Let's Dig a Hole!

After Brett ripped off the decks it was time to call in the crew to start digging the huge hole for the foundation.  

All the neighbors guessed that we were putting in a swimming pool!

 

And the kids Really loved climbing the mountain of dirt in the backyard!

Digging......

And digging.....

And more digging!

Then the rock arrived....

And the concrete crew got to work.

I got goosebumps when I got home one afternoon to see all these trucks parked at our house!   

Although the school bus driver was a bit nervous trying to squeeze by the pumper truck to drop all the kids off!

Pouring the walls. 

Pumping the concrete up and over the house!

To no surprise, Brett couldn't just stand there and watch them work.  He quickly changed out of his dress clothes and jumped right in to help the crew get the work done.  

Ta Da!!!!!

Ice Cream Social and 1st Day of School 2017/18

Kate was so excited to start her final year in elementary! She was finally a 6th grader which meant SHE and her friends got to hand out ice cream to all the students and families at the Back to School Night.  They were All Over It!

Will was thrilled to see his 3rd Grade Teacher Ms. Nicol and check out his really cool classroom.  

And somehow by the grace of God he and his Best Friend are not only in the same class, but also Locker Buddies this year!

The next morning we were up  bright and early for a big breakfast and our annual 1st day of school pictures that the kids dread Every.. Single.. Year !

The kids were so excited to see all their friends at the bus stop and even more excited when Miss Patty pulled up in Bus 87 to begin another year. 

And they are off!

Deciding who gets what hook in the locker. 

Ever since Kate and Will started kindergarten, I have put a riddle in their lunch boxes every day.  I was so delighted to see a surprise from my little guy when I opened my lunch box at work that day !  He is such a sweetie!

We celebrated their  first day of 6th and 3rd grade with their favorite chocolate chip muffins after school. 

Last Day of !Summer

I always try to do something fun with Kate and Will on their very last day of summer before school begins..... This year was bittersweet as they took their last runs down the slide off the deck.  

We grabbed some of their favorite McDonalds food for a picnic in the yard for lunch.  

 

Grabbed some friends and headed out on a long bike ride to the park for some fun.  

And finished the afternoon with a cool ice cream treat at Dairy Queen before we headed home to clean up and o to the school for Back to School Night.  

Let the Demo Begin!

At the end of August 2017, after months and months of planning , Brett and I decided to pull the trigger to begin the renovation and addition to our home.  We moved into our house 12 years ago.  We fell in love with the wooded lot in the middle of the city and LIKED the house. Brett being an architect said "We can make the house whatever we want it to be, but we can't change the lot."   Well 2 kids, busy careers and family life took precedence and 12 yrs later,  WE ARE FINALLY beginning to create our dream home.   Let the demolition begin!  We started by tearing off the deck, which included the wonderful slide that Kate and Will slid down over and over again from the time they were babies!

Before Pictures of the back of the house...... A large deck off the kitchen and an upper deck/balcony off of the master bedroom.

And removal of the beloved sandbox under the lower deck.  

And We're Off!!

Lake of the Ozarks 2017

After our tour down Memory Lane in Springfield, we headed up to the Lake to meet the Schaefer side of the family for our annual lake vacation.   

We did a lot of swimming...

And Jet skiing....

And more jet skiing!  We were so proud of Will for trying out the jet ski this year. Up until now he preferred to watch from the dock rather than ride.  

Thank you to Uncle Shane for taking him on a quiet, calm ride around the cove. 

And these 2 cuties had a blast catching some rays and chit chatting on the dock together. 

Lots of giggles and snacking on the dock while the older kids splashed in the water. 

And begged the dads to take them on boat rides. 

And we usually always pick a night to celebrate Teagan and Tate's bdays while were are all together too!

A Trip Down Memory Lane.

We continued our tour of the great state of Missouri and traveled from St. Louis to Springfield.  Brett and I have not been back to our college town since the day we graduated 13 years ago.  We headed to the Drury campus and immediately found the outdoor architecture piece Brett made with his friends in Architecture school.  It was still there! Definitely dated, but still there!

We took the kids on a campus tour.  

Kate really perked up when she saw the Drury Panther Swim Team practice facility. 

Brett was excited to go back to the architecture building.  The lobby and studios really haven't changed much. 

Brett pulled a lot of all nighters in that building!

Once we finished at Drury, we drove down National Ave to the house I lived in with 2 other girls.  I have to admit, I kind of forgot which house it exactly was on Guinevere St :)  We actually pulled in front of the house next to this one at first and took a picture there!  I quickly realized once we got in the car that we were at the wrong house and  that the house I lived in was 1 house down!  Brett was so annoyed with me:)  I quickly jumped out of the car again and snapped a pic in front of the correct house.  The house could definitely use a little love for sure, but I was really excited to see the house that Brett proposed to me at again!

Then we headed to the Missouri State University Campus to check it out.  We showed the kids the Blair-Shannon Dorm I lived in, the book store and finally went into the Speech-Hearing Clinic where I did my clinicals and was a grad assistant.  Gayla, the clinic secretary I worked with, was still there along with many of my clinic supervisors.  It was so great to see them all again!

After our 2nd campus tour for the day, we headed down Chestnut Expressway to check in to our hotel.  I had to take a pic of the road sign as EVERY TIME my mom and aunt would come down to visit me, we would drive down this road they would sing "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" at the top of there lungs :)

Brett and the Kids swam for awhile before we showered up and got ready for dinner.  

We knew exactly where to take the kids...... Lambert's!  The home of the throwed rolls!  Kate's favorite snack and bread and coke, so she was quite excited !

We got our fill of southern comfort food and waddled our way out to the car.  

We finished the night with a quick drive down to Branson for some Putt Putt Golf.  

As you can see from the pic, the boys beat the girls.  Both Brett and Will got a hole in 1 during the game.   Nonetheless, we all had a great time!