Summer break is here! Here are some of the latest happenings here in ol' Nebraska!

First.. I finally tore out most of the nasty, 50 year old carpet that has been gracing our stairs for well, the last 50 years... so much better! Why anyone would cover that wood up is just insane!

 With Emma and Haydn both finally having fully functional bikes, Leighanne was feeling left out!

 We decided this year to dry farm our south 15 acres into soybeans this year... everyone pray for rain!!!

 Jeremy started tearing out the old brick chimney that goes from the basement, first, second and finally up through the attic. So, I took it one step further and started tearing out the second floor closet that the chimney was in so there could be a real closet in our guest bedroom. I know, another big project!

 The original closet only had a door as an opening and it was all rotted and nasty - now it will be all new sheetrock and a beautiful sliding mirror closet door! So excited!

 Of course since it is summer break - for a whole week now, everyone is apparently bored out of their minds.. hence Weldon swimming in the cat food!

 And Leighanne helping with the dishes!

 Weldon's last day of school was a family bowling party. The girls and of course Weldon Loved It!

 Weldon always cheers!

So the break has just begun... lets hope we survive a few more months!

Here's Spring!

Spring in Nebraska is right around the corner! How do you know... pregnant cows and baby chicks!

We have two heifers that are on the verge of calving their first calves. They are enormous... but especially Rosy (#2) - She looks like a battleship! Legs (#23) is taller, so she isn't quite so strange looking. But we will have baby calves running around here very soon!

Jeremy order 40 - yes 40 - baby chicks from a local hatchery- they came in the mail - crazy right! Of course now they are already twice the size and already getting in their grownup feathers.. I can't remember what they are, but half are redish and the other half are the perfect spring chick yellow - they are so cute!!! Next all we need are flowers and we are ready!

Battleship Rosy on the right.

Leighanne, has learned a new trick - she can whistle. I will be attempting to get it on video as soon as I can - be she just smiles for me when I try to get her to do it... so Jeremy might have to catch it on video! Can't wait!

New Year!

So, the year 2012 has arrived. To sum up the last of 2011

Weldon's school had its first ever music program, assisted by me
As soon as I get the video done, I will post it.



We went to Idaho for Christmas. We decided to try flying this time - 18 hours in the car is just too long! Flying was fantastic! We drove to Denver, a whole 7 hours from our house and then flew to Boise. The kids loved flying and it turned a nightmare of a trip into a far more enjoyable one. Buying tickets three months in advance definitely helped with the cost!


Now that we are back in Nebraska, life is mostly back to normal.

A few fun happenings thus far...


I found out that I will be having another baby - We are having it Aug. 2nd, the joys of C-section scheduling!



We had 11 new windows installed upstairs - although not as cool as the original old ones, it should help in keeping our heating and cooling costs down!
One of the old ones - they didn't replace 3 of them....

Jeremy went back to work for Eric and Kate Popkes at their feedlot. He is the main man over cattle health and really enjoys playing with his cow friends again!
We got a new car - well new to us - to help with the cost of fuel for Jeremy. It is a punked out gangsta car complete with obnoxiously loud muffler - ( Eric thought a semi was pulling in at 7 am when Jeremy took it to work) Haydn transferred to O'Neill schools back in October, but she is loving having all her church friends to play with at recess and her reading skills have finally taken off!

Weldon still absolutely loves his school. His new friend this year is a boy named Garrett. They are close to the same age, size and ability. They are so cute together! Weldon did have a very scary massive seizure about 2 months ago. I am sure that if he wasn't unconscious he would have loved the ambulance ride. Per the seizure, he has seen new specialists and will have another sleep study in Omaha soon. Ah, the joys!
Emmaline has been attending preschool and is really doing well. It's hard to imagine her heading off to Kindergarten next year.
Leighanne is one happy girl! She makes the cutest faces and has finally decided that standing up and climbing stairs, and pushing the chairs across the floor are the greatest things to do. No teeth yet, but lots of cuteness! This is one of her happy faces!Me, besides being rather ill these days - gee wonder why!- have been busy at home, and with music at Weldon's school. It also looks like I will be helping a friend out at the local lumber yard that he manages to get the bookkeeping and paperwork back under control after a major management and owner change. That should be really interesting!


Our family is chugging along at a steady pace! Hope your year is just as awesome!

It's beginning to feel a lot like winter!

As it begins to get colder, we begin to work faster to get our wood stove in. So here she is... isn't she beautiful! We really owe a big thanks to the local guy who sold it to us for a fraction of it's value. It is going to be toasty warm in our house this winter!



And now for the next project on my to-do-list.
Jeremy's to-do-list consists of finishing the chimney pipe up and out the roof,
I'm not doing that one.

We need a coat closet, so this one will have to do. Don't worry - it will look much better soon!

Home Improvements

Our latest adventure in remodeling....

So, key things to notice... coat closet on the right, horrible pink tile on the floor that is breaking apart, white painted stair landing and step

And then begins the transformation... bye bye closet and tile.

Yes, I let the kids help with some of the demo, and no, Emma's blood did not test high for lead.

We then tore out all of the existing wall to the studs and put up concrete board on the wall and on the floor. I sanded, then sanded, then stripped, then sanded the landing to get the white off.. idiots!

We then put up another wall that is 6' tall made of concrete board as well. There is a 2" gap at the bottom to allow full air circulation.

Here is an inside look at the wall. The concrete board plus the metal studs plus the second concrete board under the paint, make this a zero clearance wall.

Now for the latest... I stained the stair and landing... don't look too close, I couldn't get the white all off... grrr!!!

We put down much prettier tile on top of concrete board, so it won't break up when we walk on it.

We put tile on the fire wall, we wanted it to look more like stone.

Still a gap at the floor for air.
Close up of tile.

The finished product so far!

Next, wood trim on wall and floor, wood stove in and chimney put in! We are almost there!

And remember, this was our first time with anything tile related - I think we did just fine!

Summer time!

New kitty Flash giving lots of love

Haydn's latest haircut

One of our new horses, Flicka - isn't she beautiful

Emma refuses to take a nap - in normal places at least

Leighanne's three month old pictures

Mohawk... just for the summer.... don't worry!

New backyard swing built by Jeremy and I

New porch finally finished! On to the next project... pictures coming soon!