December ~ Inspection Passed!

Today is an exciting day in the world of our new house - we passed our inspection. No, not the official "move-in" inspection, but we get to finish the drywall! Next week we'll have finishers in doing mud/tape and texture. After that....paint! It's very exciting to be at this point. Kyle and my dad were SO happy that the inspection went so well. Mr. Inspector found NOTHING wrong!

Here are a couple pics of the dry-walled house. It's really starting to feel like a home!

Family room on the main floor.....this has changed since this pic as well...we now have a fireplace!

Our kitchen....love the arch to the dining room! :)

In other Matthias news....Myles is finally officially a walker! It's been several weeks now and he is quite steady! He is almost running already. Once they start, they just don't stop, do they!

Macy has definitely learned how to pose for pictures. When I try to take her picture these days, I get this way-to-grown-up little smirk. It's just hilarous to me!

Kyler and Curren had their Christmas concert on December 1st. Kyler looked so cute in his little Christmas tie! Funny thing is, if anyone reading this goes to Orchard, you'll often see Kyler in a tie and vest. He just loves to look nice! :)

Curren was involved in a "Lego League" competition last Saturday. It was a high-enery competition for 9-14 year olds in Cedar Falls. Curren's team has been preparing at least twice a week since September. They built a little robot and programmed it to complete "missions." They also did a presentation (complete with a rap about global warming and a PowerPoint), and were judged on their technical skills and teamwork. There were about 20 teams competing from the Cedar Valley and the exciting news was that Curren's team WON! Below is what was read off before the annouced the "Champion's Award." Yes, mom's eyes did tear up when they annouced that the winners were the Universal Robots from Denver! Way to go, Curren! Good luck at the state competition!

Champion's Award: This most prestigious award goes to the team who, in the big picture, is the
strongest in all of the categories combined. The Champion's Award winner is the
total package-the embodiment of the FIRST LEGO League vision. The Champion's Award encompasses five key elements of the Technical and Team Presentation Awards - Robot Design, Robot Performance, Project Presentation, and teamwork, as well as honoring the team's understanding and practice of Gracious Professionalism, exemplifying FLL Values and their understanding of the true meaning of FIRST and FIRST LEGO League. The FLL experience is more than building robots or attending competitions. lt begins with the robot, but most importantly, it is defined by how the children unite to form a team. The program impacts each of them as individuals and as team members. This award celebrates the ultimate success of the
FIRST mission and FLL Values. It measures how the children inspire others about the accessibility and excitement of science, technology, and engineering while demonstrating respect, encouragement, and continued gracious professionalism. The winning team is
given the honor of serving as a valued role model for FIRST and the FIRST LEGO League Program.