House Hunting Update

We have decided to pull our offer that we had on that house in Target Range.  Remember this one?  The sellers came back with an addendum that disclosed the following information about the home:
1) The shop had actually been built partially on the neighbors land.  So the owners of this house & the neighbors made an arrangement for the owners to buy the land their shop was sitting on.  The owners still owe that neighbor $4,000.  The buyers of this house would have to pay that $4k balance to the neighbors.
2) Since they are buying that small piece of land that the shop sits on the property lines need to be redrawn. The buyers of this home would have to pay $3,000 to the county to get the lines redrawn.
3) The county said that the garage needs to either be torn down or a breezeway needs to be built to the house.
4) The bathroom in the shop is illegal & either needs to be removed or repaired.

So all of these large added expenses plus the interior updating that needs to take place sums up to more money than we have.  So we withdrew our off & the search continues.

But it's hard to complain too much when you live rent free and get to wake up to this every morning.

House Hunting

My friend Deidrie said I should blog all the houses we've been looking at as potential homes.  What a great idea!  I wish I would have thought of this a year ago when we started... we've seen a lot of houses.  Since I can't recollect back that far, and since you don't want to look at that long of a blog.  I'll just start from this past week. Here goes:

This one was in a good location & the listing agent was this sweet young cowboy guy.  It's priced a little high & there was no formal dining area.  When you've got a family of six an eat in kitchen just won't do.  Adios.

This one was a short sale so the price was right, and it came with a few acres.  But it was out of town a ways & the great room wasn't so great, in fact it was small.  And the master suite was smaller.  Next.

We were really considering this one.  The house needed some work, but it was priced low so that was okay with us.  It also sat on 4 beautifully treed acres.  But we later found out that what we thought was the back acre of the land had actually been broken off & sold.  The current owner then subdivided that into  3 lots (that at the moment was beginning to pile with junk).  He also had an easement through the property we were looking at, but promised he was going to get that easement changed to a different property... we aren't holding our breath on that one.  Plus there was a sweet thing on display on the kitchen counter... ask me in person about it... this here is a family establishment.  Pass.

 This one looked promising.  The entire upstairs was a master suite.  Plus it was in our old neighborhood, 2 blocks from the school, & had a double car garage.  At 10:15am on Friday we knocked on the front door to make sure no one was home (presently it's a college rental), no answer so our Realtor unlocked it & we walked in.  It had a fire place & wood floors.  I didn't like how they had defined the spaces, but I could change that no problem.  I was just thinking the kitchen needed to be update when a young woman came down the stairs in her bathrobe.  We all were a little startled.  Our Realtor said "Hi, I'm Nora from Windemer,  we had an appointment to show the house today at 10am."  (We had called the day before, you have to give 24 hour notice on rentals).  "Okay" she said & scampered back upstairs... hopefully to get some clothes on.  Well, that was weird, but all right.  We walked in the kitchen, then down the hall past the bathroom, & then another bedroom- but the door was closed.  I said "I'm scared to open it, what if someone else is home!"  Our Realtor walked up & knocked on the door before we entered.  A guys voice said sleepily "Hello."  Once again our Realtor explained who we were & said "Is this a good time?"  He answered "Not really."  I scooped up my two youngest children & ran out the door... too awkward.  The yard was too small any way... plus I didn't want to walk in on any more college kids doing God knows what.  See ya.

 This is our latest obsession.  It's in a good area, has plenty of square footage & some land, & (Josh's favorite part) it has a shop.  Like a huge legit shop.  It would be perfect for our family.  It's a short sale so the paper work & timeline are long.  But it was priced right so we threw them an offer.  It had only been on the market one day, so we thought they would really be excited- plus we didn't low ball them at all.  But they weren't so excited.  In fact, they said they were going to wait for 6 more days & see what other offers they got.  Then they would take the 3 highest offers & submit them to the bank.  So now we have to wait & see if our offer ends up in the 3 highest range... let the waiting begin.  But this place is so dirty that I hope it deters people.  The owners have 4 dogs & I'm not sure they know how to use a vacuum.  On top of the the owners were there, awkward, & the lady was pedaling her new beauty products she was selling.  It was all very bizarre.  For most weird house viewings it's a tie between this one & the college rental house.  Two of the rooms we couldn't even walk in because there was so much stuff on the floor.  One of the bedrooms looked like this just to give you an idea of what we're dealing with here.

We're hoping this deters other buyers.  If we get this house I will need to have the biggest cleaning party known to man... & new carpet.  But the house has great bones & a perfect layout.  There is a huge family room... and I mean huge.  And the yard is big & fenced.  Plus there's a shop, did I mention that?  We'll know tomorrow if our offer is getting submitted- I'll keep you posted.

In the mean time the house hunt continues.  Now that you are abreast of our current findings I can keep you up to date on what comes around the corner next.

Spring Outing

We finally had an afternoon warm enough to all go outside yesterday... even the baby.  It was so nice to feel semi-warm air.  It's also really nice to be able to kick the kids outside for a few hours to burn off their excess energy (where do they get that from anyway... I want some!)

We wandered around in the warm sun & stepped in mud puddles.  Maddie is currently obsessed with bunny rabbits.  She has her own real bunny, but we freed him in the barn so she can't hold & pet him.  She got a stuffed bunny & now carries it everywhere... and pets him... and feeds him... his name is Patch.

This was the first time Danica has really been outside where she can walk around & explore.  Everything was a wonder.

She had a lot of questions about her new surroundings.  Unfortunately I have no idea what's she's saying so I cannot answer them.

But most of the time she was just running from one thing to the next.  It was hard to keep up with her, but I had to try because she also fell a lot.  Here she has nabbed Joshie's gun & is taking off with it- she's kind of a tease.  I title this picture "Daddy's Girl".

JoJo was totally content to sit at the base of a tree & sing a song he made up about cowboys.  He also liked to splash in mud puddles & get stuck in corrals (don't ask).

Winter Vacation

For the past five years we have taken a mini family vacation in January.  It seems like this is the perfect time to get away, spend some quality time together, & relax.  This year Josh was too busy in January... and in February.  So I made it my mission to get our family vacation done in March.

We went to the same place we go every year, Fairmont Hotsprings.  We love this place!  All the pools are warm & the hot tubs warmer.  The kids love the water slide & the pools are open 24 hours.  The rooms are lovely & the beds comfy.  It's not actually in a town so we don't go anywhere, that's right we stay right at the resort the entire time- it's wonderful.  I don't have to cook & you can get pizza delivered to your room.  You don't have to make your own bed or wash your laundry.  There's a petting zoo & a playground.  They always give me a ground floor so we can park right outside our patio door.  And our new discovery this year is that they made a play area equipped with a ton of toys & a cozy couch for Mommy to read on.

As usual the kids had a blast swimming.  This year's accomplishment was that the twins went down the water slide by themselves.  They were nervous at first, but after the first run they were hooked.  We literally could not get them to stop... they're really fast runners.

Josh also loves the water slide.  He likes to see how fast he can get going.  I like this shot of him...look at the intensity on his face.  And yes, the landing hurt!

Danica LOVED the water.  She would just lounge in her little baby float & take it all in.  Sometimes she would splash in the water or play with a toy.  But mostly she would just sit there and smile... or almost fall asleep.  She didn't even mind getting splashed every once in a while... or that her Dad kept putting her swimsuit on backwards (bikinis can be really confusing!).

Joshie became much more comfortable with the water during this trip.  He's never been a fan of water going above his waist, but quickly overcame that fear on this vacation.  Sometimes he'd go a little too far & his water wings would bring him a float & start drifting him towards the deep end.  Then he would scream & we would go retrieve him & all would be well again.  Mostly he just liked to bobbing (hopping) around the shallow end singing songs.  By the way this picture is all an act.  He asked me with big smiles & a happy voice to take his picture.  As soon as I put the camera up he scowled.  Little stinker!

I love babies in bikinis, so I had to put this picture up as well.  Look at that belly!  I wish it was cute for me to have a belly like that ;)

Overall it was a great three days that we all really needed.  

P.S. There are no pictures of me because:
A) I refuse to have any pictures taken of me in my swimsuit
B) I refuse to have any pictures taken of me after three days of doing nothing to make myself look good
C) Josh was always in the water, sleeping, or playing with his new iphone

Grandma KK

Last weekend Josh parents came for a visit.  They stayed at our house for one night & we enjoyed every minute of it.  We rarely can go up to visit them for a weekend because we need to be at church on Sundays.  So the rare visits we get alone with them are treasured.  The kids love spending time with their Grandpa Marvin & Grandma Karen (aka Grandma KK).  I thought this picture was so sweet of Danica & her Grandma.

Play Date

This winter Josh made a new friend.  And they have had play dates a couple times over the past few months.

And this new friend has hound dogs.

Which means their play dates consist of chasing & treeing mountain lions.

They've treed a few this winter & got some great shots.

Lord help us if they actually get a tag next year!

Shout Out to George

Today is my nephew Hunter's birthday.  So happy birthday George! (I call him George a lot, mostly because he forgot my name a few months ago & I don't let things go easily.  Also because it makes him laugh.)

I remember the day this little guy was born & how quiet & still he was.

Now quiet & still have no place in Hunter's life.  He keeps us on our toes & keeps us laughing!

Daddy Time

The other night I left Josh with all the kids to go to dinner with a couple of my girlfriends.  While I was eating some delicious blue cheese sauced chips & licking the plate clean (seriously), Josh was trying to keep all the kids occupied & happy.  The day before we had gotten a foot of fresh snow and then it warmed up.  So it was the perfect condition for snow men.

While I was eating my beef tenderloin topped with sundried tomato basil butter and crispy onions I got this picture text.

They built a snowman for each person in our family.  How stinkin' cute is that?!  To top it off when I came home the house was picked up & the dishes were done.  Thank goodness because I could barely move after my huge dinner that I topped off with huckleberry cheesecake & coffee.  Good job Daddy!!!

Snow Day

This morning we woke up to a foot of new snow.  Honestly, I don't think winter will end.  Just when I have hope that things are going to start melting off a new snow storm blows in.  I'm trying to be patient, but that's a tall order.

So Danica and I ventured off into the renewed winter wonder land for a few minutes.

Yesterday our car had absolutely no snow on it.  This is a good gauge of what we got last night.

Here's another good way to measure snow depth, of course the baby doesn't like it.  But now you know how much snow we got.

Look at our poor cat.  The snow is taller than her- she doesn't like that.

Eventually Danica started to enjoy the outdoors.  She just doesn't like having mittens on.

Hello snow, feel free to leave now