Home Sweet Home!

Brace yourselves for a reeeally long post. Or just skip this one, cause it's about to be all over the place! 

WE'RE HOME!!! We moved in on October 28th, and it's been a whirlwind since. We moved in while still on our construction loan, but with a certificate of occupancy. Which was fine and dandy except converting to a mortgage took WAYYY longer than it should have. I was holding my breath until the very last second. Long story short: they analyzed every. little. piece. of our bank account and were basically convinced we were selling drugs or something. "Where did this deposit come from!?" "Uhh we sold our old piece of crap Ford." "But did you really!? Do you have a bill of sale!? Do you have proof?? We need to see the check! We need every piece of info you have!" So on and so forth. For every even semi-significant deposit in all of history. Happy to report we survived the interrogation and are officially closed. ;) 

We got most of our stuff moved in the first day, and pretty much only unpacked enough to be able to go to bed and have breakfast the next morning. Ryan spent the first couple of weeks sleeping in his pack n play in our closet because his room didn't have blinds yet and our closet was dark. He didn't mind. :) 

We have slowly been getting the place put together. Our list of projects/things to do seems daunting and endless, but all good things take time. We absolutely love it here. The area, neighbors, everything. This move was a really good idea! The day we outgrow this house will be a very sad day. 

 

 

We moved in in the thick of Fall so we of course had to squeeze in some fun. We took a couple trips to Cornbellys, went to Peterson Family Farm for some pumpkins and fresh apple juice, and spent lots of time crunching leaves. We had a low key Halloween. I made soup and we passed out candy to all our new little neighbor kids. I last minute dressed Ryan up as a "cub" and it could very well go down as the most thrown together yet adorable costume ever. Love that little boy! 

 

 

 

Grandma Cindy and Ryan have really missed each other since we've been gone so they have soaked up some serious snuggles every time they see each other. We still go to their house for dinner most Sundays, and everyone enjoys it!

 

We ran away for a weekend in Park City shortly after moving in (running away from responsibility? ;) ) and had LOADS of fun. Jake booked the hotel and picked one that was high up on the mountain. Needless to say when we got out of the truck I almost died over how good it smelled out there! Fresh pine all around. We ate good food, explored Main Street at night, did a little shopping at the outlets, and watched a bunch of Greys Anatomy in the hotel while Ryan napped. We went swimming one evening in the heated outdoor pool and Ryan was in heaven! He's definitely our little fish. When he's in the bath he always sticks his head under the faucet, doesn't care if water gets in his eyes/mouth/etc, and it was the exact same in the pool. He was going nuts. Bonus, it made him dead tired and he knocked out super fast after! 

 

Last, but not least, Jake got a new job! Recruiters often contact him with opportunities. He usually either ignores them, or interviews for practice but never gets an offer that's enticing enough to move. This particular job he decided to interview for, and they made him a pretty dang good offer. After a bunch of back and forth, negotiating, and counter offers, he decided to make the switch. One of the biggest selling points was that he gets to work from home, only going into the office once every couple of weeks. He started this week and so far so good! It's weird but really nice to have him home all day. He has an office set up in our room and I love popping in to give him a kiss or talk for a few! 

Here's Ryan and Jake, taking a little gaming break. ;) 

 

Now we're deep in the heart of the Christmas season and loving every minute!! Watching Ryan experience all the fun traditions has been a real treat. 

 

Since I Last Wrote....

Life has been BONKERS. I wish I would have kept up with blogging during the crazy, cause I honestly can't remember it all! 

The house is DONE and we passed inspection!! Yippee. We didn't make our original deadline (the weekend before Jake's work trip, where he is currently), but it's complete and now we don't have to worry about rushing to get in before he leaves. He gets home tonight after major delays (hallelujah) and we'll unload the storage units and bring everything to the house Friday. To say we are ready and excited would be an understatement! 

I haven't been over there for a couple weeks, so must of these pics are courtesy of the husband! Jake has been going a ton to do some finish work, but I've stayed home with the babe. 

Brad stained the front door! I haven't seen it in person, but it looks dang look in the pictures. 

 

Plumbing fixtures and toilets went in. This was a bit of a fiasco. We didn't like the ones the plumber had, and didn't want to pay a ton to upgrade through him, so we bought our own for him to install. He said to make sure the box had never been opened, because it's common for parts to be missing. The one we bought for our bathroom had clearly never been opened, but just our luck...one of the bolts had been stripped. We fudged the install for inspection and will replace it when Jake is home and we move in! 

 

 

Jake got all the door hardware on, and Brad installed the carpet. Neither of which I have good pictures of. The cleaning crew came and shined the place up, and Jake finished the countertops! 

 

There were times I was nervous about those suckers, but in the end they look super cool. The perfect industrial touch! 

The exterior is finished, and even though they did the wrong color of garage door, we still really like it. It wasn't worth changing. 

 

Ryan started clapping and popped 2 teeth. :)

 

 

Jake and I went through the temple! 

 

Wish us luck with our last move for a really. really. really long time. :)

Eight Month Update

Happy 8 months to my boy! Ryan •is busier than ever, but still no crawling •rolls to get where he wants to go •babbles "mamamama" and loves to fake cough •still loves the outdoors and is especially stoked about crunching leaves •has suddenly decided he loves his binky and will take a bottle!? After trying and trying and trying, and then giving up, he's finally decided on his own time that he's ready. Whew! I love this little one more than anything. He's the light of my life and the best little buddy. 

 

 

 

Costco parking lot poop explosion. Ha! 

His first spaghetti dinner. :) 

 

 

Light fixtures and DIY Concrete Countertops

Jake went down to the house on his lunch break with a work friend today and moved the finished countertops into the house! I can't wait to go see them in person cause the pictures look aaaamazing. Let's rewind a bit... 

We had a busy weekend as usual, and then Jake had Monday off for Columbus Day. (Weird, but I'm not complaining!) We spent a good chunk of it at the house doing some finishing touches on the countertops. They were all dry so he lightly sanded them and then mixed up some concrete that didn't have aggregate to fill in some tiny holes. This was an extra step we had hoped to avoid, but they were too heavy to agitate so naturally there were holes from air bubbles.

  

 

Fast forward to today....voila! The piece behind the sink is still missing (he still needs to secure the sink), that seam in the corner needs to be filled, and they need to be sealed/caulked...but they're in! And we love them! DIY win. 

 

 

I'll share more pics once they're 100% finished. 

The electrician also spent some time at the house and got all the fixtures installed! 

 

(Still no stain on the door)

 

 

 

Now all that's left inside is plumbing fixtures/toilets, carpet, and a big cleaning job. Jake needs to install all the door knobs and locks. They're pouring the driveway/walkway/sidewalk tomorrow, and we're still waiting on a garage door. Soooo close! 

Because I can't resist writing about Ryan...kid lives tomatoes. :) 

 

The BEST part

The very best part when building a house is when it actually starts to feel like a house, and not just a giant construction zone (cause it's that, too). For me, that happens when there's paint, floors, and cabinetry. Those three things are officially complete (minus carpet in bedrooms) and I'm pretty ecstactic!!!!

I'm always nervous to pick a paint color, it never looks the same on the swatch as on the wall. I'm loving this one though, so I'll call it a success!! 

 

Cabinets going in!  

  

 

Complete! (Mostly. After these pictures they came back to do some touch ups) Here's the kitchen and the bathrooms with cabinets. Oh, and check out that sink!!!!

  

 

This is the guest bath. We chose a light gray paint for the vanity. Apparently a REALLY light gray, cause it looks white. We'll re paint it eventually! 

 

The kitchen is getting concrete countertops. We're talking good ol' bags of concrete mixed and poured into forms. Don't be scared..they won't look as crappy as you're imagining. ;) Jake is doing them, so he got started after the lower cabinets were in and he could get exact measurements. First project in the garage!

 

They took way longer than we expected to pour, but Ryan was a good sport. 

 

We scored some beauuuuutiful white carrera marble pieces at the granite yard leftover from a previous job for the bathrooms. Can't wait to see it installed! 

A couple tangents...look at this hat!! Haha we found it in old navy but I got the feeling he wasn't a fan, so we left without it. ;) 

 

Babies watching conference. 

 

Taking a mountain break. :) 

 

I will write soon! Light fixtures are going in this weekend. Home stretch!