Making Ohio Feel Like Home...

So here it is...our home in Sandusky. I was going to share more pictures but after I saw the pics I realized that my apartment still looks rather blah and I need to get some color going on before I share. I made the curtains, which I am not sure I like to admit, makes me feel kind of insecure. And after starring at the picture I am now determined to camouflage the white walls (I totally had to look up how to spell camouflage. I would have lost the spelling bee with that word). At least the house looks clean...I am standing where all the toys were pushed so I could take this picture:) We have tried to explore as much as we can when Nate is not working. Plus we have been told the winters here are rather long and cold...boring pretty much. So we have been making the most of every minute while we can. Which means lots of time at the beach. Here is our cute little family.
Here we are enjoying a little demolition derby action. I grew up going to these (should I admit that?). But Nate had never been to one. You have to love the white trash that gathers at these types of events:)

Cams has grown up so much.

This picture was taken just outside our apartment. We live in a big complex so the streets are calm and it is perfect for playing.

Discovering Sandusky

We have lived in Ohio now for just over 2 weeks. After I got over my first impression of this place I have decided that I am going to love it here.

Lets start from the beginning...

On our drive to Ohio we got a phone call from our soon-to-be landlord informing us that the basement of our condo had flooded and that she and her husband did not want to rent it in its current condition. The message ended with "I hope you have a back up apartment that will work for you". I was shocked. Who has a backup apartment? Anyway, we drove into town and started the apartment search. I went downtown to look at a duplex. The downtown here is a little sketchy and the street I was on was pretty scary. I nearly started crying thinking this might be my only option. No home sweet home feeling here. My phone had died so I wasn't able to get a hold of Nate. I was so overwhelmed. I was wondering to myself "what have we done". This place is a hole in the wall. I was ready to move back to Des Moines where everything was comfortable.

We next went to look at Shaker Village (an apartment complex about 10minutes out). It is only 3 years old and in a nicer part of town and instantly I knew this is where I wanted to live. It would cost a little more, but it would be totally worth it. Trying to convince Nate of this was not so easy. He insisted we try looking at a few more houses in the downtown area. I don't think he understood...it wasn't the houses that bothered me. They were actually really cute, lots of character. It was the area. I couldn't do it. Not if I was going to be at home all day with Cam. Fortunately I won the battle:). We were moved into our apartment just a few hours later. The best part is we live directly across the street from Jenni and Nick Racker. It is so nice to have their little george so close for Cambri to play with. Oh and the other thing...we are minutes from the Mall and Target. Maybe this place wasn't going to be too bad after all:)

We have since been able to explore some of the charm here. We are right on Lake Erie so we have been able to play at the beach. Oh and the water...it is so warm! There is a state park that we have gone to a few times and we just discovered a new place that is less busy that we are looking forward to checking out. We haven't been to Cedar Point yet, but we have watched some of the roller coasters from a distance and they look amazing.

Yes, I want you all to come visit. Since our first condo didn't work out we don't have all the extra rooms but we are certainly all about having a campout in the family room. Please come see us!!! Cam and George after swimming in the lake. We have pics from behind that are too cute! Cambri is such a bully to George. And it doesn't help that she is a mammoth compared to him.

Yummy!

Since the water is so warm Cam loves it. And let be honest, I love it. I am such a sissy with cold water. I blame it on growing up swimming in my grandparents pool that was always 90 degrees.

Daddy and Cam playing in the sand.

I will get pics of our apartment up soon. I just have to finish making some curtains for the front room. The project has been longer than I anticipated but fun. I love having my sewing maching back.

p.s. I just saw an advertisement for the next season of the Biggest Loser. Oh my gosh I am so excited.

Small Obsession..

In the past it has been impossible to keep a hat on Cambri. Even if it was strapped under her chin she would figure a way to get it off her head. I found it ironic because she always let me put headbands on her. I found a cute hat on sale for a few bucks so I thought I would get it and try to get her to wear one. Of course she hated it. I kept trying. Eventually it worked...she left it on. Now she won't take it off. She loves it. She puts in on herself and wears it everywhere. It is pretty cute. The best was when she put it on and it covered her eyes. She was walking around and ran right into the couch. Knocked her right over. She sure is cute!

Summer Adventures...

Before I post about our fun adventures I just want to say that I love this picture. Nothing makes me happier than when my little one wants to cuddle me.

Lots of pictures on this post!

After spending time with family in Utah and Idaho we made a trip up to Montana. Nate's brother lives there so we stayed at his place in Helena for a few nights. We also made the trek to Glacier National Park. We camped there for a night and did a quick sight seeing trip the next day. I wish we would have had more time to hike, kayak, and swim. It is so pretty!
The scenery is lot prettier than the people:) Remember we were camping.

This would be our engagement picture:)

Unfortunately our little Cam Bam got sick on the way to Montana. She threw up a few times and ran a crazy fever. Pretty sure she slept all but a few hours a day for a few days. The poor thing was miserable.

The lovely Rencher Clan.

Our Next stop was Mt. Rushmore. Again I wish we would have had more time to explore the Black Hills where this is located. I had no idea that Mt. Rushmore had been turned into such a destination spot. It would have been so much fun to camp here for a few days.

Mt. Rushmore itself was way cooler than we had anticipated. Nate loved it! He said if he were president he would come to this spot to contemplate all his decisions. Probably not a bad place to receive a little inspiration from those who had once been there.

That night we tried to find a hotel. Didn't think we would need a reservation. Who knew that every hotel within an hour would be packed to capacity? On our drive to South Dakota there was no one on the road. Pretty much thought we were the only ones headed to see Mt. Rushmore. The place was a zoo. So for future reference anyone going to Mt. Rushmore, get a hotel before hand.

The next morning we drove through the Badlands. This wasn't my favorite place in the whole world. Maybe it was because we were on a time crunch so we had to get up an hour earlier in order to fit it in. That means a lot when you only got 5 hours to begin with. I ended up sleepig through half of the drive. But Nate enjoyed himself so I guess it was worth it.

I guess it is kind of cool that deposition and erosion could do something like this.

The adventures continue, but they aren't so scenic so I will leave you with this for now. We did make it to Ohio safely and are now just trying to get settled in. I will admit I am a little homesick for Des Moines, but I think I will come to like Sandusky. It is different than I thought it would be. But I am sure it will just take some time to feel like we are at home. It is nice to be settled (at least for a few years).