Things are moving too slow but I shouldn't complain because it took 8 MONTHS for our Ogden house to FINALLY get financed for a assumption loan!!! 5 weeks I SHOULD be patient for.
We got the appraisal back on Tuesday and the house appraised for more than our loan, so that's great news. In the report, I found interesting, it had 2 of the other homes we looked at as comparable houses. I have no idea how some of those houses can ask what they are because according to the appraisal values I don't think it's possible. The problem is that the market is crummy, for selling at least, and so all these homes are being compared to the many short sales and forclosure houses which are A LOT cheaper. We got our house at nearly a short sale price and really feel like in the end, with living there for a while, that we should make out well if we ever NEED to move. However, that's not in the plan by any means. So these other houses are nice and all and feel like their homes are worth the price their asking but the other homes around are bringing their values down. So good luck to them trying to get that much for their houses.
Craig and I feel so blessed to be moving to this house. Here's the inside scoop of how we feel our house FOUND us. (I use this blog as a journal type but also keep up with family so this might be long-beware)
Craig and I are really religious and when it comes to big decisions in our life we feel it's EXTRA important to involve the Lord in our decisions and ask for guidance. When we first got the phone call from Ryan about Kleinschmidt, it took a really bad situation to get me to even think twice about it. At the time, Craig's hours at work had been cut to 30 and his salary got cut 10%. Oh man it made me furious. I felt like Craig went to school and worked his butt off to deserve better than that. They had told him it'd only be a few months but still in December we were going on 6 months with no change. I was picking up extra hours at work, thank you Dr. Jessen's office, and things were actually okay. But the thought of quitting my job when we wanted to have baby #2 sounded unrealistic with a truck payment, car payment, house payment and cut hours. Not to mention at his previous work there was no room for advancement-with along with it would hopefully be raises. So we decided, after lots of study and prayer, to sell our house and make the journey to Maine with Oregon as the end goal (They told us 3-5 years in our interview) I would be able to stay home with the kids since working for this company would replace what I made and not-to-mention the growth that Craig has to look forward to. I still remember the overwhelming feeling to text my friend Kristal about our house and the whole time we should've been nervous but I always felt calm like things would work out and they did. We feel very fortunate to have lived in Maine for the experience and for the things we learned and grew from. Also it was like a vacation that lasted 2 years. Afterall, Maine is Vacationland. We've done lots of fun things but it also feels like it's time to settle and "put some roots down" as Craig says. Last summer when we were told there was a meeting about moving out West, I felt very confident and assured that we'd be moving in 2012. Craig doubted but I got my famous "feeling". Our friends doubted and made it sound like Kleinschmidt wouldn't move us and blah, blah, blah but I just kept positive and faithful and knowing the feelings I had. He came back from a meeting in July and again in November that confirmed we were moving in summer of 2012. At first I was stressed thinking about how to afford rent (it's about $400 more/month for what we live in now), who would accept dogs (not like I WANT to bring her-she's mean) and the timing of it all. We quickly found out that Craig would be getting a promotion & raise come Jan and also that they would fly us out to look for places to live. That was when we decided we would buy a house if we found something. And that's when the house shopping started. We started getting familiar with the area, on a map of course, and figuring out things we wanted in a house that we wanted to raise our future kids in. Some things included: a garage, at least 4 rooms (we're thinking 4 kids but we'll see what happens when #3 comes), at least 2 bathrooms, a decent backyard to at least have a trampoline & garden, good neighborhood for kids, schools are good for Jaycee and Hadi, not too much of a commute, a family room & living room, and wanted at least 2100 sq feet (some houses have less but feel big so the sq footage wasn't a huge deal) and at least 1990's home or newer (something newer in case we HAD to sell and could hopefully sell it quickly). We weren't too picky but we def know what we wanted. We did research of living in Oregon vs. Washington and found that Oregon has rediculous property taxes. We're talking about $4000/year vs some homes we looked at in Wa that were $2000/year. That was huge for us. So that pretty much led us to go across the river into Wa since the commute of about 15 minutes from his office would be where we'd look anyway. (We didn't want to live in Gresham which is a bigger city out skirts of Portland) My mom had told that her uncle lived in Vancouver. How Crazy! So we called him up to talk about the area of Vancouver and if he had any agents that could help. He gave us Doug's number, who we contacted right before Christmas. It was about middle of Jan and Doug wasn't doing much and not really even contacting us so Craig got the agent a lady from their OR office used. He was your typical agent and a go-getter, Pat was his name. He quickly told us that with what we want and our price range that we'd have to lower our sq footage, only 3 bedrooms and probably something older. I was bummed because we had found homes we liked in Wa with our wants, but kinda felt like maybe Oregon was where we should go at the time. Pat also told us about USDA loans. Pretty much they are for living in rural areas which provide 100% financing (we were thinking we'd have to do an FHA loan which require 3.5% down so about $8000 up front!!!) and also mortgage insurance was only $30/$100,000 of the loan. That made a HUGE difference! We QUICKLY decided we wanted to take advantage of the USDA loan. The homes in Oregon that qualified for USDA were about 25 miles/30 min commute for Craig but we felt was worth it to get that loan. Having cheaper mort ins would make up for gas money (thank you civic!) After about a month we were having no luck in Oregon finding anything in the areas of USDA and in our price range. I felt a little discouraged. We had gotten a hold of Doug and mentioned we wanted to do USDA and said he didn't mention it because at first we said only a 30 min commute for Craig. Buying into USDA in Washington would make his commute 5 extra minutes, but there were TONS of homes. We settled on the idea of Battle Ground and Ridgefield; Vancouver wasn't in the areas for the loan. We found so many houses! By the time it came for us to fly out we had a good list and when actually out there we found at least 6 homes that weren't short sale that we would be happy with. Our loan officer, come to find out, lives in Battle Ground and talked all about the area and how much he liked living there. Even driving through the first day we loved the area and wanted to live here, but then we found the Ridgefield house. We fell in love, but it didn't have quite the schools we wanted for the kids and it had no kind of shopping so I'd still have to drive to BG for groceries; also the commute was 5 extra minutes. We felt like those were some sacrifices that could be made for this house that we loved! We even had the last minute idea to go to church there on the Sunday we flew out. (Although I wasn't impressed with the ward-it was huge and only ONE person was friendly and tried talking to us) When our first offer fell through we said a quick prayer and felt what we should counter at and a day later we had lost the bidding war. Our next decision was obviously BG but which out of 4 houses. We spread the papers out on the counter and brought up pictures from online and 2 already went into "pending". We said another prayer and decided to offer on "the second house-as we called it because it looked like another house but was the second one we found similiar to that floor plan. We went with the one we ended up getting and felt SO good about our decision. I'm still leary about bad ju-ju in the house, since the owners are getting divorced, but I think a blessing on the house will change that atmosphere (Craig thinks I'm silly when I say that). Everyday I look at the house and more and more everyday I fall in love and know our house found us. I'm really looking forward to the ward and hopefully we'll fit right in. Oh, and after talking to our loan officer we found out we live about 10 houses away from him. Ironic? Makes me feel good because he had so many good words about the area. So there's the story. I just feel so much in my heart that Heavenly Father is looking out for us and helping in so many ways. We've been faithful in our callings, even knowing when we're moving-we could just stop doing anything; also tithing is so huge! I have such a firm testimony of tithing. That's what calms me when I get scared about finances with moving to a more expensive area. I just feel so blessed and full of thanks for my Heavenly Father and for my family.
So now that the appraisal is done we called the moving company and they came out yesterday to walk through the house to get a "tonage" of what we have. We have the dates as of right now of closing on the house with a title company out here on April 30; movers coming on May 1 to pack up the house; truck coming May 2 to pack up boxes and that night we'll head for Pelham for the night and final good-byes. We're hoping to arrive in Utah around May 6 or 7. Then Craig will be flying from SLC to Nebraska for the 8 & 9 for a job site visit while I will stay in Utah. He'll be back Friday sometime and we plan on heading for Idaho on May 12-sleepover somewhere-then continue our drive to Battle Ground at our new address on Sunday, May 13 with movers potentially getting there Monday, May 14. I say potentially because sometimes they are a few days late. And from there will be MANY hours of unpacking boxes and getting settled in. We're so excited and can. not. wait! I should be sad but I'm not at all. Well minus missing my friend Julie and her family and leaving my brother and his family. This has been a 2 year decision that has finally been ready to get going.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Boy does Jaycee have an imagination. I give props to Backyardigans. She is so smart and likes to pretend lots of different things. I love that she doesn't have to have MANY toys and gadgets to make her happy.
Last night she wanted us to go to the space ship. She packed a bag for her and one for daddy. In the bag were books and pretend food for their snack. Also they had to have their sunglasses because it was bright. She was a little bummed when we told her we couldn't drive to the space ship but that we'd make one inside. It was cute to see her and Craig play. That little girl amazes me everyday!
Last night she wanted us to go to the space ship. She packed a bag for her and one for daddy. In the bag were books and pretend food for their snack. Also they had to have their sunglasses because it was bright. She was a little bummed when we told her we couldn't drive to the space ship but that we'd make one inside. It was cute to see her and Craig play. That little girl amazes me everyday!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Hadley May!
Hadi is now 3 months as of the 12th of March. She's getting so big way too fast. We just love having her in our family and sometimes hardly even know she's around because she's such a quite, good baby.
She is on a GREAT sleeping system: Usually when we go to bed I feed her to "top her off" or for her feeding. That's usually around 1030-11 ish. Most mornings she wakes up around 8. I seriously luck out with my kids! She's still sleeping in the swing, which actually broke so it just plays the music and toys but she still is in the swaddled position. I have noticed lately she gets a little frustrated and wants to sprawl out. I'm thinking when we move to transition her to her crib. She's such a good sleeper though. She doesn't make a peep.
Nursing is still going fabulous. She's a pro now. She's going about every 3 1/2 - 4 hours. It's been so nice to get some extra time to do things. Also her feeding usually only last about 25 minutes. It's really cute because sometimes she'll be eating and get distracted and let go and start smiling. It's true what they say about bonding with your babies. I love that time I get with just her and I. I still plan on nursing until she turns 1 but we'll see what happens when she gets teeth. Next month we get to start introducing rice (I think) and at 6 months we'll introduce the sippy cup.
Hadi loved to babble and makes lot of noises and spits a lot. It's so cute. Also she has officially found her hands and LOVES her thumb! It's so stinkin cute! I vowed to not let her be a finger sucker but she just loves it. I try to take it out and put the binkie in but then it lasts just a few minutes before it comes out and she finds her thumb again. She also loves blankets. She likes to have it in her hands to cuddle to fall asleep. She's really into playing with toys and grabbing at them then bringing them to her mouth. Also she has learned to roll onto her side. I'm hoping she can learn the full roll pretty soon, although I don't remember what's normal.
Hadley is such a happy baby. She loves to smile! We've tried and tried to get her to laugh but no such luck. Just lots of smiles and happy grunts like she's ready to bust out laughing. She's outgrown all newborn clothes and actually most her 0-3 month clothes. She's def growing fast. Some 3-6 month clothes are a little big but they work pretty well. I'm excited for the warm weather because I LOVE rompers. So cute! Jaycee still loves her sissy and is protective and wants to make her happy too. She loves holding Hadi at least once a day and loves to shares things with her. My favorite is when Jaycee tells me that "they're going to be best friends." I feel so lucky she transitioned so well to a little sister and shows so much love to her. We love our girls so much!
She is on a GREAT sleeping system: Usually when we go to bed I feed her to "top her off" or for her feeding. That's usually around 1030-11 ish. Most mornings she wakes up around 8. I seriously luck out with my kids! She's still sleeping in the swing, which actually broke so it just plays the music and toys but she still is in the swaddled position. I have noticed lately she gets a little frustrated and wants to sprawl out. I'm thinking when we move to transition her to her crib. She's such a good sleeper though. She doesn't make a peep.
Nursing is still going fabulous. She's a pro now. She's going about every 3 1/2 - 4 hours. It's been so nice to get some extra time to do things. Also her feeding usually only last about 25 minutes. It's really cute because sometimes she'll be eating and get distracted and let go and start smiling. It's true what they say about bonding with your babies. I love that time I get with just her and I. I still plan on nursing until she turns 1 but we'll see what happens when she gets teeth. Next month we get to start introducing rice (I think) and at 6 months we'll introduce the sippy cup.
Hadi loved to babble and makes lot of noises and spits a lot. It's so cute. Also she has officially found her hands and LOVES her thumb! It's so stinkin cute! I vowed to not let her be a finger sucker but she just loves it. I try to take it out and put the binkie in but then it lasts just a few minutes before it comes out and she finds her thumb again. She also loves blankets. She likes to have it in her hands to cuddle to fall asleep. She's really into playing with toys and grabbing at them then bringing them to her mouth. Also she has learned to roll onto her side. I'm hoping she can learn the full roll pretty soon, although I don't remember what's normal.
Hadley is such a happy baby. She loves to smile! We've tried and tried to get her to laugh but no such luck. Just lots of smiles and happy grunts like she's ready to bust out laughing. She's outgrown all newborn clothes and actually most her 0-3 month clothes. She's def growing fast. Some 3-6 month clothes are a little big but they work pretty well. I'm excited for the warm weather because I LOVE rompers. So cute! Jaycee still loves her sissy and is protective and wants to make her happy too. She loves holding Hadi at least once a day and loves to shares things with her. My favorite is when Jaycee tells me that "they're going to be best friends." I feel so lucky she transitioned so well to a little sister and shows so much love to her. We love our girls so much!
Friday, March 16, 2012
House update
Well things are moving along!
The inspections got finished on Monday and Tuesday we got the full report of the findings. There were just minor things like:
1. Moss on the roof. Washington is a very wet state so moss grows a lot. We need to just get up on the roof and brush it off and apply some kind of treatment for the shingles within the next year.
2. There were a few pieces of wood down in the crawl space that needs to be cleaned up. (weird to be on a report right?)
3. There was a few pieces of siding that got a little bit of heat to them so it looks a little warped I guess you could say. It was only a few pieces at the very top of the house so it's not even visible.
4. The HVAC was really dirty and suggested that we get it serviced within the next year.
Everything else was just little things like a chip in the sink. A lightbulb out. I mean this report was FULLY detailed. But I liked it because it gave us exactly the information we needed: It is a great built home and very good shape. Even in the crawl space it wasn't moist like most homes are out there. Go us! We talked with our realtor and he suggested in the inspection paper we have them provide papers saying the HVAC has been serviced within the last two years. They said they think it has, but couldn't provide proof so they actually had it all serviced yesterday. I was glad we wrote that in to have them do. All-in-all I was glad we spent the money to get it done and will never buy a home again without doing that. Money well spent. Our agent called last night to say the appraisal has been ordered but they take their dear, sweet time. Usually it takes AT LEAST a week for them to get out to the house, get the info and do the findings. But I guess that's one more week of saving up for the big move. Also the loan guy is getting all papers needed to get our loan sent off to USDA and ready to go. We haven't locked in an interest rate because we're still 30 days out but right now they are estimated at 3.75 and our loan guy said it will most likely be lower than that. That's pure insanty right?!!!! Our first home we bought we thought we were getting a steal at 6% then refi to 5%! Seriously, I am so glad we ended up making the decision to buy. It's a perfect time for us.
Yesterday I needed to get out of the house and I had 2 gift cards burning a whole in my wallet. I got some great deals! I found a cool vase at Michaels that was clearanced from $40 to I thought $15 until it rang up for $11! I'm planning on putting those sticks/wood/flowers in it. Heres a pic of an example:
Also at Target I used my other g/c from my birthday (thank you Phyllis & Larry) to buy 3 canvas painted pictures to hang above our bed. I can't find a pic to show but it's basically 3 12x12 striped painted canvas with different colors. They'll hang above our bed; which btw Craig bought us a sleigh bed! Thank you Jodi for the inspiration! We've wanted a headboard/footboard for a long time and finally got one. I can't wait! I'll have to post pics in our home in the coming weeks. We're really excited to decorate and make the home ours. If only we had tons of money for it all; but then again, it's more fun to stage it out and have lots of projects. We're so so excited. Yay!
The inspections got finished on Monday and Tuesday we got the full report of the findings. There were just minor things like:
1. Moss on the roof. Washington is a very wet state so moss grows a lot. We need to just get up on the roof and brush it off and apply some kind of treatment for the shingles within the next year.
2. There were a few pieces of wood down in the crawl space that needs to be cleaned up. (weird to be on a report right?)
3. There was a few pieces of siding that got a little bit of heat to them so it looks a little warped I guess you could say. It was only a few pieces at the very top of the house so it's not even visible.
4. The HVAC was really dirty and suggested that we get it serviced within the next year.
Everything else was just little things like a chip in the sink. A lightbulb out. I mean this report was FULLY detailed. But I liked it because it gave us exactly the information we needed: It is a great built home and very good shape. Even in the crawl space it wasn't moist like most homes are out there. Go us! We talked with our realtor and he suggested in the inspection paper we have them provide papers saying the HVAC has been serviced within the last two years. They said they think it has, but couldn't provide proof so they actually had it all serviced yesterday. I was glad we wrote that in to have them do. All-in-all I was glad we spent the money to get it done and will never buy a home again without doing that. Money well spent. Our agent called last night to say the appraisal has been ordered but they take their dear, sweet time. Usually it takes AT LEAST a week for them to get out to the house, get the info and do the findings. But I guess that's one more week of saving up for the big move. Also the loan guy is getting all papers needed to get our loan sent off to USDA and ready to go. We haven't locked in an interest rate because we're still 30 days out but right now they are estimated at 3.75 and our loan guy said it will most likely be lower than that. That's pure insanty right?!!!! Our first home we bought we thought we were getting a steal at 6% then refi to 5%! Seriously, I am so glad we ended up making the decision to buy. It's a perfect time for us.
Yesterday I needed to get out of the house and I had 2 gift cards burning a whole in my wallet. I got some great deals! I found a cool vase at Michaels that was clearanced from $40 to I thought $15 until it rang up for $11! I'm planning on putting those sticks/wood/flowers in it. Heres a pic of an example:
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Identical?
Ever since Hadley was born MANY people have said how her and Jaycee look identical. Do you think so? Which is which?
Craig and I both agree that they do look like sisters but not identical like everyone says
Monday, March 12, 2012
Step Two of owning our new home---Inspection Completed!!!
Friday, March 9, 2012
Step One of owning our new home---OFFER ACCEPTED!!!
We found out last night around 11pm (8pm WA time) that our offer had been accepted except for 3 details nothing to do with the cost of our home. We were so so happy! It took them a while because the owners of the house are going through a divorce so both had to be contacted and signed the paper. I feel bad because it sucks to be in their situation but it worked out to our advantage. In fact, with them paying all 3% of closing costs and realtor fees to both sides, they still have to come in with $3k to pay off the loan. We are getting a great deal and hopefully can gain some equity with owning it over the years. The people want to get out as soon as they can, but we have to wait on a few things. First, the inspection. It'll be done around March 12-14. Assuming it is fine then the appraisal will be done next. Then after that's taken care of it'll take 3 weeks for the USDA loan to come through and then another 3 weeks to finalize. So we're shooting for a closing date of April 30. We'll probably close from Maine or on the road since we'll be drive across country again---thanks to our mean dog who can't fly. Oh and we also have to call the moving company to set a date to come pack up the stuff and ship it out. (I'm so grateful about that!) Oh and in the offer & counter offer we got the owner to leave the shed in the back, the fridge, the nice white wood blinds throughout the house and their security system. Man, this house in the end is better than that Ridgefield house because it had nothing and we're paying less for it. So So Exciting! I can't wait to take pictures and to move in with my paint brush in hand and to decorate it. If any one knows of good websites for ideas, I'd love them. Jaycee wants her room pink and Hadi's bedding is pink & brown so that's what their room will be.
All-in-all I just feel so much gratitude in my heart. I feel like we must be doing something right because the Lord continues to bless our family. This is a very big move again and I feel like he guided us to this house and with keeping him involved he truly is helping us. I really feel that! Financially moving is expensive, but I feel the Lord's hand helping us out. This is another thing in our life that I can see him watching over us and giving us those good & calming feelings that everything will be okay. I just feel so grateful!!!!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
House #1 Details
Sometimes I feel like I'm on "House Hunters" with the decisions we have to come across. Give-and-take for different things in houses; bidding wars; becoming emotionally attached to a home that is out of reach. Ugh!
So with Ridgefield house we heard Monday night that the realtor/owner got another offer and there was another one being written up. So he told our agent to give him our best offer. We said a quick prayer before we filled out the paper and felt good about going $3k over his asking, but still making him pay closing. I wasn't super confident and didn't want to be crushed so I kept a pretty level mind about it. Craig and our agent thought for sure we'd get it. I wasn't so confident although we prayed about a number to put in. We found out Tuesday that we had been outbid! We were the #2 offer and if the first people back out, then it's ours. But I highly doubt that. Oh man we were crushed! What about that feeling I got in the house? How do I interpret those? I guess on to the other homes. Our agent called the agent of both the #2 & #3 house in the meantime.
House #2 the agent had told us that his owners are confident in their asking price and will NOT budge. Also they will only pay their own closing costs, not ours. So pretty much if we want this house we have to come in $3k above their asking price, which we felt was already overpriced anyway. And everyone knows you don't want to over-buy and be the most expensive house in the neighborhood and if the value isn't there why spend 20k more than house #3!!! I was a little crushed because this was the house I quickly became emotionally attached to and pictured my family in it. Although when we walked through it I wasn't as impressed as the pictures. And the owners are ticking me off!
House #3 the agent told us that his owner is deperate and needs to get out of the house. We quickly gathered after walking through it that the guy lives alone although he does have 2 kids because of things in the bedroom. The agent also told us that this price was nearly a short-sale price and was about to go that route very soon. We didn't want to go that route as it can be complicated and take a lot of time. This house had 2415 sq ft compared to house #2 that had 2459 and was 20k cheaper! Why would we over buy for the same sq footage?! I did like the #2 house floor plan better but #3 had "all the bells & whistles" as Craig says it. We looked online at some other homes we had looked at and out of 9 houses we saw in a week 3 were pending! We needed to make our decision fast. It just made sense to offer on house #3. I was a little bummed but I'm still excited to make the house mine. It does need a woman's touch, and I really want to paint the door red like the Ridgefield house. Oh and the agent also said since it's this cheap and they just lowered it 10k 3 weeks ago that the owner can't afford much closing costs. We decided to make an offer at $4k above his asking price and he pays closing. So technically we're getting it $2k less than his asking. Also we want him to include his nice white wood blinds he has throughout the house, a shed in the back and his fridge. We quickly learned last night after our agent called their agent that the couple is separated and that's why they are selling it. We're pretty good at guessing that when looking through the house. You can even tell in the pics. So we are really excited! It also makes it nice that this house will be $50 cheaper a month then we've budgeted where house #2 would $50 more than budgeted. That's always nice. Here's a link to the virtual tour. The first pic of the house makes it look gray exterior but it's a brown/cream.
http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?sk=202&t=2677278
We should hear back sometime today. The waiting game is not fun, but it's worth it.
So with Ridgefield house we heard Monday night that the realtor/owner got another offer and there was another one being written up. So he told our agent to give him our best offer. We said a quick prayer before we filled out the paper and felt good about going $3k over his asking, but still making him pay closing. I wasn't super confident and didn't want to be crushed so I kept a pretty level mind about it. Craig and our agent thought for sure we'd get it. I wasn't so confident although we prayed about a number to put in. We found out Tuesday that we had been outbid! We were the #2 offer and if the first people back out, then it's ours. But I highly doubt that. Oh man we were crushed! What about that feeling I got in the house? How do I interpret those? I guess on to the other homes. Our agent called the agent of both the #2 & #3 house in the meantime.
House #2 the agent had told us that his owners are confident in their asking price and will NOT budge. Also they will only pay their own closing costs, not ours. So pretty much if we want this house we have to come in $3k above their asking price, which we felt was already overpriced anyway. And everyone knows you don't want to over-buy and be the most expensive house in the neighborhood and if the value isn't there why spend 20k more than house #3!!! I was a little crushed because this was the house I quickly became emotionally attached to and pictured my family in it. Although when we walked through it I wasn't as impressed as the pictures. And the owners are ticking me off!
House #3 the agent told us that his owner is deperate and needs to get out of the house. We quickly gathered after walking through it that the guy lives alone although he does have 2 kids because of things in the bedroom. The agent also told us that this price was nearly a short-sale price and was about to go that route very soon. We didn't want to go that route as it can be complicated and take a lot of time. This house had 2415 sq ft compared to house #2 that had 2459 and was 20k cheaper! Why would we over buy for the same sq footage?! I did like the #2 house floor plan better but #3 had "all the bells & whistles" as Craig says it. We looked online at some other homes we had looked at and out of 9 houses we saw in a week 3 were pending! We needed to make our decision fast. It just made sense to offer on house #3. I was a little bummed but I'm still excited to make the house mine. It does need a woman's touch, and I really want to paint the door red like the Ridgefield house. Oh and the agent also said since it's this cheap and they just lowered it 10k 3 weeks ago that the owner can't afford much closing costs. We decided to make an offer at $4k above his asking price and he pays closing. So technically we're getting it $2k less than his asking. Also we want him to include his nice white wood blinds he has throughout the house, a shed in the back and his fridge. We quickly learned last night after our agent called their agent that the couple is separated and that's why they are selling it. We're pretty good at guessing that when looking through the house. You can even tell in the pics. So we are really excited! It also makes it nice that this house will be $50 cheaper a month then we've budgeted where house #2 would $50 more than budgeted. That's always nice. Here's a link to the virtual tour. The first pic of the house makes it look gray exterior but it's a brown/cream.
http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?sk=202&t=2677278
We should hear back sometime today. The waiting game is not fun, but it's worth it.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Hours & Hours
Well we made it back from our trip and boy are we exhausted both mentally and physically. Let's rewind and you can see how we are so exhausted. (keep in mind the hours of travel time!) This might be long and if you don't want to read that's just fine. I just wanted to write about our trip.
It started with a 3 hour drive to Dathan's house to drop off Izzy and TRY to get a wink of sleep before we had to wake up at 3 am! I hardly slept at all. My mind was cranking and was so excited for the whole trip. I think I got MAYBE 3 hours. We woke up and left their house at 4:15 am and drove to Manchester. We parked the truck and walked to the check-in. Jaycee was SUCH A GOOD girl. She was so tired but she got her back pack on and walked as fast as her little legs could. We got to Southwest and the line was outrageous-it was 5am. Our plane LEAVES at 6:20 meaning boarding is usually about 6. My stomach dropped. Luckily we got through the line pretty quick and I was thankful for the workers who were so patient with us and checking in bags and car seats. After we walked super fast to security. One advantage of traveling with kids-they let us right in and didn't have to wait. We walked through and checked our watch....5:35. Perfect! Hadi was strapped to my chest and Jaycee talking to every person around and telling about her trip to Utah. We got on the flight quick since they let you board earlier since we have kids. We flew to Chicago so it was about a 2 1/2 hour flight. Only problem is we sat in the plane for a good 20 minutes while they "checked skis!" Jaycee did so good and played and looked out the window. Hadi slept and ate pretty much. Right as we get into Chicago it was about 10 minutes til our next plane left! I was kinda freaking out. We darted off the plane, Craig picked up Jaycee and we ran. We walked right on and everyone was already boarded. Bad thing is the only seats available were middle seats sporadic over the flight. I was so annoyed not one person would move so at least Craig could sit by Jaycee. The stuardess got on the PA and had to offer free alcohol til finally someone volunteered. Craig sat in the very front with Jaycee. I got stuck in a middle seat clear in the back. I was dreading feeding Hadley because it'd be awkward right between 2 strangers, but it went just fine. It quickly relieved my phobia of nursing in public. We arrived in Salt Lake! With time change we got in at 11:30 am. (7 hours of travel)
After a bite to eat we went to Craig's parents to take showers and visit until we headed off to Chuck E Cheese to visit with everyone. It was so nice to be back in Utah and felt like we never had moved although some things had changed.
On the way to Chuck E Cheese I made Craig stop at Krispy Kreme. Oh it was mouthgasmic. How I've missed those. Dunkin Donuts doesn't even come close!
We had a blast at Chuck E Cheese. It was so fun to see everyone and talk all night. I couldn't believe how fast time was flying. I loved seeing everyone and especially all the hugs. It felt right at home. Jaycee had so much fun playing and she needed it especially after a long day of traveling...although I can't complain. My kids are so so good. Thank you everyone for taking time to drive to Layton and spend your night with us. I just feel so blessed to be loved by both families and able to sneak in this trip to see everyone!
It was HARD, HARD saying good bye to everyone. But in the back of my mind I knew I'd see them in a few months when we moved. And hopefully with only an 11 hour car ride we can come back and some might visit us. We made a quick stop at Walmart for some PB & J bread and fruit for the car ride coming up. We were very thankful for Jodi & Kenny for letting us stay over and had a great time visiting. Once we hit the bed we crashed hard! The early morning on no sleep and then the time change made us exhausted.
We woke up Wed morning and visited for a while with Jodi and Jordann and Chase. What a great family! And they always make me laugh. Jaycee didn't get up until 10:30!!! She slept forever. Their family had some things to do and Craig had some work to do so I left with the girls and went with Aimee to the wood shop. I was so excited to find really cute letters to make Hadi's name and I hired Aimee to make some cute flowers for the girls' bedroom. Thanks Aimee! She does GREAT work so if you're interested let her make you something :) We then headed to Dawn's where all my sisters, Jason and mom visited. Dawn's house is so so pretty with all her new remodels. And I loved how chatty us girls are when we get together. I'm sorry Aimee about not holding Hadi. I was so busy visiting I didn't take the time to notice who had held her. I was watching the clock and noticed the time clicking by. I knew I had to leave to go pick up Craig but I was def delaying it. Craig text me so that was my sign that I better hurry. We gave hugs and headed out. Driving up to the temple was horrible! The snow had started really heavy and the clock was ticking even faster. I was so afraid we weren't going to make it to the temple in time cuz I still had to feed Hadi since the session was 2 hrs. Also along with the snow were the tears. I was so emotional. I just love my sisters & mom so much. No one can ever replace the spot they take in my heart. I try to put on a brave face but deep inside I ache for them. I have a diff relationship with each of them and that's what makes them so great. My mom is well my mom. That right there defines my love for her. Dawn: man just thinking about her makes me laugh. Things she says and does make me laugh and I think of so many fun times with her....Geesh, Idaho! ha ha! Dalynne: She's the sweet heart that makes sure our family feels loved no matter what. She takes the time to notice EVERY detail about our little family. Aimee: she's my best friend! We've been through so much together over the years. We don't talk nearly as much as I'd like, but I know how busy we both are. All 3 of my sisters are so selfless and would do anything for me or my family. We can be drama sometimes and mad at each other, but isn't that what sisters are about. I just feel so blessed to have them and feel like I need to be a better sister to them.
We arrive at the temple and I give Hadi a quick 20 minute feed and pray that it's enough to hold her over for 2 1/2 hours. Kenny, Jordann and Chase all helped watched our girls as we went through the session with Jodi. What a beautiful night. I had so many things on my mind but there was a calming in my heart. Just with everything. And of course I cried. Thank you Jodi for letting us spend that special night in the Logan temple (ps that's where we got married and I've never been back-that adds to everything!)
We got done and was so glad to see that Hadley wasn't freaking out and Jaycee was so hyper. She kept telling us Jofee was so funny. That's jo-jo's new nickname for our family. It just stuck. We then grabbed Chick Fil A and headed for our 3 hour car ride to Twin Falls. Craig drove for about an hour and started feeling really tired so we switched driving. I hate driving in the ice-scares me-so I didn't drive as fast and took an extra 30 min to get there. We melted into the Super 8 bed and fast asleep the whole family was.
Thurs we woke up at 6 to feed Hadi and Craig had some emails to write and then we took showers and ate breakfast. We left Twin Falls around 9 am to head for Gresham. From there it's about a 8 hour car ride, but ended up taking us 11!!! Hadi decided she just had to eat every 3 hours so stopping for that made it a long car ride. We had to slow down a bit also through the mountain range in Oregon because of ice. This day felt so long! We were never going to get there! I was shocked at the scenery too. We were about an our away from Gresham and it still had the Idaho/Utah look to it. But I had been told once you pass over the cascades it hits the green area. And they were right. It was gorgeous. We got to our hotel and we were so tired after a long day of driving. Jaycee and Hadi were so good though! Once again I'm so grateful for our perfect girls.
Right before bed we got an email from our realtor and it had some new houses on it. We checked them out and actually found a couple new homes to look at including a WOW house (as we call it) that was actually in our price range. Then we crashed. I think every night once we allowed ourself to lay down we were out so fast.
Friday was BUSY! We met our realtor and sat in his office making a game plan on what houses to go see. We decided if we want to live in Battle Ground that we wanted Jaycee to go to the new school and it's supposedly really good. So it took about 5 houses out of the pool to look at. We took all day looking at the 8 homes and finding different things we liked about each. It got a bit confusing so I'm glad I took notes. We also really enjoyed our time with Mr. Dougie (as Jaycee called him). He was wonderful. He told us about the area and drove us around to different places. At the end of the day we decided on 2 houses we wanted to go back and see the next day and decided on one house as our "settle house" if the others didn't work out. We dropped him off at his office and we went on to feed Hadi and get some dinner. Jaycee fell asleep and woke up crying to bad because Doug wasn't with us. It was actually pretty cute. She bonded so well with him and he acted like a grandpa to her. We went to BDubs for dinner in Vancouver and back to the hotel. It was a very fun day to look at houses but also was very overwhelmed with prices and all the options. We said a prayer and hoped to relax a bit on deciding which one. I was grateful though that we had more than one option.
Saturday we woke up with a game plan to go to Ridgefield, the other city, to check out one house and revisit 2 other homes. I had a great feeling about the Ridgefield house and we both were in shock that we could afford such a nice house like that. We were running a bit late with feedings and Jaycee waking up late. But it was her birthday so we didn't want to rush her. We even let her open her birthday presents before we left. She got 3 backyardigans dolls & a Tinker bell movie. She was so excited to bring them. For 3 hours in the morning while getting ready I was just saying silent prayers about what to do and I kept getting calming feelings about the house we were gonna see. I was a little frustrated that I went through 8 houses the day before and never got the "feeling" I was hoping for. That was huge to me, but I know it might not happen too. Well we met Doug and headed for Ridgefield. It was located right off the freeway which is a plus for Craig commuting and instantly I loved the area. It was gorgeous. Trees everywhere and hills. It had a Washington/Oregon feel but yet a Utah feel. I felt so at home. We opened the door and I was shocked. It was so pretty. It only took me a quick 5 minutes before I grinned ear to ear and got the feeling I hoped for. This was it!!! Craig kept saying, calm down, we still need to go upstairs. It was so pretty and I just imagined raising our children in this house! I didn't want to leave! But I knew we had other appoitments that we needed to be at. Battle ground was a short 10 minute drive away and we re-visited the homes. The owner was home at my other dream house so it was actually nice talking to her. We then headed back to Doug's office to talk and get the offer started. We decided to offer on the Ridgefield home first.
We then finished all the paper work and decided to let Jaycee enjoy her magic day. We went to Winco (man groceries are so much cheaper in Wa than Maine!) and hoped to find a cake for her to pick out. She got a donut instead. Then we headed back to Gresham and actually found a McDonald playground to play at. She was so happy! We let her play for a good hour and then headed back to the hotel to let her blow out her candle. She was so excited about that.
Sunday we had made last minute plans to go to church in Ridgefield and check out the ward along with ask some ppl about what they think. It was such a great idea. It didn't start until 11 so it was perfect to sleep in a bit and go. The ward was so big! We talked to the bishop and there's about 300 active that come on Sundays along with 67% active in the whole ward. We were shocked. And plus there were kids everywhere! A nice girl stopped us and we talked to her and she told us there were 2 nurseries and lots of primary kids. It was exactly the place I was hoping we could find for Jaycee. We had such a good feeling. We then got some lunch, fed and headed to the airport. Our flight was at 6pm but we wanted to be early so we could get seats together. We got there at 4pm to check in and it was great timing. The airport even had toys and Dora so Jaycee was in heaven. We boarded and off we went. The first flight was a 2 1/2 hour flight to Phoenix and Jaycee was out of control hyper. That was rough. Then we had a 2 1/2 hour layover and we grabbed some sandwiches and let Jaycee run, run run! The next flight left at 11:45 Utah time and was a 4 1/2 hour flight to Philadalphia. I didn't realize until the flight was over but I think I slept nearly the whole thing. It was uncomfortable but owell. Jaycee crashed also. Then we had another 1 1/2 layover to arrive in Manchester. We were so ready to be home and get some sleep. The last flight was about 1 hr 15 min and I don't remember any of it. I and the girls were out cold. We quickly got to Kel's to pick up Izzy and headed for home. We finally got home after another 3 hour car drive home. I slept half of it. We were spent. We had spent many hours & hours traveling in just one little week. What a trip! Jaycee and Hadley did so well and so glad they were with us as a family to pick out our new house.
We did hear back about our first offer but still waiting to see what happens next. I will be sure to update when it happens.
It started with a 3 hour drive to Dathan's house to drop off Izzy and TRY to get a wink of sleep before we had to wake up at 3 am! I hardly slept at all. My mind was cranking and was so excited for the whole trip. I think I got MAYBE 3 hours. We woke up and left their house at 4:15 am and drove to Manchester. We parked the truck and walked to the check-in. Jaycee was SUCH A GOOD girl. She was so tired but she got her back pack on and walked as fast as her little legs could. We got to Southwest and the line was outrageous-it was 5am. Our plane LEAVES at 6:20 meaning boarding is usually about 6. My stomach dropped. Luckily we got through the line pretty quick and I was thankful for the workers who were so patient with us and checking in bags and car seats. After we walked super fast to security. One advantage of traveling with kids-they let us right in and didn't have to wait. We walked through and checked our watch....5:35. Perfect! Hadi was strapped to my chest and Jaycee talking to every person around and telling about her trip to Utah. We got on the flight quick since they let you board earlier since we have kids. We flew to Chicago so it was about a 2 1/2 hour flight. Only problem is we sat in the plane for a good 20 minutes while they "checked skis!" Jaycee did so good and played and looked out the window. Hadi slept and ate pretty much. Right as we get into Chicago it was about 10 minutes til our next plane left! I was kinda freaking out. We darted off the plane, Craig picked up Jaycee and we ran. We walked right on and everyone was already boarded. Bad thing is the only seats available were middle seats sporadic over the flight. I was so annoyed not one person would move so at least Craig could sit by Jaycee. The stuardess got on the PA and had to offer free alcohol til finally someone volunteered. Craig sat in the very front with Jaycee. I got stuck in a middle seat clear in the back. I was dreading feeding Hadley because it'd be awkward right between 2 strangers, but it went just fine. It quickly relieved my phobia of nursing in public. We arrived in Salt Lake! With time change we got in at 11:30 am. (7 hours of travel)
Hadley right before we left for NH
First stop in Utah...COSTA!!! We were starving!
Jaycee opening birthday presents from Grandma & papa Parker
We had a blast at Chuck E Cheese. It was so fun to see everyone and talk all night. I couldn't believe how fast time was flying. I loved seeing everyone and especially all the hugs. It felt right at home. Jaycee had so much fun playing and she needed it especially after a long day of traveling...although I can't complain. My kids are so so good. Thank you everyone for taking time to drive to Layton and spend your night with us. I just feel so blessed to be loved by both families and able to sneak in this trip to see everyone!
Jaycee and Aunt Sheri opening her birthday present
Rylee and Hadley getting cuddle time. I still can't get over how adorable that little girl is and how much she has grown. Seems like yesterday she was born. In fact all our grandkids are so freakin cute! Wowee we make cute babies.
We woke up Wed morning and visited for a while with Jodi and Jordann and Chase. What a great family! And they always make me laugh. Jaycee didn't get up until 10:30!!! She slept forever. Their family had some things to do and Craig had some work to do so I left with the girls and went with Aimee to the wood shop. I was so excited to find really cute letters to make Hadi's name and I hired Aimee to make some cute flowers for the girls' bedroom. Thanks Aimee! She does GREAT work so if you're interested let her make you something :) We then headed to Dawn's where all my sisters, Jason and mom visited. Dawn's house is so so pretty with all her new remodels. And I loved how chatty us girls are when we get together. I'm sorry Aimee about not holding Hadi. I was so busy visiting I didn't take the time to notice who had held her. I was watching the clock and noticed the time clicking by. I knew I had to leave to go pick up Craig but I was def delaying it. Craig text me so that was my sign that I better hurry. We gave hugs and headed out. Driving up to the temple was horrible! The snow had started really heavy and the clock was ticking even faster. I was so afraid we weren't going to make it to the temple in time cuz I still had to feed Hadi since the session was 2 hrs. Also along with the snow were the tears. I was so emotional. I just love my sisters & mom so much. No one can ever replace the spot they take in my heart. I try to put on a brave face but deep inside I ache for them. I have a diff relationship with each of them and that's what makes them so great. My mom is well my mom. That right there defines my love for her. Dawn: man just thinking about her makes me laugh. Things she says and does make me laugh and I think of so many fun times with her....Geesh, Idaho! ha ha! Dalynne: She's the sweet heart that makes sure our family feels loved no matter what. She takes the time to notice EVERY detail about our little family. Aimee: she's my best friend! We've been through so much together over the years. We don't talk nearly as much as I'd like, but I know how busy we both are. All 3 of my sisters are so selfless and would do anything for me or my family. We can be drama sometimes and mad at each other, but isn't that what sisters are about. I just feel so blessed to have them and feel like I need to be a better sister to them.
We arrive at the temple and I give Hadi a quick 20 minute feed and pray that it's enough to hold her over for 2 1/2 hours. Kenny, Jordann and Chase all helped watched our girls as we went through the session with Jodi. What a beautiful night. I had so many things on my mind but there was a calming in my heart. Just with everything. And of course I cried. Thank you Jodi for letting us spend that special night in the Logan temple (ps that's where we got married and I've never been back-that adds to everything!)
We got done and was so glad to see that Hadley wasn't freaking out and Jaycee was so hyper. She kept telling us Jofee was so funny. That's jo-jo's new nickname for our family. It just stuck. We then grabbed Chick Fil A and headed for our 3 hour car ride to Twin Falls. Craig drove for about an hour and started feeling really tired so we switched driving. I hate driving in the ice-scares me-so I didn't drive as fast and took an extra 30 min to get there. We melted into the Super 8 bed and fast asleep the whole family was.
Thurs we woke up at 6 to feed Hadi and Craig had some emails to write and then we took showers and ate breakfast. We left Twin Falls around 9 am to head for Gresham. From there it's about a 8 hour car ride, but ended up taking us 11!!! Hadi decided she just had to eat every 3 hours so stopping for that made it a long car ride. We had to slow down a bit also through the mountain range in Oregon because of ice. This day felt so long! We were never going to get there! I was shocked at the scenery too. We were about an our away from Gresham and it still had the Idaho/Utah look to it. But I had been told once you pass over the cascades it hits the green area. And they were right. It was gorgeous. We got to our hotel and we were so tired after a long day of driving. Jaycee and Hadi were so good though! Once again I'm so grateful for our perfect girls.
Jaycee playing in the car. She mostly played with new toys, watched movies, took a nap and pretty much sat there being good. She's a very patient little girl
It was such a pretty drive
Hadi hanging out in the car. I had looked back and noticed she grabbed her toy and was sucking on it. I can't believe she's already big enough to do that. I'm so in love with this baby!
Friday was BUSY! We met our realtor and sat in his office making a game plan on what houses to go see. We decided if we want to live in Battle Ground that we wanted Jaycee to go to the new school and it's supposedly really good. So it took about 5 houses out of the pool to look at. We took all day looking at the 8 homes and finding different things we liked about each. It got a bit confusing so I'm glad I took notes. We also really enjoyed our time with Mr. Dougie (as Jaycee called him). He was wonderful. He told us about the area and drove us around to different places. At the end of the day we decided on 2 houses we wanted to go back and see the next day and decided on one house as our "settle house" if the others didn't work out. We dropped him off at his office and we went on to feed Hadi and get some dinner. Jaycee fell asleep and woke up crying to bad because Doug wasn't with us. It was actually pretty cute. She bonded so well with him and he acted like a grandpa to her. We went to BDubs for dinner in Vancouver and back to the hotel. It was a very fun day to look at houses but also was very overwhelmed with prices and all the options. We said a prayer and hoped to relax a bit on deciding which one. I was grateful though that we had more than one option.
Saturday we woke up with a game plan to go to Ridgefield, the other city, to check out one house and revisit 2 other homes. I had a great feeling about the Ridgefield house and we both were in shock that we could afford such a nice house like that. We were running a bit late with feedings and Jaycee waking up late. But it was her birthday so we didn't want to rush her. We even let her open her birthday presents before we left. She got 3 backyardigans dolls & a Tinker bell movie. She was so excited to bring them. For 3 hours in the morning while getting ready I was just saying silent prayers about what to do and I kept getting calming feelings about the house we were gonna see. I was a little frustrated that I went through 8 houses the day before and never got the "feeling" I was hoping for. That was huge to me, but I know it might not happen too. Well we met Doug and headed for Ridgefield. It was located right off the freeway which is a plus for Craig commuting and instantly I loved the area. It was gorgeous. Trees everywhere and hills. It had a Washington/Oregon feel but yet a Utah feel. I felt so at home. We opened the door and I was shocked. It was so pretty. It only took me a quick 5 minutes before I grinned ear to ear and got the feeling I hoped for. This was it!!! Craig kept saying, calm down, we still need to go upstairs. It was so pretty and I just imagined raising our children in this house! I didn't want to leave! But I knew we had other appoitments that we needed to be at. Battle ground was a short 10 minute drive away and we re-visited the homes. The owner was home at my other dream house so it was actually nice talking to her. We then headed back to Doug's office to talk and get the offer started. We decided to offer on the Ridgefield home first.
Homes #1-3 in order of our liking.
We then finished all the paper work and decided to let Jaycee enjoy her magic day. We went to Winco (man groceries are so much cheaper in Wa than Maine!) and hoped to find a cake for her to pick out. She got a donut instead. Then we headed back to Gresham and actually found a McDonald playground to play at. She was so happy! We let her play for a good hour and then headed back to the hotel to let her blow out her candle. She was so excited about that.
We took a visit to the temple. Very beautiful!
Jaycee eating her birthday dinner she chose.
Us being silly. Craig and his wide eyes so the flash doesn't make them shut. ha ha
Birthday girl playing with some new friends
Even Hadi had a great time. Minus her goopy eye. Somehow she ended up getting a cold and goopy eyes after this trip.
Ronald ha ha
Happy Birthday to you!
Hopefully her wish was a new house
Sunday we had made last minute plans to go to church in Ridgefield and check out the ward along with ask some ppl about what they think. It was such a great idea. It didn't start until 11 so it was perfect to sleep in a bit and go. The ward was so big! We talked to the bishop and there's about 300 active that come on Sundays along with 67% active in the whole ward. We were shocked. And plus there were kids everywhere! A nice girl stopped us and we talked to her and she told us there were 2 nurseries and lots of primary kids. It was exactly the place I was hoping we could find for Jaycee. We had such a good feeling. We then got some lunch, fed and headed to the airport. Our flight was at 6pm but we wanted to be early so we could get seats together. We got there at 4pm to check in and it was great timing. The airport even had toys and Dora so Jaycee was in heaven. We boarded and off we went. The first flight was a 2 1/2 hour flight to Phoenix and Jaycee was out of control hyper. That was rough. Then we had a 2 1/2 hour layover and we grabbed some sandwiches and let Jaycee run, run run! The next flight left at 11:45 Utah time and was a 4 1/2 hour flight to Philadalphia. I didn't realize until the flight was over but I think I slept nearly the whole thing. It was uncomfortable but owell. Jaycee crashed also. Then we had another 1 1/2 layover to arrive in Manchester. We were so ready to be home and get some sleep. The last flight was about 1 hr 15 min and I don't remember any of it. I and the girls were out cold. We quickly got to Kel's to pick up Izzy and headed for home. We finally got home after another 3 hour car drive home. I slept half of it. We were spent. We had spent many hours & hours traveling in just one little week. What a trip! Jaycee and Hadley did so well and so glad they were with us as a family to pick out our new house.
We did hear back about our first offer but still waiting to see what happens next. I will be sure to update when it happens.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)