The Power of Keys

We’re renters once again!

Last night I went to meet our new landlord at our apartment building and do the key swap! Which means, we officially are renting our own place now. Tim didn’t get home until late last night so the two of us didn’t actually get to walk through it together until this morning, but as of around 6:30 pm yesterday, it’s been our place!

We’re thinking that move-in will probably happen this weekend (good weather pending) but there are a few things to do over the next two days to get it Olson-approved before we start cluttering it up with our furniture. Remember this post that talked a little bit about the layout? Here’s some super fast photos I snapped as we were about to leave (forgive the poor quality).

The Sunroom

Living Room (the room you walk into)

Living Room looking into the Dining Room

Dining Room

"Master" Bedroom

The Kitchen

The Girls' Bedroom

So there you have it, our apartment. We were a little bit disappointed with the condition it was left in (we were expecting the big wall in the girls room to look weird because they repaired and primed it right before we got into the place). We weren’t expecting the long list of things that still needed to be done before we moved in. Our list of to-do’s (other than buying specific furnishings/storage solutions) had included:

1. Paint the Sophie and Bean #2′s bedroom before we move in
2. Do some last-minute wipe-downs of cupboards, floors etc. because the apartment will never be this clean-able again.

However, what we have ended up with are:

1. Paint Sophie and Bean #2′s bedroom
2. Paint kitchen (it’s a really awkward lime green that makes an already dark room, look even darker)
3. Possibly need to repaint the closets in both the Master and Second bedrooms
4. Possibly paint master… we’ll see how the blue looks once our furniture is in
5. Repair odd hole in the second bedroom closet
6. Re-caulk window in second bedroom
7. Talk to landlord about broken window in second bedroom
8. Find out where all the fire detectors went (they’re all MIA except for the one in the master)
9. Replace light fixture/fan in master
10. Get rid of all flourescent lighting… makes the whole place look weird
11. Do a major cleaning of all cupboards, floors, appliances… basically every surface in there needs to be touched up (except for the fridge which is amazingly clean)
12. Replace weird curtain in kitchen, and buy curtains/blinds for all other windows (anyone else think the sunroom is going to be an expensive endeavor?)
13. Replace missing outlet covers in a couple of rooms
14. Touch-up trim and door paint

Whew. Since this is just a rental and not actually a place we bought, we will be talking with the landlord and seeing what projects they’re willing to reimburse us for, what projects they will do on their own, and what projects are ones we will have to do out of our own pockets… for our own sanity. Yet, despite all the work that’s going to have to go into our new place, we’re really excited to move-in and get settled, just in time for our second little one to arrive. Hopefully. Wish us luck, and we’ll be sure to keep you posted along the way! Cheers!

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

We’re moving in less than a week and it is crazy around here! However, let’s take a breather from the madness and talk about what we did yesterday!

On Tuesday, our family took advantage of Tim’s day off from work and went to the Minnesota State Fair!

This was not our first time at the fair with Sophie. But it was definitely the first time we were there as a family that she was awake for! (Last year when we took her she just slept in the baby carrier for most of it). Needless to say, there were lots of things we wanted to do with her this time around since she was a little bit older. Like the giant slide! Or the Ye Old Mill water “ride”:

And if you’re wondering why the quality of the photos are so-so… we left my camera at the house. Fail. But these turned out cute nonetheless!

One of the most fun places there was for Sophia to explore was the Kemps Little Farm Hands area. It was such a hoot!

Picture from here

When you entered, you immediately were given an apron (which Sophie completely refused to put on) and a little tin pail to carry you “harvest” around in. Then you went through each of the stations planting seeds, “feeding” the animals, picking apples, collecting eggs and all manner of farm activities. Then at the end you turned back in all the stuff you had collected and received a farm dollar to go spend in the grocery store. Sophie picked out a cute little apple (a real one this time, all the other produce thus far had been fake).

Here’s our little one with her bucket! She was so sad when she had to give it back. Maybe we need to get her a bucket she can keep and collect things at home with. For about ten minutes afterwards she kept asking, “Bucket?” Ah the lesson of sharing. Here’s some fun shots of her doing her collecting:

… and some rather unflattering pictures of me… oh well. This is real life people.

We also got a chance to eat (my favorite word) a whole plethora of unhealthy, delicious foods such as the famous cheese curds, pronto pups, and Sweet Martha’s Cookie (yes we bought a bucket and immediately went to the all-you-can-drink milk stand… it’s how we roll). My thrifty husband also couldn’t say no to a snow cone that was just a buck. I think it’s probably the first time I’ve ever had a snow cone… Sophie too.

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I think she thought it was ice cream… but then it crumbled on her. New experience!

By the time 5:00 pm rolled around, our little one was pretty wiped out. Plus, it was starting to look like the weather was no longer going to be accommodating, so we headed back to the bus. Of course Sophie liked the walk back because she got to share it with one of Sweet Martha’s amazing cookies…

Believe it or not, by the time we got to the bus… she was a little chocolate monster, covered head-to-toe in chocolate and cookie crumbs. Good thing we had a change of clothes.

Thus our 2011 fair experience was completed. It was amazing to get the chance to spend some much-needed relaxation time with the family. In the whirlwind of new baby coming, Tim’s work, Sophie’s schedule and all manner of other things, it’s really wonderful to just relax… or go to the State Fair. Either one.

In closing… here’s our favorite shot from the fair trip. Ain’t she a doll er sheep?