Breaking Ground!

There goes Aden running on the new house site. He loves to run. No wonder he complains about his legs hurting!

Dad climbed up on the stump of the tree that was in the way. Aden was all about getting up there. Maybe you can tell from Andrew's face he was not so enthusiastic. He warmed up to the whole idea, eventually.

View from the 'front' side, looking toward the highway.

Day one.

The view of the orchard. All but one tree has leaves. I think I might have bought one dead peach tree.

We were so glad to have a visit from Nanna, Cousin Rose, Aunt Kathleen, Sarah and Ian! They all loved Easter Egg hunting. It was a fast, fun-filled weekend. Thanks for coming!

What is it about the Gabli boys passing out on their plates?! Food comas possibly.

When I download my pictures there are always some lovely additions from my household photographers. This 'self-portrait' of Andrew made me laugh out loud when I saw it! Silly kid. Hopefully more exciting home building updates soon...

Come on Spring!

Hi all. I was so proud of my 100th post that I guess I took January off. Things are staying busy. We have power in the ground for the house, the actual building is here, the septic is approved by the county and we have a general well location. Now we are ready for some action. Of course the minute that we start digging the foundation the rains will pour.

The boys are growing up so fast and getting so involved with everything. They are mostly having fun at school and behaving themselves. Charlie is also going to school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings as well. He loves getting to be a big boy like brothers.

Aden and Andrew have been having playdates with Alec from school and that has been a lot of fun for all of us.

Charlie is so busy being one of the big guys that he likes to go pee on the potty. Check this out. He won't do it consistently, but hey! I'll take what I get!

100th Post

I cannot believe that I have 100 posts! Well yay for me (-:

As I promised here are some farm pics.

A bit of the fence and the gate to our farm.

The building is actually an old house- built around 1900 I think.

Our home away from home. The boys love to go stay the night.

A picture from the summer. The green is pretty- but they are mostly blackberry brambles- ouch! And what a fixer-upper! (-:

Big Update

Well my goal of posting 2 times a month has gotten destroyed. My back-up goal of once a month- forget it. So here is the very late very newsy update. We are now officially North Carolinians. We purchased 40 acres to build our farm and home on in August. We also went to Grandma and Grandpa's for the entire month of August and worked on packing up the Kansas house and working very hard to get it sold. Well it finally worked. We closed on the sale of the house the first week of November. In the meantime we have been busy building fence and bush hogging away on the 'farm'. We are staying weekends in our RV so we can get up and get to work on Saturday and Sunday. The boys love the creek and playing in the dirt, sand and mud. Next is the building of a new home. This should be very interesting!

Here are some random pics of the last few months.

The boys playing together in the garage, pretending to be going somewhere.

Pirate birthday party! Four years old on the 27th of September. So much fun with Rose, Nana, Joe, Alex, Elizabeth and Abbi. Thanks for coming!!!

Having a blast at the 'new zoo' riding some dinosaurs.

At the 8 28 Restoring Honor Rally

The boys on the lawn at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Silly Charlie with a spoon.

The Wii players.

Sporting some glam looks to celebrate Sherill's birthday.

Next time.... some farm pictures!!

Summer Fun in Michigan

We had a quick fun trip to Michigan and got to celebrate Ian and Sarah's birthdays. Uncle Joe helped the boys each catch a fish and Aden got an adventurous boat ride.

All the Gabli cousins showing off their tootsies.

Happy Charlie and Daddy.

Andrew loves cake. Aunt Kathleen cuts him just the right piece.

Andrew and his sparkler.

Aden and his sparkler.

Charlie has a toothy grin!

Aden enjoying some delicious corn!

Happy First Birthday Charlie!

Well we made it a year! Charlie is one now. Dr. measurements are 31.5"and 27 lbs 7 oz. The birthday boy got to have a party at Nana's lake with super-special duck cake and a party at home with his brothers. Fun fun fun!

More fishing pictures.

Charlie likes him some birthday cake.

The boys playing toys on Charlie's first birthday.

What a face.

Well, it is definitely summer-time in NC. The boys are loving getting to go to the YMCA waterpark and are starting swimming lessons on Monday. Summer is going to be busy!

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We're Back!

Well- I had better hurry and get a quick post in before Charlie turns one tomorrow! It has been a hectic time since Easter and lots going on. Our one week trip to Oklahoma turned into a one month trip. After much updating and supervising we have the house in Rose Hill on the market now. Now let's see if we can sell it!

Now for some video. Easter at Grandma and Grandpa Newton's was a lot of fun. Big hugs to all our big cousins for hiding eggs for us. Andrew and Aden are now hard-core egg hunters. Here's the proof!

For Memorial Day weekend we took a quick trip to Nana's for some fun on the lake. The boys had a blast. Daddy took them fishing and they got an adventurous boat ride from cousin Alex.

We had a really great time! So fun to spend time with our Michigan cousins.

Rub a Dub Dub

Here are the three boys in the tub. Charlie's having a big boy bath with his brothers!

Charlie showing off his svelte figure.

Aden blowing some bubbles and rocking his cowboys boots.

Aden and Andrew in the helicopter at the NC zoo.

The big boys playing at the Kernersville Chick-Fil-A.

Charlie LOVES his Daddy.

Our sweet Charlie.

And last here is a little video of Charlie yelling 'hi' to everyone. He is going to be one loud kid!

Charlie is getting pretty good at crawling too. I will try to post a video in the next week. I know I missed all of February, but I will try to make up for it.

Charlie Rides

Here is another quick video of Charlie, 'riding' his car he got from U. Randall and A. Sandy. He wants to go so bad!

Christmas Fun and More

Well, we survived Christmas. We got to spend a very fun and special Christmas morning in North Carolina with the boys. It was definitely one of my best Christmases ever. So fun with all the anticipation and excitement. They were thrilled with every single thing. We put out milk and cookies for Santa, hung our stockings on the staircase and sprinkled magic reindeer food in the yard. Aden and Andrew must have been very good to get MONSTER trucks from Santa Claus. Andrew's 'faborite' is the Pirate's Treasure chest, chock full of teeny tiny pieces.

The day after Christmas we drove up to Michigan for a week. It was good getting to see everyone up there, but we hated the way we all got sick! (except for Charlie)! Sadly being sick seemed to dominate our time up there, BUT we got to go ice fishing anyway. Thanks Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Joe for an unforgettable experience. Here's what I learned: you really need a shelter and a heater! WOW was it cold on the lake. Andrew couldn't get enough, but I finally convinced him to stop fishing and get in out of the 20 degrees and wind. And if you are wondering this is after our stomach bug bout.

Happy Charlie- ready to eat at Nana's

Nana and the boys

Andrew was a little disappointed that they didn't actually catch a fish.

Gabli Cousins - We missed you Grace!

Nana and Charlie

Happy after a bath.

Alex on the lake. Brrrrrr!

After we got back from Michigan, we finally made good on the promised trip to Chuck E. Cheese's for going 2 weeks without a potty accident. Good times. Aden and Andrew loved every minute of it. Well, right up until we had to leave...

Andrew is all business shooting peanuts into the animal's mouths.

Charlie had fun too!

Aden driving a MONSTER truck at Chuck E. Cheese's.

We managed to get a nice day here and went out to the 'new zoo'. Andrew and Aden love taking pictures. This is so cute how Andrew got his reflection while photographing the meerkat.

Best Buddies (at least for the moment!)

We have gotten back into the swing of things at home, but there is a bit of a Christmas 'hangover'. It is a never ending battle of organization and new challenges. It is a wonderful adventure and we are lucky to be in it!

I'll leave you with Charlie sending out kisses to all.