Neeley Family Blog

Well, there are two reasons for the above title.  The first being that all 5 of us were sick through Christmas!!! I told Brad I think is the first time I can remember being sick on Christmas.  Brylee and Brock had fevers just before Christmas.  All of us had runny noses, coughs and congestion.  No fun! The second reason for the title is with our Pre-Christmas Christmas being over just days prior, we had yet another set of Neeley's come to visit.  The North Carolina Neeley's (Brad's parents Brian and Carol) came to see us for Christmas.  So many Christmas parties, so many things to do! Brian and Carol joined us just a couple days before Christmas.  First thing on the agenda- FINISH Christmas Shopping!  We gave them a list of the kids toys they would like and off we all went to the stores.  I distracted the kiddos with other things, while Brad helped his parents make the present decisions.  There were multiple trips to differ...

Two people very near and dear to our hearts came to visit just before Christmas.  Brad's brother Eric and his wife Jenn were the first to come for a visit in the new house.  We busily got things ready in the house (as you can see from the previous post) and were ready for a much needed break upon their arrival.  No crazy plans this trip, just a little Christmas shopping and seeing some Christmas lights.  The rest of the time was planned to relax and spend time with one another.  Brad and Eric got a little "man" time in by going to see Tron together while Jenn and I recovered my dining room chairs.  Eric also helped Brad with some updating of our computer.  And the kids got tons of playtime with both Uncle Eric and Aunt Jenn! There are so many pictures to show I decided to do a slide show instead.  Enjoy! Thank you Uncle Eric and Aunt Jenn for visiting, our gag gifts, the kids gifts and for our new Camcorder! We LOVE you bunches and...

We purchased a dining table and chair set before we moved into our new house.  It was a great buy off of Craigslist.  The only problem was the purple velvet fabric on the chairs.  Brad said he felt like a King in King Arthur's Court when he sat down.  I had been searching for new fabric at several stores and had not found anything that was a good value.  My mom recommended that I go look at the Pendleton Woolen Mills store (the retail store of where she works). After some looking I found an AWESOME deal on some fabric at the Pendleton Store and my mom let me use her discount. I left the chairs uncovered as Eric and Jenn arrived so that per Eric's (Brad's brother) request, he could sit on the purple chairs.  I started the project when they were visiting one afternoon.  Jenn and I enjoyed our girl conversation while I stapled away.  She and Brayden then helped screw the chair cushions back onto the chair frame.  Here is the before: And...

We are officially moved people!!!! After a month and a half of constant work in getting the place ready, we have made the journey and came out in one piece for the most part.  We have gotten things unpacked and put in their respective places.  And been finishing up some details in several rooms.  We have some smaller projects left, but the majority of the work is done and the house looks great!  We now have it decorated for Christmas and ready for Santa to make his stop. Brylee would like to give you a tour! Enjoy the pictures: The front of the house: The side view of the front yard: A view into the backyard: The front porch: The Sunroom: The Kitchen (a little dark), but the paint looks awesome! The One and Only Bathroom: The Spare Bedroom (technically the master on the main floor, but the closet is so tiny we chose another room): The Dining room: The Living Room: The Stairway/Hallway upstairs: Sitting area at the top of the stairs: Our Master Bedroom: Bryle...

Brayden's school puts on an annual Christmas program.  Last year the Preschool kids were not involved, this year they were very excited to get to participate.  We counted down the days and Brayden kept asking me how many days were left.  We were also excited to share the event with Grammy, Grandpa, Auntie Brittany and Dominic.  A family affair! Here is Mr. Brayden proud and ready to go! Brayden  is on the right-hand side on the lower step.  He was all business when he got on stage! Here are a couple videos of the performance: Miss Brylee enjoying the performance. And here is Brayden and his friend Evan after the performance. So cute!!! They did a great job! We are so proud :)

Well in the process of all our work at the new house.  We had to set up a new dog run.  John took on the project.  He got everything ready and decided to have some concrete delivered instead of him and Brad mixing 80 some bags of concrete themselves!  The day came to have the concrete delivered.  The weather was going to be perfect and of course Brad had a huge meeting at work and could not help out, so guess who jumped in to help wheel barrow concrete around and smooth out the concrete!?! Yours truly!!! Yep, I have never really been a girly girl and am not afraid of getting dirty so muck boots here I came! First we wheeled about 15-20 wheel barrows full of concrete, dumped them in the designated areas (one for the dog run and one to finish off a back patio area).  Once all the concrete was dumped we began shoveling it around.  We then skimmed the top to even it all out.  John really did all the hard work on this part.  That concrete is p...

Halloween was a few weeks back now, but I am not yet ready for the Christmas season to begin.  So bare with me as I look back at my adorable Minnie Mouse, Fireman, and Super Mario. The kids were super excited for Halloween.  They got to wear their costumes a couple days prior.  Brayden had dress up day at school on the Friday before Halloween.  Brock, Brylee and I went to Brad's work for trick or treating the same day while Brayden was in school.  Here is everyone at Brayden's school. CHEESE!!!!!! The boys picked their costumes out and they both voted for Brylee to be Minnie Mouse.  We kept looking for a costume for her, but they consistently went back to Minnie.  Minnie and Grandpa.  And at one point in the evening Grandpa was wearing the ears! On Halloween we continued our yearly ritual of going to Auntie Brittany and Uncle Tony's house.  The kids like to all go out together and man are they just stinking cute too! Tony's parents come o...

The floors are done! They look AMAZING!!!! The guys did such great work.  They had to use 6 different grits of sandpaper.  The guys told me they went through about 30 sanding sheets and a couple of them blew up! It took a week, but they are absolutely gorgeous! Here is the sanding in progress... The paint is coming off...YEAH!!!!! Here are some pictures to enjoy.  There are only a couple from the kitchen because at this point we cannot walk on them yet.  We want to make sure the sealant cures properly so we are being extra careful! Cannot wait to move in our furniture and start setting things up.