Like Mother Like Son

Just too much fun not to share!!

Progress and waiting

Well life has had a singular focus since the last post.....getting ready to move.  Only this move doesn't require getting everything packed up it requires getting rid of most everything!  It's part of the challenge of going from 1800 sf to 400 sf of living space.  Sounds crazy no?  Well we did it.  Russ and I have been married for 22 years and so we had 22 years worth of "treasures" to go through.....and the kids had their own.  There were boxes that had been sealed for 10 years but we still opened them....sometimes wishing we hadn't!  But the drudgery commenced and EVERYTHING was gone through to value it for "give to a specific person", "pack for storage", "donate", "sell", "goes with us", or "trash".  Literally TONS of junk that wasn't usable to anyone along with other debris has gone to the dump.  We sold off almost everything that had value, and the rest is being donated to a local thrift shop.   Once all that was done we began work in earnest to make the house look fresh and attractive.  I think we have succeeded.

This is part of what use to be the garage and has been turned into a bedroom.

 This is one of the bathrooms.  We put in new "fancy" toilets that have the slow closing lids and the 2 flush buttons.  One is half flush and the other is full.....I'm sure you can figure that one out.

Here is the kitchen.  Oh how I do love the way it turned out!  Not enough to want to stay here though!

The master bedroom.

The master bath.

The living room.  We can actually enjoy relaxing in here now!

The front of the house.

The shaded west/back side.

Kerrie's room.

Mykhal's room.

So there you have it.  The only bedroom that got repainted was Mykhal's.  It's a nice creamy yellow with brown trim now instead of bright crayon blue and green.  

We are enjoying things being a little slower now.  Once the donations are gone ( tomorrow yea!!) we will take all the stuff we have piled in the "bonus room" out to the old craft building and start sorting through it for what we really do feel we will use and have space for in the 5th wheel, what needs to be packed for storage, and what just needs to be donated as well.  Will be nice to have a place to spread everything out so we can sort it all again.  

And now just for fun here are a few of my favorite pictures of Grandson Matrim.  He is growing so fast!  

This is my favorite of the ones I took of he and his momma.

 Can I help you Boompa?

MMMMM chocolate chip cookies!

Higher Uncle Bud Higher!!

And as we wait for the right person to come to us and buy the house, we are helping to plan an RV Rally for next year for those who have the same brand of RV we are getting!  Going to be loads of fun!

It's a long one

So much has been going on since I last posted.  So this catch up post may be rather long.  I do have pictures though too so that makes it more fun right?
Actually the updates start from just before my last post.  Looking back I realize I never blogged about Mykhal turning 17!!!  We didn't have a big party for him, but he did seem to enjoy himself anyway.  We got him a Kindle and he was a happy boy!  Now the whole family has digital readers which makes carrying our books with us a MUCH lighter affair.

The last photo there is of a dish called Lamb Saag.  It is an Indian dish with lamb, spinach, and lots of good spices served over rice.  He had this at a restaurant in Austin and asked me to recreate it for his birthday dinner.  He said I got very close to what he had the first time and that my version was very good too.  He does know how to keep it coming! 

Our next event was a trip to Lubbock.  The closest dealership to have the truck we were looking for was in Lubbock.  And a bonus was that an RV dealer there also had an Open Range 427BHS on their lot!  So we took to the road to go test drive trucks and climb around in the model of RV that we are planning to purchase.  It was a fun and highly productive day!

Kerrie is sitting in the middle of the 12ft long U-shaped dinette/lounge.  The tables are completely removable and the center folds out into an air bed (this rv can sleep up to 10 people!)

Mykhal is sitting in one of the lounge chairs that we will remove from our unit.  We plan to put in a desk in that space so we have our "office" as well.

These two photos are in the bunk house.  The one above shows the bunk flipped up and the flip sofa set up as well.  The lower photo shows both down in bed mode.  The kids plan to leave the areas in bed mode so that they can sleep on the full sized beds below and use the upper bunks for storage space.  There is also a nice wardrobe and desk dividing the sides of the room which are identical.  Also there is a half bath with an exterior door connected to this end. We do plan to set up a room screen in the middle so that the kids at least have the illusion of having their own rooms.

 

Here is the Kitchen.  The area right behind me is the refrigerator.  It's 12 cu ft.  Then there's the microwave above the stove and spice pantry area.  Love that there is a cover for the stove area so we have extra counter space as needed.  The sink is in an island and has a good bit of storage around it.  Again there are covers for the sink so it creates more level surface.  Beyond the sink you can see a bit of the large screen tv with a stereo system and pantry below it.  There will be room for everything we need to cook the things we love!

Russ is sitting on the king bed in the master suite.  We plan on putting in a sleep number bed for added comfort.  The closet goes the full width of the rv so there is LOTS of space there and we have a dresser in the room as well.  The full bathroom attached to this room will also house our washer/dryer unit.  Oh yes!  It has all the comforts of a stick and brick house! Even a tankless water heater will be added!!

Can't wait till we can claim one as our own!  Even the outside is so pretty!

Our next trip was not all fun and games.  We got a call toward the end of the month from Lex letting us know that she was no longer feeling safe in the house with Jonathan and was leaving for shelter at the recommendation of her counselor.  So Russ and I left Mykhal and Kerrie with some very dear friends of ours and high tailed it to Missouri.  Once we had Lex and Matrim safe with us we slowed down a little and stopped to visit family on the way home.  Russ' Grandma (who will turn 95 this fall) and his Aunt Connie live just a few minutes off the path we were on so we stopped in and shared a lovely meal with them.  It's always good to be with family we don't get to see often.

Shortly after returning from Missouri we took the plunge and bought our new truck.  The Tundra just didn't have the oomph needed to pull the big rig we are going to buy once we sell the house.  So we got us a "cowboy cadillac".  The kids call it the "sexy beast" since it has "hips".  We are loving it!

 Getting reacquainted with our grandson has been a labor of love.  He is definitely a bundle of energy but he keeps us laughing with his antics and sweet hugs.

This is Skizzo, our nearly 20 pound cat.  It was cold that morning and he was REALLY wishing the fire was on!  So Funny!  He has a little pillow bed next to the fire too but this was his way of telling us he was cold.

Hard to believe that my eldest child has turned 20 years old!  Wow how the time does fly!  As we are going through stuff I am finding things that were hers as a baby and it just doesn't seem like it was that long ago!!!

Another cowboy in the making!

Cuteness knows no bounds!

Look at my latest trick!  I got up here and back down all by myself without falling!

Why sit on the floor when there is a soft pillow to be had!

Uncle Bud's version of babysitting.  They were enjoying a few minutes of a movie together.  Guy time is good!

Then a couple of weeks ago we had ourselves a vacation.  It's an annual event around this time of year. You see, it's time for Scarborough Faire!  The whole family LOVES to go!  And since family lives so close to the event we always make time to visit.  This year was extra special since my brother, Vince, and his wife, Deb, were in town.  We got to have a little family reunion with my folks and even my nephew was able to make it.  It had been about 5 years since we had all been together like that.  Then to double the blessings, we got to do the same thing with Russ' family and his nephew even brought his girlfriend to meet the family!  This is a HUGE thing!  And she's a great fit.....time will tell where that will lead.  After a week with family, selling 26 boxes of books to Half Price, and some fun shopping, it was time for the Faire.  So we moved the trailer to a campground that was much closer and some great friends joined us there for the weekend.  

Here is Grandson Matrim in his royal carriage.  He LOVES that wagon and was so pleased to get to ride.

And there's his pretty momma!

The goofy younger daughter attempting to pull the sword out....not sure she's going about it the right way.....

 The man child all decked out in costuming he made himself.

 And then the "old" folks

I got to trade out my waist cincher for this amazing leather corset...LOVE it!

And Russ found some cool decoration for his growing beard....by the way, Russ and I designed and made his hat and shirt!

Day two we didn't get many pictures but we still had lots of fun.  

Not sure when our next road trip will be.  We are working our way still through all of the collected "stuff" of our household and lives and trying to narrow it down to what will fit in the new RV.  Once the clutter is gone we can do some painting and flooring in the house then put it on the market.  Can hardly wait to be "on the road again" permanently!