For Spring Break we traveled to the farm in Iowa to see my parents. They added on to their house a while back and are still getting things finished up and put away. On Monday morning, the carpet layers came and put down new carpet in the new addition as well as a couple of other rooms. Not more than 10 minutes after they pulled out of the driveway, we began carrying things back to where they belong. This made my Mom feel much, much better. I wouldn't say she's a "neat freak" or obsessive compulsive, but she definitely does buy into the value position that everything has a place and everything should be in its place. :)

Dad and I have been working on getting all of the wiring hooked up in the rooms where it hadn't been done yet. We've been able to get the new wiring connected without too much trouble, but getting some of the older wiring reconnected has been a challenge in a couple of spots (frankly, we're not sure what the original electrician [originally wired in 1982] was thinking in these spots), but fortunately we have had success. As of this post, nearly everything is functioning as it should. So far, no fires—and I've only been shocked once (I thought someone turned off that breaker!!).

The weather has been nice, but I believe colder temps are headed this way over the weekend, possibly bringing in a few Spring snow showers. I'd be ok if that waited until we headed back south on Saturday. Other than that, it's been excellent outdoor weather and the kids have been loving it. Speaking of the kids, Sydney and Hagan are having a great time. They're getting to play and/or hang out with their "Iowa cousins," whom they don't get to see all that often. They've both been driving the Gator around, using it to get some "work" done. And Hagan has even been doing some construction: he drew up plans for and has now erected (with Papa D.'s help, of course) a "kitty condo" for the cats to live and play in. His creativity makes me smile. Celeste and Syd have covered a number of country miles on several walks. They love the scenery as they walk, but usually curse the hills.

I love this place. It's the place of my childhood, the place where I learned some solid core values, including the value of hard work. I am so happy my kids can spend some quality time here and learn some of those same values from Grammie and Papa D.!