Little by little, this is becoming home!

Look who followed us back to Missouri after our trip to Utah last month! 

Here is Deanne with the crew during a night on the town.    

We bought this home as a 4 bedroom home.  However, there was an office downstairs that is now a bedroom and there was an attic space that they converted to a huge closet.  We added this dormer window to that closet and it will soon become the favorite bedroom in the house.  

Casey, Hyrum and Simon have claim to it as soon as it is finished this week.

Simon getting his first riding lesson from a good friend.  She comes over a few hours a week to give all the kids individual lessons in exchange for boarding her horse here.  This is her horse, "Lady".

Ressa and Charlie having a ride on our horse, "Fannie Mae".  Of course, when we get another horse and it happens to be a male, it will be called the only thing a mortgage banker would name a companion to Fannie Mae.. obviously, he will be Freddie Mac.

Mom mowing the front yard and ....

putting Simon to sleep while entertaining Hannah.  Talk about multi-tasking!  Most wives want a fancy car.  Mine is loving the tractor!  She has put more time in behind the wheel than I have by far.

Casey and Marshall enjoying the newly fixed 4 - wheeler.  It sat for a couple weeks waiting for dad to fix it after Casey rolled it.  Nothing hurt with Casey, but his pride.  He also learned a good lesson about speed and turns in a way that only teenagers will learn most of the time - by experience.  Certainly not by listening to mom and dad.  

We were blessed that the lesson came with just bent handle bars....

There was a branch on this tall tree in our front yard begging for a swing.  We finally made it happen yesterday.  Don't let that ladder deceive you.... that just gave dad the extra few feet he needed to heave the brick tied to the end of the rope over the branch that is about 25 feet up.

Here is our backyard swing set we brought back from our South Jordan house last month.  The kids not only love it just because it's a swing, but more so because it is a little piece of our last house they loved so much.  Since the weather has warmed up and we are surrounded by green trees and grass, we are getting attached to our new home more and more each day.  This is the Midwest we remember as we have vacationed here over the years.  Moving in January during the bitter cold, windy and brown winter season was a little rough to say the least. We know the hot and humid summer is on its way, but at least it's pretty to look at!       

Walking trail we found tonight around the lake near our home.

A picnic area and beach that we will most likely get to know very well this summer....this lake is just a few minutes from our home.