Vacation!

Over the past week, Joshua and I found ourselves riding in the car on our way to Wisconsin for our annual vacation to visit his grandparents.  Following our arrival on Friday, we had the best seven days of weather ever, low-to-mid 80s and sunny nearly every minute.  Usually we have one or two rainy days which we use for side trips to Duluth or Hayward, but not so this year.  Every day was spent on the beach and boat and visiting with family.  Here are some picture highlights.  (Yes, I did let my pregnant belly hang out with no shame.  Guess what, tan bellies are much more attractive than white ones!)  

Last Friday, we said our goodbyes and traveled to Milwaukee.  Joshua's cousin's bachelor party was scheduled for Friday and Saturday.  Trying to entertain myself for two days in a strange city wasn't appealing.  Lucky for me, Dad is always up for a road trip.  We met up and spent Friday evening and Saturday all day exploring Milwaukee.  The Harley Davidson Museum was a hit.  We stumbled upon a croquet club.  We took a trolley tour of downtown, and we explored the lakefront, taking in all of the yachts and sailboats.  What a fun weekend!    

Joshua and I made it home late Saturday night, Sunday morning, really.  After sleeping in, we got some chores done around the house.  Things are finally starting to feel settled here in Monticello.

Monday morning we were back in the car to Peoria to close on the house.  Things went smoothly at the closing table.  We received two calls from the buyers throughout the day with questions on the washing machine and hose spigot, but haven't heard from them since.  That chapter is officially closed, which is a bittersweet feeling.  What a relief to be done with that mortgage and maintenance.  How nostalgic I feel for the days when our house was the hub of fun social gatherings with family and friends.  How grateful we feel to have lived in such a lovely home for three years while coming out ahead of renting, with lots learned in the process.  

Now that the housing saga is over, with all loose ends tied up, I'm excited to be able to relax and get ready for this baby.  We had our first appointment in Champaign today.  The car seat, stroller, and mattress are ordered.  Dad has addressed the crib safety issues.  (We're using the crib that Shaun, Kati, and I were in as babies, and safety standards seem to have changed in the past 25 years.)  Mom found an adorable vintage dresser at an auction and has it painted and ready to go.  She also spent countless hours working on an alphabet letter project that will be revealed later.  I have fabric galore to work on curtains and other finishing touches, projects for this week.  Time to get this nursery done up!  

Getting Started with 4013

I'm sure you've all been wondering about the new house in Monticello.  Well, here were are.

Friday's move went fairly smoothly, despite the 97 degree weather, and as of today, all the boxes for the main floor and bedrooms are unpacked.  

I'm realizing that in all the updates about the Peoria house, the Monticello house has been quite neglected on this blog.  Right now it's a lovely 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home that fits us very well.  My favorite feature has to be the pond and woods view out the back (picture to come at some point).  No more neighbors' neglected gardens and awful wind chimes!  

Although we're settling in quite nicely, things are going to be out of place for a while.  The basement "man cave" is unfinished, which will be a project for this fall/winter.  Until then, all of the nerd stuff (and there's a lot of it!) has taken over the living room and dining room.  I'm talking about a giant sectional couch, shelves of cards and Blu rays galore, and pirate Lego ships.  Oh well, how spoiled are we that Joshua and I have become accustomed to having our own floors of a house?  We will learn to hang out together :0)

So far in our new house, we've had plenty of visitors over to check it out.  We're actually only a five minute walk from Joshua's Dad's house.  Polly and the kids were over the other day to check it out.  Mom and Dad haven't had a chance to make the trip down yet.  They've been too busy helping me clean out the house in Peoria.  They're the best!

The plan for the next two weeks?  

-Leaving for our annual Wisconsin trip this afternoon

-Closing on the house in Peoria the day after we return on the 16th

-Finally feeling settled once all of this house business is finished