Sunday, December 28, 2014

bikes

For Christmas the boys got bikes. We debated for awhile about what type of bike to get them and in the end decided on balance bikes. Nathan took the boys out for a few hours the day after Christmas and they had a great time. They still need a little practice but they are catching on.








Sunday, December 14, 2014

our newest adventure


We did it! We bought a lot and we started the process of building a home. We loved our home in Corpus Christi but we really wanted something larger and a much bigger lot here in Oklahoma. We searched for a few weeks and couldn't find anything that fit our wants and felt right. After an afternoon of searching we stumbled upon a model home we loved, one thing led to another and we ended up buying a lot (it's around 3/4 of an acre). We just finished designing and picking finishes for our new home. We are really excited and nervous about this process. Hopefully all goes well and we love the finished product.


This is where our new home will be!

the transition

 The transition from Corpus Christi to Tulsa has been much harder on these two little boys then we expected. The first month was the worst. Both Caleb and Ethan were getting up several times in the night, we had lost Ethan's blanket, I couldn't get them to nap and there was a constant flow of tears from both boys. During the day I would find them in random places, where they had fallen asleep after an exhausting night. 
Caleb has also developed a phobia of leaving the house. My little boy who used to go anywhere with almost anyone is now afraid to leave. I am hoping this starts to fade in the next few months because dragging a screaming 3 year old, a two year old and a baby out during the day to run errands has been a little bit ruff.
Other then that things are good, we are adjusting and we are happy to be here.






Santa

Last night we went to the ward party and Santa showed up. Caleb ran right up to him gave him a big bear hug and then proceeded to talk his ear off about Ironman and Paw Patrol. Ethan and Molly were a little more hesitant and after a few seconds Molly went to a full on meltdown. Hopefully our next Santa visit is a little easier.





8 months


16lbs
babbles constantly
loves to be held
loves her swing
eats almost anything you give her
sits up
can get her self back up when she falls over
doesn't crawl but she does rock and crawling should come soon
Loves her brother Ethan and her Aunt Hana
loves to sit and play with her toys
Is loved by everyone she meets

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Austin steam train

On our way from Tulsa (when we moved) we stopped and rode the Austin steam train. It was a 6 hour excursion. You ride the train for two hours, it stops in a little town where you get two hours to eat, explore, and watch a little western shoot out and then you hop back on the train for a two hour trip back. We had such a good time and loved the train ride. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed walking up and down the train exploring all the old train cars. It was a perfect way to split up our drive from Corpus to Tulsa.




7 months


7 months
sleeps 10-12 hours
weighs roughly 15lbs
eats baby food and drinks soy formula
cut her first tooth
almost always happy
loves her mom
loves to be held
sits up on her own
drools constantly
spits up much less
she is getting some fat rolls
has gotten up on her knees a few times
loves real food, eats anything
loves to play with her brothers and watch them


Sunday, November 2, 2014

the chicken manor

Almost two years ago (Ethan was just a baby) Nathan and Tia dreamed up what we call the Chicken Manor. After loosing a few chickens to hawks and animals Tia wanted the ultimate fortress for her chickens along with  drought resistant key hole gardens. A few days before we moved Nathan put on the final touch and finished the chicken coop. I think there is still some scraps and mess that need to be cleaned up and out of the coop (sorry Tia). Anyways, here is a few pictures of the progression of the coop.

  
Digging the holes for the posts.

The posts are up and cemented in. This process took a lot longer then expected because of uncooperative weather.



Caleb and Ethan both LOVED being at the chicken coop and "helping" out. They also loved and miss the endless supply of candy at Tia's house.

The roof goes up!



Now that the roof is up there is some shelter from the scorching sun and the actual chicken coop gets started.

After most of the coop was finished Nathan started on the key hole gardens. The layout works like this, the coop is in the middle and there are two key hole gardens and planter boxes on each side of the chicken coop. There are two growing seasons in Corpus so you alternate planting. The first season the chickens will roam one side of the gardens, eat bugs, fertilize and live while on the other side Tia will plant lots of veggies. The next planting season you move the chickens to the other side (where you previously planted) and plant where the chickens were living. 

These round stones are the key hole gardens. They are large gardens that originated in Africa. You build them up with stones about 3 feet high. Then you fill the inside alternating with layers of dirt and cardboard leaving about 6-8 inches of dirt at the top. You also fill the entire thing with water as you are building it. 


We start painting the coop. Just for timeline purposes I started painting this while I was about 7 months pregnant with Molly.

After the planter boxes and key hole gardens are built everything gets screened in. Nathan (with help from some others) trenched about 3 feet deep all the way around the coop. He then filled the trenches with heavy duty plastic so animals couldn't get int. After that wire screens were connected to the plastic and those go up about 3-4 feet. Nathan then used bird netting to completely screen in the remaining open area. It was a major project.


The boys loved using the spare wood as tracks for their hot wheels cars.

A front porch was built from pallets. Those doors open up to the nesting boxes at the bottom to retrieve the eggs and then the shelves above are for storage.

Inside the coop there is an automated water feeder, feeder and solar powered doors.

Pipe had to be run from the house all the way out to the coop so the chickens could have water and there would be hoses to water the gardens.







Putting on the final touch, a weathervane.

WE HAVE CHICKENS!

The boys loved watching the chickens and it was so much fun watching them in their new home.

This was a little bit of a crazy project. Way more time, effort and money then I think anyone suspected it would take but we are grateful for the opportunity and all of the wonderful people who helped out to make it happen. We are so excited for Tia to have chickens again and hope it holds up and is a wonderful home to her little ladies.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

moving day

It's official, we survived the move. 
At the beginning of September Nathan accepted a job in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We immediately started on our last minute house projects and put the house on the market just two weeks later. Although we had been praying we would get an offer before we moved we were shocked to have two offers after 3 days on the market and one of them was a great cash offer with buyers who were ready to close as soon as we could move out. October 17th we closed on our house and October 18th we headed out to Oklahoma. 







Moving day was emotional for all of us. I was in tears thinking about leaving our many wonderful friends and awesome support group, the boys were devastated watching all their toys and stuff be "taken away" and we were all sad to leave our first home.

We are currently living with my Dad while we start the search for a new home. Although we were sad to leave Corpus we are excited for this new adventure and hope our time in Oklahoma is soon filled with many happy memories.