House Hunters

The time has come - we are ready to buy a house!

We've been perusing online for about 6 months to see what's out there. We've watched hundreds (literally) of episodes of "House Hunters," taking mental notes about what to look for, what gives a house value, and what our priorities are. In August, we started driving to a different area every weekend to get a feel for where we might like to lay down roots. In September, we started going out with our realtor (Tanya's Uncle) to look at houses.

The Good: it's a great time to buy, interest rates are rock bottom (supposedly even lower than during the great depression), and there are a ton of houses out there for a really good deal.

The Bad: because it's a great time to buy, it's so competitive! It seems like every house we are interested in already has multiple offers on it. Almost everything out there is a short sale, and many of them are not in great condition. Short-sale sellers aren't as motivated as they would be if it were a regular sale, and it can take a REALLY long time to go through.

Our Wish List: a master suite with large bathroom, lots of windows, a nice yard, a feeling of space (not being too cramped around neighbors), views, wood floors (these are hard to come by), 2 stories, room to put a dance studio in the basement, a gas fireplace, a porch, room to grow. We may not get all of these things, but there are some things we won't compromise on.

We have narrowed our search a lot and now know that we really like the Suncrest area of Draper (up on the mountain), Herriman, and Riverton. The first house we put an offer on was in Suncrest. It was a modest home with amazing mountain and valley views, but needed a lot of work. We were immediately outbid. We put an offer on a 2nd home in Suncrest, and it is at the bank right now. We also put an offer on an amazing home in Herriman this week, but we don't think we will get it. It's pretty much our dream home but it had at least 7 offers on it when we put one in!

We could be homeowners in a month, or it may take another 6. Whatever happens is meant to be. In the meantime, it's pretty much a big, crazy game of gambling and waiting!

No pictures yet - it's too soon - but we'll update if anything happens. Wish us luck!

My Only Offer

We went to the Mates of State Concert last night. It was our first time seeing them - loved it! Their music is fun and I love that they are a couple. . so cute. Small venue made it even better! Cheers to a great night with friends.

5 Years

This month marks the 5 year anniversary of my Mom surviving breast cancer. They say once you reach 5 years you are "cured," so it is a pretty remarkable milestone. I love my mom and I am so glad she was a fighter. We threw her a little party to celebrate. Congrats mommy!

In other news, Rod and I are having a lot of fun shopping for houses. We don't know exactly how soon we will buy. Could be soon, could be in 6 months. All I know is that it makes me really excited! We were planning on waiting a little longer, but the interest rates are just ridiculous right now. Even if we don't have any furniture, we'll have have a cute little house (and hopefully a cute little dog!)

We both love our jobs. It's so nice to make money doing what we love. I recently (slightly against my will) started coaching the girl's basketball team. The girls are sweet, so I've ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

Today's snow made it feel like Christmas. I have to admit I'm a little excited. I want to start Christmas shopping - especially at the new stores that opened so close to us. I refuse to wait in line to give a store money though, so we won't be visiting H&M for a little while.

Halvsies?

This weekend we ran in the Provo Halloween Half Marathon. We have tried to be diligent at training and getting ready for this race, but after a long day of work, the last thing we have wanted to do is run.

This race was such a process - we had to drive down to Orem on Friday night to pick up our packets. On Saturday, we woke up at 4:40 am (ya heard) and drove back down to Orem, where we were herded onto busses. The busses took us up Provo Canyon near Sundance and dropped us off. There was a giant tent set up a field, where thousands of us waited 2 hours for the race to start. 

It was freezing cold and not even the 50 porta-potties were enough for this crowd. All of the sudden everyone needed to use the bathroom before the race, and it was about to start. I barely made it through, found Tanya, got my ipod, threw our bag onto a truck, and the race began. We ran with Tanya's dad and little brother Court. I got separated from everyone right away and was not ready to start. Tanya ran with her dad and Court was ahead and smoked us all!

This race is fun because everyone dresses up for Halloween. It was crazy to see some of the costumes that people ran 13 miles in!

Tanya's mom and brother and my mom and sister were there to cheer us at the finish line

I always said I wanted to do a marathon, but after this . . . I'm not so sure (my face courtesy of Jozie Curtis)

The scenery was amazing and it slowly started to warm up as we ran and the sun did its thing. We ran down the canyon, through fall leaves and mountain views, past Bridal Veil Falls, and ended at Riverwoods.

For my work Halloween party on Friday I was Kanye West

On Saturday night (while hobbling around like elderly people on account of the race) we met up with Gentry at our latest obession . . . Sub Zero Ice Cream. Gent is moving back to Oregon and we are already missing her brains out. Tan and Gentry were roommates in Hawaii almost 5 years ago and have been close ever since. They love all things Roxy, music, the beach, and snowboarding. A Hussies reunion trip is already in the works for Tan's Spring break 2012. We love you G-try! 

George

This past weekend Tanya had Thursday and Friday off of work for UEA Break. We were in desperate need of a mini vacation, so we headed south to St. George. We enjoyed 4 days of Summer weather, relaxation, and time alone. We love a good road trip, and this one was great (minus the 2 hours of stop-and-go traffic south of Provo. It was taken down to 1 lane for construction and they weren't even working on it. Thanks UDOT!)

Our long weekend consisted of sleeping in every day, lazing around, eating out, shopping, going to a movie, swimming and hot tubbing, and movie nights. 

We also went hiking at Red Cliffs.

There's a part where you have to hold onto a rope and use the foot holes, or else you will fall in the freezing water!

We went to the St. George Temple

And we went to the driving range and hit some balls

Now it's back to the grind . . . .

You're 50!

This past week my dad turned 50! For his gift I put together a book with 50 reasons why we love him and included pictures from his life. In my search I found some cute ones that I had never seen before.

I love my dad! I am so lucky to have such a kind, patient, funny, and loving father. Congratulations dad! You're 50!

I Want That!

Mind blowing.