TWO!

Last summer V received an 8 year old "Tickle Me Elmo" hand me down, who really didn't work anymore...... That being said, she quickly learned who Elmo was and they became "best buds."

So who was a better inspiration for a 2nd birthday than Elmo......

V, A and I had fun wearing the hats!

She had a great time blowing out the candles and didn't even get too messy eating cake.

 She got some wonderful presents for a 2 year old and got right into playing!

 It was a good birthday.....joined by her auntie Marilou, Grandma and Grandpa Scherer, mommy and daddy and sister.  She even had virtual grandparents call on Skype.  It was an amazing day to become 2.

A Home For the Holidays....

We officially moved into our new home on December 18.  Our goal was to be able to sleep there that night and we did.  On Wednesday, December 19, Zeb went out to search for a Christmas tree.  By December 20...... it was beginning to feel like Christmas.  Lara arrived from Wisconsin on December 23.  Perfect timing for emptying a few more boxes while the kiddos could be entertained by the Amazing Lara!

 We had Christmas Day at the house, Zeb's parents and sister came over.  It was a wonderful time.  We even found the box with the candle sticks and crystal glasses........so we could have a nice "fancy" Christmas dinner. 

 This was V's first Christmas where she new what was going on!  She loved carrying around the wrapped presents....... and then the opened ones.  I can't say she loved the opening process to much.  But I am sure next year will be crazy!

New Year's was rung in at the house as well.  When the children were nestled, all snug in their beds..... Zeb and I took a dip in the hot tub and watched the sky light up with dozens of illegal fireworks.  

What an exciting way to ring in the New Year in our new home!

Thank you to our family that helped us move in and get settled.  This is making for a nice start to 2013 with many more exciting adventures to come. 

The New House...

For those who were curious....here are some (outdoor) photos of the new house.

Cedar sided- prow front, double garage underneath.  The large windows in the front face south with nice views of the inlet and city lights.

 We have a deck off the side that houses a hot tub (more photos later).

This is the view from our front yard.

Numerous pine trees surround us.  You can see a few neighbors, but we have lots of room for the kids to play and Tisuk to roam.

 There is even a play ground for V and A to enjoy!

We were lucky to be in the house in time to celebrate Christmas with everyone!  What a joyous way to spend the holidays!

Putting in A Wood Stove

The wood stove process:

1. Cut a hole in the wall. Know where you want it before you cut. Nice circle!

2. Install the chimney. Climb on the roof, but only when your wife is gone so she doesn't have to get scared and freak out!

3. Put in a non flammable platform.

4. Set up the stove and connect the pipes.

Zeb worked really hard at this project and it turned out great! Looks like it has always been in the house. It is nice to have a fire going every day. I think Tisuk gets a little hot because her water bowl runs out pretty quick. Other than that, it is great! I feel warm and cozy on the cold winter nights.

Home Improvement

Zeb has been busy getting things ready for the winter. The outside of the garage is complete! The door will probably be ordered sometime soon. When the door gets put in the extra stove will be removed inside and the oil stove will be put in.

He added some nice touches, finished the stairs and trimmed the windows. There is even power to it now!
Aside from the garage, the other project was to add on an arctic entry way in the back. This is so the garage is more accessible. It will also help us bring in wood for the new woodstove inside this winter (more on that in a later post).
We were able to finally get a load of gravel for the front of the house as well and cover the sink hole that was in the front. There used to be a small patch of lawn in the front left corner, but it was sunken down and did not look very good. There was also lots of extra weeds growing through the gravel. This is all covered now. My new dredge buckets have a good home (the other one is around the side of the house).
Now we are just getting things sorted out for winter, collecting firewood and putting away summer time things. With the change in seasons, comes the change in things we need to put away. We are enjoying our little home improvement projects. Just some of the joys of home ownership.

The Tour

Here it is!  By popular demand a preliminary tour of the house.  Keep in mind since the photos were taken, we actually finished some remodeling this weekend.  Let's start with location, we can see the Bering Sea from our south windows and I can walk to the Elementary School in roughly 2 minutes.  Not bad! The vans in the back will be moved this summer for Zeb's Man Cave, AKA a Garage.

We have an arctic entry way and this is a shot of the front door, inside the house.  There is a built in bookshelf in the living room and plenty of hooks for all that outdoor gear!

The kitchen has an island and dishwasher among the usual features.  The stools are on loan, we are in the market for some.

The cabinet on top of the island has since been removed, as of today, opening up the kitchen to the rest of the house.  The hutch and dining set are also on loan.  The living room has great light.  4 south facing windows.  Not bad considering the place we were renting had 0.

The house has an upstairs which can be somewhat rare here in Nome.  We are lucky to have 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms in the house.  They all look pretty similar.  

The master bedroom has some, yes once again, loaner furniture in it.  The loaner items are mainly being stored for the previous owner so they are not in the cold for the next few months.  It really helps us all out.  Anyway, we ordered 2 new queen beds today, one for us and one for guests, so come on over!

2 of the rooms are a bright blue.  That might need to change later, but for now, we are working on slowly moving in one day at a time.  I have finished stripping the wallpaper in the bathroom and we did some touch up painting today. It is really fun to have Sunday projects now and "honey do" lists for Zeb :)  House warming will be coming soon.  We hope to be officially in by the end of April.