The Search Is Over

"You were with me all the while."  lyrics by Survivor


We have bought a home.  Actually, more accurately, we are in the process of buying a home.  Even more accurately, we are in the obnoxiously tedious part of buying a home.  Paperwork, phone calls, scheduling, money, money money....but, still.  WE ARE BUYING A HOME!

Timing is a funny thing.  I've actually known about this home for awhile.  The sellers are friends of ours, and when they were first getting ready to sell, I walked through it and, well, kind of dismissed it.  The colors weren't right, everything seemed dated.  Nothing clicked.

In the meantime, I have looked at dozens of homes in our area.  I started to get used to what you could get for what price.   When we looked at the house across the street and really liked it, I considered the price.  At that home's listed price,  we could get a place that was pretty much move-in ready.  I didn't love the kitchen, but figured something could be done about that in the future.  Like all the lots in our neighborhood, it didn't really have a yard, just lots and lots of trees.  It included 3700 sq ft on a 0.33 acre lot.  Pretty solid numbers.  It was a strong, strong possibility.  Definitely the frontrunner.

Then, I remembered this house, which I hadn't really forgotten, but hadn't really ever considered a contender. It was listed for slightly more but was quite a bit bigger (although 3700 sq ft is definitely plenty) and had 15 acres.  A LOT more bang for our buck.  For Jay's sake, I wanted him to at least see it before I committed him to living in a neighborhood.

It was funny walking through it a second time.  The first time, I really was such an inexperienced prospective buyer.  The second time, however, I was much, much more buyer wise and my eyes were opened.  This home was awesome!  As I watched Jay adjust to the color combinations, which wouldn't be anybody's favorite except the woman who decorated with them, I urged him to look at the house in its essentials.  Size of rooms.  Layout.  Flow.  Function.  Even as he said, "But the countertops are teal." I reassured him that those these were cosmetic.  Changeable.  The kitchen itself was in a great location.  Behind a rock wall.  Windows facing south.  Open to a beautiful dining room and close to the garage.  He started to see it like I was seeing it.

And we both kind of knew.

We talked about it for a few weeks and Jay tentatively started looking for financing, an act which convinced me that he must really be serious about the property.  We went back and looked at it again and the boys ran through the house asking, "Can we live here!?"

We made an offer right as Spring Break was starting and had a contract on the home by the end of the week. Now comes the inspections and appraisals and all the yucky stuff, but I'm thrilled.  The move will be accompanied by a school and ward change, neither things we were looking to do, but accept as part of the package.  We will be closer to Jay's work, closer to family, and have some fantastically awesome neighbors(my friend, Michelle, who has kids my kids ages.  whee!)

I hope this doesn't sound like bragging.  I feel so blessed to finally have a house that we can call our own and to know that this home gives our boys so much room to explore and grow is wonderful. To know that we've waited until the time was right and we could move into something that will be the place we raise our boys is worth it because this is it - our home.  And in a few years, when we've saved some more pennies, we can say bye-bye to the teal counters and blue carpet.  We can even move the bathtub to the bathroom, where it belongs (you'll see).

Now, for some pictures.  Just a few.  O.K.  A lot.  I kept them small so there would be slightly less scrolling but you can always click on any of the pictures to see in greater detail.  Ready for the tour?

The front of the house.  The driveway extends to the garage but there is a small parking area and a circular drive here in front.

Another angle of the front

I parked in front of the garage so this is where the tour begins.  This is all the built in storage in the garage.  

The door on the left goes into the mud room.  The door on the right goes to the sun room.

This isn't taken from the garage door but from the entryway into the laundry room.  I'm looking at the mudroom (the door to the garage would be on the right) and the open door goes into the sun room.  Lots of storage and space for shoes, backpacks and miscellany.  

Turning around 180 degrees is the laundry area.  I love this room.  To the left is space for another fridge or upright freezer.  

The main floor guest bathroom.

This will be Jay's office on the main floor next to the laundry.  I've always wanted an office where he can come in from his car and put his papers in before they filter into the rest of the house (i.e. our bedroom.  I can't ever throw anything away, even post it notes or things written onto quarter-sized scratch paper because it might just contain that phone number that he needs next week.  Oh...it's happened) .

First view of the kitchen.  The countertops are  in excellent condition and a really high quality corian.  But, they are green.

The floors are Pergo, not wood (not my favorite, but again, perfectly fine...even nice) and the fridge is a humongous Sub-Zero.  Seriously, it's like a fridge and a half.  

This is the breakfast nook with a built in hutch.  

Taken from the breakfast nook looking into the kitchen.  

This living room.  

The dining room.

master bedroom from the doorway.  That entertainment center is built-in.  I'm not sure what to do with that.  

Opening from the left side of the master bedroom is the master sitting area.  The woman who built this house decided she wanted her bathtub in here, instead of in the adjoining bathroom.  More...sunlight?  Exposure?  Spokane girls, I am destined to have a mauve bathtub, no?  

Master bathroom.  Lots of changes in store but lots of space to work with.

Cedar lined walk-in closet.

View of main rooms as you come from master bedroom.

Main foyer

sun room

a real basement.  It doesn't have any windows, but there is a bathroom.

And a walk in safe.  You know...for all of our gold bars:)

A rock wall keeps the kitchen from being viewed as you walk in - something that I really wanted.  For some reason,  if I could see a kitchen from the front door, it was a big, big strike against the house.  Every house I've lived in, you can see right into the kitchen from the front door.  My kitchen is not my cleanest room and that has never made sense to me.  

At the top of the stairs just behind that rock wall from the previous picture is this landing including storage and a wet bar.  

Bedroom #1

An upstairs bathroom with a door to the hall and another door to one of the bedrooms.

This bedroom, in fact.  It's the largest of the three upstairs and has a large walk-in closet.  

Here's bedroom #3.

Turning around from the mini-bar is this hallway towards the deck on top of the garage.

It's the size of the double oversized garage and has fantastic views.  Here's Sam enjoying a bit of pre-spring doing his homework.

A view from the deck to the front yard and circle drive.

the stairs off the deck to the backyard.  

The back deck. Or stage for the family reunion:)

We are set to close May 15th but won't move in until the school year is over, two weeks later. We are hoping that moving locally will be less painful than the big interstate moves we are used to, but I have a feeling all moves are painful.

I'm surprised by how calm we feel. This really feels right. I always thought I'd walk into a home and just...SHABLAM! That would be the one. But, it took a couple of times with this property. My shallowness couldn't get past the mauve tub. But now me and that mauve tub have a date. May 15th!!!

Spring Break 2010

By the numbers, it may not look like a great trip.  1,085 miles in each direction (that's 2,170 if you don't want to do the math).  34 hours of driving split into four days.  Approximately 8 tanks of gas at $45 a tank (I speed, we have a ski rack on top of the van and I drove into a head wind the entire return trip.  Seriously....how can it be windy in four states simultaneously???) is cheaper than airfare, but still...it adds up.

Sure, there's the cost and the time and the wear and tear on the automobile (that was for you, Dad), but each number was made worth when we saw grass instead of snow (and it was even green in places!), daffodils and tulip buds instead of barren branches and flowering fruit trees.  We needed to see Spring and, thankfully, we saw it.  

There was probably somewhere we could have gone that had all those things but required less effort to enjoy them, but none of those places could also offer four best cousin friends, one saint of a brother-in-law, and a beloved sister for plenty of fun.

I present:  Spring Break 2010

Older cousins went to school on Monday morning, but this backyard had everything three boys and a mom who haven't played on dry land (roads don't count) in over three months needed.

Seth has improved so much at playing catch.

Self-portrait with the big Nikon.  I don't know how you pro-photogs do it.  I don't take many because it is not easy to hold steady and shoot.  

It makes me sad to think that this boy has passed toddler-hood without ever having his own slide (or even a legitimate yard, for that matter).  Can you tell he loved it?

Do you know that song from the 70s they used to show in Primary called, "I'll Build You A Rainbow"?  I have strong memories of hearing that song and vowing to be that mother - the cool one that plays football with her son.  I was singing it in my head when one of Seth's spirals came towards me and I jammed my finger trying to catch it.  At first it didn't hurt too bad.  Then, there was a sharp, stabbing pain each time I moved my pinkie finger.  I iced it for a few hours, then had an awful night sleep as it throbbed and seemed to hurt in any position.  Ridiculous!  Not exactly the scenario from the song, you know?  The next day, I splinted it and taped it to my fourth finger, and it remained that way for the rest of the week.

Then, Ansel and Jonas and Owen came home from school and the outdoor play got a whole lot more fun.

Still, there was plenty of this sight.  The five older boys each have their own DS, and they could play Lego Battles with each other (again, it kind of freaks me out that these machines can "communicate" with each other just by proximity).  

While there, we were able to celebrate Jen's birthday with her.  We had yummy mexican food at one of her favorite restaurants.

These two were great friends all week.

As were these two. I love my sister!

Jen's husband, Christopher, had a fun "How well do you know Jennifer?" game show planned for her party.  He had filled balloons with prizes and if the kids answered their question right, they were given a balloon to pop.  Jen was the final contestant.  I think this is a cute picture of the two of them.

She made her own Lemon Meringue Pie.  I offered, but as I've never made one before and she wanted one that actually looked and tasted good, I let her, even though it offended my birthday sensibilities.  We have both given up chocolate for the month and needed a plan B for a birthday treat.  It worked nicely.

Sam and Owen with Flat Stanley.

One one of the afternoons, Jen took her boys out of school at lunch time and we treated them to Chuck E. Cheese.  No pizza, just games.  It was fun.

Giving Henry his own cup of tokens worried me, but he actually handled them well.  I'm not sure he made any baskets, but I loved that he tried.

Jonas mastered this game and had the tickets pouring out.  Soon, he convinced his cousins to do the same and while they went through their tokens quickly, they earned a lot of tickets.  They were thrilled with their prizes that they bought, that were all promptly lost and broken.

Didn't take pictures of exercising with Jen (I went to a pump class with her and did T-Tapp a few times), or when we took the kids swimming, but it was a great week.

The cousins gather for one final shot on the morning of our departure. We returned to snow and tried not to cry as it snowed three more inches yesterday (that have all melted). We miss their spring but we miss them more.

Five For Friday - Quick, Tired and Not Very Positive Edition

1.  I have so many great posts in my head. Funny ones.  Philosophical ones.  Emotional ones.  Well, at least they are great in my head and I want so much to remember them.   But....NO TIME!  And, if I do have time, I'm kinda tired.  Waa.  If only I had some kind of transcription equipment where I could just talk out loud and have the words make it to my blog.  If only I was that important.  I do realize, in case you were wondering, that I'm not:)

2.  Jay had to ref a fourth grade basketball game tonight.  Holy cow.  Stressful!  It all started well and good (it wasn't an official game but since a lot of the players are leaving for Spring Break this weekend, there wouldn't be enough people to play on Saturday) but, then, Jay didn't call a few ticky tack fouls and, instead, let them play.  Of course, the parents on the opposing team (there was a conflict of interest as Jay coaches Seth's team, but no one else showed up with a whistle) started getting miffed when he didn't blow the whistle when their kids were fouled.  Never mind that he didn't blow the whistle when their kids fouled our kids, that seemed to be beside the point.  There I was, watching the man I love and admire, sincerely try to do his best to ref while simultaneously watching parents on the sideline roll their eyes at him and make snarky comments.  At one point, he smiled, handed the opposing team's coach the whistle and asked him if he would prefer reffing, but he refused it.  It was much easier blaming Jay for everything his team was doing wrong.  Minutes later, he told his kids that if fouls weren't being called, then they should foul.  You should have seen the whoops and hollers his boys gave.  Then they all started air punching each other and laughing about fouling.  My heart was racing the entire time.  I abhor conflict, especially if I'm in any way involved.  It still makes me upset thinking about it.  Jay kept his cool, but I hope he never has to ref again.  People are mean.  And near-sighted.

3.  I'm leaving in the morning for another long road trip.  The school district changed Spring Break to coincide with the local college's Spring Break, so we get a week off during the balmy second week of March.  Jay, being low man on the totem pole at work, has to work every single day as two of the six radiologists are gone for the entire week and no more than two guys can be off on any given day.  Stinky.  As he's hitting his peak mileage for marathon training and helping his dad out on the farm this week because both his dad and older brother are out of town for most of the week, I decided to nip feeling like a martyr in the bud and take off for our own fun.  I considered going to the much warmer Arizona, but it didn't feel right.  Then, I decided to really celebrate the misery of March and go to Montana, but my mom wasn't even going to be home.  Thankfully, sister Jen is ready to welcome our brood for a few days.  It's not close, but her home is such a great place to be.  The boys and I can't wait.  Sadly, we'll have to.   It takes two days to drive there.

4.  I went blond again.  I liked having dark locks for about 3 days but  then felt blah and mousy.  Really, I was irritated that something like hair color even mattered to me.  It grows back, right?  C'est la vie!  Not so much.  Once I accepted my shallowness, I decided that it's o.k. to prefer lighter hair.   So what if I'm destined to be that woman who has seriously outdated hair because I'm unwilling to try something new?  Did the Farrah ever really go out of style?  It did?  At least the Mullet is timeless.  What?  No one likes the party in the back anymore?  Well, at least the Rachel is here to stay.  That too?  Hmmmmm.  Still, I think blond foils with a long (not so long anymore.  Someone got a little scissor happy) inverted bob are sure to stay.  This hairstyle is like leg warmers:  never really out of style.  And if people claim it to be so, they just aren't cool enough to get it. 

5.  I have been reading The Brothers Karamazov for a month and I'm still not done.  I know it's not uncommon to take a month to read something,  but my slow statistics are embarrassing to me.  I even like the book.  It's just...not at all easy to read.  So, just like blogging, many nights I'm simply too tired to give the required amount of thinking necessary to make it worth it.  Or, I do and read like ten pages.  Ten!  When there are almost 800 to check off, ten doesn't really make too big a dent.  Anyways, for the first two weeks, I felt frustrated because if I told someone what I was reading, I couldn't really pronounce it.  I didn't know if it was kara-ma-zov with the accent on "kara" or karma-zoff or what.  Lucky for me, I have a Russian friend and asked her how to say it.  She pronounced it in a way I will never be able to reproduce, but when I repeated ka-rah-ma-zov, with the accent on the "rah" she smiled and said, "Good enough."   So, now I can confidently tell people what I'm reading.  Still.  A month later.

Happy Spring Break!  No?  Well...Happy End of Winter for the rest of you who live within the boundaries of school districts who have any sense.