Donald St. Reflection

In the fall of '04 I purchased this "Diamond in the Ruff" on Donald St. in Ames. Evidently I thought I needed some side projects to take up my spare time. A little over 5 yrs later I'm still plugging away at the "needing to be fixed" list. The amount of time it's taken is not all my fault; in the mean time I've picked up a "honey do" list. I suppose that's life; things always take longer than expected. If only I could predict the unpredictable.

A lot has happened in the last 5 yrs. Getting married and then having a daughter within 10 months are the biggest and best things that have happened to me. I'm very thankful for the things I do have. Sometimes I can get a little stressed from work and house projects but overall I'm happy to be who I am and very proud of my families.

Anyway, I've been looking through my photo's lately and feel their worth sharing.

Sept. '04, Eagerly moving into the money pit.

Spring '09, Newest "after" photo I could find. House has been painted, front steps replaced, overgrowth removed etc...

Sept. '04, I'm lucky to have such mature trees. However, grass quality can be an issue. Especially when weeds/ bushes turn into a forest.


Summer '09, After many attempts at reseeding the lawn and trimming trees to allow sunlight through we seem to have grass all summer long. Back porch is still under construction. Needing to finish off the pergola above.


Summer '09, Back patio.


Shortly after snow melt '05, This is the spring-time result of a weed majority lawn.


Summer '09, After many years of blood, sweat and yes some tears here and there.

Winter '04, Side door entry way. What did I get my self into?

Dec. '09, Not perfect but getting there. Replaced drywall, electric, door, refinished floors/ steps. Still need to build shoe rack built-in off to the lower right of the door.

I hope you've enjoyed your trip down my memory lane.

Andrew

What have we been up to???

It has been a busy last month or so getting ready for the holidays and finishing up projects and visiting family. We are pooped, but we still have a few weeks left of this crazy year before the new year begins and hopefully our lives get a little less busy. (We'll see...) This is a glimpse into Izzi's world and what she's been up to lately.

Hanging with the family after dinner getting ready for my nighttime ritual of putting on jammies reading books and drifting off to sleep. (If I'm in the mood to do all those things in that order and let mom and dad off easy).

Hanging out shirtless with daddy, it was just a matter of time. Doesn't he know I look far cuter than he ever will?

Helping decorate the tree. I was all over putting that star on the top, thanks to dad!

Photo shoot for my Christmas card with my teddy bear. All this smiling is exhausting!

Visiting Grandma & Grandpa Storjohann's house for Thanksgiving. I just woke up and look at what they put me in to get me to sleep, it's very similar to a straight jacket in my opinion.


Bare back riding Cirque, he is a very good sport about me climbing on and grabbing at his hair. He is my furry friend who I love to watch and giggle at.

Tummy time and drooling two of my staples I have grown accustomed to over the last 5 months.

And finally.... Tickling the ivories at my Aunt Kristin and Uncle Rob's house. I just love to play the classics and sing along to my own tune. Oh what fun! :)