The Grass Might Be Greener....

 I feel like everybody has heard the saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side." I think there is a fence insinuated in that saying. At least, that's what I always envisioned whenever hearing that quote! And, I'm pretty sure that most people know that the saying is referring to the envy of anything that seems better than what you have yourself. Be it stuff, place, circumstance, job, etc., there's generally always something in someone else's life that seems better than your own. Thus, "the grass is always greener on the other side." Right?

Maybe.

I think I have known for several years (at least all of my adult life - I hope!) that there is a catch to that saying. But, it wasn't until two and half years ago that I think the "catch" became one hundred percent real to me. We had moved to Kansas in pursuit of "improving our life," if you will and, for myself, it turned out to be anything but an improvement in my life for quite a while. In addition, during the first year there other things were happening within my side of the family that were hard to understand the "why" behind it, and the saying "The grass is always greener..." kept coming to mind.

Ironically, the house neighboring our new place, that was also for sale, had really green grass while our own lawn was lacking in such beauty. Our yard had been well used by at least two dogs, and it did not appear that they had been picked up after for several months. If at all. And I do not like picking up dog poop. Even though I have cleaned up after my own dog for six years now, I find it utterly disgusting. Give me cow poop any day, but dog poop - Gross!! But that is a bit off topic.....

Even though we cleaned up our yard, watered, and tried to get greener grass, both Jason and I would comment on how the neighbors grass was so much greener. And, one day, after hearing more about what was going on with my family issues, and looking at the neighbors green grass and wondering why ours couldn't be as green, I told somebody, "The grass might be greener, but there's dog poop in it, too."

Isn't that a more accurate statement? I know it for sure applied to our neighbors yard; I personally saw the dog that lived there, and I never saw anyone pick up the poop. And it sure seemed to apply to the family stuff that was going on! Just because the grass IS greener doesn't mean that it is free of problems!

Ever since then, I have kept that saying pretty close to heart. I think it helps to put things into a bit of perspective to keep in mind that just because something is, or appears to be, better doesn't mean it is without it's issues. They just might not be the same issues as the ones with which you are familiar. Thus, that is my new mantra: The grass might be greener, but it has dog poop in it, too.

Fast-forward two and half years and we have recently moved back to Wyoming. And, even more recently, bought and moved into a new-to-us house. And while the "grass is greener" (to us) in Wyoming, it is not without it's "dog poop." Even this new house that we picked out for ourselves is not without it's pitfalls. While there are many aspects of moving into this house that we are quite enjoying (you can read about those here), there are also some less than enjoyable things. Like weeds. Weeds, weeds, weeds. One of the things I was excited about with this house was the garden beds in the backyard. I've never actually gotten a garden put into any of our other yards, so having some already existing was exciting. And there were already some things planted and growing in them! Yay! But along with having garden beds comes....

....weeds. I'm not sure how long the weeds had been let go, but to me they were out of control. This picture doesn't quite show it, though.

I had already weeded over half of this garden bed that has onions growing in it. If there was something else in there, I never identified it!

There are also several flower bed areas, some with really nice flowers growing. But, there are also weeds. Button-weeds appear to grow prolifically in this yard and the garden areas. There is another long garden bed with cabbage and rhubarb that is also overgrown with weeds, but you get the pictorial idea, I'm sure, from the previous pictures.

Another pitfall, or "pile of dog poop in the green grass," is mosquitoes. We were really looking forwards to being able to enjoy a nice back porch and yard. And I, specifically, was super excited for Little Pumpkin to be able to freely play outside for once. I think it was the first weekend in this new house that she got quite bitten up by mosquitoes. I didn't even think about it, and I wasn't outside with her all the time, so I didn't realize they were an issue at that time. So while having a backyard and porch is wonderful, it also presents it's own set of problems.

There are other downsides to moving, such as figuring out how furniture is going to fit (or not fit....), finding out that the house does not stay as cool during the summer as I was anticipating, helping a toddler get used to sleeping in yet another house and bedroom, and the process of unpacking, sorting, and figuring out the best organizational set-up for all our stuff. In the past, some of these current issues have not been a big deal, but this time I have been working extra hard to not feel overwhelmed. And to not just sit down and say, "Who cares if we are still living out of a suitcase next year." So remembering that just because the "grass is greener" here, and that we chose to move to the "greener grass," doesn't mean that it's going to be perfect. There's still going to be "dog poop" here just like there was "dog poop" in Kansas. And at our house before that. And the house before that.

So my ever-so-wise words for you today that I have learned from personal experience is: The grass might be greener, but there is dog poop in it, too. Guaranteed.

Things I am Looking Forwards To....

 We moved. Actually, in the past 3 months, we have moved twice.

About 3 months ago, we packed up our stuff, sold our house in Kansas, and moved back to Wyoming. It was a good move, but it wasn't without it's trials and tribulations, not to mention hard work. We chose to rent a small-ish townhouse while we looked for a house to buy. And by small, it's definitely not the tiniest rental, but with Jason working from home and taking online classes, an active toddler, and a large dog, the space gets small. Fast. We have been making do, only unpacking some of the essentials, and leaving everything else boxed up and stored in the garage.

Yeah, a garage. See? It's really not the shabbiest rental at all. It just does not have a lot of space to get away from each other (some people prefer to have their personal time), does not have a lot of space between the people that are on the phone working all day and the people that are living daily life, and does not have a lot of space to expend 2 year-old energy. That issue with having pent up energy is especially prevalent due to the fact that there is very little yard. The only fenced area is a small, rocked dog-run, basically. And, while Pumpkin likes to gather rocks for her "rock co-wection," that activity only lasts so long. So even though I thought we could live here just fine for 6-9 months (my idea, not Jason's), some of these truly first-world issues have been getting a little old.

We spent 2 months looking for a house to buy (which really isn't that long of a time period when I think about it). We soon realized that we couldn't afford our perfect house on the perfect sized lot in the perfect location. There were a couple houses that almost filled all of those dreams, but were way out of our pay-scale. After finding a couple houses that we really liked for what they were, and losing out to the highest bidder, we finally found a house that was just a few days out from going on the market. We got a private showing, and though it is not the type of house I specifically was looking for, nor in our preferred choice of location, it had enough desirable elements about it that we decided to try and get it. And, after some negotiating, we had a contract on the house and just had to jump through the typical hoops to close the deal.

While waiting the required 30 days to finalize everything, I began to think of some things about the new house that I was really looking forwards to:

• A large-ish fenced backyard that I can see from the kitchen/dining room. Little Pumpkin loves to play, and just be outside. At our previous house, although the yard was fenced she still needed good supervision and the yard was not visible from the kitchen where I usually hang out.

At the townhouse rental, we had to plan to walk down to the park, or over to the field to play in the dirt. She would have spent hours in the dirt if possible! I am really looking forwards to Pumpkin being able to just go outside and enjoy the freedom and creativity that a larger fenced yard will offer!

I was also quite looking forwards to having a fenced yard for Gunther to enjoy. At the townhouse, he was pretty much stuck inside except for when it was nice enough to sit out on the porch, or when we took him for one of his multiple daily bathroom walks. Having a postage stamp backyard, or no yard at all, just doesn't really work for us.

• A covered porch. Not only does the new house have a larger fenced backyard, but it has a large, covered, back porch!

The idea that not only will I enjoy having a back porch for once, but that Little Pumpkin will be able to still enjoy being outside pretty much no matter the weather was quite exciting! She will love riding her "motorcycle" out there, and jumping on her much requested trampoline!

• Summer bed-sheets. That's right, I am looking forwards to not sleeping on flannel sheets in an 80 degree house! When we moved into the townhouse, it was still pretty cold and didn't really get hot until early-to-mid June. So the flannel sheets that I had kept un-packed worked just fine. Until it got hot. Those non-flannel sheets are still in a box....

....Somewhere in this pile of our earthly belongings that have been hanging out in the garage for a few months. Sleeping on flannel sheets during hot summer nights with no air conditioner, and no shade to help cool the house, was a bit uncomfortable. It will be quite nice to find and use those summer bed-sheets again! (The same goes for all my summer clothes that are still packed up!)

• Space. I am looking forwards to having some space inside the house in which a 2 year old can burn off energy. Our previous house was pretty good for that, but that space was also right next to Jason's office room where he was trying to work. So...burning off energy inside the house during working hours was not always welcomed.

The main floor of the townhouse offered some space, but some days it wasn't quite enough for this "motorcycle" riding girl who would try to take Gunther for walks in the house. His leash literally reached the entire way across the room, so it was a bit small for a good indoor dog walk! Our new house has more space, and it is away from Jason's office! So I am hopeful that we won't run out of room to burn off energy!

• Mature shade trees. Our last house, and the townhouse, did not have mature trees, and I think it makes a huge difference on keeping a house cool in the summer. The new house has several mature shade trees and I am quite looking forwards to them! Especially since this house also does not have air conditioning. I fully expect those trees to help keep us cool during the summer!
• Lids for my cooking pots. I only unpacked a couple boxes of kitchen things when we got into the townhouse, and while I unearthed a few cooking pots the lids were not packed in the same box! (My packing strategy may not have been the best one so far...) I have been able to make do, most of the time, by just using the other pot as a lid, but when I needed to cook in all 3 pots at one time....well, things just didn't get covered while they cooked!
• Likewise, I am excited to have more than one scraper (or, it may  technically be called a "spatula?") available when cooking and baking. There has been more than once that I had to stop and wash my single scraper while trying to make food, or stop the dishwasher mid-cycle to retrieve the needed utensil because I forgot that I would need it. So while I sometimes think I have too much kitchen stuff, there are a few things that I am excited to have back in circulation after we unpack at the new house!

There have been other things about the new house that I have looked forwards to, but those are probably the top ones. When I first started this post, we were a week away from moving into the new house. Time constraints, and getting back into the "groove" of how to get pictures into my blog posts, caused a bit of a delay. As such, I can say that we did finalize the purchase of our new house and have been enjoying it for just under a week! I still need to find the box with the summer bed-sheets in it, though....

The In-Between Festivities

 In my last post about our Christmas Cookies with Cousins, I said I would share photos of the "after-party" from that day. My parents house was quite that happening place for about three days due to all of the festivities! So to continue the cookie making story......As the cousins got done cutting out, and decorating, however many cookies they chose to do, most of them ended up in Grandma and Grandpa's basement!

I believe this photo sums up the main attraction in the basement! There are many and various wheeled devices for small fry to enjoy down there, and I think there was more than one lap made by everyone! And, by the looks of it, Silas was leading the pack!

Not sure if Sylvia was the speed-limit enforcer...

....but it looks like Silas may have gotten caught!

Charity found herself one of those fat-tired bikes that are all the rage these days!

These two cousins, Susannah and Marie, were scooter buddies.

I never heard motorcycles racing in the basement, but apparently Paul wanted to protect his genius mind with a trusty helmet!

Grandpa, my dad, played a role in the basement events that week, also. I believe he directed traffic, played soccer, and schooled the kiddos in the game of Carrom, just to name a few!

As cousins wore out, they retired to the living room with books. Aunt Katelyn was a willing narrator for Susannah, Morgan, and Charity. (And in the background, Sam is sporting a motorcycle helmet! Seeing that makes me laugh!!)

The day after the fun, exciting, and very energetic afternoon and evening of the Christmas Cookies with Cousins event, there was another impromptu lunch gathering! All of the cousins came to Grandma and Grandpa's house again, along with their moms. Jason and I treated everyone (about 24 people total) to his infamous home-made pizza. Come to think of it, I believe everyone ate it, but I don't think I ever heard what everyone thought of it. Hmmm....makes me wonder. Nonetheless, the cousins got to spend even more time enjoying each other, and the fun that they have at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Sylvia was one of Little Pumpkin's special buddies.

Sylvia, Morgan, and Rachel Anne got to enjoy wheeled races once again.

Miss Avery's outgoing personality shines even in photos!

I'm not quite sure what Bob was wheeling around on, but the camera caught him in action! And, I thought it was a good photo!

Hannah and Sam playing a game of Carrom.

I think these cousins may have been a bit tuckered out from the day before! Charity, Marie, and Susannah spent a lot of time reading books on this afternoon.

Little Pumpkin and Sylvia coloring together.

And Silas and Little Pumpkin discovered the marble game!!! It was a big hit for Little Pumpkin!

As the day turned into evening, the folks that stayed around started playing games. Sam, Uncle Luke, Uncle Jason, and Bob played the game, "How to Rob a Bank," that Jason had brought along.

Later, Jason decided to give Bob and Sam their special Christmas gift early - there very own game of "Risk!" I believe a very intense game ensued.

The entire time we were at my parents, Little Pumpkin LOVED pushing around the baby-doll strollers. At one point in the evening, Silas started taking rides! All of the excitement was fun for all of the cousins, but I especially enjoyed seeing Little Pumpkin having so much fun with everyone. And, burning that much energy helped her to sleep well at night!

If you can believe it, there are still more pictures from the grand, "New Years Day at the Ranch!" So far, I have only shared about the pre-New Years Day festivities, and haven't even touched the main event! From the looks of it, my family might party a bit too hearty over New Years. But, everyone still showed up for one more day of party. Stay tuned!

Christmas Cookies with Cousins

 This is primarily a photos only post. My family did a "Make Christmas Cookies with the Cousins" again this year, and these are the photos. There were 15 cousins in attendance, and 11 adults. Enjoy!

Auntie Juls and Avery got the cookie making party started!

Morgan chose the chocolate dough to start.

Aunt Katelyn helping Sam to show his Christmas cookie cheer!

Rachel assisting Carter in decorating his cookies before baking.

Silas trying to acclimate to all the cookie excitement.

Ginny contemplating cookie-cutter placement with Sylvia.

Charity

Only about half of Sam's cookie dough actually made it into the oven....

Silas finally joined in the cookie making fun!

Gail was the keeper of the ovens, and occasionally came out to ask whose tray of cookies had just finished baking.

Sylvia using up every last bit of her vanilla dough.

When Sally's kids arrived, cousin buddies stuck together like glue! This is Marie and Susannah.

Rachel Anne and Sylvia with Avery on the side.

A full view of the cookie cutting-out party!

Myself, Little Pumpkin, and Hannah with Paul walking by in the background.

Mom was the faithful dishwasher the entire evening!

Carter delivering his tray of cookies to Aunt Gail for baking.

Catherine, the youngest cousin, supervising from a distance.

Avery was the longest-committed cookie maker aside from the adults. She happily cut-out and decorated lots of cookies!

Sam cutting out cookies and eating more dough!

Sally enjoying the festivities.

Marie carefully selecting her cookie decorations

Silas rolling out his own cookie dough!

Little Pumpkin and I working on her last bit of cookie dough.

Aunt Gail trying to find out whose tray of cookies just came out of the oven.

Grandma (Mom) joking with Avery as she delivers her tray of cookies for baking.

Charity delivering another tray for the oven.

Bob with his completed plate of decorated and iced cookies!

This year we were privileged to have Glen and Sherman join us!

Rachel, with the patience of Job, assisting Avery and Little Pumpkin in icing some cookies.

Little Pumpkin's icing technique was to finger-paint with icing from Avery's iced cookies! Special thanks to Avery for allowing her to join in like that!

Jul was the last trooper rolling out, and cutting out, cookies until all of the dough was used up!

And that is the end of our making Christmas cookies with cousins!

I have so many more pictures than this, but I tried to pick out some of the best ones to share. There were so many great photos, and my thanks to Ginny for taking over my camera for the evening!! My next post will have to be all of the extra-curricular activities that occurred when the cookie-cutting wore down! There was never a dull moment that evening!