I Bought A House

Well almost...still in escrow, but HOW EXCITING!!!!

Jeff and I had been talking about buying a house since before we moved to Southern California. The plan was to get me down here, get a job and then buy a house that we would move into once we got married. Well, we thank the Lord everyday that "our plan" did not go as planned. At the time, interest rates were at about 6.8% and that was a good rate, and home prices were at an all-time high. Now, just over a year later, interest rates have dropped to an all-time low as have housing prices. If we would have bought two years ago we would be upside down in a home that we were paying an arm and a leg for. Needless to say, for some reason, Jeff and I decided two years ago that we were not quite ready to buy and we stopped looking.

When we filed our taxes this year we were told by numerous individuals (accountants, friends, family, etc.) that we really needed to purchase a home in order to have a tax write off. We started to listen. On top of that, the federal government announced an offer for a $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers and the state of California announced and offer for a $10,000 tax credit for a purchase of a brand new home. We started to realize it was a horrible idea NOT to buy a house. When Jeff's parents were visiting in May we thought it would be fun to drive around the area and pop into a few open houses. Never did we think we would stumble across a home that we would actually buy!!! But, we did! The stars aligned and we found the perfect home. After thinking about it for over a month we finally decided that it was time to put in an offer - that day happened to be June 22nd. For anyone that knows me, you know that my two alltime favorite numbers are 6 and 22. It couldn't be mere coincidence that I was writing up an offer on a home for the first time in my life on 06.22. Anyway, after about a month of back and forth with the seller we finally heard word this week that they accepted our offer! We entered into escrow on 07.22 (22 again, what are the chances??) and if all goes as planned we will have keys in hand on August 21!

Here are some pictures of our brand new home!!!

The outside...

The kitchen...

The fireplace in the living room...

The dining room...

The guest bathroom...

The master bathroom...

The master bedroom...

The view...

Keep us in your prayers that all goes well. I can't wait to become a home owner during my Life As A Wife.

Whidbey Island

Following our 4th of July in Warrenton, Jeff and I took the train up to Mukilteo, Washington to catch a ferry boat over to Whidbey Island. Jeff's mom's family has had a cabin on the island since the 60's and Jeff and I were so excited to get up there to spend time with his family, relax on the island and have a little fun on the Puget Sound. It turned out to be just what we needed - an escape from the "real" world filled with evenings sitting around the campfire, time on the boat, walking along the beach searching for the perfect shell, laying out in the extremely rare Washington sunshine, crabbing, fishing, berry picking, adventures on ferry boats over to the San Juan Islands (and yes, we took every opportunity available to sing "I'm on a boat!"), and more importantly time with our family and each other without life's normal distractions.

It is such a nostalgic place to be as so many generations in Jeff's family have enjoyed the Whidbey Island cabin. Jan (Jeff's Mom)'s grandparents were the original owners, they used to vacation there with their children and eventually passed the cabin along to Jan's mom. Jan's mom and dad are both still alive and they, along with their four children, now own the cabin. For Jan to have experienced this cabin as a child and now to be here with her own children, their wives, and her own grandchildren it must be such a special place for her. It is special to me and I don't have even a unth of the history that she has with it. Who knows, maybe someday that same cabin will continue to experience more and more generations to come.

Following the week at the cabin we headed into Seattle for Jeff's cousin's wedding. It was the perfect end to a relaxing week vacation. The ceremony was beautiful and as it should, reminded me of not too long ago when Jeff and I were the ones standing up there reciting our vows. The reception was then held at the EMP - Experience Music Project - and it was really cool! There reception was set up right next to a small tribute that was set up for the late Michael Jackson - this is his infamous glove! I just had to take a picture. All together, our trip to Warrenton followed by Whidbey Island was just what the doctor ordered for Jeff and I to spend a little time together, slow down the pace of life a little and take a break to stop and smell the roses. I absolutely cherish these moments and the memories made like this during my Life As A Wife.

Clam Digging On An Americana 4th of July

I grew up on the Oregon Coast. While growing up I never realized that there are things you can do there that you don't get to do really anywhere else. I just assumed the rest of the world was similar to the small little bubble I lived in. Over the years since I have left Warrenton, I have really enjoyed getting to bring friends, espeically Jeff, to town and let them experience a little bit of what my life was like growing up. So, I was really excited when it worked out for Jeff and I to spend the 4th of July in Warrenton this year, he never had actually been in Warrenton for the 4th.

We started out the day by waking up at 4:45 am to go clam digging. It was an absolutely beautiful morning on the coast, relatively warm and barely a breeze, extremely rare! We had a blast. My mom, her husband, my dad, Jeff and I arrived to the beach and set out to dig us some razor clams. We had a blast and had 5 full limits within 30 minutes of arriving. After that, we headed back to my moms and had ourselves a big clam bake - mmm, so good. You just can't get good razor clams at a restaurant, my mom makes them better than anyone! After that we walked down to the fire department/city hall for free burgers! Free burgers!!! and then prepared to watch the big Warrenton 4th of July parade. This is a BIG event in Warrenton. Every year, all of the county fire trucks line up, the Astoria clowns (which includes many distinguished individuals from throughout the county), a few local organizations, local dignitaries and some random locals who decide to put together floats and parade through Main Street of downtown Warrenton (if there really is such a thing). It is a blast and one of the few parades that still lets you throw candy - lots of candy. I have been in that parade myself more times that I can count and it was so much fun to fly in from my very different life in Los Angeles to see the hokey little Warrenton parade - experiencing true community and everything the 4th of July should represent. It was Americana at its best. The above picture is my niece Riley and some of her friends riding their dirt bikes/ATVs in the parade and to the right is my mom's husband with his awesome Chevy in the parade.

After that, we spent the evening at my Uncle Bubbas, played some yard games, ate some amazing food and watched his extremely illegal fireworks show. What better than family, traditions, community, good food and fireworks on the 4th of July - oh, and Smokey the Bear. And more than anything, I loved sharing the experience with Jeff during my Life As A Wife.

Hoopfest 2009

Every year since he was in 2nd grade, Jeff has partaken in Spokane, Washington's annual Hoopfest. The first summer we were dating, I was in Alaska during the tournament and I assumed it was just a little 3-on-3 basketball tournament - similar to the ones in the church parking lot growing up. Little did I know, Hoopfest was beyond big! Jeff and his buddies have played together for years. There passion for the event has grown from being 8 years old trying to have enough strength to get the ball high enough to have a chance at going in, to progressing to junior high/high school where the competition was tough and losing was not an option, to now - 26 years old, hoping you are sober enough to play and trying to have the funniest costume in hopes that the local TV station and/or newspaper might swing by their court and they can get their 15 seconds of fame.

In all seriousness though, this tournament is absolutely amazing! They completely shut down the streets throughout the entire downtown area of Spokane and set up over 400 half courts. There are over 27,000 participants ranging in ages from 7 to well, let's just say old. And, supposedly it brings in over $42 million in revenue to the local area. It's pretty phenomenal and Jeff was so lucky to have grown up experiencing something like this. Actually, the feeling I get being there is similar to the feeling that I get when I watch a marathon - seeing people devote so much to a sport and seeing people come together from all walks of life, income levels, stages in life, etc. for something as enjoyable as this. It is such a testament of community. It's pretty inspiring (as you can see from this picture, Jeff and Jeremy were inspired to take a nap).

Anyway, Jeff and I headed up to Spokane for the festivities again this year and it did not disappoint. We had a blast catching up with all of Jeff's high school friends. And, the boys decided it would be a good idea to wear sleeping bags in the 90 degree weather as their uniforms - seriously, they wore this! It was hillarious! For the first time, this year I started thinking about the possibility of some day watching my own children play in the annual Spokane Hoopfest. Maybe we would even have a family team, ha! I love getting to make these memories that will last a lifetime and think about the possibilities of the future during my Life As A Wife.

Ten Years...Really?

My ten year reunion took place about a month ago. On the day I graduated high school I started thinking about my ten year reunion. Romy & Michele's High School Reunion had come out just a couple years before that and how could one not fantasize about what it would one day be like. Would I be the one that had to show up and make up lies about what I had done the past ten years? "I invented Post-Its." - HA! Would I be married? Would I have children? Where would I live? Graduating from high school was an exciting time in a teenagers life and your ten year reunion seemed to offer some sort of future gauging mechanism for what would be in the years to come.

A few other girls from my class and I took it upon ourselves to start the planning. At first, I was just as gung-ho about the whole thing as I had been on graduation day. But, as the planning went on, and the majority of our class showed such apathy toward the whole thing, it got me thinking, "maybe this wasn't going to be as cool as I had always thought it would be. And, why didn't anyone care? Should I even go?"

The planning progressed and it wasn't until about two weeks out from the festivities that I finally said, "ok, we are going. I don't want to ever look back and think I wished I would have went to my reunion." Overall it ended up being a great time. It was absolutely wonderful to see some people I hadn't seen in years. The strange thing was that for the most part, everyone seemed to still be the same person - looked the same, acted the same, still got made fun of for the same old things, etc. - but for some reason, those "same people" that had been inseparable ten years prior, were now nearly complete strangers. How did that happen?

I am from a small town, so the majority of my graduating class was with me on my first day of kindergarten (a few even with me for preschool). We were all friends over the years. But were we all just friends because we had been since we were 5 - we didn't know anything else or more specifically, anyONE else? It isn't until you are separated from them and go your different ways that you start to realize that although you love those people and they will always be a part of your life, you will come across other individuals throughout life's path that you will find a connection with unlike anything you had ever experienced previously. You become friends with these new people because you "choose" them to be your friend, not merely because you had known them since you were 5. I have extremely fond memories of growing up in Warrenton, Oregon and I absolutely adore each and every one of the special people that helped me to become the person that I am today. I miss many of those people and there are even parts of me that sometimes wish I would have done things a little differently in order to keep those people in my life more over the years. And, there are certain friends that I have been fortunate enough to reconnect with in the past few years - thanks to the wonders of the world wide web I have a great means to communicate and stay in touch even though we are thousands of miles apart.

All in all, I have to say that I am really glad that I attended my reunion and more importantly, I am extremely proud of Warrenton High School's class of 1999. Each and every person that I was able to catch up with at my reunion seems happy and whatever it is they are all doing, they are trying to be the best at it. Be it a stay at home mom, a nurse (Sammy that is your shout out), a teacher, a mechanic or still trying to find there way, I am sincerely proud to know each and every one of those people and so thankful for all of the memories we made together and shared over the years. I also have to admit that the hubs - who's high school was bigger than our college - got a complete kick out of my little small town reunion. I love being able to share exciting milestones such as this with my husband during my Life As A Wife.

Slacker...

I am such a slacker. I am over a month behind on blogs now. I can't even believe it. Lots of things to catch you all up on...stories coming soon :)