Monday, July 29, 2013

Monday-10:15am: Family Visit

I remembered to take pictures--so you are forewarned--LOL!  My mom and dad (Jane and Kelly)...
 ...and my brother and his wife (Blaine and Kathy) arrived at my place.  We gabbed for a couple of hours here and then headed over to Dagan and Leah's.
I haven't been there since spring, myself, so I am amazed at how many more houses there are now!  I stood toward the end of their driveway and took pictures.  I started facing to the left... 
...and slowly turned in a circle. 
They're building right across the street now. 
Houses everywhere! 
My dad was taking pictures, too, but when he got in the house he realized his batteries had died!  Dagan and Leah had to cut the weeds in their yard with a scythe!  Been too hot to sod yet.  They'll probably have their cement patio poured and grass by September.  The yard has to be leveled first.  Lot of work to a brand new house.
Those of you who were around a year ago may remember when Dagan and Leah's house was being built and there was nothing else around but one house and one in progress on this other street. 
Talk about a huge neighborhood popping up in no time! 
I was anxious to see the shelf unit they picked up in the Twin Cities at IKEA.  It is so cool!  Fits exactly into that spot. 
They're using Ariel's table and chairs as long as she moved in.  Might as well wait to buy a dining room table and not have even more to store. 
Dagan and Leah chatting with Kathy.  Blaine is petting Sammy. (Never saw Annie all day, their black cat who's shy.)  
This is the main room of the house... 
...kitchen, dining room, and... 
...living room.  (You may notice a plate mounded high on the end of the counter--Leah made some chocolate chip cookies that morning and I even got a few sent home with me, too.)
Off behind the kitchen through the archway is a small hallway with a bathroom...
...and the pantry!! 
This pantry is a dream for anyone who cooks and bakes! 
And very organized, of course. 
Then we made our way upstairs on the tour.  Ariel was sleeping (works nights).  We tried to be quiet, but I am shocked we didn't wake her up.  We tend to be loud and all talk over each other (but we can follow more than one conversation at a time--no lie!).  Quite disconcerting to people who aren't used to quite that volume of gregariousness!  ;)  
****
At the top of the stairs they have bookcases now... 
...and a plant and Ariel's desk.  There's a smaller bedroom and then...
...Dagan and Leah's bedroom on the back end of the house. 

You go through the walk-in closet to get to the bathroom.  This is the short wall of the closet... 
...and this is the other deeper side. 
I love those red sinks! 
I was taking pictures of all of us in the bathroom and it suddenly cracked me up...
....picturing the seven of us trying to stand and talk in my bathroom--ROFL! 
My dad was standing by the door to the "water closet".  ;) 
I took a couple pictures out a second story window.  That's a newer church across the field--and just to the right... 
...are all the houses crammed around the soy bean field. 
On the other side of the upstairs is Ariel's bedroom (right where I am standing, actually) and on the right hand side of the hallway are... 
...a bathroom... 
...and the laundry room.  (Love the terra cotta walls!) 
At the end of the hall is the tall room with the three little windows you see outside from the front of the house. 
This is their gaming room. 
Very bright in there. 
They have a group of friends they've been gaming with weekly for many years. 
Their group runs a suite at ValleyCon every October at the gaming convention that's held in Fargo.  (And Dagan and Leah also store stuff for their Valley Con suite out in the garage.) 
Then we made our way down to the unfinished basement.  Some long storage under the entryway hallway. 
 The cat boxes under the stairs.
The main room... 
...all Leah's brother Aaron's things (he just went into the service in December) and more of Ariel's things and some of theirs.
Aaron's furniture makes a spot to sit with a laptop. 
Hard to see--but in the back there where the light is--that's the furnace room. 
I didn't get pictures of their garage, but it is pretty much like this, too.  And why they can't fit any cars in there until they get some of those hanging ceilings for creating "attic" storage in the garage. 
This is the view from the dining room table... 
...where we gabbed and gabbed and ordered in from Granite City (delicious!)...and I totally forgot about the camera after our tour.  :):)  Was a wonderful visit!  I haven't seen Kathy for soooo long!  Now I've seen all my immediate family again.  :)
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My sister was busy.  Her son, Joel, who was up last summer with Jozette--well, they're getting married in two weeks!  Dagan and Leah will drive down for the wedding (and take lots of pictures, I hope).  I'm glad I got to meet Jozette, too, last year.  Sweet girl.  :)
****
So that was the family visit for 2013.  
Have a wonderful week!  :):)
****
"I find family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world."
Amos Oz

21 comments:

Janie Junebug said...

What a lovely happy family. *snicker* I now want red sinks. I think their black wall unit is exactly the same as the one in my living room. Mine was here when I arrived. Don't know why the former owners didn't take it. Maybe because it requires frequent dusting.

Love,
Janie

Intense Guy said...

Goodness. 7 folks in a bathroom? That's big enough for a large restaurant or something...

:)

The house is looking like a home! And so nice... now to figure out why everything is so ... organized!!

I'm thrilled for Leah and Dagan!

TexWisGirl said...

glad they made it up and got to see the kids' house, too. looks like they've settled in nicely. so jealous they have a basement!

Anonymous said...

Nice House!! I like the funky kitchen cabinets the best.

Anonymous said...

I love it all--especially the red sinks!!

Katie Isabella said...

Good day! What a please to meet you. Thank you for coming by my blog.

Beth and I were born on the same day, September 25th, but not the same year. So we think of ourselc=ves as the Cyber Twins.

Loved each picture here..what a joy of a home.

Katie Isabella said...

Oh, this is Ramblingon..I may still be logged into my cat's blog..Katie Isabella.

Shelly said...

What a beautiful home, made all the more lovely with happy family all around. I love the colors and decor. The only thing missing, dare I say, is a certain sweet kitty...did she sleep the whole time you all were gone?

Felicia said...

OMGOSH they have done so much wit the house!! It looks amazing! I remember the photos you showed when they were building and there was nothing around it hardly! Now look at it! It was so fun to see all the family! Like being there when we cant! LOL Thanks for sharing! *hugs* =0)

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I really enjoyed the tour and becoming reacquainted with your family. There were a LOT of changes to both that neighborhood AND the house. It now looks like a home.

ChicagoLady said...

I love the kitchen! I don't think I've ever seen pots and pans stored in a pantry, lol. The house is looking like a home, but I can see they still have a lot of work to do yet. Glad you got to see your family!

Queenie Jeannie said...

Sounds like a wonderful visit!!! Their house has really come a long way and looks fantastic! Hugs!

DJan said...

Wow, Rita. That's quite the tour, and what a fine home it's turned into. Thank you for sharing the visit with me, I'll bet Karma was glad to see you again. :-)

zettarooski said...

Hi Rita,

Jozette here!! I've been following your blog since our visit last summer. Thanks for the nice compliments. We'll be sure to stop for pictures with Dagan and Leah on the big day!

~Jozette

Far Side of Fifty said...

What a beautiful home, I really liked the pantry! So good that you got to see your parents and brother and his wife. It is good for you to have company! :)

Jenny Woolf said...

OMG what a fabulous house! I am awestruck! How fast that empty fieldscape is turning into a neighbourhood

This sounds like such a wonderful family get together Rita! looksl ike you had nice weather too.

Darla said...

What fun to see the family and join you on the house tour via pictures. I'm amazed to see all the new houses going up. I guess the economy is picking up.

Darla

VonnyK said...

How lovely that you had such a nice visit from the family. I loved the tour, they have a fabulous house. It's amazing how fast homes get built. We were the only ones in our area and now it's totally built out. I guess that's progress for you. Thanks for showing us the photos, I really enjoyed it.
Have a great week.
Von

AliceKay said...

Dagan and Leah have such a beautiful home. And yeah, that housing development sure "developed" in short order.

I'm glad you had the chance to visit with your family. Your parents look great. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. I enjoyed them very much. :)

Anonymous said...

Nice shots - the house looks good.

Zue said...

What a wonderful home they have !
Than you for the tour!
Soy beans, that's a crop I don't think we have here!
Sue xx