Monday, April 27, 2009

Welcome to the American Dream



So, we did it! In the last whirlwind of a week, we've gotten word that the funding for Erik's dream job will be ongoing, got ourselves a real estate agent and pre-approval for a loan, looked at some houses, fell in love, made an offer, and bought ourselves a house!! Of course, everything is still contingent on the inspection, etc., but we are thrilled. 

The house has 3 bedrooms and a full bath on the top floor.  On the 2nd floor are a living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, pantry, half bath, bedroom (office), screened-in porch, and 2-car attached garage (something I never thought we'd get on the kind of older home we wanted).  The basement has a finished playroom, an unfinished workroom (that I plan to finish as another office), laundry, and storage. It's on a corner with a fenced yard and it even comes with a swingset. It's a 1930's home which gives it all of the great character I love - hardwood floors, built in bookcases, lovely fireplace, archway between the living and dining rooms. But, the current owners have made a lot of great updates - new bathrooms, new roof, new windows, new boiler, etc. Plus, they have great taste in paint and decor - we can just move right in. It's on the smaller side of our square footage range, but the spaces are all perfect. It's got a very 'not too big house' feel to me - smart spaces with character and charm as opposed to big empty space for the sake of space. 

The neighborhood is great. We're right across the street from a tip-top rated elementary school with a fabulous playground. The library and some cute shops are a quick walk away (and there are sidewalks everywhere - the lack of which are a major source of stress in my current life). There are a TON of kids in the neighborhood - I've met the mom across the street who has two kids the same ages as ours. She assured me that Go-go and Mui-mui will never lack for neighborhood playmates. And we'll be changing wards - we'll be in the city ward which has a really nice vibe. 

The timing has been amazing and a blessing. We've seen a lot of houses online and have been doing the open house circuit for the past month and a half; we've seen several that had one or two things missing from our lists or could work if they had to. But this house came on the market just a few days after we decided we could go ahead and buy and we were able to get to it first. We'll close at the end of July. Here are some pictures (obviously not our furniture): 








Sorry to gush - we're property virgins and I was really dreading the whole process.  So far it had been great and we both feel incredibly calm about everything.  I'll let you know if I still feel the same way when we close.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

What I learned in Sunbeams

Every week, I pick Go-go up from his Sunbeam class at church. When he sees me in the doorway, he shouts, "Mommy!" and starts to run for me.
Every week, his teacher calls out, "Wait a second!" and hands him the picture he drew along with any other craft project or handout they did that day.
Every week, I ask him to tell me about his picture, and every week he replies, "It's a big monster!"

A few weeks ago, I suggested that maybe he should draw a picture about the lesson they had in class, or maybe just a picture about Jesus.

The boy does not disappoint. Here is his picture from last Sunday:

"It's the big monster that scared Jesus!"

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Easter wiggles

Most of our Easter fun was at Becca's house on Friday and Saturday. Eggs filled with candy and scavenger hunt clues, ring pops, a glitter ball, and a Batman scooter were all involved. Great fun - but, alas, no pictures.

Sunday morning, the kids looked dashing in their Easter finery, but were in no mood to take pictures. Here are a few of their wiggle-rific poses:







Of course, for maximum Easter Portrait fun, running away is always a good approach:






By the time church was done, so were the kids:



So, no sweet smiling portraits of cherubic children in their Easter frippery, but we had a lovely holiday and you'll just have to believe me that they looked charming.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

By Popular Demand

So many of my faithful readers cried out for messy blueberry pictures the last time the kids ate frozen blueberries that I simply had to post pictures from this morning's blueberry adventure. I couldn't disappoint my loyal fans, now could I?