Ta-da, we're here

Disclaimer: this is my first post and I was kind of hoping for a tutorial or something, but it looks like I am winging it. So bear with me, I will get better as time goes by. Any helpful hints would be much appreciated.

Well, Team Shier is now settling into the promised land, AKA Utah. And no, we didn't have to don LDS undies as soon as we crossed the state line. In fact, I am clearly non-LDS because I wear shorts or tank tops in our 100-degree weather (I'm such a Jezebel!). But now that we're here, I thought I'd follow in the footsteps of my sisters-in-law Whitney & Becca & do the blog thing to keep you all updated. We've met some really nice neighbors & are excited about our neighborhood. The scenery is gorgeous. Things are finally feeling unpacked, we're down to basically decor & organizing the basement. Yeah!!

Our next big project will be landscaping (notice the green type - I am anxious to turn our brown lot into green). We have to have our plans approved by the HOA & then we can start getting bids. We are up in the air on the backyard fence. We can't have a little fence like we wanted, it has to be a taller fence with a semi-open top and you have to put in a fairly big planting-bed to screen the fence if you decide to have one, so you lose a fair amount of grass area. However, the openness is nice (w/out a fence), but it would be really nice from a practical standpoint to have part of our yard fenced with a dog and two small kids. Plus, our lot is .25 acres, so we'd still have a lot of open space in our yard besides the backyard even if we decide to fence. We're also on a corner lot, so we may feel a little "exposed" without a fence because we have a sidewalk running next to our patio and backyard. I don't know...any thoughts?? Experiences with or without fences good or bad??

Grandma and Grandpa Duvall came to visit last week. We were so grateful they came to visit and everyone had a fun time. Here's a picture of Grandma Jill and the boys on the front porch, where they spent a lot of time watching the real-life version of Cars and Trucks and Things that Go that is our neighborhood. Lots of tractors, trucks, etc to keep all of us, especially Max, entertained.

I will post some pics of the house so you can see where we live now. I've got to get Ben-Ben up from his nap & take Aspen to get her kennel-cough shot for her stay at the doggie-hotel next month when we go to the shore!