We're almost there...

My really good friends...

I had the most wonderful helpers today! These ladies cleaned and then cleaned some more... so nice to have help! Sandra scrubbed a tub and cleaned the bathrooms. Nancy worked on flooring--tearing up paper and getting overspray off. Donna and Janine cleaned the whole kitchen... and JoAnn brought over yummy treats (she had cleaned two tubs earlier). I should also mention Saint Oma who watched the children at home...

We are moving everything (hopefully) tomorrow and then there will still be small things to finish up next week... Tonight will be our last night in this house...

Good Excuses...

Our excuses for being absent from Our Two Tootlepops are as follows:
-Our contractor had an appendectomy (he just happens to be our finish carpenter, painter, etc., etc., etc....).
-We laid the tile back splashes in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry (My dad and I--thank goodness he was here to help).
-Auntie Marilyn then came and helped grout all the tile!
-We are supposed to be packing this house, but it seems impossible to be in two places at once...
-Oma is here for a couple of weeks and she is making it possible (the above).

So, if you are wondering, the updates are going to be sporadic for the next little while. We plan on moving some things next week and then all of it next weekend.

Sick of the house project yet???

In case you were wondering if all we do is "house", here are some pictures that are of us doing the "park". The boys and I walked/rode bikes to get the mail and play in the park. As you can tell Reese was not in the mood for pictures and Carsten was.
Carsten has been asking to stay home lately when we head over to the property--doesn't want to go over there... he also cries whenever I give away or sell any of our things (as I try to purge before we move). I wonder what he'll think when we leave this house behind for good. I have to remember that it is the only house he has ever known...

I haven't put a picture on of the house outside in awhile and haven't really wanted to... We picked a wonderful color--cardboard--and then when it was painted on the entire outside of the house we decided it wasn't so wonderful... we are working on what to do...

The kitchen counter tops... I love them! I'll try to get a picture once all the cabinets are done...

A really friendly neighbor brought these by for our new house mantel...

Catching up just a little...

We've graduated from flooring to cabinets... need to get them in this weekend as the counter guy comes Tuesday!

Our contractor painted Reese and Carsten's room--the lower 1/3 a nice orange (thanks Callie for helping with which orange to pick)

...and with a little help from Reese... (I wrote the message on it for the contractor--we thought Carsten did it and then found out Reese was quite guilty)

Where we've been...

We've been MIA--see the picture above...

Laying the last board! We did our whole house in IKEA laminate flooring and we just finished up today... whew.

We did not end up doing this all alone... we had Alicia, Callie, Papa, Mark (a friend), and a man from Jim's work helped one night... I just have to put in that Alicia and I (the mom) put in the whole living room/kitchen/dining room! We were pretty proud of ourselves as you can tell. I must also mention OMA who cared for three children all week while the parents were missing/putting in floors--Saint Oma.

This one is for you Uncle Tom...

Carsten's souvenir T-shirt from our trip--Thanks Oma!
Uncle Tom for those of you who don't know...

Tidbits from the rest of our trip...

This is backwards, so start at the bottom for the correct time line.

On the third day with our good friends we went swimming and had dinner with some Swiss friends--I didn't get any pictures, so go here to see some. A great time.
Fourth day we went home... We intended to leave at 9 and didn't get out until 11.
Funny story about our time with Extrems... Carsten adopted one of Siena's stuffed cats and wouldn't let him go. When we left for our trip from their house he cried and cried that we had to leave the cat behind. When we came back to their house he had not forgotten and quickly became attached again. Siena was quite grown up and bribable (a word?), so we bought her another cat and Carsten became the proud new owner of a stuffed cat--he hasn't let it out of his sight yet.

On the second day with C & H Jim and I took the four kids to visit our friend Bryan at his fire station... Fun was had by all. It was very informal and so the kids had a chance to become comfortable.

Upon returning to Con & Heidi's we decided to stay a couple of days with them. Actually as each day came to a close we would decide to stay just one more day... It turned into four extra days. We had a great time--just like old times! We went to a park on our first day there and Carsten enjoyed the slide. The boys then took all four kids on the paddle/pedal boats. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it (the big boys not so much--it was a lot of work). Of course the only one to get hurt was Carsten. Right as they were pulling into the dock Carsten fell off the seat and banged his lip on the pedals. Nice bloody/fat lip. I decided not to take a picture this time as the poor guy is only going to have pictures of his injuries... We then went to a discovery/science center which we all enjoyed.

Getting directions and advice on the best route at a McDonald's in Montana. Jim and Andrew asked six old-timers... We followed their suggestions and it worked good...

Our sleeping arrangements... Please notice Reese's bed up front. Opa and Unc built a bed to go over the two front seats. I should mention that Opa and Oma were in the luxury suite in the back on a queen size bed. We were all comfortable and really only spent three days all sleeping in the motorhome. In South Dakota we had a hotel for some of us.

A great one of Unc... I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

Reese enjoyed combing hair on our trip... he did Oma's and he spent hours (literally) on his own. Just a cup of water and a comb.

More Birthday...

I cannot take credit for these four photos... www.ryanstahle.com

The Birthday!

Today was my great-aunt Katherine's 100th birthday celebration...

Reese and Carsten found some new friends...

On the road...

We met Opa, Oma, and Unc at these people's house and stayed the night before getting going on our big trip...
The picture is all the kids on the dashboard of the motorhome.

The passengers on the first day...

It is taking us awhile to get to our destination as our driver can't reach the pedals!

Okay, one of our *real* drivers in action...

Carsten kicking back and listening to stories on the second day. (In case you are wondering where Reese was when the picture was taken--empty carseat--he was in the bathroom--the only allowed out of your seat excuse.)

As on all trips, we had to have a little trouble... steering trouble. Today, the third day, we took a two hour break at the beginning of the day to *fix* the problem. Oma and I took the boys on a walk.

In case you can't tell what this picture is, it is Jim laying on the wheel of the motorhome and Unc giving advice.