Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and soon, Happy 2011! Time really does zoom right by! Gunnar will be turning 20 months in a couple days, and my how he changes and learns something new on a daily basis! Don't get me wrong, it's always been a blast having him around, but lately, his little personality has really been shining!
Thanksgiving was hosted at our house, and it all turned out great. I, of course, rush around making sure everything I can control, IS controlled, and I need to learn to chill out-ha! But all in all, it went over great. It was fun hosting at our house, and we can't wait to do it in the coming years!
The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas went super fast this year, and we had plenty of visitors (which we LOVE) Tom and Cullen were here for Thanksgiving, and then Caitie and Bret (the newly engaged couple!) were here in December. We also had Nathan's work Christmas party in Omaha-that is a blog in and of itself, so stay tuned!
Christmas Eve was held at my parents, just like always, with my Grandma and Grandpa Foreman coming over for supper and opening family gifts! It was a lot of fun, and Gunnar was on overload with everything! He charmed us with his funny faces, pretending to read the Christmas story with Grandma, and showing off his new camo slippers! Nathan, Gunnar, and I went to the kids service earlier at church, to watch the kids perform, while Mom, Dad, Ev, and Julie, went to the candlelight service at 10:30 that night!
Christmas morning was fun with just the 3 of us! Gunnar opened his Santa gifts, and then we rushed off to church! After church we ate lunch at my parents, and then came down to our house! We were having Prime Rib, twice baked potatoes, fresh buns, and corn...a perfect meal in my eyes! :) My parents were invited down for this yummy supper, and we enjoyed hosting them!
Sunday was church, and then the Foreman Christmas over at Schaller! We had everyone home for Thanksgiving, so Christmas was a little more sparse, with half the clan being in Texas!
Since then, work has continued on! I now have 3 homes to clean, along with the Funeral Home, so that keeps me hopping again! Nathan got given (and achieved) a wonderful Christmas bonus from Platinum. It was a nice surprise since neither of us has worked for someone that gives THAT big of bonus out! It was reflected upon his work, so needless to say, I was SO proud of him!

Here's some pictures of what's been going on at the Wagner household....

Gunnar and his chickens! "bakk bakks" as he would say!

Gunnar leading Belle his calf!

The big red barn with Rex and Cheryl

The old country Church across the field from our house, I love seeing that view!

A hard days work, time for milk and cookies! :)

Gunnar and his gifts! Such a smirk on his face!

First day of really playing in the snow!

Moving snow with Daddy!

Time to go to church! Gunnar's adorable Christmas sweater and hat!

The view from our front porch!

We have SO many things to be thankful for during this Holiday season and all year through! Thanks for checking in with us, and don't be afraid to stop in if you're in the area! Happy New Year!

Halloween & 18 Months Old!

My pictures from Halloween were on Mom's nice camera, so I finally got my hands on them! Here's our cute cuddly lion....

 Mike, Katie, & Wyatt (3 months) along with Erica, Nathan, & Gunnar (18 months) Wyatt was a Teddy Bear!

Leaving the house!

 He wasn't quite sure of the whole ordeal, but after seeing the first handful of candy go in his bucket, he was pretty sure he could handle this Halloween business!

 Jade peeking over the door at Gunnar-ha! I absolutely love this picture!

 Of course we always do a corn shock. Even when we lived on the ranch, where there is NO corn, I made some calls to a guy that DID grow a field, and got permission to chop a bunch! So every year we do our corn shock with pumpkins and indian corn!

 Grandma & Papa Andresen came to celebrate Papa's 55th Birthday! What a spook! I made a homemade from scratch (1st time) Flat Apple Pie! Thanks to Pioneer Woman, a blog I follow, and a cookbook that she wrote, it turned out beautiful and yummy! I was SO proud of myself! :)

We had the Modrell family down for supper at our house, and then we loaded the boys up! It was fun getting to go around to certain friends and show the boys off! We didn't get to everyone we wanted to, but next year we know we'll have to leave a lot earlier! All in all it was a fun 1st time trick or treating. Last year Gunnar was only 6 months old and I didn't want to take him out, so this year was our first time taking him!

Another milestone was hit, 18 months! Gunnar had his checkup right after Halloween, and he is weighing in at 25 lbs, and is 35 inches long! A long, skinny, happy, healthy lil' guy! The words he can say now, it just amazes me! This weekend and week has has learned, "John Deere", "Papa", "Ma", "balloon", along with all of the others he knew before! He also usually knows exactly what we are talking about! When we went outside this morning, he started howling and pointing, well it made sense because we had major coyotes yelping not far from us the other night. It was so calm out, we all could hear them, and Gunnar picked up on that! My house usually looks like a tornado hit, and thankfully my husband is nice enough to say that the house looks great every night when he gets home! I am a person that cannot stand things being out of order, so I am constantly picking up behind him, until I realize that Gunnar could careless what me, my house, or anything else, looks like. As long as he's having FUN! SO, I'm working on "letting loose" and having fun, but it's hard!

We now have ALL of our critters at our farm! We helped wean calves a week ago, and had the horses over in the Galva Hills. It's always a challenge because we're so used to the wide open prairie, that the rough hills scare this mama! I hang in there, white knuckling it the whole time! Nathan is always so good about checking in on me, making sure I'm doing okay. Rex was being a bit naughty the other day, but I had the guts to give him an attitude adjustment, and that seemed to solve it, thank goodness! Anyway, after riding on a beautiful afternoon, we brought the trailer down to our house, unloaded everything, including Gunnar's calf, Belle. She is so tiny, a twin at birth, bottle fed, and then showed at the County Fair. She is so tame, and just Gunnar's size! So we have the two girls, Libby and Jade, the two horses, Rex and Cheryl, 9 chickens, and Belle! Every morning Gunnar and I go out and do chores. Since it's gotten cold, it is such a pain to get all bundled, but we're getting a system down. We let the girls out, feed the girls, let the chickens out, get a head count of 9 (because I won't go in the coop if they are sitting on a nest!) gather the eggs, which Gunnar LOVES checking to see if there are any eggs for the day, we feed and water Belle, and then go over to the horses, water and feed the horses, and then put the girls back in their garage! After all of that, which usually takes awhile due to short little legs, mud "aacckk" as Gunnar says, he doesn't enjoy getting all muddy just yet, which is fine by me, we "try" to go inside!But then I either have to carry him, which he is getting heavy, or we have to find a different route away from mud and snow! He hates going in, even when his hands are freezing and his nose is red! I have a feeling we'll be investing in Bibs and mud boots here shortly!  Oh it's so much fun though, I know by the end of winter I'll be ready for spring!

2 weekends ago we traveled to Sioux Falls for Amy Modrell's wedding! It was beautiful, and we stayed in a kick-butt Hilton hotel! We were so impressed, which we should be with the nice price tag! It was a fun time, and I even got to catch up with a gal I went to High School with! She is great at blogging, and I enjoying reading about her two adorable kids! Thanks for the fun time Liz, we will have to do a play date with the kids sometime soon! :)

This last weekend, Rita (Nathan's Mom) and Cullen came to visit. They got here on Friday  night, and left Sunday morning. We had a fun time, and even braved the first snowy weather to go to a craft and vendor fair! It was fun, and I found some neat barn wood trees and snowmen, very original! This coming weekend we're planning on going to Sioux City's big craft fair, it's huge, at least the Spring one was! Everyone said that if we enjoyed the Spring Fair (which we did) that the Fall/Winter one is even better! VERY excited!

Thanksgiving will be held here! I'm very excited, we usually do Thanksgiving, and then go cut our tree down the day after! Nathan's Dad, Tom, and Cullen will be coming, along with Steve, Michelle, and Skye, from TX, and I think the crazies from Cedar Rapids are coming too! I love Thanksgiving, definitely a favorite Holiday of mine!

Warm cider, chocolate chip muffins, and farm fresh eggs are on my counter right now, lots to do, and now that Gunnar is down for a nap, I need to get to it! Thanks for checking in!

Catch up!

 A month later and I am finally posting, ridiculous! In all honesty though, when moving to a new home it does take a lot out of you, even if it is in small moving increments! That being said, we are already past 2 weeks of living at OUR home! Lots of little projects seem to turn into big ones, and the easy stuff turns out to be more work than we think...welcome to owning your own home right?!? It is all worth it, and we've been having fun updating little things here and there. The weather this Fall has been amazing, a perfect harvest season, with phenomenal prices and crops, you can't ask for anything better.

To start off, on October 8th, Nathan and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! The time just keeps flying on by! We got up on Friday the 8th and I was told to "pack and overnight bag, and your shotgun" so I did as I was told! I hadn't had a night away from Gunnar yet, so I was a little nervous to leave him, even though my parents kept him! We got to my parents South corner and Nathan told me that we were headed to Yankton, to go back to where we got engaged at 7 years ago, do some antiquing, and shoot some clays at a sporting clays place. The weather was gorgeous and I couldn't wait to pull into beautiful Yankton, SD. We stopped at 5 antique stores total, I was on a mission to find a set of canisters, to put Flour, Sugar, etc. in, and finally after 4 other places and no luck, this lady in Yankton was so helpful in searching the store for me! To make the day a little more interesting, I learned some Yankton history, due to my husbands brain that is full of history, usually useless history too-ha! Anyway, Yankton was the first town established in SD (I guess??) and I got a Quart Jar out of the first home built in the first town of SD! I know, sort of silly, but I was excited, it now holds Flour in my kitchen! :) We got checked into a King suite at the Holiday Inn Express (we love their beds, pillows, and breakfast!) and then went to eat at the Pizza Ranch-yum! After that we went to the opening show of "Life as we know it" and it was a great great movie! One that we'll be purchasing when it comes out! So a lot a lot of fun was had on our 5th Anniversary, and even though it was only 2 hours away, it was a blast, and a much needed break from every day living! We went back to the dam where we got engaged on Saturday, and watched a record number of people paddle fishing, which made us jealous and wish that we had had tags. Still, it was fun. My camera went dead on Saturday morning, so I'll add the few pics I took! We asked around about finding a sporting clays course, but nothing was too close to go to. We know of one outside of Brookings, but we didn't want to drive any farther just to go shoot, when we can do that any day! So we opted for more antiquing! :)

October 8th 2010-5 year Anniversary!

Having fun at Yankton!

Where we got engaged (paddle fishing on the rocks) 7 years ago!

Today, October 30th, Gunnar turned 18 months! Where did THAT time go to? Feels like I was just in the hospital having him, and here we are, a year and a half later, loving that little guy more than I'd ever guess we would! He makes me laugh with all of his copying sounds, words that he tries to spit out! Combines and tractors are his love, along with the 9 head of chickens we have, the horses and the dogs! He is a definite outdoors man, and we wonder why?? I am getting concerned of what we're going to do this winter, in the sense of wearing the little guy out! He can walk our place over and over and over, he just loves it! The corn around our place is still in the field, and so we go pick a few ears every night for the chickens. He loves walking the rows, and don't worry Great Grandma Belle, I'm teaching him that if he ever gets lost in a corn field, that if he just stays in the same row, he'll eventually come to the end!! :) I always got told that growing up! Tomorrow night Gunnar will be dressed as a LION! He and Wyatt Modrell (Mike and Katie's babe) will be going to a few people's house to show off their costumes and cuteness! Gunnar has been carrying his pumpkin candy bucket around! Hopefully he'll get a few good treats, too bad for him that he can't eat much candy though, because Mom and maybe Dad, will have to help him eat it! It will be a fun time for him, especially at the age he's at!

Well, even though this post was short for an update, we did a lot this month with moving and harvest going on! I tried to help as much as possible, and now we're starting to wean calves. I'm hoping to get to ride with this nice weather, but we'll have to see! Nathan will be starting a new position at work, but only for a fill in of 3 weeks, in the lab. I, of course, cannot wait! It will be a regular, normal 7:30-4:30 position, 5 days a week! I won't know what to do with myself! I'm praying that this position will come open soon, and that Nathan likes the lab so much that he takes it, but there's a lot of "ifs and wishes" in that sentence! Time will tell, and I'm hoping something with better hours opens up soon, even though he's content with his silly schedule!

A Happy 28th Anniversary wish to my wonderful parents on their wonderful day today! Gunnar is 1 1/2, my parents celebrate 28th years together, and Josie (Ev's blonde lab) turns 2 today!!

Happy Halloween to everyone!!

Roadtrip!

Well, back from the weekend...again! Tom left yesterday from spending Wed-Sunday with us. What a fun and productive time we had! My kitchen floor is now done, trim and all, except for in the closet, but who looks there anyway! The floor went from an old dark red tile to light gray square tiles...it looks SO nice! Pictures to come later, when I do a post on the whole house itself! Anyway, we worked outside too. We tore the garden all up, it just needs mowed and tilled and it's ready for winter, but taking all of the posts, woven wire, and other things that were in it, was the hard part! We also worked on cutting down dead limbs, picking up sticks, and opening the trees up so we can have some breathing room! The guys also worked on the corn crib, because a lean-to that was added on years ago, is going to get torn down soon. So lots of good jobs done!
Saturday was the Hawkeye game in Iowa City. Gunnar went to a friend at 5:30 that morning, and we hit the road after dropping him off. It's around a 4 hour drive, so with the rain coming down practically the whole way, it made for a long trip. We parked at Coralville and rode this amazingly huge train (we thought we heard it that it holds up to 1000 people!) which is the Hawkeye Express. It's the only way to go, when going to a game, so we were told! And it worked out great, took us right to the press box, and in we went! After getting to our seats, the rain started....and never stopped :( Luckily, Nathan's uncle Gregg and Aunt Rita had bought ponchos to wear, now if they only made those to go down to your feet, we would've been set! I stayed warm except for my feet, which were sopping (along with everyone elses') and my hands were cold too. The game was a blast, just the environment of a stadium that big, and all the people cheering was awesome! I saw some friends that had great seats, so I got to talk with them for a bit. The Hawks won 45-0 against Ball State, so I'm glad that the score was in our favor, otherwise I can't say it would've been THAT fun to sit in the rain! I was just thankful we didn't have Gunnar! We headed home after the game, and while we ended up taking the l.o.n.g. or (wrong) route home....we all 3 had a fun time talking and enjoyed our road trip! Needless to say, Gunnar was so excited when we went to pick him up that night! I missed my lil' guy that day!

This week we'll concentrate on the house....again. Our furniture will be here soon, and slowly but surely things are coming together. We need to go through the storage unit and see if we can salvage anything else, otherwise after the insurance people look at it, it's getting tossed :( I'll be glad to see it go...out of sight, out of mind.

My parents were in CO for the Modrell wedding, so Mom had her camera, and even if I would've had her nice camera at the game, I couldn't have used it due to the pouring rain! I used Tom's though, it was small enough to fit in my pocket and keep dry, but now, he has the pictures! SO, no pictures for this post, but you can just imagine me wearing a yellow poncho looking like a wet duck standing at the game! :) We'll always have that memory of Tom and Nathan's 1st Hawks game, what a fun time we had, even if it was raining!

Harvest is in the air...combines are a daily site and you can see the farmers itching as they wait for the beans to be ready. After a weekend of rain, I see that this week is in the clear for a sunny and dry forecast! Thank Goodness! This is my favorite time of year, and Gunnar will be getting plenty of time riding in the combine and tractor! We wish everyone a safe harvest, let the busy and bountiful season begin!

A few setbacks...

Well, while we should be moved into our new home, we're not. Where to start....last week we opened our storage unit, the one in town that has our whole life of 8 years in it. Anyway, we go to all the trouble of borrowing a huge enclosed snowmobile trailer from Evan's to-be in laws, start loading our things, and start to notice....M.O.L.D. and lots of it. I handled this very well keep in mind, I stayed calm and cool, but my husband on the other hand, well, he lost it! We started making phone calls. The storage unit guy (who lives across the street) if he was home he could've seen how happy we really were! Insurance was called, and they got back to us. Nothing they could do. Keep in mind this is our brand new mattress which is around $1000, our new couch, another $1000, and our gorgeous bedroom set, $2000. Oh yeah, and the $400 we've paid over the last 8 months to store our things there. So there we sat, sitting in the trailer, just mad, crying, and frustrated. I keep my cool for quite awhile longer than I thought I would, and then finally lost it when I discovered my huge wedding bouquet that Mom had made me 5 years ago for our wedding, was complete mold. It's been a week now, and while we're saving a few things, washing them in bleach and hot water, our tempers are cooling down! Last night we got a phone call from the guy who owns the storage unit and he said to submit a claim with his insurance and see what happens. We pray that we get SOME money, anything will help, with replacing these things. I know everything is materialistic, but it's so hard to see our hard earned money go down the drain. We've been working hard, along with good friends of the family, to get the house painted and updated so that we could move in. I said in a sarcastic voice "HA, look at it this way, we're all moved in!" as tears streamed down my face. Darn humidity and wet summer anyway!

On Friday we took a break from the farm and everyday life and headed to the Spencer fair. I hadn't been there in at least 10 years, maybe more, so Mom and Dad, Gunnar and I went up to it! It was a FUN day, especially seeing Gunnar's eyes light up at the animals! He loved the chicks and baby pigs, and whinnied at the horses in the show ring! It was adorable! Next year we're making it a point that Daddy gets to come with us!

Tomorrow Nathan's Dad will be coming to visit, and on Saturday morning Tom, Nathan, and I will be heading to Iowa City to watch the Hawks play! My parents will be in CO at a wedding, so Gunnar will be going to a friend of the family. They have a 5 year old little guy, and Gunnar gets a big kick out of playing with Colton! Everyone will be busy traveling this weekend, and I hope it's a nice Fall weekend for all the events going on!

Here are some updated Gunnar pictures! He'll be 17 months on September 30th! He has aquired the nickname "Monster" and "Pistol" lately!

This morning he wanted his boots and spurs on! Grandma went to get him out of his crib, and he wasn't going anywhere until those were on his feet with his jammies and milk! He sat this way for quite awhile!

Outside looking at the trees and blowing bubbles!

Some of my favorites...

Thanks for checking in with us!

Patience

Patience. This is something that is so hard for me! I just want moved into our new place SO bad!! We've been working our tails off, and I know that in the end it will be beautiful, it's just the getting there. It's so hard with Gunnar being 16 months, and into everything! We had tons of help this weekend, and without such great people, wouldn't even be this close to moving in! Carpet in the living room is going to be ordered within the next couple days. We talked to the carpet guy and he said the kind we picked out is in stock, so now it's a matter of getting my living room finished painting (mostly just the trim is left) and getting all the sanding clippings, and white texture mud off my floor! We started laying the kitchen tiles this weekend, which I will admit, do love. I didn't think they needed replaced, but now, I just loovee it! Some day when we have our minds and money in line-ha-we'll have our dream kitchen, but for now, our kitchen will be fine! The dining room floor has been a bugger all along. We've spent more time on that, than anything! They are beautiful wood floors, but getting to them has been the impossible part! We'll keep working and sanding them, and maybe, just maybe they'll shine through!

Gunnar is now 16 months-yikes!! He hasn't learned any new words from last month, but has acquired an attitude. If he doesn't want picked up, the teeth go to your hand and he tries to bite, which leads to me disciplining him, which I've come to find out, is NOT easy! Or he'll give me lots and lots of hugs, and while I'm saying "you are so nice Gunnar, Thank-You for the hugs" he'll lift his head up, bring his hand up and threaten to hit me! I know, these are minor issues in life, BUT, in the Wagner world, Gunnar is trying to run the show! So we're learning about being patient and disciplining in our parenting aspect too!

I can't believe it's been one week since Megan's funeral service. I sit back and think of Justin and Lane all of the time. I wonder how being a single dad is treating him, how sleeping at night would be, and seeing all of the constant reminders of Megan, little things such as her hair ties, makeup, clothes, and every little thing is going. I would want to scream, but I'm sure Justin is holding it together, he is so strong. I miss my friend, a lot. Her daily email to me, and the fact that she was always one of the first to comment on new FB pictures. Her status' on FB were always so funny, and controversial at times. She made people think, smile, and giggle on a daily basis. Yep, I sure am missing that girl. I did however get to bring home a Peace Lily from her funeral. I was more than excited to put it at our new home! I also bought a ceramic tile, and put her sticker on that her other friend had made. It's of Megan's horse tattoo that she had, and they put Megan's name and date in the inside, it's very neat. Once we're moved, I'll take a picture of it.

I read another friend's blog about being Thankful for everything that we have. It's so true, and easy to take things for granted. I know last week when Gunnar was being a stinker about wanting me 24/7 and after finding out about Megan, I told Nathan that Gunnar can want his momma all he wants, because Megan won't get to hold her little Lane or tuck him in, like I can with Gunnar.

Hopefully once we're settled, which should be happening in the next 2 weeks (cross your fingers!) I'll be able to update weekly again, with pictures next time too! Enjoy this beautiful fall-like weather, I absolutely love it!

An Angel in Heaven

I lost my very very good friend, Megan Vostad this weekend. Since Saturday at 8:30 am I have been numb and in shock. How could this happen to such a wonderful person? Why did it happen? I just don't understand how God could take her at such a young age of 24, with a 10 month old son, and wonderful husband. Megan always had the perfect thing to say if I was having a bad day. With her positive attitude and contagious smile and laugh, you couldn't help but love her. Life is so hard sometimes, and tomorrow will be even harder. Keep the Vostad family in your prayers, because Lane's mommy is now an angel.

I am missing my friend like crazy, but I know she is watching down from above. RIP Megan, love you girl.

15 months

15 months= almost running, teething all the time, says mama, dada, ball, moo, neigh, woof, meow, this, and shakes his head and finger no!  He knows where his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose all are! Clapping and waving bye-bye are two favs too! I'm sure there's so much more he does that I'm not listing, I'm just in amazement every day of how much he picks up and learns! Gunnar is weighing in at a whopping 23 lbs :) and almost 33 inches long, which translates to tall and skinny! He outgrows jeans fast, and while he's in 18-24 months jeans, his waist is so small that most of his jeans need taken in! I bought some shorts at a friends' garage sale the other day. Her 6 month old can't wear this pair of 9 month shorts, but the 9 month shorts fit 15 month old Gunnar to a T! I had to laugh!
My Mom is so good at taking pictures, so her and Gunnar have photo shoots quite a bit! Here's a few of my favorites...

Ears...

Gunnar at 15 months!

Clapping!

Time to water the flowers...

Little pistol some days! ;)

His sweet little toes...that stink most days! :) This is one of my favorites!

Our closing date got pushed back a week, which I guess is a pretty common thing to happen, even though it sucks! The waiting period is almost done though! On Tuesday, August 10th at 2:00 we'll be closing at our lawyers office! We are SO darn excited, I don't even know what else to think about! To have our OWN home, and a place for our OWN critters, we won't know what to do! After Tuesday, the REAL work begins! In between our house excitement, our good friends, Mike and Katie Modrell, had their baby, Wyatt! A shower is being planned for next Saturday, and it will be so much fun watching our two boys grow up together!

I have much much more to blog about, but with a few hectic days happening, wanted to get a Gunnar update, and pictures!

Gunnar meets Lane, Sadness & Excitement!

We had visitors last weekend! :) Our friends, Megan and Justin Vostad, along with their adorable 9 month old, Lane, came to visit us! They got here on Saturday morning, and left Sunday afternoon. Swimming, playing with toys, eating yummy food and desserts, along with riding horses were just a few of the fun things we did together! We have known the Vostads for 5 years now, have went camping 2 times with them, and now this year, they came to visit us in Iowa! The boys had fun together, the little and BIG boys I should say :)

The boys at breakfast! Touching toes, so cute!

Riding the rocking horse!

Daddies and their boys

Lane's 1st ride! Megan got to ride Rex awhile too!

After they left on Sunday, we had bible class from 6-8 on Sunday night over at Galva. It's been an educational class with Pastor, who is amazing at teaching by the way! This is the church I was baptized in, and have went to my whole life. Gunnar also got baptized here, and we were married in it too, so it only seems natural for Nathan to take instruction to become Lutheran! We can't wait until he is a member of our church!

Wednesday came, and it was a sad sad day :( My parents big chocolate lab, named George, got hit on the highway. He was going over to say Hi to the neighbor who was on his four wheeler across the road, and a pickup didn't see him, hit him going full speed. It was terrible. It's one thing to find out your dog got hit, it's another to see it, and Mom and I saw it. After picking the 130 lb brute of a dog up, and laying him by the tree, Dad and I started digging his grave. He's buried where our German Shepard is buried, and Roger, our neighbor, built a wooden cross for us to put outside. Such a hard couple days without George :(

On the brighter side of things, we have found our acreage!! I've hesitated writing this for SO long now! Since the beginning of May we've known that THIS is THE place that we're going to spend the rest of our lives. It's perfect. 6 acres, the only place on the whole section. It's on a few miles of gravel, and we'll be in our own little world again! We cannot wait! August 2nd is our closing date. The gal who lives there now, has 3 kids, with one being in college. She is so sweet and we have all done this privately, so it's been a learning experience to say the least. Thankfully my husband is patient and good with these sorts of deals, and had taken care of most of it. From talking with our lawyer, to the banker, to FSA, we've been put to the test, with much more paper work and all that fun stuff to come I'm sure! It is an old farmhouse, with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and a large living area and kitchen. It needs work, but that will be the fun part! There is one big barn, corn crib, and 4-5 other small barns. The plan is to start with 10-15 sheep, and build from there. We also have our 10 head of cattle which are with my dads, 2 horses, and 2 dogs. SO, we'll be filling our new place up with our love, and critters! Pictures to come, after Shelley (the gal living there) gets moved to town. I'm sure most of my posts will be about the acreage, since it's a huge step in our life! OH, and we have chickens too! I almost forgot, 7 or 8 chickens! It's so Martha-Stewartish there, with a garden and chickens, and soon to be sheep, along with farm fresh eggs daily! My Aunt who is a master-gardener, is going to help me get the place landscaped as well! So many exciting things! Like I said, pictures to come! No one had seen the place, until the other night, I called Shelley and asked if we could come for a visit. So my parents, along with our good friend, Mike Modrell, got to see the place. The weekend before, Vostads got to visit it, and they were the 1st people we got to show! Wish us luck, I'm sure our stresses are just beginning with all of this "closing" business in the next week!

This post was full of emotion this week! I'm glad people are checking in with us, keep continuing our journey with us!

Always Going

Before I know it another month will get by me and I won't have anything blogged again-ha! The days are longer in the summer, but that also means more time spent outside and less time documenting!

Our 4th was a fun, but tiring one. With family here from Texas, Cedar Rapids, and Pocahontas, that meant many fun family hours spent with them! My aunt and uncle have Skye, who is 3, and she and Gunnar clicked! It was so much fun to see them interact. On Saturday Nathan and I left early, for our dear friend, Andy Korth's funeral. It still feels weird writing that, even though the funeral brought us A LOT of closure. The funeral was in Humphrey, NE, about 20 minutes South of Norfolk, NE in a huge catholic church. I have goose bumps just thinking about it. We left at 6:15 Saturday morning, left Gunnar at home with Grandma and Grandpa, and had ourselves a beautiful drive. We didn't even talk that much, it was weird not having Gunnar, and it was weird going to a good friends' funeral. We said our goodbyes to college friends that attended, and headed back to Iowa around Noon. The wedding was at 4:00, but with me helping in the serving line, and Nathan parking vehicles, we were thankful it was only a mile away, at the Carsten's farm! It was a nice wedding, appropriately themed with John Deere colors, flags, and tractors. Only in Iowa do you see this. We left around 8:30 with a tuckered out little boy, got him to bed, and heard the sound of fireworks outside. At 10:00 the newlyweds shot fireworks off, which was nice for us, a private viewing of some pretty spendy fireworks! We snuggled on the front steps, watching the fireflies and fireworks, while reflecting on the bittersweet day.

Sunday was when all of my Mom's family came to our house. We got all 3 horses out and gave people rides who normally don't ride-ha! We ate ribs, home made ice cream, and entirely WAYY to much snack and junk food! It was a fun day, and once again, we had a tuckered out little boy.

Everyone took off on Monday, except for the Texans, who flew out on Tuesday. Then it's that empty quietness that you have to get used to all over again. I love having family around, jumping in on different conversations, and getting made fun of for things I did when I was little. Another 4th done, which means another summer going quickly!

We've been doing a lot of riding lately, so I told a friend of mine and my Mom's, that if she ever goes riding, to let me know, and I'll jump in with her since I have such a reliable little ranch horse. Well, she emailed me, and started making plans for Thursday night. A friend of hers lives in Sioux City, by Stone State Park, a beautiful park known for their horse trails, camping, etc... So yesterday was the day, I had Rex all saddled, fly sprayed, my camel back water thing ready to go, a sandwich, granola bar, visor, bug spray, first aid kit, cell phone, camera, toilet paper, and whatever else we would need just in case we'd get stranded somewhere-ha-I prepare for the worst situations! :) SO, Jen pulls up, I run down and grab my horse, jump into the trailer and BAM...he stops. Comon' buddy, lets go. We've done this a thousand times, lets go. NOTHING. He stopped short of jumping in the trailer. It's hot, humid, buggy, and I don't have time for this, it was something so easy. Loading in a trailer, once again, we've done this how many times?? I mean to tell you, the thoughts of how I'm going to kill this horse were racing through my head. It's not that he was scared...oh no...he is stubborn. YES, I can hear my husband already, "he's a lot like his owner, hahaha"...whatever. We worked, and beat, and pleaded with this gal darn piece of crap horse (in all honesty he's an amazing lil' ranch horse, been roped off of, lots of experience) but at the time, many many swear words were coming out of my mouth! We tried our hardest with a rope, his lead rope, and many other techniques, but while time is ticking and an hour sneaks by, it's already 5:30! I told Jen to go, called my saving grace, Mike Modrell, and he came down to help me. He whispered something good to Rex, probably went something like "Rex, you better load. You're owner has her own shotgun, and she doesn't miss" haha...No with a lot of work and Mike's techniques, he got him inside my Dad's trailer. Just a long and frustrating afternoon! I'm sure there will be other times to go with Jen, it's just frustrating when something that simple ruins your evening. I owe Mike a nice steak supper for all of his help! :)

Nathan is off this weekend! The guys are busy chopping, and I'm sure once Gunnar is up from his morning nap, he'll be out in one of the tractors too! Nathan will work this week from 6-3, which I love because he's out the door by 5:15ish and home by 4:00ish, so we have plenty of time to do things together. He'll have to work next Saturday until 3:00, but when he gets home, we'll have some visitors! Megan, Justin, and Lane Vostad will be coming to visit for the weekend! Lane was born in October of last year, so the boys are 6 months apart! It will be fun having them visit, and it will be even more fun getting to see little Lane and Gunnar play together!

Gunnar is going like crazy. It usually looks like a tornado has torn through the house! His teeth are still bothering him, but one for sure has popped through, with his gums still being swollen, I'm hoping some more come through. Darn teeth. He's usually the entertainment when we have family or friends over. The other night he showed us how he can walk forward, backwards, and side to side! After everyone laughed, Gunnar started clapping, SO cute! He was 14 months on the 30th, which is hard to believe!! He has figured out how to throw and kick the soccer ball, which was so funny watching him figure it out. He likes to throw the soft baseball around too (which makes Daddy just a little bit proud ;) Everyday is an adventure with Gunnar, he rarely cries, and isn't scared of too many things yet either. I know I need to sit back and relax, there's bound to be more bumps and bruises, especially when you have little boys!

Here's some pictures of all the boys and Gunnar!...

Hanging out with Daddy before going riding

"Unc" holding G before moving cows

Papa on his red horse! :)

Gunnar's turn to ride!

Riding Daddy's horse, Cheryl!

Time to Update!!

Where to start!! It's been a busy summer so far, so my blogging skills have been slacking! In the past month, a lot has happened! We took a road trip on Friday to Pierre, which should've been a walk in park only driving 5.5 hrs vs 10 hrs to Buffalo, but with a busy bodied little boy, I was thankful to make it to Mitchell for a stretch break!! We got some fishing in while Grandpa Tom and Aunt Caitie watched Gunnar. Poor punkie, 4 teeth are trying to come through all at once-boo-so he will go from 7 teeth to 11 teeth, just like that! They are doing a number on his cute attitude, and all he wants is MAMA! It made for an interesting weekend, but we made it through! Saturday night we went to The Outpost for supper, one of our favs and a place I worked at Summer of 2003. Gunnar never slept more than a couple hours at a time-yippee-so that made for a crabby Mama and boy in the mornings, so Sunday we were supposed to go to church in Pierre, but that didn't happen. Instead we visited some friends that have 4 kids, which put me in my place-ha-and showed me that things could be a lot more chaotic than they are! ha ha. Sunday night we hosted a whole bunch of friends at Tom's new home. We grilled, had wonderful summer foods, drinks, and brownies! It was great getting to see all of our friends, and all at once! Gunnar had fun playing with younger kids too, which was fun to see him interact. Sunday night Tom, Cullen, and Nathan went fishing will Caitie, Gunnar, and I stayed home and hung out. It was nice to get to bond with my wonderful sisterinlaw! :)

After a long night of Gunnar not sleeping again, I was more than ready to hit the road on Monday. I decided to check my facebook with lack of anything else to do before Nathan woke up. Needless to say I got the shock of my life, the news of a very sad death, of a very amazing and close friend who was killed in a canoe accident Sunday afternoon. I screamed for Nathan and started crying, not knowing how or why this great person was taken from us. Andy Korth was one of the first people I had met in college. He was my comfort, and always made me laugh. I came to know him so well, and introduced Nathan to him. We all clicked so well, with hunting and fishing trips, and college stories being made often. He was outdoors as much as he could, had trained his dog as well as he could be trained, and lived his life for God. Oh the memories we have of our Andy Korth. His funeral is on Saturday, and in a way, Nathan and I came to the conclusion that we are ready for it, ready for closure. We know Andy is smiling up above, telling everyone to quit crying and start smiling. Amazing and one of a kind guy, that some day, we'll meet again.

On a happier note, my Mom's family is all coming to my parents for the 4th! We'll have my family from Texas, Cedar Rapids, and Pocahontas all here! VERY excited to see everyone, and for everyone to see Gunnar of course too! :) My little cousin Skye, is 3 years old, and I can't wait to see the fun they will have together! On Saturday morning is Andy's funeral in Nebraska, and then Saturday night is our neighbor's wedding, which we are all involved in! SO, a big and busy week is here already!

We've been doing a lot of riding as well! Today we'll be going over to the Hills, west of Galva, to sort and move cattle with the horses. My parents have always used four wheelers, and with us moving back and bringing the two ranch horses, I told everyone that we want Gunnar to grow up riding, so all the work, or most of the work, will be done with the horses. My Dad will have his four wheeler, but Evan, Nathan, and I, will be on horseback. Gunnar will be riding with my Dad until we find him a pony in a couple years. I'm excited to get the horses in some rougher terrain, and to clear my mind for a few hours, along with getting a lot of sun!

I've been slacking on taking pictures as well, so this post won't have any pics to look at! In the coming days we'll be snapping quite a few, so look for those to come!

Take nothing for granted, when someone close to you dies, you look at things in a different light, that's for sure! I've noticed kinder words, more kisses, and lots of "I love yous" between Nathan and I, it definitely shakes you up a bit!

Happy 4th of July, I hope this note finds everyone gearing up for a safe Holiday weekend!
Thanks for checking in!

Outside Fun!!

Gunnar has been loovviinngg being outside, which he should, he IS our child! :) Last Friday he helped us work cattle, and he fit right into the routine. Uncle Evan said "next year he'll be inside the gate helping us sort pairs" ummm...not quite Ev, but good thinking! He has been helping with chores at night as well. The other night he was in his bib overalls and I had to bucket feed a heifer, which meant I put Gunnar on the outside of the cattle but he was hanging onto the gate. All of a sudden the heifers go running over to him and me, thinking he's going to be crying at these maniacs yell, "Gunnar, you're okay, it's okay buddy" and hurry as fast as I can. I come over to the gate, and he is sitting on a cement block, content as can be, with a smile on his face! I think it's safe to say, he's getting along great with the cows! He has been spending a lot of time in his new swing as well, and could probably hang out in there most of the day if we let him!

Gunnar has always loved bath time, and when Nathan is working late and I have to do bath time on my own, I have a little seat I put him in. Anyway, it's worked great until the other night I left the room for a split second to grab his towel, I came back to a little boy STANDING in his seat! I was shocked he could get out that fast! He must've been planning this for a few nights, because it takes some maneuvering to get his legs underneath him! He's such a goofball before and after bath too. He crawls as fast as he can laughing to get away from us, then usually gets so excited that he pees, closes the door to his bedroom on us, plays in the toilet any chance he gets, and drinks out of his empty soap bottle like it is a flask. GOOFY.

He has successfully slept through the night Tuesday-Friday night! Last night we had a family grad party, so our schedule was out of whack by an hour, but still, he didn't do too bad. Anyway, lots of changes going on with our little guy! He makes us smile constantly and I couldn't imagine my life without him!

Here's a few pictures to show you what has been going on in Gunnar's world lately...Enjoy!

                                                             Swinging....

Field work with Uncle Evan...

Bye Mama...I'll be fine!

Being goofy...

Testing his limits once in awhile :)

Our handsome little guy!