OUTSIDE TIME!!!

The weather has been awesome!!!!!!!!!!!  We have been spending quite alot of time outside!  The pics pretty speak for themselves, so I'll quit writing.....

 OK. Back to writing...... We are at the Bella Vista Trail.  Nat loved to throw rocks in the "Crick down in the hallar"!!!

 Did you know that I HATE Geese!!!! I am total scared of them!! I was almost attacked by one  6-7 years ago and am still traumatized!!!  I know you are dying to know the tale of the "BULLY GOOSE!"  OK. it goes something like this......It was back when I worked at JB Hunt and a co-worker and I were walking on the trail around the corp building after work one evening.  It must have been raining or looked like it was going to rain or something because we had our umbrellas with us.  Anyway....we were walking along the back side of the building and apparently there was a nest close by the walk-path and all the sudden a goose came out of NO WHERE.  It had it's wings flared out and was HISSING!!!!  My co-worker opened her umbrella and this must have made her look bigger to the goose as he moved back and around her and started after me.  I repeated what my co-worker did (opened my umbrella).  But this only seemed to agitate the goose more!! ( apparently geese don't care for leopard print!!)  At this point, the goose took flight (while hissing) and was aimed right for my head.  I ducked and threw my umbrella at the goose (and totally missed it by about a mile!) And started running up the hill (that is covered with vines) while SCREAMING my head off!  The goose circled back around but at that point I must have been far enough away from the mystery nest to be a threat, so it moved on.  I, on the other hand was covered in cuts (the vines had thorns!)....GEEZ!!!!  Have I mentioned I HATE, HATE, HATE geese!!!!!!  .......Let's move on....

 Nat has decided to give soccer a try this fall.  Scott was so happy.  Me, ummm...not so much.  Anyway, our neighbor found a junior league goalie set at a garage sale and brought it over for Nat.  She has yet to actually use the goals for its original purpose.  Instead, she would rather play like her and Elerz are hidden princes locked away in the attic of the castle.  What an imagination!! Oh.... and Elerz is so addicted to Sonic ice, she just loves it!!!

 OK.  These next pics have nothing to do with the outside at all.  I just thought that I would add them because they are just "so Elia Rose!"

Elerz loves my cabinets (hiding in them that is).

 She also LOVES her diaper boxes.  Nat does too when I think about it.  When I come home from

Wal-mart with a box of diapers, they will actually fight over it. (So we currently have TWO empty diaper boxes in the living room right now, it's all about keeping the peace!!!)

WELL.....SO MUCH FOR THE PICTURES SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES!!!!

PTO

OK.  Last night I went to my very first PTO informational meeting.  The elementary school that Natalyn is going to in the fall is currently being built, we are very excited that she will be going to a brand new school.  I saw the layout and it looks awesome.  We can tour the school the end of June!!!  I grew up in a small town -so this whole "new school already at capacity" thang is a new thing for me!!! Natalyn will be 1 of the 160 kindergartners at this school (yes, 8 classes!!!) So....to get back to the point of this post...PTO.... I plan to be UBER(not sure how to spell it?) involved, so PTO is the thing to do right???? I went to the meeting and they are already casting ballots for officers and committee members.  I am not even sure if I can get on the committee for the upcoming year or not?  Apparently,  a nearby elementary in the district has either had a fundraiser or are planning one for the new school, which I think is pretty cool, but also made me realize some of these ladies are "professional PTO members"-I have alot to learn and am a little overwhelmed.  I'm sure there will be more to post about as the summer continues.........

For those of you that don't live in the area, here's the school that Nat will be going to.

HOUSE UPDATE!!!

The house is really coming along.  The sheet rock is up (you obviously can see by the pics!) and the exterior brick is about 75% complete. 

This is the living room.  There will be shelving on one side of the fireplace.  All of this "entertainment area" will be covered in wood and stained when finished--wait!! there will also be small mosaic tile around the actual fireplace. 

 The girls always seem to find something to entertain themselves with at the new house.  They ran across this board the entire time we were there!! I was impressed by Elerz and her "mad balance skills!"  She may be my gymnast!!!!

 Nat ran across the board so fast -she is just a blurrrrrrr......

Here is the front of the house.  I am very pleased with how the brick/stone/trim looks together.  I was very nervous because I found this brick on a house and the stone on another house and the trim/shingles on another one......you get the picture.  My BIGGEST fear was that once all this "stuff" started coming together they would clash or just look gross!  But I love it!!!   Scott found the brick/stone design on a house on the internet, I think he did a great job!!! 

MY COWGIRL!!!

I know I have posted several pics of Natalyn and her infamous red cowgirl boots, but she LOVES them!!!!  And now, thanks to her Papa, she now has a red cowgirl hat to go with the boots.  Did you know that red cowgirl hats and boots are univeral when it comes to accessorizing with any outfit and or event?  Oh yes, cowgirl hats and boots (especially when they are fire-engine red) are not just for the rodeo!!!!  Going to Wal-mart to pick up a few items?  Throw on a red cowgirl hat and boots and you'll look like a professional power-shopper!!!  Headed out in the back yard to play in the sprinkler?  A cowgirl hat and boots make you instantly look "beach-ready!"  Playing dress up?  Well, nothing says "princess" like a red cowgirl hat and boots!  Going to the gym to work-out?  Tennis shoes are so last year, what you need to look super sporty is a red cowgirl hat and boots!!  Below is Nat as we are literally headed to the gym!!!  NICE!!!!!

 Here is Nat at 4W this morning.  I have been working the nursery during bible study for the past few years.  I thought today was the last one until next fall, so I told Natalyn she could wear whatever she wanted, what a surprise when she told me that she wanted to wear her hat & boots. (Nat will be in kindergarten next fall, so this was her last time in the nursery!)  Turns out, that  NEXT week is the last week,  so I will have to save my tears for one more week!!!!

 Look at that pose!!!! Elerz is thinking, "where is my hat and boots?"  She'll have to give Papa a call and let him know how hurt her feelings are!!!!hahaha

VISITING WITH THE COUSINS!!

VISITING WITH THE COUSINS!!

Sunday the girls and I headed to Aunt Cheryl's house for a mini-family reunion.  Our destination was Grove, OK, but on the way I discovered that we were in Southwest City, MO!!  Why do roads have to have 200 different names, but we eventually got there (only 15 min late!)  On the way back, I somehow took a wrong turn and ended up in the Highlands, not Centerton, again another 15-20 minute detour!!!  OH WELL- with every wrong turn we took, we just turned up the music (I don't know why, but Rascal Flats seemed just right for the drive) and sang our hearts out while he headed down the road!!!

My cousin Kelli came in from Shawnee with her two boys, whose b-days are both this month.  I think God has quite the sense of humor to give me (the one that is more of a tom-boy) two girls and Kelli (the one that is more of the fashion diva) two boys.  Kelli and I are only 9 months apart and grew up in the same town, so we spent alot of time together growing up.  I am thankful that our kiddos are close in age, but wished that we lived closer to eachother so the kids could play together more often.

From left to right:  Connor (3 at the end of the month), Jacob (5), Natalyn (5) ,

and Eliana (19 months).

 After playing outside for a few hours, the kiddos enjoyed a little TV time with Uncle Glenny. (thank you so much Uncle Glenny for the bike horns and paints--hours of LOUD and MESSY FUN!!!)

I'M SMILING!!!!

I'M SMILING!!!

OK.  It's amazing how things are going now that a "builder" is actually building our house (what a concept, huh?) and not an "agent"!!!

The exterior is going up correctly so far (except there were a few bricks that had the brand stamp showing outward, but we brought this to the builder's attention and it was fixed by the end of the day!).  I am actually excited to see what the stone work will look like in the next few days. We spoke with our new neighbors last night and there is a half-dead tree right on the property line. We have wanted it down, they haven't.  To make a long story short, they have decided to let our builder go ahead and take the tree down. YEA!!!!!! HAPPY DANCE, HAPPY DANCE, HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!!

 

Here is Nat posing for a pic.  I bet you didn't know that tutu's are the must-have item for construction site fashion this season!! (and shoes on the wrong feet!)  I wonder where Elerz is??

 

Here is the ceiling of our master bath. 

 

And sheet rock going up in the master closet.

Other problems currently being addressed include: the re-do of the laundry room(moving the door from the garage into the laundry room, moving the door from the laundry room into kitchen, relocating the washer/dryer (and all hook-ups/electrical) to another wall of the laundry room, moving the sink in the laundry room, relocating the pantry and adding a storage closet.   Pending projects include: moving a walkway from kitchen to a hallway 3ft so our cabinet/counter space will increase in kitchen.  Waiting for correct back door to be installed.

House or no house?!

HOUSE OR NO HOUSE?!

For all of you that have been keeping up with us on our journey of building a new house, it has been say, less than appealing.  I think I would rather have a root canal or the likes than to EVER build from scratch again.  It just seemed like we were going from one disaster to another and the builder was half present to "left the country" silent.  By Sunday of this last weekend, we were at our wits end!! We finally realized that we were not getting what we were paying for and needed to explore our options.  Scott, being in commerical real estate for almost 12 years, put his experience to practice and notified in writing our builder, the real estate company he works for, and our agent that legal action is necessary at this point.    

Monday evening, the assistant of who we thought was the builder let our agent know that the "builder" was actually the executive broker/agent.  His brother was the actual builder.  This mystery person, whom we have never heard of, never seen, nor had a conversation with was responsible for building our house?   Who signs a contract to build a custom home and never meets with the buyers??  On the other hand, who signs a contract to have a custom home built and never meets with the builder????  The broker is who we have met with from the get-go, at various houses, his office and even on the actual job site.  Bottom line- he was out of line!!!!!

We have a framed house with a dozen or so items that need to be fixed.

SO..........WHAT'S THE SOLUTION????

We have in our possession, a signed contract & addendum signed by both the broker and builder.  So legally, they are contractually liable to "deliver" a house to us under those terms.  If there is a refusal of such, then of course legal action will be necessary.

SOOOOOOOOO...(AGAIN) WHAT'S THE SOLUTION????

Last night we met with the builder ( for the first time!!!) and his custom foreman ( for the first time).  Basically, the builder trusted the broker (did I mention the builder and the broker are brother????geez....) and when a stack of contracts are laid on his desk to sign, he does so...trusting his broker (brother).   We can only assume that he signed the contract and addendum without actually reading them ( again this is only an assumption).

SOOOOOO. ........We (as in us, our agent, the builder, his custom foreman and his assistant) walked through the house room by room and then externally and went step by step with what needs to be repaired/replaced/moved.....etc........He (the builder) has given us his word that this house will be as it was supposed to be originally.......

SO we are currently giving him a chance to correct the wrongs....

I guess time will tell.......

I drove by the house this morning and there were 5 trucks there, hopefully working on the builder's " promises".

I hope tomorrow when I post about the updates on the house I can do so with a happy smile!!!!