MUD!!!

I woke up this morning not feeling well. Dylan cooked a great breakfast then said he'd take the boys to help him do a few things around the farm so I could rest! Of corse I was totally grateful for the time! Well....about 2 hours later Dylan yells for me to come outside! Annoyed...I slowly dragged my sicky butt outside to a lil surprise.......

Apparently when Dylan said he'd have the boys "help him" he meant they would play and do whatever they wanted while he worked. Guess he was mowing over by our house and within the 5 minutes he looked away (YA RIGHT) the boys started "playing" Behind our house.....


























Naturally I cracked up...because seriously....look at them! Dylan is the worst babysitter ever! Kazen kept telling me he had a muddy beard!!! It was pretty funny...but you know me....ok boys, you wanna play outside, let's play outside! HOSE time!









Jaxons pants kept falling cuz they were so heavy! Hahaha!


Anyway, the moral of the story is...my house needs to get done so there's not mud everywhere!!! Oh, and...don't let Dylan "watch" your kids!

Birthdays & Banditos

So yesterday was April's (my sister-in-law) birthday. We watched her boys so she and Luke could go out for the afternoon. We took the boys (Nate, 7 and Riley, just turned 2) to a fair that our church (and about 10 others) were having at the town square (yep, there's a town square). The boys had a good time enjoying the activities that were offered. Afterward we piled back in the car and headed to McDonalds for happy meals.



Nate on the rock wall.



Uncle Dylan and Riley.


Kazen on the slide!



Three lil dudes jumping...well two...one of them was frightened and army crawled around the inside until he could find the opening



A full car!

While Riley & Kazen took naps...Dylan taught Jaxon & Nate a few things...like how to ride a 3-wheeler.








Jaxon did really well and had so much fun (didn't teach him how to shift so he couldn't go too fast).



Nate was super aggressive with his first gear riding too!

When the lil guys woke up, we all went for a ride on the mule!





Including Millie, Dylan's co-pilot.

When Luke and April got back, we all went to dinner at April's favorite place. They sang to her and brought out a fun hat for her to wear!


Happy 29th girlie!



Jaxon...doing a finger mustache and pretending to drink hot sauce.


Kazen also sporting a finger stache.



My sexy Mexican face?!?!?



Nate getting in on the pix too!

Fun. Family. Day.

Country Living!

We've all gotta little redneck inside us! Apparently my boys got more than a little.........










My boys have a ridiculous amount of toys (indoor & outdoor) and yet they preferred to play on these dirt mountains outside our house....for HOURS!!!




Here's Dylan with his proudest redneck moment YET!!! Killed this snake that was on the dock at the pond. If you look at the top right side of the pic, you can see the cabin...so it was pretty close to us! Anyway, Dylan saw him a couple days ago when he was gonna take the boys fishing. The snake was just curled up on the dock, kicking back, possibly enjoying a sweet tea. Well, obviously Dylan and the boys high-tailed it outta there and went fishing elsewhere! So Dylan decided (on his long walk to the cabin from the shop) that he'd grab the 12-gage...just in case that sucker was there again. He was...and this pic only shows the largest part of what was left of him. His head was no where to be found and another 8-10" section was still sitting on the dock! So...if ur like my dad, ur asking yourself right now....if he shot a snake on a dock with a shotgun...what happened to the dock?!?! I'm still shocked...but no damage was done to the dock at all!!!!!!!!! I thought for sure Dylan would be replacing wood this weekend...but seriously...no docks were injured in this killing!

- Posted from Kari's iPhone

House Pix

A couple pix I just took!



The left side of the house. This is where our garage/basement are (obviously lol)




Dylan cutting the vinyl thats going on the under-side of the roof. Where you see the black stuff...the dirt will (eventually) be up to there.




Luke hanging the vinyl in the boom truck. That's my front door!!! & it's obviously not the way we go in and out right now! Lol. The current drop from the front door to the ground is about 8-10 feet. But like I said...much more dirt will be put there and we will have a porch soon as well!


- Posted from Kari's iPhone

It's beginning to look a lot like springtime!

It's getting greener everyday here! The trees and flowers are beautiful and I know they're just gonna get prettier! With the blooming comes pollen...which means Maximus (my truck) has a yellowish-greenish layer on it! It also means allergies, which is the highlight of my day! I LOVE walking down to the shop and seeing how bad Luke's allergies are!! He gets a really red & puffy eye (yes...just one lol) and he can't get thru a sentence without sneezing...cracks me up!

With the pretty weather...I've been inspired to get spring-y myself!!!












I made a few things to 1)keep my sanity 2)add some color to the cabin 3)cuz I love to decorate for holidays/seasons! Hahaha! I'm a crafty nerd & I don't care who knows it!

The house is coming along SLOWLY. We have garage doors now, & all windows are in. We gad insulation put in and the rough plumbing and electrical are done. We are a bit at a stand still right now......we had to wait for the electrical inspection, which messed up our dry wall guy...now we have to wait 2&1/2 weeks for the dry wall...ugh! Dylan and I are trying to get other things done while we wait! There's still a lot to do, but every obstacle down means a step closer to our house being done!

- Posted from Kari's iPhone

Sweet& sweat!

Sooooooo if I'm being honest with everyone (which is really hard cuz I always try to be so tough) I've been struggling the last few days...like A LOT! I just realized how alone I am (no friends & family)...and it sucked! I know we will make friends and things will be ok...but that takes time & right now it's just a really hard. Dylan saw how I was feeling on Friday, so Saturday he wanted to try to cheer me up. He has been really sweet and understanding as I'm just going through this rough patch. Anyway, we went to Jackson (which is about 45-60min away) and hit up all my favorites-Target, Starbucks, Hobby Lobby, Marshall's, Forever21, and we ate TGIFridays for dinner! It was a fun family day...We ended it with a bonfire! Again, I know once we get involved in the church we've been going to, and Jax starts school, & so on...things will be better! AND I know once I'm actually in MY house and not living outta a suitcase, I'll feel more settled. Knowing all that doesn't change the fact that I'm in a lil funk right now. I don't want pity or even encouragement, I'm just keepin it real...sometimes life is rough and change is very hard. I'm very blessed to have such a sweet, amazing & understanding hubby who listens when I whine & lifts me up when I'm down!




On to the weather...it's freaking hot! In the 80's the last few days and SUPER humid! Holy cow...how am I ever gonna make it through summer?!?! It's total sweat-feast and all I wanna do is stay in the air conditioning...all Jaxon and Kazen want to do is be outside! Literally from the moment they wake up to the time it's dark...they want to play! So, we do! But, it doesn't mean I'm enjoying sweating all my deodorant off by 9AM! Haha











- Posted from Kari's iPhone

Bugs & Bruises

One thing I'm not going to get used to...the aggressive amounts of insects!!! So many bugs...and SO much bigger than the ones in Cali! There are these huge black bee-ish things! They seriously look like Tinka with wings!!! The locals tell me they are wood bees...and when I asked if they sting (cuz I'm way allergic) they said, "don't reckon they do"!!! What in the world kinda answer is that?!? Either they do or they don't...goodness!!!!

My boys are getting tougher everyday! Jax & Kaz have road rash on both arms & legs! Jaxon also has a bruise on his cheek-from crashing bikes with his cousin Nate! Jaxon also fell out of the recliner onto the cement floor and now has a bruise-looking eyebrow above his real eyebrow! Kazen has bruises up & down both legs-I have no clue from what. Kazen fell down the stairs in the cabin today (they are more narrow than regular stairs)!! I'm talking straight up summer salts down the stairs! Crazy, since he's had stairs in every place we've lived since he was born! I'm afraid to dress them in shorts & t-shirts cuz I don't want someone to call CPS on me...these boys look busted! Lol






Today I got my first taste of Tennessee storms. The morning started out beautiful...then all of a sudden the most gnarly thunder & lightning I've seen/heard! Followed by CRAZY rain, then golf ball sized hail. I kept calling Dylan...I was freaked out-like ready to go to my safe room in my house-freaked out! During this time my cell phone had no service & the dogs were going crazy! Then a few hours later.....





GORGEOUS!!!!!!!

Pretty crazy!

Ps-mom & dad...SO happy you're back!! HATED not being able to talk/text! Miss you!!!

MISS YOU ALL!!!!
Xoxoxoxoxo

- Posted from Kari's iPhone

Tick Tock

Trying to get adjusted to the time difference! It's weird being 2 hours earlier...& just as naps & bedtimes were getting easier...the time change threw us off again. For some reason it's way harder with that stupid loss of an hour! But, the boys get to play later, so they don't mind!
Since we've been here, we go riding everyday. We ride our 70's (our 3 wheelers) or the mule (an off road golf cart) through the woods and around the property. It's super fun...but I'm thinking this is where I picked up my lil friend Rick....Rick the tick that is! I discovered this lil turd this morning. As if getting a tick wasn't bad enough...he was hanging out (literally) on my inner thigh! Horrible!! I tried Vaseline, but that booger didn't budge. I tried rubbing alcohol, and still nothing. I decided to just pull him out...but couldn't because of the awkward angle & I wanted to do it right so his nasty lil head didn't stay behind. This is when I had to swallow my pride and call Dylan to ask for help. Thank goodness he's just down the road! As usual, he saved the day...& I'm officially tick-free! Peace out Rick, hope you enjoyed your ride on the porcelain expressway!
As time passes, my boys continue to surprise me with how much they are growing! Kazen is almost potty-trained! He goes (1&2) on the toilet like 90% of the time! I'm so proud/excited/sad all in one...my baby is not a baby anymore! But he's doing awesome!
Had a great dinner w/Luke & family, Grammy, & Aunt Danielle. It really is weird (in a good way) always having people drop in whenever. Thank God I always cook extra food! Lol


- Posted from Kari's iPhone

Location:Buchanan Rd,Buchanan-Elkhorn,United States

Greetings from the sticks!

Hey y'all! Just kidding...what's goin on? We are officially in Tennessee full time and I'm doing my best to adjust to the huge changes! I am going through major withdrawals from Target, Starbucks, fried zuchinni, & shopping anywhere other than Wal-Mart! I have moved to a place where there are more tractor stores than clothing or shoe stores, and where mullets are still widely accepted! I get lots of stares when I walk into any place (restaurant, has station, etc.). It's like these people have never heard of make up, hair products, peircings, or tattoos! I totally stand out & the awkward silences and crazy looks confirm it! My boys, on the other hand, are beyond adjusted! They love all the room to run & play & ride bikes! They also love spending so much time with their cousins, Nate & Riley. They have already wore out a pair of shoes each and a few pairs if pants...playing here is way more aggressive! Dylan is trying to adjust also (with different things). He now works about 500ft from the house and he is in the shop by himself most of the time. Used to take him about 45 minutes to and from work, and there were always many people around that he worked with. All his guys here work out if town and Dylan is still trying to get his office set up and where it's totally functional. We are currently living at Ken & Ramona's cabin on the Scarbrough property. Our house still has a way to go before we will be able to move in. It's really just a matter of money, so we are doing our best to be patient (not one of my strong suites). As a result, we have decided to sell our trailer!:( I'm totally bummed, but right now we just want to get our house done! One thing that I love here, is all the family. It's fun having people drop by pretty much every night and hang out. Dylan had a lot of family (kin folk) here and they are mostly awesome (yup...I said mostly...there are a few doozies)! Even though we around family a lot, I am anxious to make some friends! I miss all my family & friends and the different roles they played in my life. I still keep in touch, but it's totally not the same! I need people here I can physically hang out with or go to the tractor store with! Seriously though, I miss everyone fromCali and miss a lot of things about Cali. But, I do, however believe God had great plans for us here. He called us here for a reason! He has been so faithful & we are so beyond blessed! Instead of looking at this negatively, I am completely relying in God and choosing joy on a daily basis!