Home Sweet Home

Lots of changes, moving, new jobs and new homes for the Nichols family this summer. Including saying goodbye to the house that we've called home for almost 25 years. We moved into this house from Texas when I was a wee 9-month-old babe.

My parents are packing up and hitting the road for the tundra that is Minnesota, as my dad felt called to take a business professor position at Crown College in St. Bonifacius, MN (still not sure how to pronounce that!). And having two grandkids up there doesn't hurt!

We got most of the family together over Easter (missed you Todd!) for one last family celebration. (Don't tell my parents, but I'm secretly hoping the house doesn't sell and maybe we can celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas there again too. I'm not too sure they'd like that plan though).


Many many great memories in this house. Really, way too many to count, but here's a just a sampling:

- Kicking a hole in the living room wall while practicing handstands
- Pizza dinners every weekend in the basement
- Practicing piano at the butt crack of dawn in the living room
- Millions of sleepovers in the basement, including one where we almost burnt the house down (not really, but we did have some fireplace trouble)
- Ice skating pond in the backyard (that led to stitches in my chin)
- Practicing my splits while watching Full House in my parents bedroom
- Getting out of the top bunk of my bunk bed to turn off my alarm, only to fall back asleep on the futon below
- Playing Barbies with Victoria in elementary school on my bed
- Swinging on the tire swing in the backyard and playing in the tree house
- Yelling at Bandit out the front door late at night
- Late night AIM conversations in the den during high school while I was supposed to be doing homework
- Turning on ALL the lights while getting something from the backroom of the basement and then racing back up the stairs so the boogie man didn't get me (this didn't just happen when I was little, just so you know)
- Being sent pictures of the new sunroom addition while spending a summer in Ireland
- Sitting on dad's lap after dinner was over in the kitchen
- Looking up our summer "responsibilities" list (aka chores) in the weird closet in the kitchen
- Freezing cold bedroom that my parents decided to insulate after I moved out

- Taking long showers after gymnastics while the family was waiting for me to eat dinner (after I promised them I'd take a quick one, whoops!)
- Spending the night in mom and dad's water bed with mom when my dad was out of town
- Practicing how to drive a stick on our super steep driveway in my dad's Z3
- October blizzard of '97 (or some year close to that) when we got back from a South Dakota vacation and spent the week at our cousins' because we had no power

Uhh, that list got a little longer than I planned! I guess 25 years of memories deserves a little bit longer list.

House, you will be sorely missed. But thankfully we know memories can be made in any house. Even a that house is covered in snow 9 months of the year.

**Did I accomplish my goal of making you cry, Mom? Don't worry - I cried for an hour after leaving at Easter. It's nothing a Blizzard can't make temporarily better.

Easter 2011

Here's a few pics from our Easter celebration in Omaha last month:

Gorgeous spread of food for Easter brunch

Love my handsome hubby!

She doesn't like sitting on the ground outside either - a woman after my own heart. :-)

On the search for those Easter eggs!

Nana, Gramps and Mom

Back to December

My camera was tragically left in Omaha after Christmas and I just got it back a few weeks ago at Easter! Back in the day of disposable cameras, do you remember how fun it was to develop the camera months later after you had forgotten what you had taken pictures of? Well, I got to experience a little of that fun feeling again :)

Three crazy pups who all looove each other soo much ;-) At least they look calm here!

Foosball madness

Adorable Addison

Train conductor Elijah

Back home with Noodles posing patiently in front of our Christmas tree.

And one last look at the puppies - please excuse Noodles' lack of modesty.

**P.S. Anyone catch the song lyric reference?? Five points to the person who does, ha!

Wow.

Can I just say that the last few weeks around the Carr household have held quite a few surprises, twists, turns, tears and joy.

Since I last wrote, I've enjoyed waaay too many glasses of pop (including Dr. Pepper, Cherry Coke, Root Beer, Mountain Dew, Coke, Wild Cherry Pepsi and probably many more).

But more importantly, we spent Easter in Omaha (probably our last time in our beloved house, as my parents are moving to Minnesota), had two job interviews, enjoyed a concert and week with my sister-in-law Bethany and beautiful niece Sakora, was laid off my job, had another job interview, got a part-time job offer, celebrated my dad's doctorate graduation, got a full-time job offer and set a date for moving to Champaign!

Wow. It has been quite the crazy last three weeks. And WOW is all I can say about God's blessing and graciousness over our lives. Going from basically hysterical crying one day because of being laid off to jumping up and down with joy after being offered a full-time job less than two weeks later. God is sooo good!

And in case you were wondering, yes, I am LOVING being a stay-at-home wife. I feel like I'm on summer vacation now! Dishes done, house clean, bed made, Noodles tired, run accomplished, dinner made before 8:30 p.m., enjoying lunch with Kody, lazy mornings, running errands = the ultimate life!

Unfortunately, my summer vacation will end in a month when I start the new job, but Kody's summer vaca before four crazy vet school years in just beginning!

Lots more pics and updates to come...because now I actually have time to blog!! :-)