Offer Accepted

So, we found out today that we are under contract for the house we wanted in Kennewick. We've been going through the offers, and counteroffers and today ours was accepted and everything is a go! Yippee! So the house will be finished about the end of January. We still have time to pick out the inside and outside paint colors, and the carpet, and countertops and flooring colors... I LOVE that part :) I'm planning on subbing as much as possible the next two months for all the new things I'll want to buy to put in the house! (I LOVE that part too... are you getting a pattern here).

So here's a picture of a house LIKE the one we put the offer on. The actual house is a few posts down on my blog, and is the one under construction. Here's what they look like finished.

I finished my long term sub job today. I had a great class of 1st graders for the month of November, but it will be nice to have a day off now and then. I already have a couple set up for December, and 2 for Jan. It's nice to know in advance and go into a class that I've taught before.

So- welcome December... glad you're here! Time to dig the Christmas tree out of storage and get into the holiday mode.

I've been tagged

7 Jobs I've had: Kindergarten teacher, golf course snack bar, working at a golf store, McDonalds, newspaper carrier, in a veterinarian's office, secretary

7 movies I could watch over and over: Pride and Prejudice, Sabrina, First Knight, Shall We Dance, Harry Potter movies, 50 First Dates, Wild Hogs

7 places I've lived: Ireland, Taiwan, Germany, Hawaii, Alaska, France, Switzerland

7 of my favorite TV shows: Amazing Race, Survivor, So You Think You Can Dance, Big Brother, Dancing with the Stars, Seahawks Football, Alias (but it's over :( )

7 places I've been: Recently... Utah, New Zealand ( lived there for four months), London, Prague, Austria, Italy, Poland

7 favorite foods: Dr Pepper, bbq steak, tacos with everything on it, Cold Stone ice cream, lobster, Applebees Oriental Chicken Salad, Claimjumpers Chicken Tortilla Soup.

7 websites I visit daily: Lisa's blog, Trish's blog, Jen's blog, substitute online page, and then nothing else that's daily... pretty boring.

7 Places I'd rather be: Mexico, New Zealand (in summertime), in my new house in Kennewick, Hawaii,... (are you getting the idea that it's anywhere warm?), out to dinner and movie with friends, Disneyland with my family, in bed reading the Sunday paper.

Looking for a Home

Well, this past week we left for Richland to go home shopping, and then headed to Utah, where we are now for Thanksgiving. We spent the weekend looking with an agent through a bunch of homes. We saw everything from homes built in the 70's to brand new homes. I think we looked through about 12 homes. There were some that I really liked that were in the wrong area for us. Then, there were some in the right area that we just didn't like enough. We are trying to get in the South Richland area (the temple is smack on the main drag), or nearby West Kennewick. They are almost like the same area, with just a street seperating them, but different school districts. The schools are suppose to be great in both though. We found about 3 homes we really like. The one we like the very best is under construction and will be done in Jan. It's 3,050 sq ft, with 5 bedrooms, a den, a big loft area upstairs, a dining room, living room and master bedroom downstairs. It's in a beautiful neighborhood and the lot is about a 1/4 acre, which is plently big enough for a garden, and one day even a pool. Here is the photo of this one...

So- I think we will make an offer on this one over the next few days as we find out a little more about it. It's also $30,000 cheaper than the one we were going to buy in Tumwater, and has 600 more sq ft, more land and nicer upgrades.

The other home we liked was a model home that was for sale. It had GREAT upgrades, the backyard is huge and is already fenced with grass and it could be ready by the end of December. It's about 2700 sq ft, and has 4 bedrooms and a den, plus two living room area, a beautiful kitchen with gorgeous full tile backsplash and a ton of storage space.That one was about the same price as the first, but the area is a little farther out into Kennewick and I like the high school better on the first one. Here's a picture

And the last house is one we saw right at the beginning of our trip. It has 2650 sq ft, and was built in 1994. It needs some updating, it has the shiny gold faucets everywhere, the lights need updating and the biggest drawback is that there are only 4 bedrooms and no den. So the kids would be sharing a room and they really wanted their own. The rooms aren't really very big either. But the home is nice and I LOVE the outside. It's about 1/2 mile from the temple, right in Richland in a great area of town. Older homes, but very nice. It's at the end of the street with a good size front and back yard. The best thing is that it's about 35,000 less than the other two homes. IT's also for sale by owner, so we could probably get a good bargain, where the other two are builders who won't really drop their price because the market is still moving in the Tri-Cities. Here's the photo...

So those are the three favorites. There were some other great ones, one we really loved but we found out it had a contract on it already. Clint will be most likely starting his job over there the beginning of Jan, so we have a little time.

Now we are in Utah visiting my Dad and step-mom and having a great time. More later when we choose one... tell me what you think!

Too Busy to Post

Hey... I haven't been TRYING to ignore my blog... it's just working out that way. We have been so busy! First of all, I have been subbing in a 1st grade classroom for the whole month of November for a teacher who had shoulder surgery. Some of the kids in the class were in my kindergarten class last year, so that's fun! It's a great class, but it keeps me busy working everyday. Then... Clint found out he got the job he applied for LAST SUMMER (it took SO LONG) and we should be moving to the Tri-City area in Washington in the month of December. We are very excited because there are so many benefits... more pay, cheaper housing, a HUGE church membership (can you say "release time seminary!!) and 300 days of sunshine a year. I love sunshine :) We will be SO sad to leave our good friends and the great co-workers that Clint has... but we really feel that this is right for our family and have felt that way since we went over there. That's why we took the plunge and pulled out of building our house before we knew for sure if he would get it. Plus, with the housing market the way it is, everyone told us we were crazy to build a home when we might be leaving.

So, tomorrow, we are headed for Richland to go check out homes and see if we can find something we love to make an offer on. I'd love to be moving before Christmas so we can unpack all our stuff. It would be like Christmas...that's for sure!

Anyway... I will post photos of our favorite homes when I get back, and maybe the "one".