We Bought a House!





We finally found a house WE BOTH AGREED ON.  It goes back to the basics of what we originally wanted.  A ranch-style house, 10 acres, on pavement, and close to town.  It was considerably cheaper than everything else we had looked at, but needed some updating.  So, here are the before pictures and demolition has begun!

 

 

My dream front porch.

Side view

Back view

Sunroom

Sunroom

Livingroom.  Will have new flooring, new doors, and a 2-foot higher ceiling.

This wall between the livingroom and kitchen is coming out.

Diningroom will have new flooring and my pantry access will be here.

Kitchen will have new flooring, the cabinets will be re-finished, and new countertops.

Bodey's room will have new flooring and paint.

Love his double closets.

Booker's room - same changes as Bodey's.

Guest bathroom will have new flooring and countertop and I will refinish the cabinets.

Master bedroom will have new flooring, fixtures and paint.

Master bathroom will be totally different.

The hallway laundry closet (left) will become part of the master bath and laundry room will move.

We are finishing the basement that will include a bedroom, bathroom, rec room and living room.  You also can't see it in this picture, but there is a utility garage down there too.

The stairs are currently in the garage and will be moving inside.  This area will be my mudroom.

This is my office.  Part of it will be gone to accommodate moving the stairs inside.

 

Our backyard - to the trees!

Slipping Away....

Our summer vacation is slowly slipping away.  They start school in 5 short weeks already!  THEY start school.  As in, my 71 month old baby starts Kindergarten!!!  Neither of my kids have ever been really clingy or attached to me.  Until, of course, it's time to let go of my baby and let him go to school.  Now, within the last month or so, Bodey has become extremely attached to his mama.  He just loves me and wants me all the time.  We had troubles dropping him off at his church class a few weeks ago.  I fear this is only a preview for dropping him off at the big K.  More times than I can count in a day, Bodey will come up to me and say, "I just love my mama" and close his eyes and pucker up for a big kiss.  Every night he just wants to snuggle with me on the couch.  This is all new to me, and I'm totally soaking it in, but our upcoming separation worries me.  Only time will tell.

Swim team will officially be over Thursday.  Today was prelims to qualify for Championships.  I have been extremely worried for Booker.  Not that he's not good, but he's a first year 7-year old swimming with a lot of 2nd or 3rd year 8-year olds.  And a lot of them!  I thought his chances of qualifying were pretty slim.  And I didn't want to tell him that his little brother qualified for Championships and he didn't.  Today started out with freestyle.  Bodey took 3rd and qualified.  They take the top 12.  Booker swam his tail off and I thought there could be a slight chance he could come in 12th, but he didn't.  That crushed him.  I thought it had ruined his whole day and he was too bummed to try hard in his other events.  But he came around and ended up qualifying in back (11th place) and the 100 IM (5th place).  I couldn't be more happy for him!  And Bodey took 3rd in back and qualified for that as well.  I'm so super proud of how far they've come this year.  I wish they understood how awesome it is to even qualify for Championships, because placing there is going to be tough!  I just keep trying to drill it in their heads that it doesn't matter what place they take, as long as they try their hardest and have fun.  That doesn't go over well for a competitive 1st born, prize-driven, people pleaser though.  :(

For the last 5 weeks of summer, you can find us cooling off at the pool and probably an occasional movie.  Oh, and we get to go to Phoenix at the beginning of August!!!  Then, back in the grind.

Swim Team

Last year, Bodey was an excellent swimmer.  He was 4 years old, very willing to learn, relaxed in the water, and very much a natural.  He could swim freestyle with beautiful little arm motions and a nice kick.  Booker was the complete opposite.  His kick looked like he was riding a bicycle and his arms were all over the place, usually going the wrong direction.  He looked completely uncoordinated and chaotic.  I didn't care though.  I was bound and determined to force them to be strong swimmers and they were doing swim team regardless of their skills.

Fast forward to this summer.  Both boys are now on swim team.  Both are very average swimmers... nothing over the top, but they can hold their own.  However, Booker has now realized that swim team is competitive.  So, now he's trying extremely hard and his hard work is showing.  Bodey?  Well, in true Bodey fashion, he is as good as his efforts will allow him to be.  Bodey is carefree.  He's not competitive in sports.  If he feels like trying, he does very well.  If he doesn't feel like trying, the lifeguards are probably wondering if he'll make it to the wall.  I realize he's only 5 years old, and maturity will come soon enough.

The first swim meet both boys were on the free relay.  When it was Bodey's turn, he jumped in, turned right back around to the wall, and got out crying.  In his defense, the water was extremely cold.  And he says he did a belly flop.  And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of his day.  Booker gave his best effort, and came away saying, "That was a lot of fun!" which was music to my ears.

Yesterday, both of them had their best meet so far.  Booker got to swim the free relay, freestyle, butterfly, backstroke and the 100 IM.  Bodey got to swim the free relay, freestyle, and backstroke.  Booker had been working on his fly all week and wanted me to ask the coach if he could swim it in the meet.  She signed him up, but I noticed he was also signed up for the 100 IM.  I freaked out told the coach it must have been a mistake and that he can't swim that!  But then I learned that another little 7-yr old about the same skill level as Booker was signed up and excited to give it a try.  So Booker decided he wanted to try it too.  I seriously couldn't have been more proud of that kid.  He swam 25 fly, 25 back, 25 breast and 25 free... without stopping!  He took 3rd place, but we later learned they DQ'd him for his flutter kick and doggy paddle in the breaststroke.  Poor kid was crushed.  But now he can't wait for this week of practice to try to take the flutter kick out of his fly and breast kick.  He ended up 4th in fly, and he can't wait to try again! 

Bodey decided he was going to put his game face on yesterday and came away with 2nd place in backstroke!!  And he only missed 1st by 1.5 seconds!  He also took 4th in freestyle... missing 3rd by 1.5 seconds.  So, he is right there and super proud of himself!  Daddy and Nana got to take the morning off work to watch them, and I think they were good luck!

School's Out For Summer!

I can smell the BBQ grills, sunscreen and bug spray.  So what are our big plans for summer?  Well, nothing really.  The boys will have swim team practice M-Th mornings and meets on Fridays until about mid-July.  In the afternoons, you will probably find us in the water, too.  When we aren't swimming, we'll be playing baseball, 4-wheeling, riding bikes, or just hanging out with good friends and family.  And that's what it's all about.

Today was the last day of school.  So I guess I officially have a Kindergartener and a 2nd grader.  I think I just threw up in my mouth a little typing that.  How can it be???

Baseball season is in full swing.  Both boys are playing 8U coach/machine pitch.  The coaches get to choose whether they pitch or use a machine.  Bodey's team uses the machine and Booker's coach pitches.  I see pros and cons to both sides.  If it were the other way around it would be a little better.  The machine is a lot faster, and Bodey struggles.  Booker gets a lot of hits off his coach, but is he falling behind the kids hitting off a machine?  I guess I don't really care either way, they are having fun and learning lots.  Booker has been hitting the ball fairly consistently.  It's awesome to watch and I can see him improving each game already.  Bodey is also improving.  After the first two practices I couldn't believe we put him in baseball.  The kid couldn't hit, catch or throw.  He is getting better at all three.  As a matter of fact, he hit his VERY FIRST BALL tonight!!!!!!!  It was so exciting.  However, I think it caught him as off guard as everyone else.  He just stood there.  Didn't run.  Just looked around.  Personally, I thought it was precious!  And, now he knows he has to run to first base when he hits the ball.

Dusty is currently wrapping up a fishing trip in Montana.  Can't wait for him to bring me home some Walleye and Northern Pike.  That just might be the only vacation the Feezell family sees anytime soon.  I think our first priority this summer should be to find a house.  Then maybe we can get out of Kansas for a break.

Last day at our old house.

We are enjoying living at my parent's old house.  It's nice and peaceful and the boys have plenty to do outside.  We are also only about a 1/4 - 1/2 mile down the road from Dusty's parents.  It's been really nice to hang out with them and let the boys head over there on their bikes or 4-wheelers.  They have also been feeding us a lot.  And.... fixing many a flat tire.  My tires are shot and the gravel roads are taking full advantage of them.  I've had a slow leak in one tire all week.  Then, Monday night when we pulled in the driveway I heard air whizzing.  A different tire was flat.  THEN, tonight, that same tire suffered again; but a different hole!  Needless to say, Booker, Bodey, the donut tire and I are headed to the tire shop in the morning.  It's going to be a long drive going no more than 50mph.

Hope everyone has a wonderful summer!

Smart

Today Bodey asked if he could go Nana and Papa's to get some candy. Dusty told him when we live out there he could ride his 4-wheeler over there and get candy. Then Bodey said, "Well, can we go ride 4-wheelers and test out that idea?"

In the Swing of Things

Life has been busy!  The boys just finished up swimming lessons.  They are still going strong in soccer and baseball started last week.  This is our first year of coach/machine pitch baseball.  It will be fun to see how far they come this season.  There is a lot of room for improvement!  And, last, but not least, they are starting swim team at the end of May.  That will be interesting.  They can basically stay afloat, but I'm not sure they are swim team material.  Time will tell!  My main goal is to get them swimming very well.  We aren't aiming to win meets, but I want them to be strong swimmers so I can take a chill pill when they are around water.  And, so I can sign them up for triathlons in 2014!  :)

Speaking of triathlons, Jen and I just registered for the Kansas 70.3 Half Ironman in June.  As of this moment in time, I'm very excited!  This will definitely push me physically more than anything I've ever done.  It will be 7-8 hours of non-stop activity.  I've been training, but I don't know that I'll ever feel ready.  Especially on the bike.  That stuff is hardcore.  And I've got some work to do.  But my ultimate goal is to finish, and I know I'll make that happen!

The school year is winding down and we are ready for summer vacation!  I can't believe next year I'll have a kindergartener and a 2nd grader.  Doesn't seem possible!

We are still hunting for the "perfect" house.  Does that even exist?  Thank God for my parents.  They are going to let us live at their old house (that is still on the market) until we find something.  Truly a saving grace at this point in time!

We (mostly Bodey) have had a rough week.  Our lizard, Scooby, died Saturday.  We really liked that little guy.  Well, actually he was a girl.  Bodey was extremely upset.  His teacher said he was crying about it and just not himself.  Breaks my heart!  Poor little man.

Well, I better get back to watching The Three Stooges with my boys and their sleepover friend, Cooper.  It's 10:15 and they are still hanging in there, but all appear to be a tad sleepy.  Here's to hoping!

Auto-Mode

Good thing I decided to take time to read Cori's blog, or it could have been 2014 before my next post.  But she reminded me of a milestone in Bodey's life that his slacker mom has not properly documented.  Bodey went to Kindergarten Roundup a couple of weeks ago!  Overall, it was a success and he is very excited to go to a "real" school this fall.  May 3rd, he will be graduating from preschool, while Booker finishes up college.  Or so it seems.  It is all going way too fast for this mom.

We have been super busy with swimming lessons, soccer, and now baseball has been added to the mix.  But the most time consuming event lately is that we sold our house!

Last fall, Dusty and I decided that we'd like to find a house on a little bit of land.  That way my boys can go outside and be cray-cray all day long if they want.  We currently live in a subdivision.  I can honestly say it has been the best place for us to have lived for the past 8 years.  God hand-picked our house for us.  It was Dusty and my first house.  It was the house that we brought our first baby home to, followed by baby #2!  It is where our kids 1st Day of Daycare, 1st Day of Preschool, 1st Day of Kindergarten & 1st Grade pictures have been taken.  There are so many memories that have been made here!  But equally as important, without living in this very house, I probably wouldn't have met my best friends.  If we wouldn't have moved to Basehor, I probably wouldn't have taken a job in KCK.  But it was the shortest commute, so I did.  And I met Kim and Melissa!  And right down the street from this house lives someone so very close to my heart.  She is the ONLY reason I am dreading this move.  I've been lucky enough to live just houses away from my best friend, Cori.  That's a pretty special thing.  Our kids have grown extremely close.  Well, probably to the point where they think they are siblings instead of friends.  I truly do consider them family.  However, I have to remind myself that just because we don't live houses away from each other, doesn't mean we aren't best friends and won't see each other anymore.  To prove this, in comes Jen.  If I hadn't have moved into my neighborhood and met Cori, I would have never met my other best friend, Jen.  Now, Jen doesn't live in the same 'hood as me, but we are still extremely close.  I still see her on an (almost) daily basis and love her to death.  Wow, long story short and as un-sappy as I can be, my life is better because of this house.

I've been praying about his move since December.  Is it right for us?  Is it the right time?  Dusty and I aren't really "subdivision" type people.  But maybe our kids are?  Will God give us the red light if we are making a mistake?  Will He give us green if we are in line with His plan?

A couple of weeks ago, we were finally ready to put the house on the market.  I warned my neighbor of our plans, just so she wouldn't find out by seeing a sign in our yard.  That was on a Thursday.  That Saturday, one of her friends came to our house twice, and bought it.  4 days before we listed it.  We never thought it would be that easy, and expected to go through the agony of keeping the house "show" ready month after month.  We also thought we would have time to find something we like to move into.  No such luck yet.  But, it is a good problem to have, because our biggest hurdle of selling the house is behind us.  For the short-term, we are going to move to my parents old house and keep searching.  It's been stressful, but exciting at the same time.  We are excited to see what doors are opened for us in our future!  God knew why we moved into this house, I wonder what he has in store for us next!