CALIFORNIA

With Matt at home fulfilling his handyman duties, Mason, myself and my parents set out for Southern Caly to visit family and attend my cousin Amy's high school graduation.

Mason was pumped about traveling!

and with car seat and "pack pack" we set off for a fun adventure! Mason gets and A+ for airplane travel and I would personally like to hug Steve Jobs for the IPad. Parents should not leave home with out one:)

We arrived fairly late to my Aunt Kelly's house. They greeted us with drinks and chocolate cake..yum! My Aunt Kelly couldn't wait to give my mom her birthday gift. My mom is hard to shop for and this hand made afghan (king size) in my mom's favorite colors was PERFECT!!! She loves it.

The next morning my cousin Kelsie came up so we could meet the newest addition to the family, Miss Abby June. So precious with a fitting middle name after our sweet Grandma June. I think most of us granddaughters plan to use that middle name:)

Mason was smitten with Abby too, which gives me high hopes for the future.

He was in heaven with all these cousins around. Sweet Jenna reading to him.

Cutie pie Owen shared all his fun toys.

And he got to reconnect with his kindred spirit and cousin Karly. She is my cousin Kelsie's oldest. They are only 8 weeks apart and have similar personalities.

Mason was very intrigued by her "toe paint"...he would say "how you paint your toes Karly? I take your color off and put yellow on!"

He found someone who loves olives just as much as he does and "olive hands" talk about memory lane for me and my cousins.

this is how most of the play time went....Mason chased Karly

Karly chased Mason

They would race 

play some ball 

Then Mason would throw a ball at Karly's head and she would slam his fingers in the door:)

They were two little monkeys. A life long friendship forming just like my cousins and I, brings a tear to a mamma's eye....

Lets get back to why we were there:) 

this gorgeous girl was graduating high school! Such a free spirit, kind, loving, and fun soul that I am so proud to call a cousin (photo credit to Katie, I hijacked this from FB:)

Her big sisters were beaming with pride to watch their baby sister walk this path! They even laced her Cons just right!

By the second day Mason was going on energy reserves. Don't you love when grandparents forget what having a 2-year old is like and give him a blue sucker before heading to a 2-hour graduation ceremony? I actually think its a pay back versus memory loss:)

Pure exhaustion written on his face.

I was hoping he would fall asleep in my arms but tight space and lots of people erupted in a meltdown! Mason and I headed to the rental car for the remainder of the ceremony and I left the camera with my Dad. We did hear Amy's name called out over the intercom...WOOT WOOT!

Amy taking those steps towards freedom from High school! Bittersweet!?!? Nah! This girl is ready to take on the world.

Proud Mom watching the last of her girls graduate high school.

The next day we spent getting ready for the big party!

Again Mason was in a state of bliss with all these kids around and family.

My Dad and his two sisters! My Aunt Kelly and Auntie Sue are the best!

The food was great, spending time with family and getting to know Amy's buddies was so much fun! All I can say is look at world there is a cool bunch of kids out there.

Mason lasted a lot longer than I expected but finally crashed around 11:00. I was ready too after three chocolate cake shots! Man those are so tasty!

The last day we were there we just veg'd out and enjoyed each others company.

We sat and talked about great memories of those we love and miss so dearly (the white house in the background was my grandparents, lots of memories there), laughed about family stories, rejoiced about the future, ate yummy chicken enchiladas and drank margaritas....and than right when the yellow cake with chocolate frosting appeared...I got the stomach flu! It was a long night and that darn flu ran its course through the family over the next few days. The flight home was a little challenging and without my parents would have been near impossible!

Thank you family for having us, we are so blessed to call you family! We miss you already and love you more than you know.

Its official

The past month has been hectic. Balance has been hard to find. Getting our house ready to list was quite the task and has made me appreciate Matt even more than I do. He is one sexy handyman.

Throw in some trips (pictures soon), a lot of family functions, jobs, and a TWO YEAR OLD and its a bit of a challenge. BUT we made it, I believe all you can really do is trust in god and as long as you have that the rest will just work out.

We officially listed last Wednesday and it has been quite a learning process for me. I have never sold a home or moved as a child. The market is not great right now but again I just walk in faith because stressing isn't going to sell our home. I do know that our realtor is in our lives for a reason and she is awesome. I thought it would be fun to do some "before" and "after" pictures to show you what a stager can bring to your home...our realtor pays for that as part of her services and I think it is a great marketing tool.

Living/ kitchen area before

Living/kitchen area after

living room before

living room before

living room after

back yard before

back yard after

The back yard can only be credited to Mother Nature and Matt. I think listing in the summer months definitely helps make your home more appealing.

Regretfully, I didn't take befores of the rest of the house but here are the afters.

  When you have kids they slowly start to take over the house with their things and though I am a firm believer that your children have to live in their house, there are so many ways to still maintain your adult home too. We just rearranged some furniture in Mason's room.

I think our basement area is the biggest makeover. This space is small and it became storage central for everything we didn't want to look at upstairs or things we didn't want Mason to destroy. Now it is a play area and my craft area.

The downstairs guestroom and my office. This space is pretty much the same with some sprucing.

We did steal our neighbors idea of decorating our window wells. We attached bamboo siding along the metal and added new rock and an simple pot with reeds.

 Definitely more appealing than looking at corrugated metal.

A simple re-arrangement of our furniture did wonders. She brought over the rug to break up the space (not crazy about the rug, its sheep's wool and CREAM and sheds everywhere) but it does look nice.

Our bedroom looks similar to before. I am embarrassed to admit we do not have a headboard, the stager made this one for us to use. I was surprised when she came to do the consultation that she was ok with the navy blue comforter that Matt has had since college. I loath the look of this cheapo comforter but it is the most comfortable thing ever...I will tell you what saved it. The beautiful quilt that was made by one of my dearest friends (Kai) as a wedding gift. I have put that on our bed everyday since I received it and I love that the stager loved it as much as me. One day "Old blue" will be retired.

The Master bath after. This is all Matt. Yes, our bathroom is outdated but new flooring, sinks and faucets, a new toilet and a complete re-grout to our shower has made it sparkle. Matt spent two full days removing the existing grout and re-grouting and sealing the bath/shower, while Mason and I were in California. He also hand scrapped every tile to removed soap build up. It sparkles!

Our Kitchen is also outdated except the appliances. It is a small space but it is very functional for me. I did a complete reorganization of my cupboards to make it as efficient as possible while we try to sell. Not having my mixer or knives on the counter is a little annoying but I love the clean space.

The curb appeal was fairly easy! Last years hail storm allowed us to get a new roof and exterior paint job. Paired with our normal landscaping upkeep it looks pretty darn nice. We have been actively listed for 4 days and have had 2 showings and lots of "lookie loos." Keeping our fingers crossed and our trust in God that this baby will sell quickly!

BUGS and Mo Bugs

Mason has been learning about Bugs at school which pairs nicely with the season. I am sure they didn't plan that curriculum it just a coincidence!

We have been finding worms when we garden and dig mug. Mason insisted one day that he carry this "sleeping" worm around until it wakes up. He and GG even made up a song about the worm going to worm heaven. He has also been storing worms in his pants, he says they tickle! I am more than disturbed by this and we are seeking counseling immediately:)

So I figured with all this bug talk we should head out to the Butterfly Pavilion to meet Rosie the Trantula!

There are some really cool insects at that place...

and they have butterflies too! Hence the name... 

And this morning we discovered a large miller moth at our doorstep.  Mason and I named him "Mo." I would say "would you like anything Mo!" and Mason would say "Can you hear those birds Mo?" and I would say "Those birds would love to eat some Mo!" 

You get it!

After ten minutes of chatter with Mo I turned my back to water the flowers and Mason got a hold of Mo...holding him by one wing and asking him "if he liked trash trucks!"

Don't worry I saved him and he is now in rehabilitation capsule so he can fly free again.

The end.

Oh except one more thing I do stand up on Friday evening from 8-9 in our living room after a few adult beverages have been consumed. I am usually the only one laughing so please come by to laugh too, I could use the self esteem boost.

ok. The end.

Testosterone

Guess who is here? For the next 6 weeks!

This guy

and his big brother!

And some strange guy sunbathing fully dressed. I think he's British.

Anyways, Keegan, Cormic, and Emily are here for part of the Summer for Emily's internship at Lockheed Martin. Cade had to stay in PA to work:( 

 Mason (and us) were so excited to see them.

And so was Grandma. 

Can you blame her with all these handsome grand boys? 

Cormic is skeptical of my dad, maybe because his dad sounds just like him? 

We had a fun Sunday night catching up. There were a few scuffles, some dirt throwing but mostly just time enjoying family we miss so much....it would have been perfect if Cade would have been here too.

blackberry crumb bars and war stories

Mason and I started our holiday weekend on Friday morning by baking some blackberry crumb bars,

http://www.marthastewart.com/316277/blackberry-crumb-bars  to take over to G and G's house. I add oatmeal to my crumb topping.

Grandpa and I sat on the deck watching Grandma and Mason make mud pies while we enjoyed a piece of the dessert and conversation. These days our conversations revolve primarily around the house but this day we talked about things Grandpa has done in his life. His career and friendships with people like Jimmy Hoffa...politics and our similar beliefs...and than the conversation turned to War. World War II and his days as an Army machine gunner. Repelling down cliffs in the middle of the night with nothing but your rope and gun and taking out the enemy. Or waking up in your trench to find that your buddy is laying dead next to you, his throat slit in the middle of the night. Wondering why God took him and not you?  He shared some fairly disturbing stories with me. The gore didn't affect me. It was sitting there looking at this man who has done so much in his lifetime and still after 67 years he thinks about the affects of war EVERYDAY! The friends who didn't come back and the ones that did.  He left as an innocent 20 year old guy on a ship across the Atlantic and came back forever changed.

It definitely put a spin on my thoughts this memorial day. Gratitude is not a strong enough emotion.