birthday, number to remain a mystery, and we celebrated Halloween. Actually, we celebrated a TON of birthdays. Between Mike's family and my family and our friends, we celebrate 13 birthdays just in October. That doesn't include the birthdays that we celebrate in August and September, so this time of year is full of CAKE! We have been enjoying football season, even though ISU hasn't had a very good season and OSU has lost a few as well. We also enjoyed a day at the Center Grove Orchard with our friends, the Jones'. I am not going to write a ton...just post a lot of pictures, so you can see for yourself what we have been up to.

Home Sweet Home!

2008-08-24T14:13:00.001-07:00

Well, I know it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything, but I haven't had internet. I finally have it, so I can finally post again. We are in our house. We moved in July 15 because our contractor was ahead of schedule by 6 weeks, which is pretty much unheard of, but we are so happy to be home! I will try to get some more pictures posted soon, but here are a few.

We have had a great weekend filled with our first Prairie Festival (Huxley's celebration), a Homecoming for a friend who has been in Iraq, and Fan Fest at Iowa State. It has been such a busy weekend that we are all exhausted. Look for more posts now that I am back online. Hopefully will be able to keep up a little better.

Weekend of Fun!

2008-06-29T19:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend! Saturday afternoon we played at the park and went to have supper at my favorite restaurant, La Fuente. Love that food!

Sunday, we went to church and Jeff gave a great mesage, but what else is new. Then home for lunch and some short naps and off to the pool in Nevada. It was a little chilly, but both kids actually got in the water, so we were very excited. I love the water, so it has been hard having two kids who don't. Then it was off to dinner with Mike's grandparents, which was also wonderful. After dinner, we found a band playing at bandshell park, so we stopped and let Brady play at the playground and we listened to some decent music. Mike had an interesting encounter with an 8ish-year-old, who felt the need to use the "F" word on more than one occasion. Mike asked him to stop using it, or he would have to talk to his parents. A few minutes later, Mike was pleasantly surprised to have the child come back and apologize for his language! I had the pleasure of visiting with one of the athletes that I used to coach in college, when I was coaching Special Olympics teams from Ames. He didn't remember me, but I remember him. He was and is a very nice young man (not sure exactly his age). Anywhoo, we got some great pics of the kids. Still hoping to have the house done soon. I think they will be done painting tomorrow. Will update when I know more.

Quick Update, Lots of Pics

2008-06-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. We are still trucking along with the house. The painter is there this week. He hopes to be done by Friday, but could be done on Monday. Fixtures are hopefully getting put in next week as well as flooring. Mark, the contractor is working on the deck this week, so that should hopefully be done, weather permitting (not looking good according to weatherman). Every time we go, it gets harder and harder to come back to the apartment, but we will be so excited when we get to move in for good.

Brady and Bree are doing great. Brady is still working on colors. We are having more luck now that we have linked each color with someone he loves. For example, red is Nana's favorite color, so he remembers red (most times). Hopefully the links will continue to help him remember colors. Bree is still working on walking. She doesn't just take off, like we keep thinking she will, but I am sure that will happen soon enough. She still goes between us and from something to us and has started going between other objects, ie. couch to chair. Before we know it, she will be all over the place. She is also getting many teeth right now. One of her molars have actually come in and her front teeth aren't all in yet. Below are a bunch of pictures that I felt like sharing, so enjoy. :)

The drag racing begins!

Front of house with stone.

Back of house with stone.

Front door with stain.

The plastic tape measure that Brady stuck in the oven, when I wasn't looking!

More of the tape measure.

wonderful weekend

2008-06-16T09:19:00.001-07:00

We were fortunate to have had a wonderful weekend. While I know many around the state are dealing with loss and destruction from flooding, we are blessed to have missed any damage. We continue to pray for those who have to deal with water in and around their homes.

Friday, we got to spend the day with the Sklenars. We miss having them in Ames, but at least they are closer than they were when they were in Burlington. Brady and Jackson had a great time playing together. Jackson even gave Brady a tractor to take home when we left. Jacky took some great pictures of the boys, and then they took a tumble off the step they were standing on. Brady took the brunt of the fall. Jackson is a bit bigger than Brady, so having his weight and Brady's weight caused much distress for Brady. He scraped his forehead and in his hair, but he is "tough." While we were there, Uncle Dave brought Shelby to meet us so she could stay with us for the weekend and attend the Iowa State Women's Basketball camp. When she arrived, Brady took off running down the hill toward her. Before he knew what was going on, his legs were going faster than he wanted. He had a look of terror on his face as he wasn't sure he was going to be able to stop. Once he got to the bottom, instead of trying to stop, he just jumped at Shelby. Thankfully she caught him and received a huge hug from him. On our way back to Ames, we crossed the dangerous Des Moines river. It was amazing to see how high it was. It was at least to the bottom of the bridge.

Saturday, we attended the wedding of Sarah Bohnker and Travis Smith. It was a beautiful wedding. Sarah had written a song that she sang to Travis before she walked down the isle. She has a beautiful voice and the song was amazing. She did a great job. I know I wouldn't have been able to keep it together at my wedding to do that. Paul Sabino, the family pastor at our church, officiated the ceremony and did a great job. We are so blessed with pastors at our church. They all do a wonderful job teaching.

Sunday was an extremely busy day. It started off with dropping Shelb off at camp. Then I ran home to help get the kids off to church with Mike. Then back to camp to watch Shelby compete in the competitions that she had made to the finals. She did a great job and it was fun to see her compete. My parents and sister made the trip up as well, so it was fun to see them. Mike and the kids joined us at camp when church was over. We went to lunch with them after at Old Chicago, which is a great place to eat. After lunch, we showed them the house and they headed home.

For us, the day wasn't over. We headed to Story City to spend some time with Mike's family for Father's Day. Since they have had a lot of flooding, the guys weren't able to do their usual golf outing, but we had a great time anyway. Before we had supper, Grandma decided to get the slip and slide out. As you can see, the "kids" had a great time! It was fun to see Mike being Mike again. This is the first time since his knee surgery that he did something spontaneous and I was so happy to see him doing stuff like that again. He will always be a kid at heart, which Brady loves!

Now we are trying to get back into a schedule, which seems almost impossible during the summer, especially with the construction of a new home. Hope everyone had a great Father's Day!

Cabinets and more

2008-06-12T09:22:00.001-07:00

I know it has been a long time since I have posted, but things were a little busy last week with Bree's birthday and going to Winfield for the weekend. We had a great time celebrating Bree's birthday. We started the day off with all three of us going into her room and singing the birthday song to her and she cried! I think it was because no one was picking her up, but it could have been the singing. :) Mike had the day off due to a golf outing for Wolfe Eye Clinic, which got cancelled. We had an appointment at the Electric Wholesale to pick out all of our light fixtures. Wow, there are a ton. Then we went to Perkins for breakfast and Bree's first taste of pancakes, which she loved! She ate a whole pancake. Then we went to Huxley to play at the park and Mike went golfing with his dad and two other doctors at TCI in Polk City, which he said is a very hard course! We did have cake and ice cream at supper time, and Bree likes to eat cake, but isn't really crazy about getting it all over her hands.

We had a great weekend with the fam. My sister that lives in Wisconsin was home also, so it was good to see them. I can't remember when the last time we saw them was. I know it was before they went to Florida, in March, so it has been a long time. The plan was to celebrate birthdays. Alex, my nephew turned 17 in May and Bree turned 1 last week.

We got there about 9 on Friday and had a great meal. At about 4am, Bree decided she didn't want to sleep anymore and since we are in the same room, I didn't get to either. Finally, at about 6, I decided to try to give her a bottle. Wrong! I forgot the formula at home, so we jumped in the car and ran to Mt. Pleasant, which is about 15 min away and the closest place to get formula. Of course, as we got out of town, she fell asleep. The rest of the day was filled with garage sales and the school carnival. Brady got spoiled by both of my sisters and Nana that day. He was filled to the top with sugar and carnival toys.

That night, we celebrated birthdays. Bree got spoiled, yet again and the rest of us were spoiled with great food from my sister, Dawn. She is a great cook, so it was delicious beef tenderloin and shrimp on the grill.

Sunday was filled with yet another great meal and getting ready to go home. We decided to skip homemade ice cream so we could get back to assess any damage Ames was having due to flooding. Luckily for us, there was none in our neck of the woods, so we dodged a bullet that time.

Last week was a quite, yet busy week. We have been getting more cabinets and trim in the house. It is starting to look like you could live there, minus some flooring. Each time we go, we don't want to leave because we just want to live there. God is definately teaching us patience in this adventure! I will try to post pictures later. My camera and computer are not cooperating right now, so will try again later.

Front door

2008-06-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the front door. I know it is kind of dark, but at least you can get an idea of what it looks like. It is so exciting to see that in. It is starting to get more and more real that we are actually going to be living there!

I have heard that the creek is rising, again, so pray that it doesn't get as high as last time and that we will not have to evacuate or that all the people who spent the last 3 days cleaning up the mess they have from the last flood don't have to start all over again! Many families in our area are still not back in their apartments, several who are pregnant and ready to "pop" anytime and several who have children.

What a weekend!

2008-06-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Well...our weekend started out pretty wet to say the least! On Friday morning, the kids and I had some errands to run, so about 10:30, we decided to venture out. WRONG! I noticed that in the parking lot in front of ours, there was a LOT of water and thought that was strange. Then, I got to the end of the driveway and the street was covered with water. Looking back, I probably could have made it, but I was chicken. I have seen all those horror stories on tv where someone has tried to drive through water and stuck, or even worse, swept away. I decided I didn't want to try it with two kids because I didn't want to have to carry both of them through water and I wasn't sure how deep it was. So, we went back to the apartment to get tennis shoes and socks (I had flip-flops on) and get the stroller and venture out on a walk. By the time I got back out, which was about 30 minutes later, the water was up to our parking lot. I moved my car to higher ground and prayed that it would be safe! Brady kept saying, "I want to play in the lake." As the day went on, it got higher and higher. Finally, in the afternoon, I called Steph for help, yet again. She has saved us in the past many times (in other cases). She came and got us and took us to her house. By that time, the water was up to our building. Jared and Steph were nice enough to let us crash at their house for the night. We don't know what we would do without great friends like them! In the pictures, you can see a progression of the flood on the car. That is the parking lot in front of ours. By the end of the flood, you could only see the roof of this car. I didn't really get a picture because when we left, it was to that point, and my hands were full of bags and kids, so I didn't get any pictures. :) When we got up the next morning, we decided to come home and see what the damage was, if any. Luckily, we drove right up to our building. My car was fine, our apartment was fine, and all was good in the Kruger house again!

We didn't get a ton of sleep because the kids were out of their normal environment and had some trouble sleeping, so we were all tired, but we had planned on having Bree' birthday party that night, so we had a lot of work to do to get ready for that. Thankfully, the park we had chosen was not one that flooded. Mike grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and we had cake and ice cream and enjoyed time with family and friends. My friend Hollie's sister-in-law, Andrea, made Bree's cake. She did a great job! As you can see, Bree had a great time at her party. She wasn't shy with her smash cake. She dug right in and found that it was pretty tasty. She was haming it up for the camera too. She wiped the frosting across her eye (good thing we have a few eye doctors in the family!). Bree was SO tired after her party, she fell asleep in the car on the way home and didn't wake up when we took her out, which is extrememly rare for her! It is hard to believe that our little princess is already a year old. I am sure that I have said this before, but time has gone by so fast! Her actual birthday is on Thursday. She is so close to walking, but gets into everything by crawling and pulling up on things. She has 5 teeth. She is such a happy baby and we are so thankful for that! We have been blessed with such a wonderful gift from God!

As for our house, it is geting even more exciting. It is hard to go there and leave. We all just want to be in for good, especially after the flood experience! Today, I think the plan is to put in the front door. All the mudding should be done on the drywall. They hope to get all the doors installed this week. On Thursday and Friday, they plan to prime and texture the walls, set cabinets and start putting up trim. I will try to post more pictures of it as more things get completed. They have also gotten siding on the entire back of the house, except the dining room. There is siding on other places, too, but with all the rain, it has been difficult to get too much accomplished.

Zoo and house stuff

2008-05-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we spent most of the day at the zoo. We had a great time! We took one of Brady's little buddies with us and met Ryan and Kristy Miller and their children there. It was IPTV day at the zoo, so we saw Curious George and Wyatt from Super Why. The first time we went by them, Gabe, Brady's friend got his picture with the characters, but Brady was having none of it! Caden, the Miller's son, also got his picture with them. Then we saw all kinds of cool stuff. We got to see Rosie and JP, the elephants, lions, tigers, but no bears. Brady was sure he was going to catch some Monkies, but didn't have any luck. All of the boys were mostly excited about riding on the train. We also fed the fish and goats. Gabe about fell in the fish pond, which would not have been fun, especially since it was a little chilly that day. Brady loved feeding the goats! He kept laughing because, apparently it tickled his hand. Bree was very well behaved all day too. The pictures are from the train ride. As you can see Brady was hanging on for dear life. Not sure why, but he wasn't going to let go until we got off. Not sure if you can see, but his knuckles were actually turning white.

I haven't taken many pictures of the house lately, but there hasn't been much to see. Progress is being made, but it is hard to see. I think the plumbing is all done as far as it can be until we get cabinets, sinks and floors. The electric is all in. The insulation is done and they did the basement, which they weren't supposed to, so since it was their mistake, we got it free! :) Today, they put all the drywall up! It is so cool to see it taking shape. We walked in and couldn't believe that it looks even bigger yet! My closet is HUGE! I am so excited. I can't get any pictures of it right now because the lights aren't in and the electric isn't on, but it has its own vent because it is so big! This will be the first time that Mike and I will be able to fit in the same closet, which is exciting since neither of us have a ton of hanging clothes. Still hoping to be done the first part of August. These pictures are of the living room/kitchen and of Brady and Bree sitting on top of the fireplace. Mike thought it would be funny to set Bree up there, so of course, Brady had to do what Bree was doing. If you look close, you will see that Bree woke up with some wild hair after her nap!

We will be celebrating Bree's 1st birthday this weekend. It is hard to believe she is already one! The time really goes by fast. I now understand why people keep telling me to enjoy them while I can because before I know it, they will be off to college.

Tagged and house stuff

2008-05-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

When I went to the house today, it was a little busy. There were several people there working, which I like to see. Those who were working included, Mark doing some plumbing, the electrician, the heating and cooling guys, and the siding guys. It is fun to see progress. They put a little bit of the siding on yesterday and got the fireplace in as well as the furnace. My wonderful sister shipped me a garbage disposer and a hot water dispenser, which I am so thankful for! My other sister was in surgery today having a piece of her ruptured disc removed from her back. OUCH! Cut story: I had called a friend and left a message this morning for her and when I hung up, Brady said, "Mom. Mom. Tell Laura I be praying for her!" Why he felt the need to pray for her, I am not sure, but I thought that was pretty awesome. I hadn't said anything about prayer or anything to him. He came up with this on his own. Then, I called Mabes (my mom), to see how my sister was doing (before surgery). Brady asked who I was calling and I told him I was calling Nana. He asked why, so I told him and he said, "Tell Robin I be praying for her." Maybe he is going to be my little "prayer warrior" as our pastor once put it.

Thanks to Hollie, I have been tagged in this thing, so I am writing about myself, which, like Hollie, I don't do much. Anyway, here are my answers.

I am…working on Bree's birthday party.
I want…to move into my new house so I don't have to see naked laundry guy anymore!
I wish…my parents lived closer.
I hate…spiders
I miss…having a yard for Brady to play in.
I fear…scary movies.
I feel…relaxed at the moment, both kids are napping and the house is picked up, life is good
I hear…the wind blowing outsite.
I smell…nasty food that my neighbors are burning.
I crave…any chocolate (I am on a diet)
I search…for good recipes, which usually just means calling Hollie or one of my other friends.
I wonder…what my children are going to be like when they grow up.
I regret…things that I say sometimes without thinking first.
I love…my husband and my kids
I ache…after mulching at my parents houses.
I care…for my family and friends.
I always…am up for hanging out with friends and family
I am not…creative
I believe…that Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I dance…any song that comes on with my children.
I sing... Jesus Loves Me and The B-I-B-L-E many times a day.
I cry…whenever the mood strikes.
I don’t always...think before I speak.
I fight…with submission.
I write…my blog and my journal
I never…want to lose faith.
I listen…my children playing and laughing
I need…to do dishes and laundry.
I am happy…when I am with my family and friends.

So, I have to tag someone, and the lucky people are Kristy and Leslie. :)

Weekend in Winfield, more house stuff

2008-05-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time in Winfield this weekend. Saturday was a big day for Brady. He got to ride the golf cart, play with our friend's son all day, and go fishing. Brady caught his first fish. Actually, the first fish on his pole. Last time he went, Papa let Brady reel in the fish he had caught on his big pole. This time, Papa put the pole in for him, and as soon as he took it, there was a fish on it. He reeled it in like it was no big deal, but once it got to shore, he freaked out. He didn't like it and wanted it to go back! Between, our friend's son and Brady, Papa spent most of his time untangling and fixing fishing poles! It was still fun. We also got to eat some morel mushrooms, which I missed out on last year due to being pregnant. Mike got to spend some time on the golf course, and we also spent some time helping my parents put mulch around the new house and what was left went around the old house.

The house is coming along. We went through today and decided where we want all the electrical stuff. The bathtubs are in. They will continue working on plumbing and electrical stuff this week and then insulation and drywall next week. We are now thinking that it will be done the first part of August! It is hard to believe that that is so close. That will be perfect timing since Brady's birthday is in September. Hopefully we can be in and have a big party to celebrate both his birthday and our new house! Bree is turning one in a few weeks, which also seems hard to believe! The time has gone by so fast, but we have either been selling our house, moving or working on our new house since she was about 6 weeks old.

I don't have any pictures of the house, but I thought the second picture was a cute picture of Brady and Bree, and it is hard to get both of them to smile and look at the camera at the same time, so thought I would share it.

Deck, windows and more

2008-05-14T13:09:00.000-07:00

As you can see in the pictures, it looks like a house. We have all the windows in and almost all of the framing is done. We now have a deck on the back of the house, at least the frame. You can't walk out on it yet, but it is there. When I was there today, they were framing the rest of the basement and putting in the holes for the vents. They had also framed the fireplace for the upstairs. The rest of the week, they will be working on the plumbing and electrical work. We will be picking out the stone for the outside as well as doing a walk-through to decide where we want all the electrical outlets. SO many decisions. Brady is doing great! Now, we just need to get back on the potty training thing. Bree is really crabby lately, but she is getting her 4th tooth, so it must be hurting pretty bad because she keeps pushing on her mouth. She is also not eating very well. I can't wait until it is over!

Great news!

2008-05-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

So, I don't really have any pictures to post today, but we heard back from the doctor today that all of Brady's tests came back normal. So, he just had some viral thing and is fine. Praise God for that! I talked to Mark, the builder today, and he said they have found many bird's nests in the house, so this isn't the first one. They did put windows in the house and were going to try to get the front door in today as well as working on finishing the framing of the basement or starting the deck. They also got stairs in, so we can safely walk to the basement. We went to look at stone today and need to get that picked out as soon as possible because it takes 3 weeks to come in. Hopefully, I will have pictures soon.

Moving in already!

2008-05-11T20:50:00.000-07:00

So, we went to the house today and found that someone had already moved in, or should I say some"thing!" It is hard to believe, but there is a bird's nest in my bedroom! The picture shows it. Anyway, happy mother's day to everyone. Breanna was dedicated today. It was a little complicated. Due to Brady being sick recently, we didn't want him to go to the nursery, especially since we still aren't sure until tomorrow what it is. So, we went for the dedication and afterwards, Brady, Bree and Mike went back to the apartment. I stayed at church with Mike's parents. They took me home and then Mike and Bree went to Story City to eat lunch with Mike's family. Since Mike has two nieces, we didn't want to expose them, Brady and I stayed home. We actually went to McDonald's for lunch (drive thru) and ate in the car on the way to see the house. However, when we got there, we didn't get out of the car because we were having some obedience issues, so we came home. Brady took a nap, and I got some quiettime, which was nice, too. After nap, we got to try again to see the house. This time, Mike and Bree were with us, and we found the nest. We also had a nice walk around our new neighborhood. That's pretty much our day.

House, sick kiddos, and more...

2008-05-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

So, here is what is going on. They finished the roof today, but I didn't get to go see it. Mike and Bree went to see it because I spent the afternoon with Brady at the doctor after his fever spiked at 106...that's right, 106! He had a fever this morning, but it went away when I gave him some Tylenol. He didn't act like anything was wrong with him, so we went out for a bit. On our way home, I noticed he was getting lathargic, so we came home and took his temp. It was 104, so I gave him more Tylenol and called the doctor. I waited a little bit and took it again and it was up to 106, so I called the office again, since the nurse hadn't gotten back to me yet, and got an appointment for 4:30, but was told to come in right away. Good thing we went when we did. We didn't get home until 5! By the time we got there, his fever was down to 100.5, so that was good, but they wanted to do a blood culture to check for his white blood cell count. By the way, when we pulled into the parking lot, he puked all over himself, the carseat, and even some on the car. I even had some on me from taking him out of the car, so you can imagine how wonderful that was. Thankfully, Mike had followed us to the doctor so he could take Bree to my wonderful friend, Steph's house. Thank God for her! I totally ruined her plans for the day, but she graciously rearranged her schedule so she could help me out. Anyway, his culture came back high, so we had to do more tests, more blood, only this time from the arm (previously was just a finger prick), a urine analysis, and a chest x-ray. Funny story...the urine test was going to be through a catheter if he couldn't go in the potty, but I told him he would have to get an owie on his penis if he didn't go on the potty. Needless to say, he went on the potty! After all the trauma, we found that he doesn't have pnemonia or a urinary infection. We are still waiting on the other blood tests to come back, so we don't know anything from that. We go back in the morning to do more blood and see if the white count is still high or not. He got a shot of antibiotics, which we aren't sure if we want them to work or not. If they work, then he could have bacterial meningitis and will require more tests. If they don't, then it is probably hand, foot and mouth disease, which is a virus that has to run its course. So after 4.5 hours at the doctor, we still don't know exactly what is going on, but we will hopefully know by tomorrow. Mike will be able to go with me, so that will be a blessing. I know I said it before, but it was such a blessing that Steph was able to take Bree as Brady really needed to have his Mommy focus on him.

As for the house, they finished the roof and put the white paper around the outside to weather proof the house (can't remember the name of the paper). They started working on the stairs, so soon we will be able to get to our basement without trying to climb down through a window. All the braces are gone, so we can walk through the house without tripping over boards. As promised, I am posting pictures of Brady in the ruts. I know they make Mabes (my mom) nervous, but he is not in any danger. :)

I haven't said much about Bree in this post, but she is still on the go. She is so proud of herself when she pulls herself up on things. She also likes to eat her feet when I am trying to feed her, as you can see in the picture. Tonight is the first night that she would chew on them and laugh because she was tickling herself!

More roofing

2008-05-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know it has been a long time since I have posted, especially since I was on a roll for posting more frequently, but I have been working for Mabes (my mom) selling ads and that has kept me busy, along with two little ones, so I haven't posted in awhile. Anyway, it is cool to see the progress. I don't have any pictures from today, but when we went last night, they had finished the roof on the backside of the house. When we went to the house last night, there was a huge storm north of Ames. You can tell in the pictures when you look at the sky in the front pictures compared to the back pictures. When we went today, the were finishing the roof on the garage, putting the particle board on, had tar paper on most of the main part of the house and were going to finish both this afternoon. The roof guy was also hoping to have the back of the house shingled by the end of the day as well. The rest of the roof should be shingled tomorrow, and hopefully we will have some pictures of it. Brady has started to explore the backyard, and currently the ruts that are there from the big machines are huge. If he stands in the rut, it goes above his waist! I will try to get a picture of it sometime this week. It is pretty funny. He has also gotten his first owies for the summer. He fell off the merry-go-round when Mommy was pushing too fast when he was trying to get off. Then he fell in the dirt at the house, so he is looking pretty rough right now. He asked Mike the other night, "Daddy, can we play a football game out there?" He was talking about the backyard. Bree is now saying "daddy" and "Brady" but not Mommy! I spend the most time with her, yet she doesn't say my name. What is up with that? She is also still crawling all over the place and getting into everything! It is different having two mobile children. I can't leave her somewhere and expect that she will be there when I get back.

The roof is going up!

2008-05-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, so they just finished the outside walls yesterday and started puting up the trusses for the roof. It is so cool to see all the progress! When we were there on Wednesday, they had only put up a small portion of the boards to go around the outside of the house. When we got there on Thursday, they had finished the boards around the house, cut out the holes for the windows and doors and put up about half of the trusses. It is exciting to see the progress. We definately are getting a little stir crazy in our small apartment, but are trying very hard to be patient with the building process. Our front door also arrived yesterday, so it is sitting in our garage waiting to be added to the house. There are a lot of pictures that I just added to the dropshots site, so be sure to check them out. Brady knows exactly where his room is and Bree's room is and where Mommy's and Daddy's room. He also went into our closet and asked what it was. I told him it was my closet, but his dad corrected me and said it was our closet! :) Of course, we can't go a whole week without rain, so there was no work today due to rain. Maybe next week.

More walls

2008-05-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

I can't find my camera, so the pictures that I have are from my phone, but they show a little bit of what has been going on. All the walls are up! They put the board around the outside of the house yesterday except for the east side and part of the back and part of the garage. However, the plan is to finish that today and hopefully start putting up the trusses, which will make the roof take shape. It is cool to see all the progress. Brady is getting better as is Bree. The front door should be arriving sometime this week, so it will be pretty cool to see that. We also have found that the house looks much bigger with walls. Not much else to report. Hopefully I will find the camera soon and have more pictures to post. The top picture is looking through Bree's room into Brady's room. The bottom picture is looking across the living room to the kitchen and dining room. Many people have asked when we are hoping to be done and moving in. As of right now, we hope to be in sometime in August or September.

More framing and sick kiddos

2008-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well, thankfully, it didn't rain today or much over the weekend, so the framers can keep working. As you can see in the picture, the upstairs walls are almost up on the outside. Then they will do the inside walls, the boards that enclose the outside walls, and then they will start setting trusses in the next two days. Mark, the builder, said they should be done framing by the end of next week. Pretty cool how quickly things move, but frustrating when you are dependant on the weather. Thankfully, we won't have to worry about the weather too much longer. Both kids have colds. We went to the doctor today because Brady was running a fever of 103 over the weekend and coughing and has a very runny nose! Bree was up last night tugging at her ears, so she got to make a trip to the doctor as well. Thankfully, she doesn't have any ear infections right now. Brady is going to be on breathing treatments for the next few days, but doesn't need any other medicine, so that is a blessing! We are walking in the March of Dimes on Saturday for our good friend Nolan, and his parents, Nick and Jacky Sklenar. If you want to see what it is about, check out our site at www.marchforbabies.org/hrkruger. You can also make a donation to sponsor our walk if you want. Nolan has a great story and if you would ever like to see the amazing video his parents did of him, email me and I will be happy to give you the link, just make sure you have kleenex ready because it is powerful!

The walls are going up!

2008-04-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

We got to go watch some more cement trucks again today. Brady likes watching them, and was really into playing in the dirt. He was having fun throwing stuff in the mud puddles, so needless to say, he is getting a bath today. He was also excited to see where his bedroom and Bree's bedroom are going to be. They poured the driveway today, since it wasn't dry enough yesterday, and the are also working on the framing. The basement has a basic frame for the walls and they were almost done putting the floor trusses on when we were there this morning. It was a great day to go because Mike didn't have to be at work until 10:15 since his morning meeting was cancelled. So, he got to go with us and watch. Bree was even intent on watching the big trucks, probably for the noise. She is still crawling, and has figured out she can pretty much get anywhere she wants, but it takes her a LONG time. She is our little turtle right now, but I am sure that will change, unless she is anything like her mother! Brady is doing great with the potty training! He didn't have any accidents yesterday, except when he went out with Daddy for ice cream and to watch the trains. Today, he has done pretty well, also. He did have an accident when we went to watch the cement trucks, so I think he doesn't understand that he needs to go to the potty at other places than our apartment. We are going to have to work on that. He is still going poop on the potty as well, so that is awesome! One less poopy diaper to worry about. The bottom picture is of the west side of the house, where Brady and Bree will have their rooms. Check out the latest house pictures by clicking on the link.

House and other stuff

2008-04-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the guys were actually able to work on the house today. When we went at noon, they had poured the garage floor, cut the curb for the driveway, and were preparing to pour the driveway, which will be poured tomorrow, hopefully. They were also working in the basement on framing. Mark (the builder) said he hoped to have walls by the end of this week and then start the trusses next week. We have to get a decision made on the front door so we can get it ordered. He will also be ordering the windows sometime this week. Things are moving right along, as long as the rain stays away. It looks like we are going to have some thunderstorms tonight and maybe more throughout the week, so that could put a kink in the plan. I guess you just have to be flexible when you are depending on weather, especially in Iowa! On another note, Brady has been going to the potty on the big boy potty. He has actually done better with the poop aspect than with the potty, which is backwards from what most people say, but at least I don't have to clean his poopy diapers anymore! Last night, he said, "Look mommy, I there's fruit snacks in there!" Thankfully, he didn't try to eat the "fruit snacks!" I know I haven't said much about Bree, but she is doing great. She crawled across the room today. I was bribing her with baby snacks. This is amazing, since she hasn't really crawled before this. She crawled a few steps last week, but hasn't since then. It has actually been a busy day around here! I better go take a nap after all that. :) Check out the video on the dropshots link. It is of Bree crawling. I will try to get more on there soon. Sorry, no new pictures today.

Rain, rain, go away!

2008-04-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Well, April in Iowa...need I say more. Due to the rain, no work is being accomplished on the house. On a side note, Brady has been having gas issues, and today, he told me, "I have a gas station in my tummy!" Kids say the funniest things! It looks like there is going to be more rain tomorrow, so hopefully, we will be able to see more progress on Monday. :)

Basement Floors

2008-04-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

We officially have floors in the basement, now. It was pretty cool to watch the concrete pump working. Brady decided he was afraid of the trucks this time. We were a little bit closer this time, so it was a little louder. They got rid of all the dirt that was piled up, using it to backfill the garage and around the house. It is cool that you can see the house on both sides now. Nothing really too exciting other than the floors. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so we will probably be on hold again, but the plan is to pour the garage this afternoon, and then, start framing, hopefully Friday.

Brady's heaven

2008-04-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

We went back to watch more work today, and Brady was in heaven. He put his new boots on, and was walking in the mud, of course. He loves watching the skid loader work. Every time it would dump the dirt into the hole, he would say, "Uh-oh! There it goes again!" I guess his facial expressions must have been pretty funny because the guy driving the skid-loader was laughing each time he dumped the dirt. Nothing really to report. They should be pouring concrete tomorrow morning and the framing materials are being delivered tomorrow night, so we are moving right along!

Back at it

2008-04-14T14:27:00.001-07:00

After a lot of rain, the workers were able to get back to work. They have put the underground plumbing in and are now working on back-fill and grading and tiling around the house. Basically, they are getting everything ready so they can pour the basement floors, garage floor, and driveway on Wednesday, hopefully. As of right now, the weather looks like it will hold out until Thursday, so they should be able to get things poured. When the kids and I went down to see it today, there was a lot of water in the basement that Mark, the contractor, said they were trying to get pumped out so they could get things rolling again. Needless to say, with a 2 and a half year-old boy, we got a little muddy. We actually decided to buy boots for him today that we can keep in the car so his shoes will not get muddy in the future. I didn't take any pictures of him muddy, but he wasn't that bad, just his shoes. I kept ahold of his hand the whole time, so he didn't get into the things he was trying to get into.

on hold

2008-04-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

As I am sure you can imagine, construction has been on hold this week, since Monday due to weather. You gotta love April in Iowa! April showers bring May flowers, right?! Anyway, we are working on the plans for cabinets and meet with the plumb supply company tomorrow to pick out our tubs and faucets. It is fun to pick all this stuff out! Hopefully next week we will get to see more concrete trucks when the basement floor gets poured, and then, it is on to the frame!

basement walls

2008-04-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

Things are moving right along. We now have basement walls. Brady was so excited to see our house when we came back from Winfield yesterday. He saw the big hole, and today, he got to see the concrete trucks pouring concrete into the pump and then being poured into the forms to make the walls. I will be attending an appointment tomorrow with our contractor to start making decisions on cabinets. Mike has an interview for a possible new employee, so he won't be able to make the appointment, but will meet with us on Wednesday at another place in Ames to look at more cabinets. We also will be meeting with the plumbing supply people on Friday to make some decisions on that stuff. It gets more real for us as we start making these decisions. Hopefully, I will be able to get some pictures up soon.

It has begun!

2008-04-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, our digging has begun. I have spent a few hours watching and met Mike during his lunch at the property. They are still digging the hole, which they hope to finish digging today. The concrete crew is there and is starting to put the footings down, and they hope to pour concrete in the next few days. I have spent the day running to different places to get brochures to look at over the weekend, so we can start making interior decisions next week. Wow! It goes pretty quickly once you actually have to start making decisions about the finer details. Brady, unfortunately, didn't get to see the excavator (his favorite machine) in action, but I took a lot of pictures and some video for him to see. He is very excited to build our house and see the equipment, so it is a bummer that he isn't going to see this part, but he will be back on Sunday and I am sure ready to "help!"

A new adventure

2008-04-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

So, if you haven't heard lately, we are building a house. Check back later for pictures. We are starting the building process tomorrow, Friday, so look for more posts as we go through the process and pictures of the adventure!