We've been stuck in the house for the last couple of days. Uggghhhh, it's a love/hate relationship with the rain. Luckily Auntie Kellen is coming to visit today! It should be a fun weekend with auntie and maybe even a little trick or treating and of course lot's of candy !

Swim Lessons

We took the boys to swim lessons last night. It was Nico's first time and Elio's second. They both had such a good time, they love the water. Plus we are doing the class with some of our good friends, which makes it even more fun.

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Home Sweet Home

We bought our house at auction in September two years ago then officially closed escrow two years ago this month.  It took three or so months for us to get it ready to move in. It feels so good to have such a wonderful home. Even though it's been a lot of work (we've had a lot of surprises), it's been well worth it.  It's been fun to make our house our own, and be able to pick almost everything out ourselves. We love not having a ton of neighbors, we have a beautiful view of the redwoods, we are out of the fog line, and it's going to be a great place for the kids to run around when they are older. Not to mention it's a great spot for our little farm and garden.

Here's some of the things we've done to our house / property:

Tented for termites

Took off popcorn ceilings

Got the trailer off the property

New oven

New stove

Took out old landscaping

New carpet

New laminate Floors

New paint

Textured inside of house

Put in a fireplace

New light fixtures

Tiled first bath

New bathroom mirrors

New toilets

New windows

New trim and baseboards

...and all that was before we moved in! Here's what we've done since moving in:

Burned down modular  (YAY!)

New kitchen faucet

Built a fence

Built a chicken coop

New exterior paint

Took off old gutters and put up new fascia

Sandbox for the boys

Fixed sliding doors in kitchen

More interior paint

Planted some plants

Tiled the master bath

New vanity in our bath

Changed out some light switches

New furnace 

 Wow, looking back, we've really gotten a lot accomplished in the last 2 years and we did all this with Elio being an infant, then toddler, and then having Nico. Luckily we've had a supportive family and have had a lot of help.

We have a few more things on our to do list:

Install the wood stove in the garage

New deck

New roof

New driveway

Build a garden

Make a goat pen

Landscape

Kitchen Remodel 

Ahhh...we had a successful yard sale this weekend. 

We're glad most of our junk is gone and made a little moolah in the process.

Here's a cute pic of the boys from bath time the other day

I walked out the front door the other day and saw Elio working on his bike with a wrench, from the top of the ladder, I had to take a picture. He's such a little boy!

By the way, I'm pretty sure he know more tools names than I do.

Cute little Nico is getting into everything, crawling all over the place, and now is taking about 2 or 3 steps at a time. 

Nico just took two steps all by himself, we are so proud!

Hey, not bad for only being 8 1/2 months!

RIP Lucy

Last night was a sad night, we had our first fatality. Every morning we let the chickens out and put them away every night. Usually they hang out in the yard all day. If we get busy and put them to bed after dark, they put themselves to bed, and we just close the gate. Well last night was one of those nights were we got busy putting the kids to bed and cleaning things up, before we knew it, it was dark out. Kyle and I were in the living room and we heard a lot of squawking outside. Kyle ran out with his flashlight, told me to get the gun, then I hobbled out after him. There were feathers everywhere. White feather, Lucy feathers. Millie was the only chicken in the coop, Lucy and Coco were missing. The trail of feathers went through a fence and into the woods, Lucy was gone. Coco was still missing, we grabbed Millie and brought her up to the house, so she could sleep peacefully in the garage. Right before we were going into the garage, Coco showed up. Oh, we were relieved! Both girls slept in the garage last night.

When we looked around this morning it turned out, we were really close to losing two of the girls last night. There were quite a few of Coco's feathers spread all over an area of the yard. I don't know how she got away, but she did. I'm thankful she escaped. Poor Lucy, we feel so horrible, it was such a bad accident that we could have prevented. 

I'm pretty sure yesterday was one of the worst days we've had in a while. Between my accident, the neighbor kid came over, fell off the swing and got a bloody nose and Lucy, it was a bit rough.