She was doing this for nearly 20 minutes. She loves taking things out and then putting it away.

The long awaited pictures!

So I finally have some pictures to post. I don't have pictures of everything because they are either full of boxes or are just not that easy to take picture of ( boy's bedroom, guest room, laundry, basement, bathrooms...you get the point) But here are a bunch of pictures of everything else. When I started taking pictures I just couldn't take one because it was to much fun! As you will see though, I haven't had to much time to decorate and hang pictures but at least you can see the house! Oh and the getto stand for the t.v. will not be staying. We are just deciding on what exactly to build in the open space. So if you have idea's feel free to share!
P.S. To see the whole picture you have to click on it and see the slide show.

Today is not that day...

I was goinb to take a few pictures of the new place and post them with a few I already have, but I've been at work on my computer for 12.5 hours and I just can't bring myself to sit at that keyboard any longer. Bug Ricki about it.

Not there yet....

I totally love technology. I love that I can post to my blog while sitting in the car, at the store or in the bathroom. But it falls short of perfect because I take all of these great extemporaneous pictures with my phone and I can't post them from my phone. I have to dump them on my computer then put them on my blog. And am I too lazy to take that extra step? Well, lately yeah. When was the last time you saw a picture on my blog?

Brig is the man

This is not a "My Child is an Honor Roll Student" moment. This is a self-reflective moment. Brig is a very high energy child. He is high emotion, and more than once people have casually started talking about ADHD kids to see if I would take the bait. Forget it. He is a 7yr old boy. He is supposed to be high energy. Show me a kid who loves to sit quietly all the time and I'll show you a poster child for the drug-induced, semi-coma state that our society believes are "easier" for people to manage. Sorry, off my soapbox. Back to Brig. Sometime...ok most of the time homework is like pulling teeth and I wonder if he even gets anything because all that is reflected in those eyes of his while we do homework is his desire to be doing something else. Spelling words are especially traumatic for our family. I think the only thing that gets my blood pressure higher than spelling practice is the kids bedtime. Just this morning Brig fought practice and was mis-spelling words. What happens when he gets hone today? He tells me he got 100% on his test. Including the bonus words. Not that I'd call him a liar, creative, but not a liar. So he pulls out the test an sure enough 100%. So what is the self-reflection? Maybe my son gets more than I give him credit for. He is probably smarter than I was (despite more video game time than I got at his age) and I will have to accept that a great many things may come easier to him than it did me. High five Brig.

Last Week

I wanted to post last week when we got back to Colorado. But, life got busy with work, school, Ricki returning to her teaching duties, etc. It is excellent to be back in Colorado but we miss our good friends and family we were blessed to spend so much time with. I will say this about my job. It is an absolute wonderous thing that I managed to find a job that provides me this much flexibility. We love to travel around, and with this job we can because I can work from anywhere that has an Internet connection. We are entering the final week of our "days in the wilderness" and will be taking possession of the new home on Saturday. To say that we are excited would be a gross understatement. We have a host of friends, and their hospitality and kindness have allowed us to save the rent we would have had to pay for the month-and-a- half we have been out of the condo. Everyone is getting s little crazy but at night when everyone is sleeping Ricki sit in bed and talk about all the great things we are looking forward to. This list includes but is not limited to a garage, a back yard, an awesome deck on which to place my smoker and BBQ, having a room for Keelyn to call her own so coordinating bedtimes with the boys isn't so difficult, an office so that I'm not working in my bedroom anymore, and the list goes on and on.
I'm greatful for my blessings. Now I just need to keep that in mind with a busy week scheduled.   

Huh...what? We're doing fine.

No. things are great. Yes, we are on our third house during our nomadic experience. We learn different lessons at each house. So what if Keelyn is eating her own foot and the boys are switching underwear...and clothes. We're sleeping in shopping carts and taking our agressions out in new and creative ways. I'm sure Ken could follow us and write a few case studies. In reality we are having a good time. Things are going well and it has been nice to see family and friends in Utah.

Seven Days ... One Week.

Tomorrow marks the one week point of our family nomadic experience. I would say homeless but that sounds very negative. I'm trying to be positive. The Chambers were very accommodating and now Ryan and Jen are being fantastic hosts ... Even if Ryan is out of town. We are enjoying so much time with our dear friends. Hopefully we'll see more of our family as the trip progresses. Everyone is feeling a little displaced and the displacement is manifesting itself in different ways. Brig and Kre swapped clothes the other day...including underwear. Ricki is not eating enough and getting headaches and I'm staring blankly at the computer screen. Ok, so not really but the boys did decide to swap clothes the other day. We are having a good time. Greater things have been done in one week but hey, what do you do?

Displaced

Today was our last day in the condo. We have been working for the last three weeks to get everything moved out and into the storage unit. We have a 5 week gap between moving out and then taking possession of the new place. Ricki has been an absolute champ, working around the clock to pack everything. As it usually happens I got real busy with work right about the same time we needed to get serious about packing so I was little to no help during the day then I would jump into action in the evenings and cart loads of stuff to the storage unit. Today, standing in an empty place I reflected for a moment. When we moved in it was only 3 of us and the place felt pretty big. Brig was 2 and I was in graduate school. During our stay we have brought home two new children, graduated, got a job, lost a job, became certified fitness instructors, consulted long distance, started new careers, made friends, made pizzas, BBQ'd in all weather, got snowed in and nearly blown away. For a moment today I was a bit sad. So many memories. But as I look forward to the future I am excited about making more memories and a new home. Because in reality, my home is where my family is, and in that I feel truly blessed.

Walk the Talk

For the last several weeks I've been telling everyone how calm and collected I have been feeling. Despite all the pressure that comes along with the house I've felt very comfortable with what is happening. Well, yesterday it all hit the fan. A whole collection of isolated instances converging on us in a synchronicity that would make even the most cunning and violent saboteur proud. Sure, it's all good and well to talk about it, now it is put up or shut up time. So to center myself I agreed to hit an early morning run with a friend this morning. I was in bed near midnight last night. Keelyn and Krevan took turns making sure Ricki and I didn't sleep too deeply and we were up at ridiculous hours like 1am, 2:30ish and I think about 4:am. Then I was up at 5 so I could be at the trail head on time. We ran on a series of hogback ridges which allowed us to enjoy the view of Fort Collins in the darkness of pre-dawn, twilight, then a beautiful sunrise. It was a perfect morning for a run, and we managed nearly 15 miles. Now, after a day of work, packing, and troubleshooting, I'm not sure I'll make it to sunset. Wow, what an experience. We are still moving forward, and it will all work itself out. But for now on I'm keeping my mouth shut and simply walk the talk.