New Adventures

In October we finalized a long decision we had been throwing around......to move back West.   Our quest began in June 2011 when we thought we would just buy a foreclosed/short sale house to rent out and make money from....then that turned in to finding a home where the girls could grow up without an insane city life and to let them be kids and enjoy being kids.  I was too afraid to let them out where we lived .... I'm just over paranoid let's say!

So .... our first house started here:

Beautiful end of the cul-de-sac house with two driveways and a two car garage plus a side drive on the house.  Back yard with a patio and yard. 

This was one of the rooms...Haven actually wanted this room....I show this pic because I just realized the doll house in the back is the same one Haven just got for her 8th birthday from gma and gpa!  funny....

 It had a cozy little kitchen with upgraded counters and a cute backsplash!  But let's just say when they say "short sale" they really mean a "forever sale".....after almost 6 months and no information back from banks in regards to the sellers we began searching for anything else that might fit us....

we finalized here:

 A beautiful desert house but in the country...when I say country I mean "REAL COUNTRY".......I'm still getting used to the 30 minute drive in to town to got to Walmart.  When I was told it was country living I didn't really think it was really country living.  Our neighbors all have horses, chickens, cows, goats and anything else.  I haven't seen pigs yet though!!!  They have major gardens and do garden tours for the community - it's amazing.  There is a community email that you can contact everyone that lives here if you need help fixing something or just want to say hi. 

We have never met nicer people anywhere we have lived.  We know at least 15 neighbors very well and we only knew 2 in MD after living there almost 5 years.  My parents are included in that!!!  We had more visitors during the first few months bringing us food and goodies and welcoming us to the neighborhood then I could have dreamed.  It is amazing to walk outside and see NON-PUNK kids having fun and playing and waving to us. 

 One thing that sold the house was the hobbit window room.....who has a hobbit window?

 The backyard is one of my favorite areas....don't worry Deez doesn't have to go in to the dog house.  When we moved in it was already winter so we didn't get to really see the trees like this - but we can't wait!

For my friends in MD - This horse is next door to us and it is NOT on concrete!  :)  I see it daily when walking Haven to school.  Everyone here pretty much just has dirt back yards for all their animals.


Anyway, we're still getting used to it...I think I'm the only parent that walks her child to school....all the kids just go by themselves.  It's amazing.....we absolutely love it and couldn't ask for a better place to raise the girls.