The National Railroad Museum

On Sunday, July 22, we decided that we should go to The National Railroad Museum one more time. If you recall from the last post I did about this museum, I had a Groupon that was for a year long membership. So, I really wanted to let Garytt ride the train again before leaving Wisconsin.

I don't have nearly as many photos this time, because, really most of the trains are the same. But we did get a few photos while riding the train.







When we went inside the museum, we managed to get a picture of the boys sitting in one of the train cars.



Then someone offered to take a group shot of us, which by some miracle, no one is crying!



In the background of that picture is the Eisenhower train, which will be leaving Green Bay shortly and heading to England for some repairs and will return in 18 months. Apparently, they will be doing a Discovery Channel piece about how they move the trains.

Anyhow, we had a nice afternoon in Green Bay. And I'm sad we won't be able to utilize the membership for the rest of the year. It is a fun place to go!

Snapshots

So, as always, I have a collection of some random photos that I thought I would share.

We often have Westyn in the Bumbo chair on the kitchen island while we are fixing dinner or cleaning up the kitchen. One day he was apparently so tired that he totally fell asleep in the chair. It didn't look at all comfortable but he was totally out!





The sleeping theme continues in these photos. You will also notice that Garytt is wearing his hat so low that he has to crane his neck back in order to see his cartoon...he's already too cool for me!





Westyn does actually spend a lot of time being awake too. He spends a lot of time rolling around on the floor. Recently, we have been trying to get Garytt to show Westyn how to crawl. It's pretty funny because Garytt will crawl and then yell Westyn's name, as if to say, "Why won't you crawl too?" Anyhow, these are some pictures from one of those mornings but it is hard to tell that is what is going on.







Back in June, Garytt was learning all about weather. When we discussed wind, I read about a project where you water down paint and then have them blow the paint like the wind blows. Garytt really enjoyed the painting and he really tried to blow the paint with a straw...but he either wouldn't put the straw up to his lips or wouldn't get close enough to the paper for it to work. We had fun anyway! Westyn doesn't look that impressed.

Bath Time!

We have started to bathe the boys together recently. It is easier this way, especially since many evenings Justin has the task of getting both boys ready for bed while I work. I usually just take a short break from work to join them for book, prayers, and bed. So, Justin decided to start using the Bumbo in the bath tub to help Westyn sit. Who knew the Bumbo was so multifunctional?














I also came upon some bath time photos of both boys from May. I love Westyn's hair in these photos! And I honestly don't remember what Garytt was doing...maybe playing peek-a-boo?











Both the boys really love bath time!

Marble Park Pond

We planned a playdate with Becky and Kaitlin shortly after we returned from Kansas. We went to a local park that has a beach-like pond. I have actually never seen anything quite like it...they even have the big beach umbrellas for shade...but it's a pond.



At first, Garytt didn't so much want to get his feet "dirty" in the wet sand or the pond. But it didn't take long before he was having a good time! The bad thing is he constantly wants to throw sand...so it was a struggle the whole time we were there to get him to just pick up the sand and drop it instead of throw it. Oh well...it was fun!









Westyn split his time between the shade of the big umbrella and some time in the water with Miss Becky.











It was so great to spend the afternoon with them! I know we don't have much more time to hang out and we will truly miss them!

House for Sale!

What most people didn't know is that while we were back in Kansas for my sister's wedding, Justin actually had an interview at The University of Missouri in Columbia. Columbia is about three hours from my parents' house, so it wasn't terribly far for him to go to the interview during all the pre-wedding craziness.

Pretty much as soon as we arrived back in Wisconsin, Justin received the phone call with an offer to work at Mizzou. Of course he accepted it! Not only is it a promotion for him but it is closer to family as well.

I have to say that I have been to one Texas A&M game at Mizzou while we lived in Kansas. The Mizzou fans pretty much only have one cheer...one half of the stadium says M-I-Z then the other half says Z-O-U. They do this the ENTIRE game...it was really pretty annoying...but here we are trying to embrace the Mizzou Tigers and teaching Garytt to join in...although we will always bleed Maroon!



While we are very excited for the move, we didn't really have much time to celebrate and let it sink in because we had to get thing coordinated for a move that would take place in about two and a half weeks! We are moving Aug 1 and Justin starts his new job Aug 6.

We already had a handy man lined up to come in and finish some trim work. So, he came in the week we got back into town. Then we scheduled a real estate agent to come over and list the property. I also had to coordinate a moving company and a few million other details (which I am still working on).

But the house is officially listed on the market. So, I thought I would show some photos of our house as it is now that most of the remodeling is done...there are a few projects we didn't get to, naturally.































Many of these rooms have been highlighted along our remodeling journey. But we have made some changes more recently that I hadn't had the chance to blog yet. We have new carpet on the stairs and the hallway and we now have vinyl in the bathroom instead of carpet (which was so incredibly strange!).

Here are a few pictures just for comparison from when we bought the house 17 months ago. I think the biggest change was the bathroom by far!



















I have to say that I think we turned a dark and dated interior into a much more modern and attractive home to live in (of course, I'm pretty biased I guess) in such a short time! And, honestly, I love this house! I love the old craftsman style charm with the modern touches we have added. I love that it is a solid house that when Main Street flooded while we were back in Kansas, our basement stayed totally dry! I love that there is a ton of space for the price we paid. I love that it is just blocks from downtown. I just really love this house!

And apparently, all of our hard work really paid off! I can't believe that I am about to write this...WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!

That's right, we signed the listing papers on Saturday 7/14. They had different people on the team coming in to take measurements, pictures, etc throughout the week. And, apparently, on Thursdays the sign guy goes around to put up the signs (the signs are seriously solid around here...not the little signs we are used to in Kansas).

Thursday, July 19, they had the real estate agent tour at 8:30am. One of the agents approached me and asked if she could bring her client back later that morning. We had an offer by 3:30 that afternoon! (By the way, the sign guy came by at 4pm...so we had a contract before we had a sign in the yard!) There was a small contingency though..the buyer's husband was out of town and would have to approve when he arrived back in town.

The husband came by on Monday, 7/19 and approved! They don't want inspections of any kind and they don't have to sell a house to buy this house! WHAT?! All I can say is this is a blessing beyond anything I could imagine!

So, to recap, our house sold before the sign was in the yard, before there were really decent pictures up online, and they don't want to even have the place inspected! We close on Aug 24 (or before if the bank gets the appraisal done faster). WHOOP! (Oh right, we are supposed to be embracing our Tiger within...oops.)