A tale two kitchens

We've spent time in a few of the homes that are our floor plan to get a good feel for what we want and what to expect. During these visits to other people's not quite finished homes we've learned that we wanted a different cooktop, we wanted the expanded master bath option, and a larger deck. We've taken photos along the way and it's been helpful to review these from time to time to not only pass the time but to trigger questions for the builder.

Lot 44

We have a weekly call with the project manager, but this week it was cancelled due to his being in meetings all week. Since they asked we fired off a few questions such as is it too late to add a nickel covered power plate in the floor in our giant open space? Since the electrical hasn't really started we're hoping it's still a possibility. I also followed up on something we noticed in "lot 44".

They also opted for the cooktop and wall oven configuration (likely for the same reason we did, we saw it in Redmond and LOVED it.) But when we were in lot 44 we observed that the height of the vent hood was very low to the point that it may impede Jason's joy of cooking. We can't have that, because I miss his shrimp scampi and he is far better at eggs than I am.

Redmond House

I reviewed the photos of lot 44 and Redmond and thought I saw that the countertops in lot 44 did not extend out over the cabinet box. I studied the photo and was 100% sure that it looked wrong. Before I fired off a friendly but nervous letter to the design center contact to determine what was standard for our builder, I researched the standard counter depth overhang. It is amazing what you can look up on the Internet. My extensive research (10 mintues) tells me that a 1.5" overhang is standard. That is enough to cover the depth of the drawer and door fronts that are added to the cabinet boxes.

I hit send and seconds later Jason finally replied to an earlier comment I made to him about the issue. He said "Study the other pictures, this one seems like an illusion. I think the overhang is there." Well shoot. I went back and looked at the other photos and sure enough - overhang. I recalled my question and have a bit of egg on my face.

 Two reminders: look at all the other photos you have and be thankful you weren't a jerk when you asked your question.

 

our cooktop

Now, onto other things we noticed about the two kitchens. The Redmond kitchen has a bit more color with the grey back splash and the darker countertop.  Lot 44's cooktop is top mounted which is fine - but we loved the look of the kitchenaid in the Redmond house, so that is the one we ended up ordering.   I truly believe that Lucy has passed the age where the knobs are toys.  I also think the stainless look blends more with the over all look.  Without putting any thought to it, our fridge and cooktop are from the same line and will look superb together.

The folks at lot 44 spent far more $$ on their built in wall oven/microwave oven thing.  It's beautiful, and a part of me wishes I could have it, but the idea that one part could fail and you'd have to replace it all hurts my soul.  So, similar to the Redmond House pix above ours will be two separate systems housed together.

our selections

Personally, I think the Redmond kitchen is more interesting than the lot 44 kitchen, but when I look at the things that make that kitchen seem more interesting I'm worried we made mistakes.  Our tile is WHITE, our countertop is WHITE.  I hope the style of the tile and the darker grout provides enough pizazz to keep it from looking like a hospital.  Our cabinets have a different profile than either of the other kitchens, so I feel confident we haven't selected a cookie cutter kitchen, and I am over the moon in love with our flooring.  The hardwood is fabulous and will warm up the space quite a bit.  See, as I write, I'm talking myself back in love with our selections.

I love where our house is and how it sits on the lot, so my next statement is just an "if only" type comment.  The Redmond House had the kitchen on the right side of the main room, and our house will be the opposite.  I liked how the Redmond House was laid out from that perspective, but on our lot and with our amazing trees in the back it simply wouldn't work.  It's funny that I feel so strongly about it, because the lot in Redmond was so small that they had to trim trees at the property line to clear for the build. Specifically trees that were growing at the edge of the property line were trimmed to remove any branches (and big ones) that protruded over the property line.  It looked kind of bad. We have trees on the back side of our lot, but they are far enough away from our useable yard space that they get to live on without impediment and we get to enjoy a reasonable outdoor space.

It has been hard this week because it doesn't seem like much has been happening.  I"m so ready to be planning the last piece of this project (the move in) that even a few days of little to no visible progress is frustrating.   This will all be over soon and the Apartlandia portion of our lives will seem like a sweet memory.  Or not.

My tub

  It's dirty, but it will be an oasis within four months!

Exterior (sept 2)

Cold Beer and a place to watch tv!

With our end of summer camping trip cut short due to terrible air quality conditions, we were able to send Lucy to day care Monday and spend the day finalizing decisions on appliances as well as do some shopping around for furniture. We sold our washer and drier as well as our refrigerator with the Hoquiam house. The new house also comes with a budget for these items and a new living room couch and a basement man-land set up.

We have all the funds set aside for these new items but we want to make sure we have most of our proceeds from the sale of the first house still in the bank for when the lender evaluates us for the new mortgage. Therefore, while we intend to spend the money on these items we don't want to do it before we close on the house. However, we also don't want to move in without appliances at the very least.

It turns out we aren't the only people in this situation and some of our local retailers have a plan. The store where we've purchased all of our other appliances let us put down a $500 deposit on a washer/dryer and fridge and will charge our card on the day of delivery for the remainder of the items. PERFECT. We can complete our mortgage transaction and have the appliances delivered and installed before we move in! Woot Woot. I'm super excited about the refridgerator. It will be counter depth and therefore flush with the cabinets. We do lose some interior space, but we intend to get a second "pop fridge" for the garage so we won't be sharing space with soda, beer or popsicles.

closed

pretty!

 Our salesperson suggested that we take a gander at their scratch & dent selection right before we have our items delivered.  This is an amazing idea.  This second fridge will live in the garage so it doesn't have to look perfect, it just has to work perfectly.

the couch in real life

So, with those items handled we zipped off to the Macy's Furniture store just to look around.  I had my design heart set on a sectional couch from Pottery Barn that I thought would look so amazing. Willingly I wandered around Macy's but was pretty sure I wouldn't find anything that ticked all the boxes that the PB couch ticked.  Well - wouldn't you know it, we found one.

It's a sectional with a corner wedge (check) in a dark grey (check) that has a comfortable seat (check) and low arms (check) and a straight back (check) and it was ten inches shorter on each side than the PB version.  The extra length is nice for when you have five people on the couch, but those moments will be rare and the extra walking space will make our room feel even bigger.  Oh and the Macy's couch was a thousand dollars more than the PB couch.

WAIT!? A thousand dollars more, are you STUPID?  Nope, I'm pulling your leg.  Our whole order was a thousand dollars more than the projected cost of the PB couch, but we also got a huge sectional couch for the basement with three seats that recline to snoring positions AND a very beautiful new coffee table for the main floor AND a leather side chair to complete the look upstairs.

The side leather chair

So with the light grey walls, the WHITE fireplace, the wall of windows and our dark grey couch & super comfortable leather chair our new living room will be soooo super pretty.

I have a similar rug to the one in the example photo picked out, but it won't be blue.  I have two samples and will be taking them to Macy's the next time we go visit our selections to determine if either of them work with the design.

In the basement, the cozy couch that Jason picked is brown and we'll be reusing the red wool rugs that we had in the other house.

The main floor will be comfortable and sophisticated and the basement will be super cozy and warm.

Macy's won't put the charge for these items on their card until they are delivered.  So, like the appliances we can have them arrive the day after our closing date and before our items are delivered by the moving company.

I have hope that our new home will come together quickly.  I'm tired of apartment life.

Lucy & Grandpa Dancing

What a week

What a great week!  The roofing materials are being installed after a minor delay due to an inspection issue.  I hate the delay, but am thankful that the inspectors are following our progress closely.

There have been some exciting developments in our master bathroom suite as well.  The framing adjustments are done, and the closet we asked them to remove has been framed to our satisfaction.  We'll still have a very large closet for our hanging items, but now instead of an additional closet for hanging items we're going to have an open space to install or place dressers like this:

 

This is the idea

Once we have drywall we can measure the space and get to dreaming on what we'll do with that space. My original idea was to just have the builder not put in the bifold doors and keep their closet hardware, but Jason has been working to remove the header and the 6 inch bump outs on either side of where the doors would be. Since we're paying extra to remove the closet our builder has been accomodating.

From that to this!

It's funny the depth of a conversation you can get into over a 6" wall bump out, but it's the difference between being able to have something with drawers that is flush against the wall or having useless space on either side of the installed dressers.

When we had our design appointment we were disappointed to learn that the master shower was going to be a shower pan rather than a tiled surface, and even though the drawings we were shown had two shower heads in our upgraded bathroom selection we were assured that the shower only came with one shower head and if we wanted two it was extra.

It turns out that both pieces of information were wrong.  Our Seattle office has never had anyone opt for the alternate master until we came along, but ironically our neighbors two houses over opted for the same upgrade.  They are a couple days ahead of us in the build process so we were excited to see their rough in plumbing included dual shower heads.  We made a stop at the office to speak with the on site contact and she looked up their paperwork and saw that indeed they did not pay extra for a second shower head in the larger shower.  Two days later, what did we find but a shower plumbed for a party.  Additionally, all the other tub/shower pans have arrived, including the shower pan for the shower on the main floor and indeed, no shower pan was on site for the master.  We had an exchange with the designer yesterday and picked a 2x2 tile for the floor of our new spa shower.  Yippie!

Can you picture it?

a reminder of the scheme

The princess tub

Yes, you can see a house VERY close behind the windows of my tub where I intend to live for a few weeks once we move in, but we have already have shutters on order.  The large window will add light to the bathroom, but will be tilted in a way that the neighbors bedroom window won't have a view of any naked bodies.  We will likely set the shade and forget it.  If we need more light than the tilted window can provide there are films we can add to obscure a view without reducing light.   The builder offered that at a premium, but because money actually does matter to us we decided to wait and see, or rather wait and hope to not see.

At dinner last night I told Jason that I feel way more connected to this house than I did at the other one.  I loved that house, but this feels like our forever home.  He agreed on both points.   I only miss the comforts that the Hoquiam house provided, and really only because this apartment, while not dumpy or tiny just isn't home.  

Countdown to Christmas (aka move in time) 126 days.  

Get the windex!

Delivery Day

Roofing materials AND windows delivered!

I could also hear the exciting sounds of a nail gun working inside which gives me hope that by our Sunday walk-thru we'll have the Princess bathroom framed out properly!

Our girl

Her class went to Chuck E. Cheese this week and they have a "game" where you can take your picture. This is the one she took of herself.

It is perfection.

Progress

 It is hard to tell from this angle, but we were pleased to walk thru the house this weekend and discover that the missing windows have been framed in and the other corrections that were needed on the main floor are framed out perfectly.

The master bath has not yet been re-framed, but it's pretty clear to us from the progress and the installation of the roof trusses that the overall schedule is moving as planned and the bathroom reconfiguration will occur but will also not delay other critical scheduled activities.  

We project that the house will have the first layer of roof completed by the end of day Wednesday at the latest (unless they aren't working early this week which doesn't seem likely as all their equipment was tucked into the rafters over the weekend.

The shorter fireplace is going to be really lovely and we're very happy with our decision to remove the built-in shelves.  

We are discussing modifications to the front porch stoop.  We'll be talking to the PM about either adding a railing on the garage side of the stoop for safety, because by code they don't have to add one unless the stoop is 30 degrees above grade and ours is not.  The other option is to have a second step poured on that side and install a decorative but sturdy hand rail for visitors who may need assistance with entry.  This may not work because adding a step to that side of the stoop may not be allowed based on code - but we will inquire.

Going to the house with Lucy is a "special joy".  Let me translate that for you, I mean that she will no longer be invited when we do drop by until the house is at a stage where we can give her a sedative (video game) and she'll stay put.  She finds it boring and makes it challenging for us to walk around and get a feel for the space.  It's amazing how she miraculously has to use the restroom on an urgent basis EVERY TIME we go over there.  I'm telling you, we're going to name the place Laxative Lounge.   We'll still be going over on a regular basis, but we're going to kennel Lucy when we do.   

Joist 1 into Slot B

 How a new house comes together is pretty remarkable.  The builder has a set of plans for each house option with the different features that keep the neighborhood from looking like 1950's suburbia.  These plans are translated into specific measurements and then sent to the company that supplies all the wood.

After the foundation is completed, and inspected by the city (thank you) the first truckload of framing arrives.  It is delivered in bundles, and each bundle is a section.  Walls come with X number of boards for studs, headers, window trim and doors are already measured,cut and numbered. The framers follow a complicated set of IKEA instructions to put the pieces together.  It took them about two weeks to frame our house from basement to the 3rd floor.  (Roof joists arrive this week.)

We noticed that there was a saw on site, but it is for minor adjustments and it does not run all day the way you think it would if they were measuring each board for each wall.

This is very efficient and enables our builder to maximize their upfront design/planning efforts for maximum profits.  Now that we have learned this information it makes more sense why when we asked to have them NOT build the built in shelves that flank the fireplace in that the charge was $500.  Now that I know they had to change the IKEA instructions so that the wood would not be delivered and that the framers could just bang away with their nail guns it makes the $500 for "nothing" an easier pill to swallow.

However, all the paperwork in the world does not mean that the house will be built correctly.  None of the changes we requested and paid for have actually been put into place.  A walk-thru this weekend that should have been very exciting was a bit frustrating.   The main floor doors aren't the right size, the fireplace has been framed out per their standard plan.  Upstairs there are three windows missing and the alternate master bath was not framed in.

fireplace

 Our builder has a capable team on site and they are managing the build of no less than 10 homes right now, and they have already stated that these won't be issues.  I know that all the windows will be in place, the bathroom will be perfect and the fireplace will be correct.  But as we did our walk thru it was hard to believe that these errors won't cause a delay in the completion.  Jason wondered did they order the right windows from the window company or will this be a cascading issue from start to finish?

I want to be excited by the progress and each step is supposed to lessen the irritation of living in what seems to be a shrinking apartment.  The good news is that the on site team is fully aware that we are monitoring the progress and have not threatened us with trespassing (yet).  In fact, they did say they'd rather know about these things when we notice them than find them later on.

However, I was VERY excited to stand and the hole that will be the window in the kitchen and look out on to the view. It makes my heart soar!

kitchen view!

I'll be happy when the framing issues are resolved and my fingers and toes are crossed that this is the only major bump in the road.  We are certainly on target to have the house sealed up before the fall rains set in.

Jason has projected (speculation) a close date of 12/18 for the house.  We won't really know until October so I'm trying not to imagine Christmas in the new house. Oh but wouldn't it be wonderful?

Merry Christmas!

When walls going up is a good thing.

Waiting is really hard, but it brings me joy to see visible progress.   The window on the left will be the one I look out of at my kitchen sink.  Those trees will always be there as they are part of the protected green space.  In the summer they will provide much needed shielding from the late afternoon sun, and in the winter the leaves will be gone from the deciduous trees giving us extra light, but the evergreens will give us color.  Sadly, there are alder trees back there and when they bloom the pollens attack me in the most unfortunate way, but they are pretty so I forgive them.

There are all sorts of things we're doing to pass the time while we wait.  Picking out furnishings and placing of existing items in the 'room' has been a great way to pass the time.  Here's a view of our living room as it is planned today.

The blank spot on the left is the kitchen and our island will end about 1 foot before the transition.  Our hardwoods will extend the entire width of the space, so an area rug will be needed.

At this point I've picked a couch, a rug and a buffet.  All these things are subject to change and of course 100% reliant on budget.

We've set aside money for furniture, but there are more things on the list than our budget will allow.  I won't be buying a $15,000 hand tufted rug or a couch from Ethan Allen.  But, the $600 rug from Ballard Designs looks pretty awesome and my hope is that the pottery barn couch I'm drooling over isn't too big.

When it comes time to put everything in the room I may call in some expert help (but not in the form of in-laws or parents).

The next dream room to plan is the office/guest suite on the main floor. This may be a space that "works" for now and gets the high design later on.  Sorry dad, you may be sleeping on the slumberjack for a bit.

The dream house journey

Where to begin?  Maybe it all started with an ongoing joke about winning the lottery and building a "cabin" with an expansive outdoor kitchen, a sleeping porch for all the kids that would come to visit and a basement!  

That talk turned to a serious discussion about our marital financial goals, plans and what we would do with "all the extra" money after our mortgage was paid off.  Ideas included a vacation home, traveling the world, digging out the crawl space in our house one pocketful at a time to create the most amazing wine cellar ala Shawshank Redemption Style, or building up our savings and sitting at home night after night.

We then started talking about a more realistic project, using our current equity and purchasing a home that meets our long term life goals now.  The obvious question is, "gee, your house was already so nice, how could it not work for you long term?"  Good question, our house was lovely and had MANY things going for it that made me proud to call it home, but it was missing a few things that we knew we need/want.  Namely, a main floor full bath and a sleeping space on the main level.  We won't always be spry and being able to accommodate an elderly roommate is important.  The new house has a basement, a place to stow things like racks of DVDs and a tv the size of Guam, as well as a guest room and bath to double as a private space for visitors.  We are gaining a larger, and more private back yard.  It will still be a TINY yard, but we are doubling our useable grass space and because of the walkout basement getting a large deck on the main level to entertain.  We also back up next to a protected green space, so no one will be building behind us.  It will be quiet and wonderful.  Lastly, a different and better rated school district.  

We looked in all of King County and found what we were looking for less than a mile from our current house, and it wasn't built yet so we are able to customize it to our hearts & pocketbooks content.  During the week after the Peanut's fourth birthday we put in an offer that was accepted.  Within three weeks our house was on the market, and after a long and emotionally draining weekend where a realtor called at 9pm on Saturday night asking to come and look at the house we received a full price offer that in a strange bit of real estate folk lore went through on time without issues.

We have moved into an apartment on a temporary basis until the house is ready for us to occupy.  As it stands today it is a foundation that has been filled with dirt.  They say the house will be done around the end of December.  I have hope that we'll be in by the 15th so we can put our world together before Santa tries to shove himself down the gas fireplace insert.

For your (my own) enjoyment here are a couple photos of the hard surfaces we've selected.

bathroom

flooring

It's On!

Terrible Twos??? Pishaw

Those who are ahead of us by just six months in the parenting space have been saying that a 3 year old is NOTHING like a 2 year old and a 3 1/2 year old is nothing like the kid you had at 3.  Man oh man were they not kidding.

Mostly, it's all good.  We make funny faces before bed and hers are the best.  She tells me secrets like when she's grown up she wants to take me to Disneyland, and Daddy can come too.  I can't be sure, but I think she thinks she'll be a grown up within the next two years.  She is helpful, she loves to have a job to do.  Thank you for jobs big enough for a wee one to help with.

Naps are a thing of the past.  She still rests at school, and I'm sure the AH-MAZING teachers run such a tight ship that she even sleeps on most days. Weekends...not so much.  If we've had a crazy busy day on Saturday I can somewhat get her to do a quiet activity on her own during the day on Sunday, but mostly not so much.

The real pain is the gap between her patience and ability to use words to make her point.  When she's tired, like after school or late on the weekends she can't hold it together when she doesn't get her way.  And by hold it together I mean, she's on the floor, there are tears, she can't seem to hear us, or calm down.   There are brief moments when my instinct is to talk to her louder than she's yelling and then I remember a few things:

1) I'm the mom.
2) I'm in CHARGE
3) I do not want to live in house where people yell.
4) Talking to her in a low, calm voice at her level helps her calm down.

There are times when her frustration boils over because she just wants to feel like we heard her.  This is super easy to manage.  We sit and I tell her I either heard her, or when she calms down she can tell me what she's trying to say.  She is an actual person.

damn it mom...

She has, on occasion given me stink eye or really scowled at me.  Those moments break my heart because I can see into the future and the terrible teenager that she could morph into.

I can predict two futures, one where she stops getting her way and the fact that we hold her back from watching hours and hours of Paw Patrol turn her against us and we have to sleep with our bedroom door locked so she doesn't knife us in our sleep.  The other where she's a semi-reasonable child who can roll with the everyday disappointments that life brings.  I'm hopeful we're doing everything we can to be the second family.

 She'll be 4 in about 6 weeks and that's a good thing.  I'm sure four will be a total breeze.

Hello friend

I'm sorry it's been so long. I do miss the "externalizations of my internal dialog". Lately I have been happy, busy, busy, and...busy. The sarcastic life observations are still in my brain, but I'm editing the content and there's a significant time differential.

Blogging about my colorful and, to me unique, husband is off limits. It's not fair to make witty statements about things he says or does to the "public" (3 people who <emphasis> may <end emphasis> still read this crap) but not bring it into the regular and healthy dialog we have about our marriage.

Blogging about thus kid seems obvious... She is funny, bright, a vortex of energy, a huge inspiration of frustration... But mommy blogs... No thank you.

Blogging about work is very not smart. I have lots to say ... Jerks and people who are 125 times smarter than me, you are funny, but not worth my salary.

That leaves me with current events - Ebola scares me, what does it matter if our gay friends marry and football is harmful to the players. I can blog about daily life - but outside the previous limitations that leaves me with Rita at the grocery store and the crazies at Costco.

I'm still VERY funny ( in my head) but...parenting a 3 year old takes a lot of time (even with an awesome co-parent ) I'll be back in due time

Sent from my iPad

SuperGirl

Zoo!

August F. Hahn - Chinook Observer: Obituaries

For you dad:



August F. Hahn - Chinook Observer: Obituaries

KIRKLAND — August F. “Fritz” Hahn, long time Long Beach attorney, passed away due to complications of kidney disease March 18, 2014 at his home in Kirkland, WA. Fritz was born in Winslow to Catherine and August M. Hahn. Their eldest child, he spent his youth between Bainbridge Island and Seattle. Even in his youth, he was ambitious, and chose to go to school in Seattle, as he would get a better education.

He is preceded in death by his wife Marilyn and his brother George. He is survived by his four children, John, August Jr., Geoffrey and Mark.

What can be said? A veritable icon of the Peninsula for the better part of 20 years, Fritz was known to everyone on the beach, and I do mean everyone. You either loved him, because he was working for you, or you hated him, because he was working for the other side in a legal issue.

Fritz went to the University of Washington, where his studies were interrupted to serve in the Navy during the Korean War.

After returning from service, he obtained his law degree, and went to work for the King County Prosecutor’s office, where he handled several very interesting cases. He decided to move to Pacific County in 1966 to join the only other lawyer in the county. After his partner passed away in 1967, Fritz invited James B. “Jim” Finlay, a fraternity brother at the UW, to join him, as there was too much work in the county for a single attorney. Though their partnership did not last long, both stayed on the beach and practiced law, with Fritz handling most of the civil issues, and Jim handling more of the corporate issues.

Fritz was one heck of a lawyer. Once, a local woman shot her husband dead as he walked into their home. Not only did Fritz get her off the murder charge (an early spousal abuse defense in Washington), he managed to secure her double indemnity on the husband’s life insurance policy.

Fritz was also the only attorney I’d ever heard of who would take payment for legal service in fish. The family always had fresh salmon, halibut, and Dungeness crab because of this. His attitude was that if somebody needed help, Fritz would take care of them, and figure out the details later.

Fritz also had a thing against the feds. One time, a local fisherman was about to get his boat seized by the government for failure to pay taxes. Fritz went to a judge, argued double jeopardy (the feds had closed the fishing season, and thus the fisherman’s livelihood was lost). He won the argument and literally threw the feds off the boat. And, he did it with a chuckle.

Fritz was a community leader. He helped to found the Peninsula Playhouse back in 1980, which has since morphed into the popular Peninsula Players. Unfortunately, he was too ill to come down and see the new theater at the Chinook gym.

Fritz was also instrumental in transferring Beards Hollow, a former campground, to the state park system. Without his advice, we wouldn’t have the beautiful park and trails that are there to enjoy today.

Fritz left the beach after an unsuccessful campaign to become the county judge. He ended up in Yakima, where he became (at the time) the only Public Defendant with a winning record. Again, true to form, he helped free a local Hispanic man who, while being chased by gang members, pulled a gun while running, shot behind him without looking, and killed one of the gang members. He even attempted to learn Spanish, as he felt it better to try and fail to communicate, than not try at all.

Fritz briefly moved back to the Peninsula, living in Ilwaco until his wife Marilyn became ill. He then moved to the Seattle area, where he lived until his passing.

Per his explicit request, there will be no memorial service. If you wish to remember Fritz, please consider making a donation to Providence Hospice of Seattle.

Loving tribute authored by Mr. Hahn’s family.

Character

It has been a rough couple days in the extended friend department.  My friend and former colleague from MegaBank has been battling pancreatic cancer for two years now.  He was diagnosed with stage IV, and through medical intervention and determination he's done a remarkable job.  It's been painful, expensive and excruciating, especially since he's the father of a now five year old boy.

Jay and his ex-wife were, at the date of his diagnosis far from friendly with each other.  These things happen - blame is easy to spread around.  It's easy to vilify one party over the other when you are only presented with one side.  I've never met Jay's ex-wife and based on things he's said about her I never wanted to.  I can see how anger, hurt and whatever else he was feeling impacted his ability to focus on the things about her that made him willingly and happily marry her and then have a child together.

They have, in spite of not being able to be friendly, worked out how to live in the same geographic area for the sake of their young son.  This has meant moving to Oregon, Florida and back to California to support their overall goal of being with their son.

Now, here he is having taken a terrible turn for the worst at home on hospice care and she, the "evil ex-wife" has moved in, put her world on hold to take care of Jay and ensure that their son makes it through this awful time.   I really can't think of anything more beautiful to do for someone.

I see that Jay's very close friends are involved and supporting the three of them as a combined family unit.  I wish I could be there to do something, but I guess the best I have to offer is appreciation for the fact that you can't or shouldn't judge someone based on limited information.  

I'm sad for their loss, sad to be losing a friend and thankful he's with people who care.

Bunnies

The never ending story

It does not matter how many times I pick up the princess dress up box, by bedtime it will have to be picked up again.

There are sparkles EVERYWHERE in our house!!!!

Tired TP

The Big Move

The awesome back yard that was.

After years of talking about it, my parents finally sold their house and moved into a condo/townhouse in 'town'.

My grandparents bought the little house in Granger in the 1950's which was built in the 1940's and after the addition of a bathroom totaled 788 square feet.  What made this place a great place to live was the acreage and the barn in the back.  In the late 70's the State of Washington and the Department of Transportation  informed my grandparents that they were purchasing the majority of their land to run Interstate 82 through the Yakima Valley.  This was a dark moment as my grandparents owned that land free and clear and the purchase price in no way was fair market value.  While having the freeway in your backyard is handy for a quick getaway it also brings a LOT of road noise to what had been a rural oasis.

My grandfather died (at his own hand) in the back bedroom in 1980 and in the mid 80's my parents quietly purchased the house and land from my grandmother who continued to live there until her death in the early 1990's.   Because my grandmother never mentioned that she sold the house, there was some angst between the siblings when my grandmother died and the house/land wasn't included in the 'estate' distribution.

I graduated from high school in 1986 and that same year my parents started talking about selling their home in Ilwaco, Wa when dad retired and traveling in a massive truck and trailer monstrosity.   In early 1992 they made that dream a reality.   The reality was that gas is expensive and they only lasted about 2 years on the road and much of that was parked in various campgrounds as on-site work campers.

They moved back to the Yakima valley and purchased a home in Moxie.  After my grandmother died the little house in Granger was rented to a family who wasn't doing a stellar job of maintenance.   Eventually, my parents moved back to the Granger house and we spent a summer tearing out walls and opening up the space.   They traded goods to a 'kid' for assistance with the rebuild.   Thankfully, they discovered that he was a terrible electrician before the house burned down.

exterior

This little house holds many memories for my family including lots of laughter, picnics, work parties, arguments, hot summer days, cold winters, funerals and everything in between.  With all those experiences I'm surprised that the sale of the house is actually a relief.  My parents are at the point where managing 2 the two acres and the upkeep on a house is too much.

The new place is nice enough, it's 1100 square feet which is practically a mansion.  They have a dining room and a spare loo!  The kitchen is separate from the living room and the main bathroom is massive.  The garage will hold both cars and has storage.  Additionally, the community has a pool and a nicely cared for green space where the Lucy can work out some energy.

remodeled (seriously) interior

Moving was, as you can imagine, a task and a half. My mom gets a rather large gold star for packing everything up, coordinating everything, obtaining a muscular person and getting it all done.   She's forgiven for the state of the barn on the two days that we could come over to help.   I'm sure that in time, she'll weed through even more of the "necessary" things and lighten their load again.

As of Sunday afternoon, everything was removed from the Granger house, except for some important rocks.  Yes, ROCKS.  To quote my mom "you would understand if you were a rock person."  I'm not, so I don't.   We did as much as we could during the weekend to help restore order in the new house.  We are going over again on Sunday to complete the IT connectivity portion of the move.   We are hopeful to pawn Lucy off on someone for the day so as to not inflict a drive over, play quietly on the floor, and then drive back kind of day on her.    I know the grandparents will be sad not to see her, but it's not fair to Lucy.

I have good feelings about the new place and think it can be kind of cute.  They'll have enough space to stay out of each others hair (sorry dad, bad pun) and being in Yakima makes our visiting that much easier.  We'll still end up in a hotel, which I don't mind, but having it be 10 minutes away vs 45 is great.  Of course, they moved solely to make my life easier.  After all, I am the center of the universe. Arent' I?   *crickets

Life & partnership.

Not this...

This!!

Not the hippo-nanamous

The grown up girl

Sent from my iPad

Variations may occur

Which is the sample purse and which is the one Lucy colored herself? It's super hard to tell.

3rd Birthday Photo Album

First Gift of the day

Sully in Sunglasses

jump rope

ready for a party

princess birthday hat

this cupcake is on fire!

Lu & Jo in dresses later in the evening

after a bath, but still in the party mood

a selfie with mommy

a quiet moment with some friends

the birthday cupcakes

Happy 3rd Birthday

Hello my sweet!

Today is your third birthday.  You are wearing a pretty pink dress with sparkles (oh the sparkles are EVERYWHERE in our house.)  

Grandma and Papa are here and we are heading out to the place where we're having a small party for you in about 20 minutes.  You  are very excited for your birthday and are having a good day - but the waiting around is hard.

You changed so much this year and it is wonderful to see you learn new things.  You're using the potty on your own, which by the time you read this may not seem like such a big deal, but trust me - it is!  You are talking up a storm and it's really fun when you tell me stories. 

Usually, your stories involve mommy and daddy or something we just did, but it's great to hear how your mind works.

This year you asked "where's my brother".  Well, I'm sorry to let you know you won't be getting a brother.  We decided one peanut was enough for our house.  You don't seem mad about it and there are many wonderful things about being an only child.  All these toys and books are YOURS.  You can have friends over, and are very good at sharing, but in the end you don't' have to share mom & dad with anyone.  

We are a happy family and you are a very important part of that.  I love painting, playing water colors with you, and teaching you how to tell the time.  Reading books is also fun, but kiddo - you need to be better about listening at bed time.  Those last few moments of the day can be a bit frustrating while you work out every possible scenario for staying up just a little bit later.  No matter how tired you are, you don't want us to shut that door.  I know that won't last forever, and it is kind of cute - but dude... SLEEP.

This summer we will take swimming lessons again, go to Denver for the 4th of July and spend lots of time outside.  Today, snowed for a tiny moment, but nothing exciting.  

You are downstairs putting together a puzzle and waiting to leave for your party.  You know there are balloons in the car and can't wait to see them.  I hope you have fun today and know that we only want the best for you for now and always.

Keep growing, stay healthy and know in your heart that I love you more each and every day.

Happy Birthday,

Love,

Mommy