Quirky Changes

First things first.  You are probably wondering the status of our old house.  Well, it's a long story, but for the time being, it is under contract.  The only problem is, it is a contingency because they are trying to sell their house up in Logan, but they have to be down here for a job transfer in September, so we should be going through the closing process soon whether or not they have an offer on their house. 

I am a tad skeptical because things didn't work out so well the first time around (you recall the first offer backed out midway through the process), so hopefully that doesn't happen again.  I'll keep you posted.  By golly, our house will sell eventually :)

Secondly, we have been in our new house for a month, and other than a few downer days when I missed our old 'hood', we are loving it up here.  The neighbors are all uber-friendly, and the girls have already made several friends up here that they play with, er, excuse me, 'hang-out' as the older ones keep reminding me.  They still frequently 'hang-out' with their friends from the old neighborhood too - always a good thing. 

Here's the deal.  Change is hard.  I knew it would be, but we felt so strongly that this was the right move at the right time, that it hasn't been too hard.  We have all commented on how it feels like home here and everyday I discover cool things about this house that makes me love it even more. 

Going to a new ward was hard at first - for all of us.  It was hard to say goodbye to a place we had loved for 14 years.  A few weeks later, our new ward is starting to feel more "homey," and I have a calling already - oh, and subbed in primary already too.  They don't take their time in this ward :) 

I have always wanted to serve as a Relief Society Instructor, but have never been given the chance.  I am thrilled to say that is my new calling and I am thrilled!!  I was worried because when the primary president asked me to sub last week for Alicia's class, she told me she had submitted my name for nursery.  REALLY???  A newbie's very first calling in the furthest place away from getting to know people?  Sheesh.  I'm glad the bishop vetoed that idea. 

Enough of the epistle here.  I do have some pictures to show you.  Remember how I said there are some really cool things about this house?  Given that it was built in the 70s, this home has some true character - aka, quirkiness that I just adore. 

One of my favorite parts about the house is this cool little nook area upstairs between the two bedrooms.   

 

I've decided to turn it into a reading area and plan to get a bean bag or something to sit next to the bookcase.

 

Those doors lead into the storage area of the attic (given that the bedrooms and this nook area are already in the attic).  I discovered something new about our house today as I was loading some boxes into this area today. 

Check out that chalk board on the right.  This was obviously a former play area, because there are still cute drawings on the board!  Not sure how great of a play area it is though with all of the nail points poking through the ceiling from the roof on the other side.  This will definitely NOT be a play area for my girls, but a cool discovery nonetheless. 

Also something really cool about our old house is the bathroom upstairs between the two girls' bedrooms. 

 

It is this teeny bathroom wedged into a corner of the attic.  The shower is only about 2/3rds the size of a normal one, which meant I had to cut the shower curtain down to size.  Alicia barely fits in there for her daily showers! 

Okay, another really cool feature of our home is this ancient storage room with the 1970s paneling still up and the 70s laminate - obviously from the first home owners.  I love that there is a little portion of the home that reminds us of its origin. 

One last quirk about our house.  When we moved in, I noticed there were absolutely no curtains on the back doors and windows on the back side of the house (except for our bedroom).  I thought this was a bit quirky, until I realized - why of course we don't need curtains - there are absolutely no neighbors behind us, except for the rats, snakes, and raccoons that visit our yard frequently from the acre of woodlands that sit behind our property.

It's actually really cool because every morning when we walk into the kitchen, the sun is streaming in over the mountain tops and through the trees - it really is a gorgeous view - so much so that I usually pad my way out to the patio and eat breakfast out there in the mornings.  That, and the kids usually can't find me, so I get to eat in solitude for a few precious moments before all heck breaks loose. 

Here we are now at the very end of this novel, so I'll include a few miscellaneous pictures from our summer. 

We made it to Pineview for a day of fun with friends.  We had a blast, as always at a place I love.

 

 However, all of our summer fun is catching up to Megan, who will often fall asleep in the strangest places, like today when she was watching a movie on the tablet (while dressed up in her tiger costume).

 We did also get our family pictures taken this year, this time as part of the Rimington clan photos.  The last time we took family pictures with John's family, Natalie was a baby.  It was definitely due time for another one.

 

 Only two more weeks until schools starts - but who's counting, right?