We spent some time looking for a Cheyenne home to buy while in Bellevue, but it just didn't work out so we decided to rent for a year. We had a good gig going, a nice little townhouse next to the park with lawn care every Friday. For some reason, we kept stalking the housing market. After one failed offer and one other "almost purchase," we looked at a dirty and dated split level with a weird floor plan. It was hard to see past the wallpaper and obnoxious sun room, but we were sold on the land. 10 acres, with no covenants, close to town on good roads, with mature trees. After a bidding war, a personal letter, more moving, and relinquished rental dollars, we are the proud-ish owners of a couple year's worth of projects.
I didn't blog much about our last fixer upper, but I am this time, so I can accurately remember the amount of work involved with renovating a home. (Just in case I get really crazy and decide to do this again.) So, we have been here 6 weeks and just got our main living space painted, but still have to paint the doors, ceiling, and decorate before it feels finished. It felt like it could have gone faster, but we have been distracted by fixing heaters, lights, sinks, stinky smells, and all the mice running around the sun room. It was a month of triage and feeling overwhelmed by it all, but now it is starting to come together and I get excited about getting the next step done and creating a finished space. (The other thing I need to remember is that paint is way more expensive than I plan on it being. Not a big deal, but I always seem to way underestimate that one.)
In the mean time, we have been enjoying life with our little family and amazing friends. We bought this house for the land and we have been outside as much as possible enjoying our private little space. The girls found a loft in the barn and have decorated it with twinkle lights and designated it their hang-out spot. If Cora is not sprinting to the barn after school,she can be found cruising around in her sweet ride.
The day Indie started saying "yeasss" instead of "yeah" and my heart soared. My baby girl is growing up, but I hope she continues to wave "bye-bye" to planes a while longer.
The entry way was the first space we painted. I'm doing the entry way and upstairs living space in a warm white color this time and I'm super excited about it.
The day Indie ran around the corrals with Milan pretending to be a cow. I can't get enough of her little mouth saying "moooo" while waving her cow hands.
We popped into the Children's Village after school and were surprised that the afternoon's activity was "pick your own bouquet." The only rules were that your bouquet should have as many flowers as your age and you must be able to cut the flower with little scissors. Eden made 5 beautiful bouquets and gave one to her teacher. Cora kinda broke the rules with a big blue flower, but everyone loved the fun activity!
Just Indie eating yogurt with her feet. This one is always super clean.
I bought Indie some tie-up Converse forever ago because I thought they might be more difficult to kick off. Nope, Indie can get them off just fine, but they are more difficult for me to put on. Since Indie's feet grow super slowly, I am racking up lots of practice here.
We had our first snow yesterday so we found the snow gear and headed outside for play time. Indie loved it, but couldn't keep her gloves on so she was done after a bit. The older girls spent a lot of time outside though, which means they may enjoy winter here after all.
When Indie couldn't make the trek back home, the girl stepped in with this innovative solution.
I took this picture from inside, because winter was too cold for me!
Milan thoughtfully made me this snowman because we have the same hair. Lol.
This is the only picture not taken on our property, but Indie and I did get to join Cora for her field trip. We visited a veggie farm and got lots of goodies. Cora spent most of her time searching for a white pumpkin and we found the perfect one on the way out the gate....score!
