the washroom

This half bath is right off the kitchen. I decided on a bird theme for it...Julene, you like?! :)

the family room

This is the family room, and it is right off the kitchen. We still have some decorating to do. We want to eventually get two of these shelves to put on either side of the couch. And we are looking for some big picture to put above the fireplace...just haven't found the right thing yet.

On the very left side of this photo you can see a door (well, part of it!) and that leads outside to the deck and backyard. More photos of that later.

the kitchen

Many of you have been asking for pictures of our new home. It isn't ours (we are renting) but we are starting to feel quite at home here!

After we moved in, we found out the previous tenants had used the house as a meth lab...awesome. So in came new carpets (yay!) and Shaun then painted every single wall from an ugly plum/tan color to a nice neutral tan. If this had been our own house we would've been a bit more creative with the colors but this way we kept the landlord happy! :)

So, here's the kitchen...

We just got this table from my brother...it will have a reconstruction of it's own one of these days. I will post pictures of the final product! :)

If you look closely out the window you can see the best neighbors ever (aka the park!)

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures from more of the house!

just cause

I tried writing a blog post last night...but the photos I wanted to put up wouldn't load for some reason.

So instead of a long blog post of pictures today, you get this.


Happy May Long Weekend!!!

my oma

Maria Goetz Friesen
August 7, 1917 - May 18, 2011

Mother of nine, grandma of 27, and great-grandma of 53.

Now safely in the arms of her Savior...
and reunited with her husband, parents, and daughter Helen.

We will miss you...but we will see you on the other side!

more last days in colorado...

I just downloaded pics from our other camera and found all these gems...

One of my favorite signs in downtown Durango...

Nat and her buddy Owen, who is 6 years old. He is a lot bigger then her but here he looks like a GIANT beside her (or, maybe she just looks super tiny!)

Our friend Terri invited us over for pizza our last week in Durango...here's Ani, Nat, and Kalyn.

Terri & I...

And...our last breakfast at Carver's...literally the. best. breakfast. ever...
Our friends Phil & Megan, and their kids Taeya & Brecken (who we knew from California, and who had moved to Durango only a month before we left!) joined us our last morning at Carvers!

One last dinner out at Steamworks with Andy, Sherie, and Austin...

And lastly, our friends Phil & Megan were SO very gracious to let us stay with them our last two nights in Durango. Our house had already been packed up and they let us stay with them. Megan also watched our kids for us while we were packing up our house and cleaning - seriously it was SUCH a blessing to us! Thank you Megan - you are a great friend and I so wish we had had more time together in Durango.

Natalie, Landon, & Taeya having fun swimming in the tub together...

natalie's 5th birthday!!!

On April 1st (only two days after moving into our new house!) we celebrated Natalie's birthday!

We sure love our sweet girl. She is SUCH a girl...loves dresses, princesses, dancing, imagining, and is so full of wonder. Sometimes I find myself rolling my eyes at her emotional-ness and her dramatic nature, but then I catch myself and just want her to stay this innocent forever. She really has a very sweet heart. Must be why we call her our "sweetheart."

We sure do love you Natalie Ryan!!!

Our five year old...when did time go so fast?!

Opening gifts...thanks Gramma & Grumpa for the scooter!

Daddy reading her her birthday card...

In the evening we went to my parents for dinner, where she opened more gifts and had cupcakes with Oma and her then "special friend" (now fiance!)

And a song that has been ringing in my head for Natalie these last few months...

saying goodbye to colorado...

The last weeks in Colorado all seem a blur now...of packing, organizing, throwing out junk, having a garage sale, and saying goodbye to friends. It was so entirely stressful for me, and at the same time we were dealing with saying goodbye to great friends (again).

Here's Nat and her buddy Austin...

Organizing the kids toys...we got rid of a lot, thankfully!

We sold our Xterra - hooray!

Last dinner out with Matt & Kara...

Can't you tell we were excited about our double date? Ha!

Dinner out with friends...I sure do miss these girls!

Cuddles with Allison...seriously, Koen doesn't even cuddle with me like this!

kids colorado birthday party

We decided to do a joint birthday party for Natalie and Landon while we were still in Colorado. So, on Landon's birthday (the 17th of March) we had our friends over to celebrate with us!

My Mom had flown in for a few days to help me pack. She was more then willing to help out with the party preparations!

A pink princess castle cake = can life get any more perfect for an almost 5 year old?

Landon's Mickey themed cupcakes...

Playing with his new tractor from Mimi & Papa!

Let's get this party started!

Yummy food...

Opening gifts...

A rare family shot...

Nat & Ani...

Nat & Anya...

Nat & Taeya...

Caleb & Nat...

Nat & her Mimi...

My girl...

Landon & his Mimi...

It was great having one last shebang before we moved. :)