Wait... what?

It's the end of March already? Wow - 3 months since my last post. I'm guessing that no one really missed me though so I'm not terribly worried about it or anything. But on the off chance that someone out there is just dying to know what we've been up to these past months I thought I'd better update y'all. ;-) So far 2010 hasn't been the best year ever but we've still managed to have a lot of fun.

We started out the year by cheering on our beloved Gopher FB team in their bid to beat the Iowa State Cyclones at the Insight Bowl. Needless to say we rang in the new year without a victory. We still had fun with H&E at Champps (I was secretly kinda happy that an Iowa team won.)

Troy celebrated his 39! birthday in February. We were really happy to have Wade and Tanya over to enjoy the festivities - and as you can see there was plenty of dessert to go around!

For Valentine's Day we took the boys to a MN Wild hockey game. What better way to celebrate a day of love then by watching grown men beat the crap out of each other?? It was their last game before the Olympic break and they beat the Vancouver Cancucks. We had a lot of fun watching the game but as you can see, the highlight for the boys were the big foam claws they suckered us into buying for them.

Troy took H&E on their first snow tubing adventure. Since they love to sled he thought this would be a perfect next step - he was totally right. They LOVED it!

Troy and I celebrated our 8th anniversary in February. Time really flies - I cannot believe it's been 8 years. I posted this picture on FB and wrote in the caption something about it being our 7th anniversary. I wish I could say it was a typo but really I've just lost track of time... oops!

We were lucky enough to have Heidi and the kids up to visit this winter! We spent some time at the MOA and everyone had a blast. Paige got to visit the American Girl store, the boys totally fell in love with LegoLand and then most of the kids went on rides at Nickelodeon Universe. Lots and lots of fun!! We also got to see Joe play BB. Such a fun weekend - we loved having you guys!!

Rachel, Bruce and Kalen also came up for a weekend but I have no pictures of that. We also had a lot of fun watching Joe play BB and just hanging out!

Troy and Henry loved watching the Olympics this year. Eli and I joined in once in a while but didn't get into as much as they did. We did all watch the US men's hockey team and were really rooting for a victory. Henry made this great sign for them.

For a little late winter trip this year we took the boys up to Duluth for a couple of days. They were really excited to try out skiing and we thought it would be a great time to get them started. As you can see from these pictures Henry was a great little student. No matter what he kept trying and did a really fantastic job! Eli, on the other hand, did not love it at all! He was probably more excited than Henry before we got there but the moment I put the ski boots on his feet he changed him mind. Big tears! But, he kept his boots on and stayed in ski school the entire time. He sat in the snow and pouted the entire time but he stayed. Maybe next year he'll like it more.

The hotel we stayed at in Duluth had this cool waterpark, which the boys absolutely loved. Beyond that though, the hotel was probably the worst we've ever stayed in. Janky!

I hope not to leave you hangin' for another 3 months. There's plenty going on so I'll try to keep up.

Wii hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

We definitely did. Despite the disappointment of having to postpone our Tuttle-family Christmas because of the blizzard in Iowa, we had so much fun!! The boys LOVED everything about Christmas, especially the parts about Santa and presents and cookies and treats for days on end and spending time with their aunties and uncles and cousins and G&G. Since then we've been busy playing Wii and Batman and putting on guitar concerts and watching their new movies and playing new games.

Santa found us at our new house!

Give me your best Christmas smiles.

Jingle bells, Batman smells...

And the beloved Wii!!



But this... this is the devil. That's all I have to say about that! ;-)

Merry Everything!

No matter what you celebrate - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Festivus - we wish you happiness and peace and a wonderful 2010!

Ya know - we really had a great year. The boys are at an age where they are just so much fun. I've posted before about what good sports they were all year while we worked on house stuff - real troopers! We did try to make sure to balance the work with lots of fun. I think if you asked the boys about the year their highlight would be their first "real" vacation - we took them to Mexico in February and I don't think anyone could have loved it more. From the moment we left for the airport until we arrived back home they were nothing but perfect and so, so happy!!

That trip was sandwiched between a bunch of large and small house projects aimed at getting our house on Iowa Ave. ready to sell. We put it on the market in May and within 2 weeks it was sold - we were incredibly fortunate to have good traffic through it and were able to sell it to someone who fell in love with it as soon as she walked in the door (just like we did a little over 10 years ago). The only problem was... we had nowhere to move to and no options either. So began our search for a new house. We saw house after house after house and they were either too far away from our ideal area or too big or too small or not in a good school district or just not quite right in some way or another. We did try to put in offers on a couple of houses only to find out they were already sold. I gotta tell ya - our experience definitely did not reflect the housing market problems others are seeing in our area & around the country.

In the end we decided (after much deliberation) to design a house and build on a nice lot in a lovely neighborhood with a great new park less than a block away. Luck would have it that our realtors work with a great custom builder so the pieces fell into place for us. Making this decision was great but it didn't really help with the fact that we still had nowhere to live. So, we moved into an apartment from July to October while the house was being built. As much as I complained about the e-partment (as Eli called it), it worked out just fine as a short term solution. It had a great pool that we swam the heck out of. We had the boys out there almost every.single.day this summer and they loved it! They went from being slightly scared of the water and having to be held while "swimming" to Henry knowing how to swim all on his own and Eli being completely comfortable paddling around with his water wings. However once the pool closed after Labor Day, everyone really started getting tired of the e-partment. But, it was all worth it.

The house building process for us was so many different things - fun, exciting, stressful, scary, boring (if you ask the boys) - but in the end it was a great experience and we feel so lucky to have this wonderful new house that was built with such care. We loved our builder (Jason of Bald Eagle Builders) and our site supervisor (the awesome Josh) and all of the people who were in and out of our house doing their part. We absolutely love our new home!!

The boys are funny because they are constantly saying stuff like "this is the first time we've done xxx in our new house" and it's not exciting stuff like Santa coming or anything. It's like "this is the first time I've watched you brush you teeth while you are in your pajamas in our new house, mommy." I think they are really enjoying living here. They love their rooms (pirates for Eli and sports for Henry) and their clubhouse (a closet between their rooms w/ a secret door so they can "sneak" in) and just being able to run around and play and yell again. We have been meeting the neighbors and it turns out that there are quite a few new families so I think it's going to be so fun for them to have kids around to play with.

It really feels like this is going to be a wonderful neighborhood for them to grow up in and for Troy and I to make lots of new friends as well. We've been welcomed with cookies and plants and invitations to parties and "Bunco." Everyone is so friendly and attentive to one another. In Minnesota it can be tough to meet people in the winter so it's not ideal to move at the end of October but for us that hasn't so much mattered - we really have had a wonderful experience. However, we are looking forward to next spring and summer when everyone (including us) comes out of hibernation and spends time outside again.

2009 brought a lot of changes for our family but we wouldn't want it any other way. We're happy and healthy. We have good jobs and great families. Fun times were had with old friends and new. It was a good year!

Happy Holiday. We wish you & yours all the best in 2010!

Love, The Schallys

Black Friday's got nothing on this place

I've been stalking the Room & Board Outlet store each weekend. This place is crazy. Week in and week out hordes of people line up well before the doors open to get first dibs on the week's scratch & dent furniture. Sure, it starts out all friendly - chatting with the folks next to you, drinking some coffee, making smiley faces at their kids. But then it's 10am and the doors open. You'd think they were giving away gold. Seriously there's running and pushing, cutting in line, hollering, dirty looks. And then you finally get inside and you know it's all been worth it. Sofas and couches, chairs and ottomans, pillows and rugs, tables and desks, beds and dressers - everything that Room & Board has but cheaper! And sometimes a really lot cheaper!! It's worth the fear of being trampled. And it's so exciting when you walk in and see the perfect piece, run to it, check to see if there's something terribly wrong with it, find that there's not and you sit down. You just sit there looking all smug because you've snagged this beautiful Jasper sofa with custom fabric that will be just perfect in your sunroom knowing that all the other people who are looking at it want it even more because you want it. But ha! You're already sitting on it. And guess what? You just pay for it and take it home - right then! You don't have to wait - I love that because I'm impatient that way.

I haven't posted any pictures since we moved in really. Here are some of the rooms where we've made a dent in the furnishings. There's still work to be done but I'm feeling more relaxed about it now that we have a vision and start.

Our front entry with a very pretty rug I found at Crate & Barrel. I loved it so much I bought a matching one (only bigger) for the sunroom.

The sunroom - with the lovely matching rug and new sofa. Troy's not sure about all the throw pillows but I think they look nice - add a bit of color to things.

New TV and tables - love how they turned out (this is kind of a crappy picture though). The dark wood against the lighter floors. And the lamp is super cool b/c it's a touch one. I won't even tell you how long we had it before we figured that out - it's embarrassing.

Family room sofa, side table and lamps. We are thinking of getting an ottoman for this area too - make is a little more comfy and cozy. Plus an area rug, of course.

Living room (I think that's what it's called)... I had to call 3 different people from the outlet one Sunday b/c I wasn't sure if a red sofa would "go." I'm so glad I bought it plus this funky chair b/c they look really great in there. Plus my JC Penney lamp - the jury's still out on where this lamp should actually live. We shall see.

And as you can see, we haven't really done any actual decorating - as in, putting pictures up, etc. It's not one of my best skills. But... we'll get there. Slowly but surely.

Thankful

Every year I spend Thanksgiving thinking of all the things I’m thankful for. Of course I do, it’s the main purpose of the holiday.

This year I was up early – before all my boys – and I was thinking of how lucky I am, how much I have to be thankful for and it made me all teary. When I really thought about why, I realized that while I think these things often I rarely say them. And what good is it if other people don’t know how you feel.

It’s so easy to say thank you - for gifts they give or their time or their kind words & actions. But what’s more important and rarely gets said is how truly thankful I am for each and every person in my life. Thankful that just by virtue of being themselves and being present, they enrich my life. By bringing their personality and unique point of views and their love. I am who I am because of the people who surround me.

So, while I may have argued about how many combinations of desserts there were this year (I’m sure I was wrong) at the same time I was also incredibly thankful to have a house full of loved ones to share the day with. Thankful to look around and see smiling, loving faces sharing stories and laughter. Thankful that my boys will always be surrounded by love – and not just by the people who joined us this year for Thanksgiving but by all of their family, near and far, who are so incredibly special to me.

I am truly thankful.

The grass is always greener...

when you actually have grass. Yesterday I was so surprised to come home to a perfectly green yard - it's lovely. We are so happy that the weather has finally cooperated long enough to let it dry out just enough to grade, install the sprinkler system and put in sod. It really does make a huge difference in the curb appeal. Now we just need to finish the landscaping and we'll be all set - as if it's that easy... I think that part it's going have to wait until next spring (much to the dismay of our neighbors, I'm guessing).

The move last week went really well despite the rain, cold, wind, and snow we all endured. Thank you to Wade and the Messeroles and Curt for braving the elements and helping us so much last week. And also a big thank you to Ron & JoAnn for watching H&E during the week and all weekend - for carving pumpkins, taking them trick-or-treating, taking good care of Eli's bad cough and just generally showing them a great time. We couldn't have done it without all of your help! By Saturday afternoon almost every single thing we own was in our new house and it was shocking how much stuff we actually have. We spent the last 10 years finding a place for everything in our old house and now all of our stuff is just sitting around - either in the garage or in the basement or still in boxes scattered throughout the house. But we're having fun opening boxes and finding our missing treasures. And, of course, I'm throwing tons of stuff in the garbage or in the garage sale pile.

We still have some shopping left to do before we can feel totally at home. We need a TV for the family room, areas rugs for the main level, furniture for the living room & the sunroom, stools for the kitchen island, bed frames for H&E's rooms, window treatments (especially upstairs) and lots of shelves and storage-type stuff. It's hard buying new stuff! But the house is kind of bare and echoey and doesn't feel as cozy and warm as I want it to so I would like to at least get some of the stuff sooner rather than later.

I didn't get my camera out once during the move. Wait - I did get it out once and that was to photograph the inside of our storage shed. Troy has some seriously amazing stacking abilities. It was like a clown car - stuff just kept coming and coming and coming - it felt like it was never going to end. And you know what - I bet about 80% of the stuff in that shed was not missed even one.tiny.bit by anyone in this family! I know I didn't miss the ironing board...

So anyway, we're here. It's fun and we're happy. And we can't wait for everyone to come visit!

The Final Countdown

The builder locked down the house this weekend so they could control exactly who goes in when - just to make sure nothing bad happens in the final days. Apparently they've had issues with this in the past. So, we haven't been to the house since lunchtime on Friday. They have everything inside pretty much done - just a couple of very minor things to be finished up on Monday. We have our final walk-thru tomorrow at 11 am, which they said would take about 2 hours. Not sure how it could possibly take that long - it's not that big of a house and we've been there everyday but that's cool. The final inspection happened on Friday afternoon and the house passed contingent on the exterior being finished - meaning the driveway, trim paint and the front yard all still need to be finished. It was unclear to us whether all of that needs to be complete before we close or just "sometime." The weather forecast for this week is looking much better so there's hope it all could get done by Wednesday. It would be great to have it all done and not have to worry about it but either way it'll be fine.

We made a huge dent in packing today. The boys were great helpers and sorted and packed all of their toys, games, puzzles and books without a fuss. I still need to tackle the kitchen but really, I don't think that'll take too long. After that it's our clothes and bedding - NBW. We're hoping to be able to move enough stuff on Wednesday and Thursday that we'll be able to start living in the house by Thursday evening!

Here are some pictures I took on Thursday - it was the first time we were able to see the hardwood floors finished. They turned out really beautiful. We couldn't be happier with the end result.

3 days to go!