Bandon Win Photo

My favorite part is the tip of her tongue hanging out...

Mandy & Henry's Visit

So I didn't actually take many photos at Bandon because I was rather busy. I did get some beach pics, but so did a lot of others. So instead, we had an informal photo shoot in the yard at the new house when we got back.

The handsome Pie-Pie:

Greta, who after going Winner's Bitch both days at Bandon is now up to 6 points!

The elegant Iris:

Sweet and bouncy Hope:

Isabel enjoyed having so many "puppies" to play with this week!

Mandy and Henry and the dogs went home today. Greta will miss having so many playmates.

First House Pics

In no particular order...

Back patio.

Greta helping Isabel torture the small bugs skating on the bird bath water.

View from the front yard looking southwest. The large vacant lot is for sale, but our area has 10 acre minimums so will never be developed. I think the sellers are hoping for a rich California buyer wanting to put in a vineyard.

My kitchen is so sunny in the morning! Please excuse the dated floor and horrible poofy curtains. I love the cabinets! They are Kraftmaid and they rock! All we have to do is replace the cheapy brass knobs and presto! Instant update. We are keeping the appliances that came with the house for now. They're pretty old, but they function quite well. My stove and burners heat up much faster than my old ones. And the fridge is huge compared to the one we had in the manufactured home! Someday I will get all new matching stainless ones, but we will make do for now.

Pool just waiting for a party. Josh figured out how to use the electric skimmer thingy last night and sucked out all the nastiness that had settled on the bottom. I can't wait to try it out. It's supposed to be hot the next couple of days, so maybe will take the first dip one of these evenings before I leave for Bandon.

Koi pond in the middle of the driveway turn around. (Yes, there are actually fish in it!) One of the first things we did was install the wrought iron fence around it. I had horrible visions of Isabel falling into the pond or the dogs drinking from it and getting giardia or something equally nasty.

We Made It!

Barely...

Whew. What a tough couple of days. Been going non stop since Friday. We have almost everything moved now. The only things left are my herb pots, which are temporarily housed at the in-laws, the goats, the pony and Noah, the retired TB.

We spent all day Friday packing the U-Haul. Saturday night we were finally able to get the keys and get into the house. We were up until nearly midnight cleaning the house and carpets. Sunday we had a caravan take the majority of the stuff to the new house. Josh, his parents and a couple of dedicated friends went back down for a second load of big stuff (washer, dryer, freezer, etc.) Sunday night was our first night in the new place. We were too exhausted to even enjoy ourselves. Monday I unpacked while Josh started cleaning up outside. We made a trip to Home Depot and child/dog proofed the house and yard. Monday the roof contractors started putting in the new vents in the attic. Which brings us to today, Tuesday. We headed back to Dallas to pick up odds and ends, do a final walk though of the old house and pick up my horse and the barn cats. We dropped Ari off at her new barn without too much trouble. Now Josh and his parents are in Dundee picking up the order of grass fed, hormone/anti-biotic free beef. The contractors are finished with the roof vents and are now working on remedying the mold. Yee haw!

This is the first 5 minutes I have had in days to sit down and get online. It feels very good to be here, it's just been a long road. We LOVE the new house. It is so light and bright with all the windows. It feels just perfect for us. Isabel's new room is HUGE and she seems to love being here too. She's still a bit stressed and confused, but is adjusting well.

Next is fencing the pasture and filling in all the damn holes the previous owner's dogs dug. Right now the pasture isn't safe for animals.

Sigh.

The "to do" list is getting longer by the minute...

But we are incredibly happy to be here!

Well, they just got back with the meat. Gotta go run and help unload. Will try to post pics later when I find the box the camera is in!

Commence Moving in 3...2...1...

GO!

Well, sort of. The house closed, funded and recorded yesterday (YAY) but the seller won't be out until probably late tomorrow. So after several weeks of packing box after box we are finally loading up. Today we got the shop, barn, canning room and freezer room (minus the freezer itself and contents). We will take the first load up tomorrow evening. Sunday we will get all the house boxes and furniture. Woo hoo!

The horse trailer filled the brim with odds and ends from the shop.

Lacey making sure she doesn't get left behind.

Greta says this moving stuff is boring. Let's PLAY!

Gotcha!

Isabel says, "Oh! Biggie beep beep." (Translation: Damn! That's one big truck!)