My Munchkins....

have been such TROOPERS this past summer and continue to amaze me as we begin to FINALLY get into a daily and weekly routine....Trey's officially in Kindy, Jason's full blown coaching and his school year is under way, I've been back to work for two full weeks now, and Ty & Taylen are settling in nicely to their daycare and Grandma Marcia days. I think, for the first time in a LOOOOONG time, we are beginning to feel a sense of "normal" and "home"....and we are LOVING it!!

The three of them have really been taken for a ride between the move and having an entirely new set of people in their lives and have done remarkably well with the whole thing!!! We made this move and all these changes for the family and they've made it that much easier.

Now, I'm not saying that things haven't been trying at times and still won't be in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, but, overall....it has definitely been a journey to remember.....

Thanks, cuties for making life SO worth living ;)

LOVE you, and keep on smilin'.....all three of you!!!

This last pic would be one of those "maybe challenging" times ;) The good part is even though he's not cooperating for a little family pic, he still has a smile on his face!!

Happy Summer you three and here's to EVERYTHING that lies ahead for us...The Weite's!!!

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!!!

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!!!

There's only ONE....

word that describes me best these days.....

Take a look at the picture below and see if you can take a wild guess about which word I could possibly be talking about.....

If you guessed....STRESSED...you are correct!! There are sooooo many things going on right now at the Weite House that it's AMAZING that Jason and I are keeping our heads on straight. I'll give you a little run-down to keep you posted on this CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL little thing we call LIFE!!!

1. Obviously we've added another cutie to our bunch and are now a family of FIVE! Taylen is officially 2 months old as I type and we are loving all those fun little things babies bring along with them. Things like: dirty diapers, night time feedings, sleepless nights, and just those little "worries" that parents of newborns always have in the back of their heads: "Is she getting sick?", "Why's she crying??", etc....

2. We've decided to make a MAJOR move up to Des Moines this summer....we've enjoyed Ottumwa tremendously and this town has been pretty wonderful to us, but it's time to move on to the next stage in our lives. With Trey starting kindergarten, we figured it would be the best time to take the plunge!!! So, on top of the new baby and two other adorable kiddos, we are taking on the biggest challenge of our adult lives....moving our family!!

3. Jason interviewed with and was offered a position in the Des Moines Public Schools, where he'll be teaching high school special education and coaching varsity football, which has ALWAYS been a goal of his. Jason is the most dedicated and passionate person I have ever met and LOVES everything football! He's super excited to pursue varsity coaching opportunities up in Des Moines and I know there are hundreds of high school athletes that will benefit tremendously from his football expertise and abilities. We wish him lots of luck and success on the upcoming season...we'll be there cheering and are always his number one fans, of course!!!

4. Once Jason got the news and signed his contract, we put the house on the market, hoping for a quick sale, given our time frame. We received our full asking price offer and officially sold the house about 2 weeks ago. The buyer's financing was secured, the inspections are in the works, and we will be closing on the morning of June 17th. So, great news there....

5. We've spent the last 6 weekends (LOTS of GAS at these ANNOYING prices) up in West Des Moines looking for a house of our own. After many, many looks at many, many different types of houses, I am happy to say that we put an offer in on one about a week ago, which was countered, and we accepted!!! Assuming all inspections go well on that end, we will be closing on that house on the afternoon of June 17th and moving that weekend...(oh, the thought of packing and moving all our stuff makes me cringe, but I know it's part of the deal)

6. In the midst of traveling back and forth, I received a phone call letting me know that I had an interview with the Johnston Community School District, which is a suburb a little north of Des Moines and not a far drive at all from the house we ended up wanting. Johnston is a fantastic school district and I was stressed, to say the least, for the entire week leading up to the interview. Long story short, I received a phone call three days ago saying that everything went extremely well and they wanted to offer me a job, BUT, they are waiting on a few preschool issues to clear up. See, the new Governor of Iowa (who I did NOT vote for) doesn't really put a lot of effort into supporting educational issues. Preschool is one of the areas of concern and if legislation doesn't pass to keep it, Johnston will have 3 preschool teachers that will have the right to take any openings in the district that they are qualified for. (Three of those spots being one of the teaching positions I would get!!! See why I'm stressed??) If they keep preschool as is, then I'll be good to go and will hopefully be signing a contract soon....So it's just a waiting game for now. My mother in law just informed me this morning that they announced on the news that the politicians say the preschool issue will be among the last issues to be decided on. Which is rather annoying!!! I keep telling myself that worst case scenario, I could sub for the year now that I've already had an interview and then, hopefully, get hired on the next year. I'd really, really like to stay in the classroom, but we'll have to see how things work out....

So, as you can see, there are A TON of things going on around here, all of which are keeping us on our toes!!! I will conitnue to keep you updated as things progress....

I know above I said that there's only ONE word to describe me these days: STRESSED!!

Well. I lied because I'm also EXCITED and PROUD.....

ESPECIALLY of these little ones........

They, without a doubt, are the most important things in my life and the driving force behind everything Jason and I do. Our one goal is to create a healthy environment and provide them with the opportunities to be the best each of them can possibly be. When it's all said and done....every second and millisecond of STRESS will all be worth it!! One look at those adorable faces and there's no way anyone can possibly disagree with me!!!

Today's Picnic at the Park....

was the PERFECT way to break up what's been our CRAZY, CRAZY schedule lately. For those of you who don't know yet, we are in a HUGE transition period around the Weite House. Not only have we added a beautiful third little munchkin (who's one day shy of a month old...ALREADY!!) to our household, but we are planning on putting our house on the market in three days. Jason got a job up in Des Moines and we are making a move this summer. (This is a topic that will get its own blog entry here in a little bit) But, to make a long story short....there is A LOT going on around here!!! We are super, super, SUPER excited about the move and have been taking on a lot these past few weeks...with even more chaos to come!! Stress, with a capital S-T-R-E-S-S seems to be a common theme floating around here!!

So, today, the kids and I packed up some lunch goodies and met Daddy at the park for a little picnic fun!! The weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS, so we made the most of it and partied at the playground!!! It was an absolute BLAST and we all left wishing we could do it every day!!!

The kiddos decorating their mini cupcakes for the picnic.....they were excited to use their little Mickey Mouse baking kits they got from Aunt Lyn last weekend!! Perfect!

Getting in a little playground time before Daddy arrived for the picnic fun!!! Here's Trey going for a little climb...use those muscles!!!

Tylee's getting to be a big girl and likes scaling just about everything but the fire fighter pole!!! Be careful sweet pea...we don't need any more broken bones. (We are approaching Good Friday...which happens to be the day that BOTH my kids broke bones on...EXACTLY one year apart. Trey with the left leg and Tylee with the left arm! This year, we may just be spending the entire day in a completely padded room!!!)

Taylen had to get in a little park fun herself...and soak up a little vitamin D :)

Cheesin' away...Poor Tylee and her "bangs"...I feel like they have been in this in-between stage FOREVER!! Too short to pull back in a pony, but tooo long to leave hanging down. Not to mention she HATES leaving her clippies in...can you see, Munchkin?!?!

MUCH better!!!

Lunch Time!!! And everyone throwing up a little hand action!! So.Fun.

Daddy and his Little Sweet Pea....(Cheetos lips and all ;)

Thanks, Daddy, for meeting us at the park on your lunch break....it definitely made our entire day!! What a BLAST!!!

Happy Tuesday, All!!!

And, PS....I'll keep y'all posted on the whole Weite House move and you all keep your fingers crossed that our house sells!!! In this market, I think we are going to need all the luck we can muster up!!! We are excited and can't wait to see what adventures the future holds for us as a family!!! (Now, I'm not saying I'm not a little nervous and sometimes scared. I've never been good with the "unknown," but the quote below is helping me keep all the chaos in perspective!!!)

"The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change."