They accepted our offer!!

Ours was actually the second offer they received, the first being from an investor with a low bid. I'm glad we moved as quickly as we did, and I wonder whether meeting the owner tipped the scales in our favor.

Clearly nothing's final, but they want to close by October 23rd. Unless we get someone eager to take over our jobs as managers here, we probably won't move until the end of November so we can take our time painting and moving stuff, deciding what to take and what to sell.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I sketched out a furniture arrangement for the living room. Of course it requires selling our current couches, so we'll see if James buys into my ideas. We could move in with what we have, though, and that's a nice feeling.

But first we have to inspect the house and actually get a loan. One step at a time, Heidi. :)

House Update 2

Long story short: we made an offer on a house. It feels a little sudden, but we and our realtor (Tim) feel good about it.

Long story long: I walked through the "cute but small and overpriced" house with Tim yesterday. (The previous contract fell through.) I promised James I'd go with a critical eye, and I did. It's small. It's old. The wallpaper is bubbling, and the bathroom is cramped and inconveniently located. I'm still in love with the dining room, but seeing the current residents' stuff crammed into every closet made me rethink the lack of storage space. Then last night we talked about our desire to stay in the ward. We have good friends here who seem like they'll be around for a while, but there is so much turnover here that it's a big risk to stay for people who very likely could leave in the next 10 years. 

After dinner we decided to drive by a house I've been looking at in Rose Park. It's been recently remodeled, but when Tim tried to make an appointment he found out that a break in the sprinkler line had flooded the basement, so the house is off the market until that gets fixed. A little further south on the same street was another house for sale, so James got out to get a flier. The man in the yard next door came over and told him that he had just put his house (this white one) on the market Thursday, and he asked us to consider it. Atticus was asleep in the car, so we didn't go inside, but I got the MLS # and called Tim. Standing on that street at dusk felt very comfortable, compared to how I felt on the other street with sketchy houses and big dogs. It could be nice to have actual neighbors.

This morning we all walked through the cute but small house so James could see it, then drove over to see this house. What a contrast! It's not huge, but it's a nice layout, and the basement is fully finished. It's listed as a 4 bedroom, but there are really only three that I'd consider bedrooms. The real clincher is the second bathroom downstairs and the price. The house we picked up a flier for has two bedrooms and 3/4 of a bath (shower, no tub) and a shelf basement for the same price. It has a newer roof and kitchen, but for our needs that doesn't compensate for the smaller house.

The back yard has three mature trees, one that looks great for climbing, and a nice-sized garden space. You can't tell very well in the photos, but the neighbors have an AMAZING garden. I wonder if they'd be willing to mentor us??

Tim was a little concerned that this was only the second house we'd looked at, but I've been watching real estate online for a couple years, so I know what houses generally cost and how much work a lower-cost house usually would need, even just cosmetically. But with this house, we wouldn't need to do anything before moving in. We'd want to repaint the pink bedroom, but that's really it. Everything else is lovely. I'd like to have a bigger dining space, but we will fit in the kitchen.

Anyway, we will know tomorrow night or Monday morning whether they accept our offer, and if all goes well we'll close by the end of October. It makes me giddy to think how low our mortgage will be compared to what we were willing to spend. And how we'll still have a good chunk of savings left over when we're done with all initial costs.

I keep reminding myself that they still have to accept our offer, and that this all may fall through pending inspection etc. I'm ok with that. There are other houses. And the next one might have a dining room. We're in no hurry, but this was too good to pass up. I'll keep you posted.

House update

So the house is under contract with another buyer. I wasn't overly confident we'd get it, but it was such a tantalizing option. The funny thing, though, is that I really really wanted it when it was available, but now that it's not, I'm not that upset about it.

We got preapproved from our lenders for $50K above our budget, so we do have some wiggle room if we can't find something we love in our price range. But there are plenty of homes in our price range, so I'm not concerned.

We're still not sure this is the time to buy, but we do have enough saved for a down payment. I guess we're in the more actively-looking phase.

Atticus quotes of the day

We had stake conference today at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square. We normally sit on the main level, but this time our friends were in the front row of the balcony, so we went up there. Atticus had never been up there and was enthralled. He saw the organ pipes up front and said, "Mom! It's like the kingdom of God!"

A few minutes later he leaned over and said, "Mom, Daddy has a superpower. Know what it is? The priesthood. The priesthood is a superpower. And when I'm older I'll have the EXACT SAME superpower." He was pretty excited.

Time to start manifesting?

So this house I've had my eye on is on the market. I used to visit teach the 80-year-old widow who raised 4 children in this house. When she died her granddaughter Patricia moved in, then Patricia's brother, and now they're ready to liquidate the estate. 

We've been saving toward a house, with plans to move next summer. We love our ward and feel settled here, but this neighborhood is overpriced for the size of the houses and lots. We've been looking at a certain section of Rose Park dubbed "Sugarhood" because it's the same age as Sugarhouse but it's on the wrong side of the freeway, so the houses cost $100K less.

Now this house shows up. And it's just within the high end of our price range. We might have enough for a down payment, but it will take all of our savings. I'd been planning to keep a $5,000 buffer in savings for emergencies, and that will take a long time to reaccumulate if we buy now.

The house needs some work, but it's move-in ready. According to Patricia, the floor under the tub needs to be reinforced, and the loft bedroom isn't heated. The plumbing is industrial grade and shouldn't be a problem. I don't know about electrical or the roof. We're going to make a low offer and see what they say.

PROS

It's in our ward, and we like it here

We like the school

It's cute

The back yard is big for this neighborhood

It has an established garden, and Patricia had chickens

It's fully fenced

CONS

It's small. Our sofa and love seat won't both fit in that living room.

It has only one bathroom in an awkward location--off the kitchen in the back of the house

It's on an alley street between an apartment parking lot and a condemned house

Atticus may be the only deacon in our ward

SO... all you veteran home buyers, I'd like your input. We can find a cute house with a good back yard and garden in Rose Park for $40,000 cheaper than they're asking for this house. Maybe even with 2 bathrooms and a finished basement. I know it's financially more prudent to wait until we've saved more money and are better prepared to buy. Sugarhood isn't a bad place to live. Cute streets with brick houses and sidewalks and trees and families.

But it's new. We'd have to reestablish ourselves there, make new friends, find our niche. There are more kids, but is that always a good thing? There were plenty of kids in American Fork, but that didn't guarantee a good experience for anyone.

I guess the trade off comes down to this: live where we like at the edge of our means or live where we *might* like below our means.

Do I start manifesting that they'll accept our offer?

First Days of School

Atticus and I couldn't decide which picture was our favorite, so I used both.

Atticus's first day of kindergarten was cowboy day. I think he looked mighty spiffy, and so did he. He was a little nervous on the way over, asking, "Is anyone else going to be in a cowboy costume?" I'll admit I had my doubts. But no worries, there were other hats and boots. He held tight to my hand until we got inside the classroom, but then I was no longer needed. I had to pry his attention away from the legos to get him to kiss me goodbye. 

His class is half day, but then he goes to a second class called Enrichment, where they have a theme for the week and more hands-on activities. When I came to pick him up, he begged to go to aftercare, like some other kids in his class do. No, sweetie, you have to come home with me. Sorry.

In our morning prayers we pray for Atticus to have a good day at school. The other day he told me I didn't need to pray for him anymore--he always has a great time at school.

I love picking him up and seeing his eyes light up as he tells me about his day. I think this school thing is going to work out for us. 

Until I get around to the narrative for the second half of the extended family reunion, here are links to all of our photos. Enjoy!

Barneys:

http://imgur.com/a/0RF1e

Bear Lake:

http://imgur.com/a/k0ixR

Bear Lake day 2:

http://imgur.com/a/HbUOj

Evans, Adam & Thaddeus:

http://imgur.com/a/rAM5z

Evans and Timp Cave:

http://imgur.com/a/bVoOj

Family Reunion part 1 & 2

July was one long family reunion for us. It's hard to get everyone in the same place all at once, so a big-group love-fest just didn't happen. But we still got to spend time with everyone, even if some people didn't get to see each other. Having family in town also gave us the opportunity/motivation to do some of the things we wanted to do this summer but maybe wouldn't have done on our own.

The Barneys
We had a great time at Lagoon with my sister Lara and her family. We weren't sure how much Atticus would be able to do, but there was plenty for him. The best part was that Sarah became Atticus's "best-friend cousin." She felt bad for being mean to him on their previous visit, so she brought him a present to apologize and spend a lot of time with him. Atticus was very sad to see her go.

My niece Mary convinced me to go on the big coasters with her, earning me the title "Best Aunt Ever." I screamed the entire time and got a headache, but she didn't make me go the second (or third) time. Her brother, Sam, spent most of the day on the big rides with other cousins, so I don't have any pictures of him. Sorry, Sam!

Poulsons at Bear Lake

The Barneys spent the rest of their vacation with my sister Kristin and her family at Lake Powell while the non-skiers went to Bear Lake: my parents, my sisters Erin and Heather, my brother Mike and his kids, and us. We stayed in cabins at the KOA and loved it. We will definitely stay there next time. In addition to clean cabins, there's a pool, miniature golf, and a playground to keep the kids occupied when we weren't at the beach.

 Atticus was really excited about the bunk beds. 

He slept the first night on the top and the second night on the bottom.

My cute parents and brother Mike.

The cousins: Atticus, Henry, Ella, and Aubrey

So it's not La Jolla, but you can't drive to your spot in La Jolla

The water stays shallow for longer than you'd care to walk (I got up to my neck). 

Not too cold, just nice and refreshing.

Atticus preferred the sand.

We spent Friday at the beach, just enjoying the sun, sand, and water. We rented a Sea-Doo for a couple hours and got nicely fried. The whole trip was mellow and relaxing. Not too long a drive, but far enough away that you feel like you're somewhere else. Stop in Logan for lunch at the Bluebird and cheese curds, and you're only a couple hours from home.  

We had a few days to do laundry and catch our breath before the Evanses and ThAdam arrived. But I'll write that up tomorrow. 

My Faves for Today

• Dinner I could make/eat every week: Sauteed boneless chicken thighs in mustard cream sauce (click on photo for recipe). I actually leave out the cream, though last time I added a tablespoon or so whole milk. I have tried this with grainy Dijon and smooth; I think my favorite is a combination of the two. Most delicious leftovers EVER.
• Homemade ice cream. I tried a fancy custard variety yesterday but got scared when the custard seemed a little curdled, especially since we were making it for a party. I mixed up a second no-cook batch, which was tasty. I just froze the curdled version, and DANG it tastes like creme brulee minus the brulee. Maybe I need to get out the silpat and torch to burn some sugar...
• "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark" by Fall Out Boy. It's a perfect workout song. When I listen to it I imagine myself sprinting over the finish line with my fists in the air. I'M ON FIIIAH!!
• The other song I listen to at high volume over headphones is "Don't Let Go Yet" by David Roch. I can't find a sample online, but here's another great one from him: "Skin and Bones." I have his album in pretty heavy rotation in my work playlist. Haunting and beautiful and heavy on harmony. And I swear it's Neko Case doing backup vocals on Skin and Bones. Love her.

That's all I can think of right now. My big accomplishment for today was finally hanging pictures in our bedroom. James hung curtains yesterday, so after two years our room is starting to feel complete. And with blackout curtains in both bedrooms, I got to sleep in until 7:30. Woo hoo! 

Anthropomorphism at its finest

"Mom, take a picture of me with Blankie and Passa where we're all smiling." I should note that the string coming out the top of Blankie is her hair. Yes, Blankie is a girl. 

She used to be an actual blanket, but Atticus rubbed the corners enough to break them free from the center, and the "spicy corner" became a long string, so we wrapped her up with the string. Now Atticus has something to snuggle AND something to rub between his thumb and forefinger. (When we left blankie home from church the first time, Atticus got panicky and said, "what are my thumbs going to do??")

"Mom, take a picture of me and Mona." Now, Mona IS real, at least in this household. She's been my friend since I was nine, and now Atticus has fallen in love with her. She can be a naughty monkey sometimes, but we still love her.

"Mom! Come downstairs! I have something to show you!"

 So I rush downstairs and encounter this:

"I'm Han Solo in carbonite!!"

 Without the blanket for the full effect. Atticus insisted on doing it again because Han doesn't have his mouth open big like that:

You'd think it was a still from the film....

May Update

 Atticus made me a birdhouse for Mothers' Day. We hung it up in the back yard. He's pretty proud of it.

 He insisted on helping James replace the parking stops. James appreciated the help, I'm sure.

 Preschool "graduation." He gets shy in front of crowds. Each child was invited to say something nice to his or her parents. Atticus said he liked it when I co-opped. His best buddy, Austin (with glasses), had both sets of grandparents and an older sister there, and he chose to say something nice to Atticus instead. He said that Atticus was his best friend, and he liked how Atticus made a book about him. Atticus and Austin are always the heroes in Atticus's books, and they're always playing Super Hero Squad.

 We have LOVED his teacher, Miss Stephanie, and are very sad to lose her. She is the rare combination of being excellent with the kids and with the parents. 

 Atticus finished his first round of swimming lessons today. He's come a long way in just a few weeks, from refusing to put his face in the water to floating/kicking on his stomach under water by himself. The goggles made a huge difference. Once he could open his eyes under water, he was unstoppable.

I love this kid.

In other news, James has finished his serious teaching for this school year. Next week he's showing a movie, and the week after that it's just cleaning out lockers and signing yearbooks, so even though he has to be there, he doesn't have to coerce students into caring about anything. Then he's FREE for two months. Yea!

Our only big plan for the summer is our family reunion in July. We're really looking forward to that, especially since all the out-of-towners will be here. James's mom will be in town for a few days in June, and it will be nice to see her and Grandpa Clarence. Other than that, we plan to visit lots of local parks and pools and spend time with friends. Maybe James will finally make it to the zoo. We do plan to hike, but we probably won't spend as much time in the big canyons. We're still a little freaked out by canyon driving. I also plan to pick up more hours at work if I can. We're planning to buy a house within the next year, and every little bit counts.

Here's to summer. :)

Atticus quote of the day

At a BBQ with James's coworkers:

"I don't know how to play baseball. Nevertheless, I'll try it."

May Update

I have a food hangover. I ended a low-carb diet a week ago, and though I was careful about reintroducing grains gradually, I've gotten back into bad habits. So instead of doing the dishes, I'm drinking "detox" tea on the couch, watching Highlander (the series--soundtrack by Queen!) on Netflix, and updating my blog. Not a bad way to spend my few childless hours.

Highlights from the last week or so:

Family: Saturday was a family party to celebrate two of my sisters receiving their masters degrees. It was a good party, with family members who don't normally spend much time together getting along really well. My dad grilled carne asade, and my mom made Riley cake. It was all delicious, and I ate way too much.

Work: Yesterday I kind of got promoted at work. I've been working as an independent contractor with the Missionary Department, writing for historic sites and visitors' centers. Now I'll be doing the same thing, just as an "on call" employee for the Publishing Services Division (PSD). The benefits of this change is that I'll get involved in more projects, get more hours, and get a small raise. I'll also get more training and networking opportunities, which will help if I eventually want to go full time.

Atticus: He's started taking swimming lessons. It took us two weeks to get him to put his face in the water, and now that he has goggles (reward for putting face in water), he's willing to put his head all the way under the water. He's gotten good in the tub, so we'll see how he does in the pool Saturday.

The biggest event of the past couple months was, of course, Atticus's fifth birthday. My boy is 5! At first he wanted to stay four, but now that he's older than some of his friends, he thinks five is pretty cool. The day of his party started with the St. Patrick's Day parade. His preschool had a float, and James brought the pram. I think Atticus would have rather stayed on the float, but oh well.

 

I wanted to keep the party fairly small but still fun, so we rented a bounce house. It was a hit.

The boys. Atticus's best buddies, Caleb and Austin.

The girls: Sonora, Clare, and Ellie. Clare is his Scooby-Doo playmate. He's Fred, and she's Velma.

The cake. Atticus requested chocolate cake with blue frosting and pirate candles.

He was really excited about this present.

He told me several times that day that is was his best birthday ever. And I'd have to agree. I wouldn't say the party was mellow, but it was definitely low stress. A few of the parents hung out, so we talked while the kids played both outside and in Atticus's room. 

So life has been pretty good. Daily life, ups and downs. The usual.

Strange Sadness

This week we've been saddened by the death of my nephew Tyler's fiance, whom I did not know well but whom we just saw at a family party Saturday. It's felt odd to go on with life as normal when Tyler's life has been turned upside down. It's hard to know how to react to someone else's tragedy, other than to offer love and prayers.

Then yesterday I discovered (via Facebook) that my niece Iuliana is engaged. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her father, so I rarely see her. I'm happy for her, of course, but it made me sad to realize how little I know some members of my family.

Life is strange that way. I promise my next post will be less somber.

Atticus-isms and December Recap

Yeah, I know February's almost over, but better late than never, right? December was a busy month. Atticus and I visited my sister Susan in Illinois for a week while her husband was on a business trip, and of course I forgot my camera. He had a great time with his cousins, even though he was a little sick. And he did great on the plane, except that he had to go to the bathroom 5 times on the way home. Our seatmate wasn't too excited about getting up all the time, but he was nice about it.

The fun part was getting to make "girl food" that our husbands aren't excited about, like tofu and quinoa and all those fun things. When Atticus and I got back to Salt Lake, it was after 10 p.m. by the time we were in the car. I was hungry, so I wanted to stop somewhere on the way home to eat. I asked Atticus what he wanted, and he said with enthusiasm, "bwown wice!" Mama victory! But also a failure because of course there aren't any drive-thrus with brown rice, so I said, "How about chicken nuggets?" *sigh*

Then about a week after we got back, we loaded up the car for our first road trip to visit James's family in Arizona for Christmas. I wasn't sure how Atticus would do for so long in the car, even though we were breaking up the drive by stopping in Vegas. I decided to take notes.

Friday, 10:40 a.m., driveway: "I want to stay home."

11:30 a.m., Orem: "I want to squirrel around like I'm not in my carseat!" (Blankie and pacifier calmed him down.)

11:40 a.m.: Atticus asleep.

3:15 p.m., Kanarraville: "Atticus, stop hitting yourself in the head with the dreidel."  "No, Mama, the dreidel is my friend and he keeps hitting me for something and he won't tell me what it is. Ow. Ow. Ow." (Dreidel got a time-out.)

5:01: "I feel like eating play-doh."

We finally made it to Circus Circus and settled in to our room. Atticus thought it was pretty cool. His favorite part was the lighted wardrobe: 

The next day we checked out all Las Vegas has to offer, which we concluded isn't much if you're not going to gamble, watch a show, or eat at fancy restaurants. Or shop in high-end stores. But we still had a good time. Here's Atticus on top of the "Eiffel Tower" at the Paris casino: 

Sunday we stopped at the temple before hitting the road again. The  notes resume:

Kingman rest stop: (Said rapid-fire to no one in particular as he got out of his seat) "My body's saying POOOOOP! POOOOOP! My body's selling poop to anyone who wants some. They're poop toys."

Finally we reached Nana and Grandpa's house. It was good to see the family and spend Christmas with them. Here are some of my favorite photos:

With the saguaro next to Nana's house (the red roof is theirs) 

Making our gingerbread house.

Public art in downtown Mesa

With cousins Brian and Thomas. It took us about 5 tries to get Thomas's "action shot." Atticus was really sad to leave their house. He had so much fun with them.

Heading home. This time we stopped overnight in St. George. 

The night before we left, Atticus said, "I never want to leave this place." He had it all worked out how we could move in with Nana and Grandpa. He even claimed his bedroom. He was sad to leave, but he was happy to see his own room and toys again. I was happy about the box of lemons Atticus helped me pick from Grandpa's tree. They were gorgeous and tasty. One medium box gave us 1 1/2 gallons of lemon juice, most of which is in our freezer. We've been drinking it in water, club soda, and lemonade. Yum!

It was a good month. Lots of family, lots of travel, lots of love. 

Progress?

Atticus made his bed this morning. He was very proud.

He decided he needed only one blanket because the others were "too tangled."

Small victories. :)