Here's the Diehl

I know. It's been a while. But days like today...with the clear blue sky and the crisp air, remind me of our week at the beach. That happened a month ago now. How things change in one month. Lots to update everyone on. But first, let's share some photos from the amazing, incredible, fun, giggly week we had with these guys . It was an awesome week. The kids did so great together. And they were so much fun. The only photos I don't have, that I wish I could share, were from our first night there. I took the four kids down to the beach and the sun was setting and shining through the clouds. The ocean was so warm. We put our feet in. One thing led to another. And then Julia, Alex and Annalisa were swimming in their clothes. But never happier. The smiles I saw that night were priceless. I will never forget the sun shining in their eyes and how happy they were. Which was good, because that night of swimming held them until Thursday. The red "no swimming" flags were u...

The tile is being installed. And a coat of paint is getting put up. Doors are going in. Trim is being done. We are getting there! About 5-6 weeks til the whole shebang is complete. Unless....we get thrown off schedule (which seems to happen a lot). But it's looking so amazing! Can't wait to share it with everyone!  This is the powder room.  Here is a view from the existing living room, into the new kitchen/dining/family room.  A lot of things are delivering lately. This is our cabinetry, lighting, and other various materials.  This is the family room (the fireplace is blocked by the stack of light fixtures), and built in bookcases will surround the fireplace eventually.  Here is a view from the back of the dining room towards the kitchen and living room.  The mudroom. Love my herringbone brick tile. Excited to see the wallpaper behind the washer/dryer.  What used to be Schuyler's room, will now be a playroom.  And the girl...

Lately, Schuyler is really into jumping into Julia's bed. She loves pretending to go "night, night" and climbing under the covers.

My big girl has started cooking on her own! Here she is mastering the art of Saturday morning pancakes....and spreading the batter onto the griddle. Grandpa would be proud!

We're getting there. These are the latest photos we have, but we walked through again tonight real quick and there is drywall! Walls! Walls! If I consult our handy chart that our builder gave us yesterday, we are really getting to the fun stuff now. The floors go in this week and next. Then trim, doors and built ins are next. Tile. Paint. Cabinetry. Counters. Floor finishing. Backsplash. Appliances. The magical question: will they finish before our lease ends?  Probably not. But we are pushing them, so we'll see what we can do.  Here are a couple photos that are a few weeks old, but it shows some progress from the last blog update. I'll try and get some new photos this weekend to show the inside. It's crazy different. Back porch. Please excuse the weird exposure...I think our little camera is dying a slow and painful death.  Another view of the back. All the second story windows are the master suite.  Front view.  Air conditioning!...

I know. We haven't posted in forever. So, we will have to rewind a bit and review July. Things are going by way too fast and most of the time I'm not even carrying a camera. I do post on Instagram though way more regularly. I've said it before...I would follow me there. I'm considering retiring this blog fairly soon. Blogging, like Facebook (thank God), are going the way of newspapers and magazines: dying arts. Back to the beach. We hit it and we hit it hard over July 4 weekend. Nothing like a last minute bartering deal with a rental agency to get some prime sun tanning.  We couldn't get this one out of the water.  But we couldn't get this one near the water.  Yuck.  Ocean front yoga.  Schuyler wasn't really excited about a photo session.  "Airplane!"   A little b-ball. We'll see you again soon, beach!