We're BACK...finally!

This is Clay...the cowboy. He said he was "out on the range..." This shirt was his Dad's when he was little...made by Clay's great-grandmother! That's the only reason that I'd put him in a shirt with flowers on it! He's also in his Wranglers, cowboy boots and his Uncle Clay's belt!



It was retro night at our house tonight because this was actually my dress when I was a baby! This is Ev's intense look. I know she'll have to constantly be shaping those eyebrows when she grows up...but, for now I think that they are so pretty! You can see her two little teeth in this one.

You know...I do realize that I've been gone for an obscenely long time. Honestly...I just could not muster up the strength to form sentences and download photos. Seriously. But, something happened to me this week and I'm feeling like I can write something down. Don't edit my grammar, though!

Well, we moved. It was crazy. We moved next door and let me tell you...if you think that moving next door is easy, you've never done it. We had to physically carry every single thing over. It meant less packing, though, so that was nice! We also moved into a less than perfect environment. We didn't have a kitchen. When I say no kitchen, I mean, no sink, no cabinets, no oven...no microwave. For about 2 weeks we lived without any of these items. Ever washed dishes in the bathroom? I wouldn't recommend it. But, finally we installed the cabinets and appliances that I love! I've never had a new kitchen...and now I'm a bit spoiled by it! We're still not completely finished in there, when we are I'll show you some before and afters.

There have been tons of other improvements, obviously new paint, new doors, hardwoods redone, a new basement floor and last week we had new windows put in. Our old windows were the original 1950s version...with some nice mold specimens growing on them...awesome. I'm glad that they are gone.

Nothing has changed with Clay. We still have about 50 fights a day, but then he says things like, "I love ya, Mom" and it makes everything ok again. I struggle daily with keeping an iron fist around here because he knows just how to make me laugh. But, most days he makes me mad enough that it doesn't matter...I've started taking away his Blankie and have threatened to not give him milk and that is working these days. He is such a charmer and we laugh so much because of Clay-Jack. Tonight he started playing with imaginary animals...which is new. He's always been a great pretender...but tonight was his first "imaginary" play-time.

Months ago we gave Evs the title of "What-Evs" because she is just so laid back. She is still a sweetie and pretty laid back...but instead of What-Evs she's "Evs-rywhere." She is into trash cans, piles of dirt if I am sweeping, messing with Clay, you name it and she's in it.

Clif and I are ready for his marching season to be over. His last parade is on Friday...then we will have our Tuesdays and Fridays back. We've still got a lot to do around the house...our next projects are the bathrooms. Yuck. But, we're also looking to take a few trips in the fall. So, I'm ready for that! So...that's us in a nutshell.