Very Soon...

It seems that everything is going about 90 miles an hour as we get closer and closer to our closing date.  Here is what has been happening in our lives and with the house updates.

House update is very simple.  All the inspections are complete and reports are into the bank.  The septic updates are done as of Wednesday.  So we should be good to go for closing on July 1st.  Now we wait, again, for the closing date to get here.  It seems like there are days that fly by and then other days that it seems like it is creeping by and July 1st will never get here.

Since Monday...we did take the kids to the pool Monday afternoon and we got to have lots of fun in the water.  I spent most of my time with Harry and Lorelai while Harry took Ellaree and tried to get her to put her face under water.  In the end she did a little bit and she was walking around without holding onto the railing.  So she should be ok when swimming lessons starts this coming Monday. 

Monday night I got a text from my good friend Emily.  She delivered a beautiful baby girl Ruthie Elizabeth.  Ruthie was a little earlier then we had expected and so her lungs are a little premature.  Due to the hospital being at full capacity in the NICU they transported Ruthie to the Children's Hospital at Mayo in Rochester, MN.  She has been doing wonderful and yesterday I got the chance to go and visit them (with no kids)!  Ruthie is expecting to come home in a week or two.  Please pray for Tim, Emily and Ruthie that all goes well.

Tuesday was our weekly visit from Papa Harry and Nonie.  We joke that it is Tuesdays with Nonie as they come over after Yoga.  While they were here my dad came over also and with two old guys (oops did I type that) and Harry they got our wood burner out of our basement for the move.  I am telling you, I heard a lot of grunting but I have not heard any complaints of back problems. 

Wednesday was our annual Cousins day.  Each year we have a day out with my sister and niece Maddie and we get their pictures taken together.  Oh how fun that was!  Lorelai is just like her daddy and can't stand to be put in front of the camera.  It is like torture for her.  To say the least it was interesting.  While there I got Ellaree's 4 year pictures and Harry's 6 month pictures.  Yes I know Harry is not 6 months until the end of the month but why go back, especially with the move and I didn't want to forget either.  So this was more logical.  Maddie also got her pictures taken individually, which was fun for her since it showed her cast on her arm...good memories!  I will post the pictures as soon as I get them back.

Speaking of posting pictures...I have packed away my cord to my camera.  Therefore it will be a while before you get pictures of anything.

Thursday was stay at home and pack.  Nothing exciting.

Friday the kids went to Grapa & Grama's in the afternoon to spend the night.  Harry's first overnight stay!  Bittersweet for momma.  But I had a great time going to Rochester by myself and visiting with Tim, Emily and holding Baby Ruthie.  Oh she is just a doll and I was so content holding her.  It reminds me of how fast they grow up.  She was just to precious and I am so happy for Emily and Tim.  The kids are going to love to grow up and play with her.  I can not put into words how beautiful and sweet Ruthie is. 

After visiting I headed back towards home but went grocery shopping...BY MYSELF!  How fun was that!  No mom, mom, mom.  Or putting things back on the shelf that I did not intend to buy.  I also got to look around without whizzing in and out of aisles as fast as I can like a race car driver that is on a time limit.  It was heavenly.  I know that Grapa & Grama are going to be extremely exhausted by tonight but thank you so much!  Oh and did I mention that I got to sleep in this morning!!!!!

So now we are caught up and to today.  Today Harry is off and we are going to do some extreme packing with no kiddos to help.  Lately the question has been, "where is _____?" with my response "it is already packed for the new house...sorry!"  So as you can see it will be a little difficult the next couple of days/weeks but we will manage with lots of TV and outside fun.  Next week starts swimming lessons so that will help occupy some of our time with traveling 30 minutes (construction) and 25 minutes of swimming. 

So now that I have caught up on my posts, I need to go and make cheesecakes and fudge pie for tonights Father's Day dinner at my parents house, pack and then go and lounge at my parents this evening.  Sounds like a good working day!

Weekend

Saturday we headed towards Blue Mounds to see our good friends Nick & Sam and their adorable little girl Adi that is only 2 months and 2 days older then Harry.  Of course Harry was very much flirting with her all day long.  :)  We both had our cameras too for great shots of the kids together and we both didn't take one picture...yup we are right on the ball!  We had a great time with them but of course went way too fast and had to head back.  They were very generous in letting us borrow their enclosed snowmobile trailer for moving our furniture.  Guess what I am doing today...moving furniture today!  We really appreciate it though as it will make our lives a lot simpler come moving day time.

This evening we are all heading to the Bigley Pool in Viroqua where Ellaree will start swimming lessons next Monday.  She is a little concerned as it is a large pool therefore we are going as a family tonight to show her what it is all about and why she should not be scared at all.  I am not particularly looking forward to wearing a swimsuit but I guess anything for my kids...right!

Sitting

Mr. Harry is sitting up pretty much by himself these days. Obviously if he is tired, reaching for something out of reach or sitting for too long then he topples over but he can sit unsupported for about 30 minutes at a time. My Little Man is growing up so fast. He's trying to keep up with his sisters! Before you know it he will be running around with the girls.

House Update

Last night we talked with our agent and got an update on how all the improvements are coming along. This past weekend the attic insulation was placed. The septic was pumped, inspected again and next Monday will be repaired. The water and well inspections came back just fine. So we are still on track for closing on July 1st!

We are continuing to pack like crazy but with this weather all a person wants to do is sit in front of the window unit and not move. Thank goodness we have central air in the new house. We will all sleep better!

Happy Birthday Ellaree!

Yesterday was Ellaree's 4th & Golden birthday! We had awesome weather - sun shining, around 80's, a little breeze and bugs. Can't have a party without the bugs. As I have said before I made a deal with Ellaree so Friday afternoon Uncle Jerod came with the bounce house and the fun began. With help from Papa Harry, Nonie and Grama they watched the kids a couple of days while I cleaned and ran errands to get ready for the party. Couldn't have done it without them. Miss Ellaree had requested a "Pink" cake. I found this design online and fell in love with it. Ellaree loved it too!


Ellaree & Lorelai got a little time before everyone got to the party to play in the bounce house without anyone else. They loved it. At the end of the day Daddy, Mommy, Ellaree, Lorelai, Uncle Nick, Aunt Jen & Maddie were all in there. Ellaree said there was too many people in it!


The slip-n-slide was perfect for the great weather we had and the kids had a blast on it. Lorelai just stood on the sidelines and played with the sprinkles of water that came her way.

Blowing out the candles and singing Happy Birthday. As you can see we could not take time away from the slip-n-slide so the cake had to come to Ellaree!

Ellaree got a lot of great gifts and she loved them all. Mommy & Daddy got her the bike and she can't wait until she gets to the new house where there is actually concrete for her to ride it.

And about 6:30 last night Ellaree was watching her new movie from Grapa & Grama called How to Train your Dragon when we looked over and found this...Crash-n-burn after a long day!

What a great day we had with family and friends!

Sigh of Relief

Just received email from our agent...sellers have agreed to take care of the septic...upgrade it to suffice for a three bedroom home. The well inspection is complete, just waiting for the report. The water test came back clear for bacteria & safe for nitrates. All is good to move forward. And of course then our agent told me I could breathe again. Now that is a good agent when she knows we have been stressing over it.

Another Hurdle

In the beginning of this house hunt, I had made a remark that I couldn't believe all the obstacles that we had to go through to get a pre-approval. I was not told once but many times that it was just the beginning and that there would be one hurdle after another until closing date. Well I listened but didn't really understand until just yesterday. Another hurdle.

I believe that I wrote that we got the appraisal done and all was fine except the attic insulation needed to be added from 9 inches to 13 inches. Ok, so once the appraisal was done then our agent ordered the other inspections to be done. Well, septic and water. Septic inspection came back and there are some things that need to be done. (I apologize if these are not the correct terms but in lamen terms.) The riser needs to be 6 inches above ground, which it is not. Also, the house was built in 1979 as a 2 bedroom house and then later they built a 3rd bedroom in the basement. Well the septic was built to accommodate 2 bedrooms therefore the septic needs to be added onto 3 feet to consider the house a 3 bedroom. We asked the bank if we could do a concession and deal with it later or if it had to be taken care of before we closed. Due to a first time home buyers regulations it has to be taken care before we can close. Therefore we are waiting from the sellers to give us the word if they are going to pay for this to be done...or if we will need to do some negotiating.

We have not heard on the water and well inspections yet. This might delay our closing date, I hope not!