For Sale

If I have been a little absent lately, it's because our lives have just taken a very drastic turn this week.  About a week and a half ago I went on a run in our neighborhood and saw that a home was going to be listed for sale soon.  As a little backstory, when we bought our current home we knew that it wasn't going to be a long-term forever home.  It's beautiful, the location is fabulous, and it fit many of our needs.  However, I just couldn't envision large teenagers upstairs in those bedrooms sharing a single bathroom.  I had my eye on some larger homes across the street.  We couldn't afford them at the time, and there were so many miracles that happened to get us into this home that I knew it was meant to be.  We've been in this home now for seven and a half years.  Things have getting tight for the kids and we've known for awhile that eventually we were going to need to upgrade to something a bit larger.  I've kept my eye open on the housing market just in case the perfect home popped up unexpectedly.  Jeremy and I wanted a home with a larger backyard than the one we have now.  Ideally I'd want 1/3 of an acre or so.  In order to get a lot that size in this neighborhood, there are only a handful of homes that qualify.  So why didn't we look in other neighborhoods?  Because I have absolutely loved being within walking distance of the kids' school, the pool, seven parks, the grocery store, the new bike park, the lake, and the trail system.  It was too much to give up.  So over the past three years or so I've been eyeing those few select homes just praying that one of them would go up for sale at the right time.  

As I ran past that "coming soon" sign I knew it was one of the houses that just might fit everything on our wish list.  I called the realtor directly and discovered they were going to start showing the house on Friday.  Next, I called Andrew, our friend and realtor, and asked him to get us into that house first thing.  We were the first ones through the home, and as we walked in we realized that this might be exactly what we were looking for.  There are four bedrooms upstairs, and three bathrooms.  The girls could finally get their own rooms!  The boys would also get their own bathroom which is a blessing since my girls are getting older.  There is plenty of room on the main floor to move around, not feel crowded, and maybe actually host a party.  The backyard is a perfect size for playing soccer or throwing a ball around.  We could set up a full-sized tramp, or a volleyball net, or so many other things.  It has a three-car garage which is perfect to hold all of the kids' bikes.  The basement isn't finished, which I actually prefer because we can finish it the way we like.  The home was built the same year ours was so there is some updating that needs to happen.  The most pressing issue though is that this home has cats and a dog.  I definitely did not want a home that had housed animals because of our allergies, but we are planning on new paint and new carpet throughout the entire home.  If we take care of that and give it a good deep clean, I think we'll be okay.  

Before we even left the house, we told Andrew to submit an offer for us.  Later that night we discovered that there were three other offers and we were now in a bidding war.  Jeremy and I slept on it that night trying to decide how high we wanted to go, and what was realistic.  Saturday afternoon we came up with a number and submitted it to Andrew, only to discover that the other buyers didn't want to risk a bidding war and dropped out.  There was one more potential offer but the seller liked our family and that we were from within the neighborhood.  Before we knew it, we were under contract for a home!  

The next step was selling our house.  We had a day and a half to get our home cleaned and ready to list.  Our family spent Sunday and Monday cleaning everything.  Monday afternoon the photographer came.  Tuesday night our house was on the market.  Wednesday morning we had our first showing.  Thursday we had five more showings.  Saturday we had our final three showings before receiving a full-priced offer.  

How did we go from living our lives as normal on Tuesday, then buying and selling a house in just ten days?  I will tell you that Jeremy and I have had some pretty amazing experiences these last couple of weeks.  When we bought our current home we felt like it was meant to be and Heavenly Father put things into motion so that we could buy this house.  This home purchasing experience is feeling the exact same way.  

-As we knelt in prayer when we were trying to decide what to do, I very clearly felt the impression that it was time to say goodbye to this home.  I cried.  I did not necessarily want to say goodbye.  We love this home.  We have so many memories in this house as we've made it our home.  We've worked on it to make it fit us just right, and it's hard to say good-bye to all of that.  
-Jeremy felt very strongly that we should buy the house at the asking price and not raise our bid at all.  At the time it didn't make sense because of my impression and the fact that we were in a bidding war, but now that we know they had dropped out we would have been paying extra for no reason.  
-I rarely run on that street, but had I not gone that day we wouldn't have seen the house until it was too late.  
-Andrew and his family just moved back into the ward after been gone for a couple of years, and knowing that we can trust him makes this all so much easier.  
-Jeremy had the time off to help me get the house ready.  
-We changed my Lasik surgery from this Thursday to earlier in the month which meant that I was healthy and out of bed for all of this.  
-We went through the self-reliance class last fall which helped us get all of our finances arranged so that when this opportunity came up we were in a position to take advantage of it.  Along those lines, at the first self-reliance meeting our stake president got up and promised us if we followed the program and did our very best to listen to the Lord through all of this then we would receive blessing we couldn't even imagine.  Buying a house in this neighborhood with this market definitely qualifies as that kind of blessing.  
-Our home went under contract less than a week after we listed it.  We only had two crazy days of showings that were a little rough, but now I don't have to keep the house clean 24/7 with two little boys at home all day.  
-We found a buyer for our house who is willing to lease the property back to us for a month or so while the family in our new home moves out and while we do the projects we need to before we move in.  

I may be missing something, but it truly feels like this home purchase, as unexpected as it was, is meant to be.  We are so excited for this new chapter in our lives.  The hardest part now is just waiting.  Waiting for all of the inspections to clear.  Waiting for the final moving dates to be set.  Waiting to build a dream home for our family.

The chaos of our week in pictures.  Frantic packing.  I was so overwhelmed on Saturday when this all became a reality that I was frozen.  I couldn't do anything because there was too much to do and I didn't know where to start.  Thanks to Bruce and my mom, I was able to get moving.  Just basic advice like, get boxes and move them out of the house, was enough to shake me from my frozen state.

When this sign went up, I wanted to cry.  It feels so real and so final with that sign in my front yard.

Once the house was completely clean and we told the boys they couldn't get any of their toys out, they played with the couch cushions, which wasn't that bad.  This day they were hiding from the cool air and fans.  We had a painter here doing touch-ups on the kitchen ceiling but we needed to air out the house ASAP before showings so we had a lot of cool air flowing through the house that day. 

Getting kicked out of the house unexpectedly on Saturday morning meant we went to Daylight Donuts.

Then another showing that afternoon meant lunch at Chick-fil-A.  Thankfully we only had two days like this.  It could have lasted much, much longer.

Ice Castles

I still can't decide if it was foolish or smart, but we booked tickets to the ice castles the same night we went skiing.  If was thinking that the kids would be relieved to know we didn't have to drive up I-70 again.  But we were pretty exhausted from our day and didn't need to stay and enjoy it long.  The kids were also amused and disappointed that we ran into the Tolleys at Noodles & Co.  We ate dinner together and once again, they didn't want to leave their new friends.  At least the colorful lights of the ice castles were enough to distract them for awhile.  

We found an ice throne, that McKenzie wants to claim as her own.  

We also found plenty of slides.  Cambrie found the big slide first and disappeared for awhile before we found her again.  She had been waiting in line for the big one, and it was pretty cool sliding through the sharp tunnels of ice.  

The other kids liked the climbing tunnels. 

And the black light cave.  

There were just pretty views everywhere we turned.

I think that out of all the ice castles I've been to though, this rainbow wall made for one of the best photo opportunities.  It was pretty as it faded from one color to the others.  We somehow managed to get it at the height of it's colored glory.

Keystone Surprises

The miracles of modern medicine!  Just four days ago I had surgery on my eyes.  Today we are up skiing at Keystone and I can see!  We decided that I should still take it easy, so Daxton and I hung out while Jeremy took the other three kids up on the mountain.  Daxton really wanted to go "ice skating."  No matter how many times I told him we were skiing, he kept saying that we were "ice skating."  

For the first part of the day we hung out on the bunny hill.  We both rode the ski lift up, then I simply carried him down the hill on my hip.  He loved making big "S" sounds as we turned down the hill.  We went over and over again.  It's amazing that kids don't wear out when they're being carried up and down the mountain.  I on the other hand...  

We went to the lodge when we thought the big skiers would be back for lunch.  As we were munching on our sandwiches, Jeremy called and asked if I had the Tolley's number.  What?  No, I don't.  We went to school with the Tolleys in Philadelphia but they have moved around a lot since then, and most recently have just returned from Japan.  Why on Earth would he need their number?  The only answer I received in return was that Jeremy had their girls and needed to get ahold of them...then he hung up.  Now I was completely confused.  About five minutes later Marc walks into the lodge with McKenzie and Sophie!  Come to find out the two guys had run into each other in the bathroom, recognized each other, and they and the kids had been skiing together all morning.  Both Cambrie and Madelyn, and McKenzie and Sophie were close enough in skill level and age that they got along great and were having an amazing time.  By the time everyone showed up for lunch it looked like those four girls had been friends for years.  They were having so much fun skiing together that they almost skipped lunch just so they could get out on the slopes.

  Daxton and I rode the gondola up to the top of the mountain and met them at the snow castle.  We all played tag for awhile, and enjoyed the slides until they were ready to ski some more.  

By the time Daxton and I rode the gondola down he was exhausted.  However, I didn't think he was so tired that he would fall asleep on the short five minute shuttle ride from the gondola to the lodge.  When I got back to the lodge I didn't know the best place to lay him down, so I just plopped him onto the table.  He napped there soundly until we woke him up about an hour and a half later.  

When it was time to leave, the girls really didn't want to go.  They were clinging to their new friends and even the promise of dinner and ice castles weren't enough to get them to leave peacefully.  I'm glad that they had such a good time.  

I still can't believe we ran into Marc and Natalie up there!  We haven't seen them in nine years.  What a great surprise!

DU Gymnastics

I don't know why we haven't done this sooner.  McKenzie and I went down to DU for a gymnastics meet.  It was so much wilder than I expected!  The stands were completely packed.  The fans were cheering.  Music was blaring.  And the gymnasts received celebrity introductions before the meet started.  McKenzie was in awe of the whole experience.  There were four teams competing that night, which meant that there was almost too much to watch.  We followed the DU girls and cheered when they stuck their routines.  They are really good.  A gentleman I was sitting next to said that they are nationally ranked in the top 15.  It wasn't even a contest between the Pioneers and the other schools.  We completely dominated.  I could not wipe the smile off of McKenzie's face.  She kept telling me how she wanted that to be her when she grew up.  After the awards ceremony, they invited all the kids down on the floor to do a couple dance routines.  McKenzie ran down to be a part of the fun.  She commented how the floor felt amazing and really springy.  

We picked up a schedule so that we know when to go again, because it was definitely worth going to.

Ice n' Mud

Saturday was such a gorgeous day that we had to get the kids outside.  They rode their bikes while Jeremy and I followed.  We ended up cruising around the lake, and ended up having more of an adventure than we bargained on.  The trail was completely muddy, which meant that only a couple seconds into our bike ride the kids had the tale tell mud splatters up their backs.  

The lake has been frozen all month, so we had some fun with the ice.  We threw rocks onto the ice to listen to the cools sounds the ice made as it vibrated.

Towards the northern shore the ice was thin enough that the kids took turns fishing for giants slabs of ice.  They tried to see who could find the biggest piece, then the threw them across the lake to watch the ice shatter.  

Jeremy had an extra slab...so he broke it on the girls' heads who were still wearing their helmets.  

After we had our fill of breaking the ice, we kept trekking through the mud to the eastern shore where the ice was nearly five inches thick.  The kids thought it was sweet that it was strong enough to hold them.  Cambrie tried drilling through the ice but didn't quite have the right ax.  

After a very muddy return trip home we had to hose everyone off, including their bikes.  Mission: outside fun, accomplished.

Dreams of new eyes

Today, if all goes well, will be the last time you will see me in these glasses.  Jeremy gave me Lasik for my Christmas present this year, and the surgery is tomorrow.  I've wanted Lasik ever since I heard about it, but it's always made me a bit nervous.  I have astigmatism which complicates things a little bit, but it sounds like the doctors are confident enough in the technology and their skills that it shouldn't be an issue.  My contacts and glasses have never been a huge problem in my life.  I picked up my first pair of glasses when I was in seventh grade, and graduated to contacts about a year later so I could still see while I swam.  Ever since then I've just kept up with the appointments and prescriptions, and just dealt with life as normal.  There are times though where I have longed for perfect sight: laying on the roof of the house boat at Lake Powell and not being able to see the stars that everyone else could see, camping and hoping that I don't roll over and squash my glasses at night, when my kids come into my room at night and I have no idea which kid it is, when I'm sitting in the optometrist's office hearing, "better or worse?" over and over again, when it's late at night and my eyes are just exhausted from the contacts, when I'm traveling and need to make sure I don't forget all of my supplies, when I'm crawling over the bathroom floor and I can't find the contact I've dropped, when I have to ask my kids to find my glasses because they've fallen under the bed and I simply can't see them, when I can't wear glasses and sunglasses, when my contact falls out during a race and I have to run the rest of it half blind, and when the contacts just hurt because they've been torn or they're dirty.  I'm going to be free of all of that.  Does the idea of a laser cutting my eye open make me a little nervous?  Naturally.  True, the doctor is very good at what he does, but there are always mistakes.  I just hope that by this time tomorrow, or at least in two days, I'll have the vision that I've waited years for.