Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch . . .

While Aly and Analise were out in the West having fun with family, Chris, Kate, Kylie, and I were trying to get ready for the movers to come and get the things we needed for the new house.  First on the agenda - new couches.

Kate and Kylie LOVED looking for new furniture.  I love  this picture of Kate imitating the Buddha statue. Their favorite was the vibrating massage couch (which we did not get) with built in cup holders.

Once our stuff did arrive, the fun continued (for the kids, that is.)  They loved stuffing each other into boxes and sledding off "box snowdrifts".

Also, Chris created a game for the girls where he would pay them $0.05 for each moving sticker they found and pulled off of the furniture. (Of course Kate had to color coordinate hers with a plate for each.)

Meanwhile, Chris and I were toiling away to make our house and our "stuff" into a home (And a big kudos to Aly who was a HUGE help, and Analise for keeping the young 'uns entertained).  It took 3 weeks, but we finally got a place for everything and everything in its place.  And once it was done it really did start to feel like home and we feel that we will be very comfortable here.  Would you like a tour?  Well, here we go . . .

When you walk into the front door this is what you see.  You can go straight into the kitchen, or up the stairs.

If you turn to the right you will see our 1/2 bath (love the sea turtle picture Chris picked out!), on the left you will see our entry bench/shoe/backpack hangout and into the living room.

Here are the long awaited couches - Chris finally got his Lazy-Boy, and the main couch reclines on the ends too, so we are living in the lap of luxury!

The living room flows into the den.  I love the way this room turned out with the bookshelves and a rug given to Chris in Afghanistan.

Then from the den we flow into the kitchen.  (That's right, people, we're going in a circle).

Ah, the kitchen.  I have affectionately named this kitchen "the human pinball machine."  I don't know if it's just that my previous kitchen was about 3 times the size of this one or what,  but it seems that I can't be in the kitchen with another person without being bumped by the fridge door, a drawer, the dishwasher door or the other person.  I do like the way my apple decor turned out though, and I've managed to fit it all in there, with minor adjustments here and there.

 The other funny thing about this kitchen is that I put the garbage can in the pantry closet because there was really no other place it could go and the kids all had a fit about it.  The conversation went as follows:
Lise - Oh great, now we're "that family."
Me - "that family" what?
Lise - The kind of family where whenever someone comes over they never know where your garbage can is and so they always have to ask you when they want to throw something away.

It was pretty funny.  So now, whenever we do anything differently in this house than we did in our previous house, we're "that family."

Off of the kitchen is the dining room- which has plenty of room.  I love my "secretary desk", which sits in the corner and is where I keep my life organized.  Love it, love it, love it.

Also on the main floor (in the entry hall) is the laundry room.  Now, heading up the stairs . . .

At the top of the stairs you'll find the girls bathroom.

Turning to the right you'll find Aly's room, which, despite fears of it being small, turned out fabulous, if I do say so myself.

Further down the hall you'll find Kate and Kylie's room of pink bliss. Lots of fun to be had in this room.

At the top of the stairs, if you turn left, you will find the master bedroom and bath.  This was one of the last rooms to be unpacked, and let me tell you, I was so happy to get the box clutter out of our room!

Now, heading down to the basement (off the kitchen).  You know how I said the kitchen was small?  Well, at the bottom of the stairs to the left Chris created a pantry/food storage room.  Awesomeness.  We have vowed to try and whittle down some of the canned goods while we live here and restock at our next place so we won't have to move (and unpack) so much of it next time!

At the bottom of the stairs to the right is the kids' domain/game area.

As you can see, they totally love it.

Off of the TV area is the art table which leads out onto the back patio.

Across from the art table is Analise's room.  (Yes, she got the basement room - aka guest room.  Aly gave it up willingly and so far it is working out well.)

Analise always seemed to have a million things hanging off doorknobs everywhere, so I finagled these hooks in her closet for her to hang her stuff on.  I don't know if Analise cared so much, but I. Love. It.

Analise's room also has a bathroom off of it, which she is lucky enough to have to herself, while also sharing it with whoever happens to be in the basement.

And finally, let's not forget about the garage.  Chris did an amazing job getting it all organized and even making room for me to park the minivan in it!

Ooh, and let's not forget the backyard.  Our backyard has tons of amazing trees and all sorts of flowers growing back there which make it gorgeous.  Unfortunately it is on quite a hill and quite a beggar to mow.  Luckily, Aly has found herself up to the challenge and is happy to mow it to save up for the iphone she wants to buy.  Now if we can just keep our poor mower up and running. 

So, hooray for being settled!  We got everything done in just the nick of time - about a week before school started.  After this move Chris and I both decided that we are losing our enthusiasm for moving and hope that we don't have too many more of these before we can "put down some roots."  Meanwhile, we are loving our Kentucky Digs and are going to enjoy this season in our lives.