Our first visit to the local.....

FARMER'S MARKET was a big success!!

One of the many, many things we have been looking forward to now that we live in West Des Moines is visiting the Farmer's Markets they have up here. Last Thursday we ventured down to the historical Valley Junction to check out the fun and excitement. The weather was perfect and definitely made our first trip down there that much better....

The kids walked around while Taylen "strolled" around and enjoyed the atmosphere. Live music, fruit and veggie stands, local vendors, and just average, ordinary, everyday, hard-working people sharing all their crafting, building, and baking abilities...

It was such a nice, relaxed, and enjoyable evening....we are definitely looking forward to more visits as the summer rolls on. We may even venture to the HUGE one downtown sometime soon....

Trey's first stop...that thing was HUGE and he slurped the entire thing down!!

Ty making sure Taylen was enjoying the view and showing off her new hat....she loved it and sported it the entire evening...

Trey & Ty checking out one of the bands...

Tylee even got to ROCK OUT with them...she had a blast and LOVED hamming it up for the audience!!!

Giving Daddy smooches...

Tylee hanging out on one of the local shop's stairs...snapped this cute photo of her "resting"....what a stinkin' CUTIE!

Silly sibling snapshot....

Taylen still in a good mood after the stroll through the market....she's such a good baby. (Thank goodness...I couldn't imagine getting through the past 7 weeks without her cooperation!!!)

Ty getting in a few bites of the Kettle Korn on the way back home....which was only a 5 minute trip instead of the usual 90 minute one. So. Much. Quicker.

What a fun way to spend a beautiful summer Thursday evening!!! 

Back in ORDER....

and we FINALLY have an Internet connection!! It's absolutely amazing how linked in we are all used to being...So, sorry for the lapse in blogging and thanks for being oh, so patient!!

We are all moved into (noticed I didn't say settled into because I still have so many stinkin' boxes to unpack) our new house and are absolutely LOVING it so far. We seem to have soooo much more room and LOTS more storage!!

I wanted to flash forward through the past week or so and post a few new pics...I only have ones of the kids' bathroom and our front living area to post. Things are still a work in progress around here, but I know some of you are curious to see what's been going on here...

A little view from our kitchen...(I know there are only four chairs...we're waiting to add the leaf to the table until Little Miss Taylen is out of that highchair ;)

View from front door...I really need to get a wide lens camera for these shots...I couldn't find an angle that got everything in the pic...oh, well..you get the idea!! (And, that gorgeous white fan is going to soon be replaced...this house was full of white ceiling fans...ugh!!)

A shot of the FUN kids' bathroom....we figured it was the only room we could go crazy in and we knew they'd love it!! You seriously get an instant tan just walking into that room!!!

And looking down into the kid's bathroom....So. Fun.

So, that's just a sneak peak into what's been going on around here for the past week. Things have been busy and are going to continue to get busier and busier over the next few weeks (okay months!!)

Jason is full blown into football coaching (ALREADY) and is loving it. Plyos and weightlifting 4 days a week and 7 on 7 drills on Wednesday evenings! The coaching staff seems wonderful and we are super excited about the upcoming season.

Trey & Tylee are LOVING their new rooms, the fenced in backyard, and all the space in the finished basement...I have a feeling it's going to end up being the PERFECT hang out spot!! We are excited to get working on that...thank goodness all the hard work is done...we just have to get it set up.

The storage rooms in the basement are pretty much filled to the brim with boxes and all our "stuff"...my goal is to get most of it done in the next two weeks. Until then, we'll continue to "dig" through and find what we need. The kids are excited for us to get the boxes out of their playroom so they can have a spot that's all their own and they can go crazy with their toys and their imaginations!!!

To wrap up this post...I want to give a HUGE shout-out to all of our friends and family! You've all been a TREMENDOUS help during the move. This SERIOUSLY could NOT have been possible without YOU!! Thank you SO much and we LOVE you all!!!

I'll keep posting pics as we continue to get our "home" in order!!

Soooooo TIRED!!!

and the moving fun has just begun!!! We literally just pulled into town from West Des Moines and I'm so stinkin' tired. Everyone is snoozing around me....all of us on mattresses on the floor because all the beds are taken apart for the big move!! Our friends, Kibben and Doug, will be here in about 5 hours to pick up our riding and push lawn mowers and haul them up to Des Moines for us (THANK YOU, THANK YOU!) which will TOTALLY save us lots of room in the U-haul!!

((PS...it was Friday, June 17th when I started writing this post....)

Today was a BIG day for all of us here in the Weite House. We officially SOLD our home here in Ottumwa at 9:00 AM and BOUGHT a home in West Des Moines at 2:00 PM....Woo-Hoo!!! I seriously CANNOT believe this is our LAST night living here in Ottumwa, at 620 N. Court!!

Another thing that racks my brain is the fact that we are doing this with THREE young kids who love to be the best helpers (and who also love to "unpack" what I'm packing and seem to need a wipe or diaper change the second I get wrapped up in something). Oh, tomorrow is going to be a looooong day, but we wouldn't have it ANY other way!! This is definitely another Weite House experience and something we'll look back on someday, laugh about, AND try to figure out how we survived 2 straight weeks living in a three ring circus!

As midnight approaches....we say good-bye to one chapter of our lives and hello to another! THANK you to all our family and friends who have been nothing but 100% supportive....you all truly have helped make this a WONDERFUL MOVE!!!

Goodnight and I'm off to enjoy sweet dreams filled with the image below.....

We got the 26 footer....lets hope we make it up in ONE trip...the gas for this baby is going to be a killer!!!

Fun-Filled weekend in StL....

Last weekend we all hit the road for a little trip down to StL....the kids enjoyed the trip, but didn't sleep a wink on the way down (which always makes for an eventful ride ;)

Friday afternoon we drove down and headed straight to the Corner Bar, which is a little bar and grill place that one of my college friends is an investor in. She so kindly reserved the entire back room for our bunch, which included 10 of my former teammates, their hubbies, and all our kids....I think there were at least 16 kiddos in all! So, you can imagine how packed the place was and how much fun we all had.....

Group photo...SIU Girls.... 

Vince (Karrie's Boyfriend), Trey, and Jason showing off their guns....

After a late night there, we camped out at my mom's house, where we met my bro Aaron who came in from Chicago for the weekend. After a quick night's sleep, that felt more like a nap, we headed downtown for a little StL Cadinals action (who just happened to be playing the (boo) Cubs) and met up with about half of the girls from Friday night's action. Busch stadium is ALWAYS a great time....and it's an even better time when you're with fabulous friends and the Cardinals BEAT the Cubs! (Jason's a huge Cubs fan, so wins like those are always welcomed in this divided household!!)

At Paddy O's before the game and waiting on the others....

Back and Paddy O's after the game and celebrating the Cardinals extra inning win over the Cubs....Woo-Hoo!!!

Later that night at Molly's....ready to head home after a long day and LOTS of laughs!!! Good times!!!

While Jason and I were at the Cardinals game, my mom and Steve, took the kiddos (all three) down to Ballwin Days for a little carnival fun....Trey and Tylee had an absolute BLAST!!! Thanks for watching them for us, while Jason and I got in a little "us" time.....we appreciate it!!!

(pictures coming soon....)

On Sunday, we all headed over to my dad's house for a little BBQ action with the rest of the family....water balloon, park and laughing action is ALWAYS a great time and a fantastic way to wrap up a fabulous weekend!

Mimi and Grampy with the grands....

Taylen catching a few ZZZZZ's....

Calie and her boyfriend, Doug.....

Ugh...this is one teeny tiny part of a bush that had hundreds of cicada shells on it....they were EVERYWHERE while we were there!  

I thought this one was funny...the cicadas emerge from the ground after 13 years and climb as high as they can before they molt and fly away to mate and start the whole process again...so interesting! I'm sure this particular cicada was excited this bird was a fake....

It's been a while since we've had a weekend that full and the kids definitely CRASHED the entire way home...along with Jason! It was a quiet drive home for Momma!!! Thanks for all the fun....friends and family are the best and we are truly BLESSED!!!

Taylen Jae is THREE months old TODAY.....

and is such a stinkin' good baby! Little Miss Taylen has been the best at going with the flow during this crazy chaotic time in our lives.....I hope this is a little glimpse at what's to come!! Below is her three month snapshot and a few photos from earlier today.....SUCH A SWEETIE!!!

Sticking with the classic monthly pose...

All smiles....

Loving those fingers....

Mommy...you're so silly!!!

Her first little giggle!!

Love you sweet baby....and, as you can see in the pics below, so do your big brother and sister!!!

Ty LOVES holding you...

And, of course, giving you bunches of kisses!!!

Trey can't get enough of you.....

including sneaking a kiss everytime he passes by you!!!

Taylen's three month can-do list....

Smile

Nurse

Tummy Time

Smile

Cry

Sleep 8 hours a night

Baby Coo

Smile

Toot

Sneeze

Smile

Spit Bubbles

Drool

Smile

WAY TO GO, BABY GIRL!!!

Sooooooo BEHIND!!!

I've really been slacking in the blogging department lately....but, I do have a good excuse! The pic below gives you a little glimpse into exactly why Our Weite House hasn't had too many updates lately....

BOXES GALORE!

The big move is in approximately 4 days from now and I can't believe how quickly it is approaching. I feel like just the other day I was figuring out that we had 6 weeks until we moved.....well, no more! And, there's still quite a bit of packing to do!

I need to quickly give Trey and Tylee a little credit....they've done a fantastic job considering the only "toys" they have around to play with are bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and coloring books! (I keep promising they'll get their toys back in a few days....it'll be like Christmas in June at the new house!)

I also want to give my partner in crime a lot of credit....Jason has been a trooper as he's been dragged back and forth to StL to see our college gang and my family. He's been a trooper for BBQs and GNOs (the five of us girls are even going to the movie theater tomorrow night to see a much awaited Bridesmaids movie) and he hasn't complained once :) This week is crazy, crazy and he's working like a dog....last night he was packing up kitchen items until 3 o'clock in the morning while the kids and I snoozed away after falling asleep during a "slumber party movie night"....things are definitely soooo much easier when we're all pitching in together!!! THANKS, BABE!!!

Now, I'm off to catch up on a few more blogs and hit the hay....tomorrow's another packing fun day!!!

Sweet Sounds....

of Little Miss Taylen's ADORABLE baby talk have been filling the air around The Weite House lately!

I captured this little video of her the other day and totally thought you'd love to see it, especially those of you who haven't gotten a chance to meet her yet......she's the best story-teller!!

Who would have thought you'd be able to hear her talk, sneeze, and toot in such a short little video clip?!?! She's obviously very talented and is definitely getting big on us....she'll be 12 weeks on Sunday....ALREADY!!!

Someone's a preschool GRADUATE!!!

Trey Jacob Weite officially GRADUATED from preschool yesterday afternoon!!

Thanks to a wonderful co-worker who graciously agreed to cover my class during her planning period, I was able to join Jason over at Indian Hills Daycare Center to see our "baby" walk the "stage" and grab his first official diploma!! We also enjoyed a little lunch with Trey and heard him sing songs with his fellow graduates!!

Sitting at the pint-sized table with my little man was such an honor. He had places all ready for us and was eager to show and share with us all of his little preschool routines...it was so fun to see him in his "element" which is something we usually just get to hear about, not actually see for ourselves. The excitement that was written all over his face was absolutely PRICELESS!!! I want to state for the record that I did not shed one tear (at least while we were there with him)....the proud smile I wore on my face the entire time definitely kept the tears from falling!!!

Trey and Daddy ready to eat some lunch....

So fun to watch them pass the bowls around and let them serve themselves....he even poured his own milk!

The Graduates showing "five" so Mrs. Lyn knew they were ready to start the singing fun!

Singing the "Number Rock" song....(On a side note...he wore his preschool shirt and for those of you who've never seen these, they are adorable! The kids get to draw a picture of themselves and write their own names, which are then screen printed onto the shirt. SO.CUTE. I'm totally gong to take a close-up shot of Trey's self portrait and upload it soon...it is hilarious!!!)

Trey on the risers posing with his first official diploma!!!

Me and Jason with our little GRADUATE!!!

Trey Jacob,

You are officially done with preschool and have had an absolute blast learning and having fun each and every day over at Hills.  I'm so proud of and all your accomplishments and can't wait to attend many, many more graduations and celebrations. I have a feeling there are many more diplomas in your future and you know your daddy, sisters, and I will be there supporting you EVERY step of the way! We LOVE you more than you'll ever know!! Never lose that love for learning and enjoy your little summer break. KINDERGARTEN is right around the corner!!!

Love you BUNCHES,

Mommy