Visit From Grandpa Lancaster

Dan's dad came down from Calgary for a long weekend trip. The main reason for the visit was so the boys could go to the PGA Golf Tournament. Byron Nelson. We got to play with grandpa too though so it made for a great weekend.

We picked Gramps up at the airport Wednesday afternoon and played in the pool until Dan got home from work. It's so fun having it warm enough to just live in the pool. 

We of course had to do water balloons. Thank you Costco! We've already gone through two boxes! We are water balloon fantastics over here. 

Dan got home from work and we spent the rest of the evening eating and just catching up. 

All the kids slept in June and Kate's room. It actually worked out rather well. It's not something I would want to do on a permanent basis (I'm a firm believer in personal space) but the kids thought it was pretty fun to be having a sleepover together. They didn't go to bed until late at night, including Kate, but they loved it. 

Thursday we played, Dan came home early from work and he took his dad to look at record players. It's been on Dan's list for a while now and it didn't surprise me one bit that he ended up getting one. It's really classy and is going to look great in the new house. We (I should say Dan) has big plans for one of the rooms in our house. We took grandpa to Brahms. June for some reason loves that place! Haha 

Friday we spent the morning doing our chores, cleaning the house and then Dan came home from work. The boys took off for Byron Nelson and the kids and I did our normal thing. 

That evening the boys got home, I went to a Lululemon Warehouse sale and then we spent the rest of the evening chatting and hearing all about golf. 

Saturday Dan and Greg were gone early that morning and spent the entire day at the golf course. The kids and I did our normal thing and waited for Grandpa and Dad to return home. After they got home we headed over to Chick Fil A where they were hosting large vehicles that we could go inside. 

Owen so badly wanted to get close to the cow, but this was as far as he would go. 

June really loves taking pictures and videos. So she asked if she could be in charge of the camera. These were a couple of her shots. 

In the back of the police car 

We ate and then got the kids in baths and ready for bed. We watched the golf footage to see if we could spot Dan and his dad anywhere and we totally did! The company Dan works for has a box and they were sitting at the 17th hole. It was cool! 

Sunday Dan and Greg went to the house and then headed to the airport to get Greg back on a plane. It was a fun trip and we really enjoyed having Dan's dad with us. We enjoy having guests and we can't wait to have more when we can actually fit! Haha

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day sort of turned into a weekend thing for me this year and it was fantastic. 

Friday when I got home from take June to dance, Dan told me to pack a bag and head over to Spa Castle for the night. He had booked me a room and I was to spend the next 24 hours pampering myself. I was at a loss of words. It was truly the most amazing Mother's Day gift I could have asked for. 

I walked into my room and this was apart of the bathroom. I loved this tub. I even took a bath in it because I could. I took a bath and then a shower and then a bath again. It was so great and relaxing. 

I had a half hour facial and then an hour full body massage. I have never felt so melted and relaxed. Every muscle just seemed to unwind and feel at ease. It felt so good. I then spent the rest of the day in the different pools and spa section. 

Once I got all soaked and relaxed to my core, I went back to my room showered in complete silence and just soaked in the alone time. I got hungry later that night and ordered some Sushi and loaded up on snacks and treats for the night. I ate and ate and ate. I watched Netflix until I fell asleep. I woke up the next morning quietly, with no alarms, no one needing me and sadly no one to snuggle. Owen comes into our bed every morning for a snuggle. I dreamt about him that night. He's the one that makes me pull my hair out but he's the one I miss the most. What a weird thing right?  

I then had breakfast and headed back over to the spa for some more relaxation time. I slowly, very very slowly got ready for the day and then got a pedicure. After all the relaxation that I could take I decided to head back home. I headed to the car and this was inside waiting for me. Flowers and delicious treats and my favorite donuts. 

Later that day we got June ready for her Choir performance with DMCO. I didn't perform this semester. I simply was just too busy and couldn't swing it. 

After a nightmare with our babysitter (who isn't our usual and now I know why!) Dan ended up having to miss the performance because literally everyone and their mom was out of town. So I took June and watched her perform. 

We snuck out of the concert early and went to have dinner and ice cream just the two of us. 

Sunday was the usual Mother's Day. I didn't have to lift a finger all day. I'm so grateful for Dan and all he did to make sure that day was special for me. Again, Dan had to stay home from Church that day because Owen and Kate were both sick. So it was just June and I at church. 

After Church we came home and opened Mother's Day gifts. 

I finally got a yoga wheel. I have been wanting one for a while now, so I was really excited to finally get one and put it to use! 

Then Dan told me that June and Owen picked out gifts completely on their own for me. They got me a little bag full of lotions and hand sanitizers. We are obsessed with little bottles of hand sanitizers around here, so no surprise thats what they chose. Then they got me some fun spa stuff from Sephora. I'm excited to put it to use. June told me I could only do it with her though. Haha 

We had a relaxing day, delicious dinner and then early to bed because it was back to real life on Monday. 

I truly appreciate Mother's Day. Pregnancy didn't come easy for us so I'm so extremely blessed to have three healthy beautiful and bright children in my life that call me mom. 

I'm grateful for my own mom. Who still looks out for me, cares so deeply for me and still continues to spoil me rotten. Haha I've got one of the best for sure! 

I'm grateful for my mother in law. Who raised such a strong, beyond smart man. She taught him how to love show compassion and genuinely care for someone. I'm grateful for her example to me and my children! 

There are so many amazing women in my life and whether they are a mother or not I celebrate them on mother's day because of the example they are to me. 

Love you all. 

House Update: More Tile & some Fixtures

I'm not very good at keeping track of where we are at. Can we all agree that building a house is awesome but also the most frustrating and pulling hair process in the world! AH! 

Alright. They finished tiling in the third guest bathroom. I'm freaking in love with the giant tiles. It was one of those things that was a risk and it totally paid off. I love this bathroom more than the master! Haha 

One thing I really like is that our Master bedroom is actually down it's own separate hall way. So no one can actually see into our bedroom without being invited or obviously being outside. Haha. I really like the privacy aspect of it. 

I tried to get pictures of the master bedroom. It's tricky because it's curved. Also- Another thing I love in our house is that every way roof or wall has a unique structure. There are no just square rooms. I love it! I'm also obsessing over all the windows! the more light the better. We also have a separate entrance to the back patio from our room. 

Master Bath. It's also hard getting a picture of the master. 

Into the Shower! 

I'm beyond excited for the master closet. It's pretty much a whole other room. We have fun plans to make this a nice closet! 

Dining Room/ Eat in kitchen. One thing I refused to have was wasted space on a dining room. We would rather have another bedroom than a dinning room that we would use pretty much.... NEVER. So when we could expand out the back and add an eat in kitchen, we took it! 

The playroom. Where I can shut the doors and never see a single toy. Oh I can't wait!!! 

Random picture but this little hall way leads into Kate's room. Don't tell the other kids but her room is my favorite. The roof is such a fun shape and I have some fun decorating plans for her room. 

The railing is stained and trim and all that good stuff is painted. 

Walls are painted and everything is looking so so great! 

They poured our driveway this week along with the sidewalk. We also have a garage door. It's not painted yet, but it's in there! 

Our door is stained and it's looking so great! Sturdy wood door. 

Fixtures are being put in like random toilet paper holders, towel racks, and things like that. Door knobs and so on. 

We may not have a toilet but we have the toilet paper holder 

Kids Bathroom #2 is finishing up. They got the tile laid and cupboards in place. Double sinks are going to be so nice for the kids. 

That's where we are at. We are hoping for a drop date within the next week or two. 

And floors should be coming in soon too! 

Selling Spyglass

What a whirlwind it has been selling our home. More crazy than I truly thought possible. 

We were in Galveston when we received an email from our builders saying our house was going to be done sooner than planned. It's time to get your house on the market. Our Realtor contacted us that Sunday and said get the house ready by Tuesday and Wednesday because we will list it the next weekend. So Dan and I did everything we needed to do to prep the house. Like finishing painting the house and literally scrubbing every piece of grout in our house. We got that house so freaking clean. Now no one was allowed to touch anything for a week! HA 

Our realtor came Tuesday for pictures and the house was listed that Thursday. And oh boy things got crazy! 

We had a half hour notice for showings and we literally  had a showing from 8:30am until 8:30pm. We lived in our car. Truly. It was so crazy and the poor kids. 

We ended up getting an offer within two hours of being listed. It was insane!

We played had lunch and played more at the park. Dan was checking in on more showings. 

Dan took the older two to a movie while Kate took her nap in the car. So while they were at the movie I went and stocked the Open House. It was really weird watching strangers go in and out of our house. 

We ended up with a showing starting at 8:30pm that night, so we went for a long drive and thankfully packed pajamas that we could change the kids into. 

The next morning, we had to be out of the house by 8:30am and again had showings all day. We took the kids to I-Hop for breakfast. 

June ordered mac and cheese and I loved it. I truly love that girl! 

We went to a friends birthday party and then again spent the rest of the day playing at different parks and running errands until we were able to go home. Thankfully we were able to go home at 8pm that night. 

By Sunday we had multiple offers on the house and we weren't as eager to have showings. So we declined any showings before 11am and before we went to church. Well one of those showings STILL SHOWED UP!!! They walked into our house while we were getting the kids ready for church. Thankfully Dan and I were ready so told them to give us a minute to finish packing up our stuff and get out the door. We finished getting ready for church in the back of our car. 

By Sunday evening we had multiple offers and we were ready to make our choice. We were really happy and excited to receive above asking price and now we are under contract. 

Dan went out of town for the week for work so I was dealing with it all. I admit at one point I literally just couldn't take it all and had a bit of a panic attack. It was a looooooong week. Including a new roof. 

We are now in the final stages of closing. We should be closing on the old house in the next week or so. There are things we are having to fix and deal with during inspection, but they are easy fixes and getting them done quick. Once we close we will be doing a lease back for the month of June. 

It's been long. We are so ready to move. Hopefully only 6 more weeks! 

House Update: Cabinets, tile work & Other Odd Stuff

House update time!

Things are moving along. Slowly, but moving at least. The outside is almost done!! Can't wait to get our landscapers out there, get fenced and grass! The brick color turned out fantastic! Exactly what we chose and we couldn't be happier with it. 

The stone and mantel are in. Guys, when you marry a geologist, it isn't just about picking stone. You have to pick the right one. It has to look and feel right. And for the record Dan chose a lot of our stone work. Obviously I loved it too, but he had a say in all this. The mantel will be painted white. 

Little details are starting to be put in. One thing I love about our house is how incredibly high all the ceilings are. Everything feels open and breathable. It's dreamy. 

Walls are textured and will be painted soon. The walls will be gray with white trim. 

We customized a little locker center for backpacks, shoes and coats when the kids get home from school. I was REALLY REALLY worried about this and the placement of it. With our guest downstairs bathroom and then our master closet we had to put this little space closer to the front door. I was so worried that it was going to look weird. But thankfully it's doesn't at all! It's going to be so great to have that little space! Oh and the railings are all in too! Obviously nothing has been painted or stained yet. :) 

I truly love how gigantic this tile is. We really loved it when designing the home and now seeing it in place makes it all that much better. We still have design stone going in on this show and bathroom. This is guest bathroom 3. 

The front door is in but not stained. And our french doors to the room to the right is in the garage. We are hoping they will be placed by next week! 

 These are a bit old pictures. Keep scrolling and you will see the counter tops placed. 

We customized these side spice racks next to the stove. There is one on the other side The stove goes over those drawers. Yeah for not more stove drawers! Maybe it's because ours has been broken for over a year and I can't wait to be done with it!! 

The updated kitchen. So we have shaker cabinets and are still waiting for hardware to be placed. The backsplash is a simple white subway tile with a darker grout color! I can't believe how much the grout color makes a difference. 

Counter tops are gray quarts. We upgraded those from granite. (Again, when you marry a geologist, the stone matters) ;) 

Microwave and oven to the left and pantry in that door. Shelves are in!! Shaker cabinets will be placed under the island. It won't be left just white. 

This is our friend Taylor. He too is a geologist and they were examining all the stone and work in our house. Haha 

Ok so next time we are at the house I've got to do better at getting the Master bed and bath and the upstairs. That is my goal!