Seattle Trip (Visiting The Jenkins) Part 1

We finally made it back to Seattle! We sure loved visiting and wish it had lasted forever. Kevin & Steph Jenkins invited us to come stay with them in Gig Harbor for a weekend over Ricks Birthday (1-5th) and we took them up on it. We drove out early Thursday the 1st and got home that following Monday evening. It was so fun to just drive and spend time together as a family. We have been in Provo since July and it was nice to get out and just do some of our own family time.  On the first day off we made a trip down to our old town of Edmonds and visit their market (that we miss SO MUCH). We just hung out with Kev & Steph letting the kids play, making dinner and just enjoying out friends that we have missed for so long. It was a great trip. Here are the highlights of our first day in the Edmonds Farmers Market and at Ricks favorite shop in town The Resident Cheesemonger:

 

 

  

Seattle Trip (Visiting The Jenkins) Part 2

After a full morning in the market we went down to the beach that I adore in Edmonds.   I have hundreds of shells that I collected on rainy mornings walking the beaches on my own with Jacob to help me.  I loved going back and seeing the beautiful vista that extends across the sound to Kingston.  I watched the sailboats go by and the ferry steam through my shots.  The Jenkins and Us just played and foraged and spend a few hours remembering how much we loved it there.  Here are the highlights of that trip:

On a separate day we went over into Paulsbough where there are antique shops, tons of Swedish heritage shops. It was fun to taste the favorite Swedish dishes and let the boys play with the fun memorabilia. Highlights:

One of my favorite days was spent out and about walking around downtown in Gig Harbor with Kevin & Steph. We ate dinner at a great restaurant that overlooked the water and here were a few images I captured.

Another day out we had to head home was an afternoon in Ballard where we watched the boats come in and out of the Locks. We were only there a short while and after having lunch at The Lock Spot cafe. They have great fish & chips and rick got a t-shirt to commemorate our visit.

1st Day Of 1st Grade For Jacob

I thought that summers were short as a kid. Let me tell you, it is much shorter as a parent. I cant believe that school is already in session! Jacob had a slow start this morning that signified the end of the sleeping in and lazy starts of summer. I woke him up at 7:20am and it took until 7:30 to lure him into his morning shower. Some oatmeal and a bagel were offered as his fuel for the morning, but his jitters tricked him into thinking he wasn't very hungry. We had his clothes ironed, him dressed and headed out the door at 8:25am to get him to school on time. Thank heavens we made it on time!!

What a nice thing to live just a minute down the road from the school. I am always late so it would be nice to not have that extra 5 minutes of driving time to make it worse. He looked adorable walking into school, without any fear. He rounded the door and I lost it. I bawled the whole way home and watched the clock all day. I really loved having him around this summer and hate that he is now in full day school. Ricky kept me busy and distracted all afternoon but it was weird to be without my little Jakie.

Rick did his fatherly duty and prepared him with a fathers blessing that was so sweet. I love watching him do things for and with Jacob that I know he will love to remember. All summer it was fishing, doing the yard work, going to get momma a soda and a million other things. The blessing was one more way Rick could be a part of Jacobs day while he was off learning. Rick blessed him with the ability to make new friends, to be kind, to focus, and to be unafraid of new things and new people. Jake listened intently and was glad to know that Heavenly Father had that kind of confidence in him. I will remind him each day of that blessing so that he can always live up to it.

I picked up Jacob at 3:20pm and met him at his class door.  Mrs Schwenn is the name of his first grade teacher and she was just adorable.  She was Rick and Cams & Katie's baby sitter when they were babies and she was even Katie's 1st grade teacher.  She loves the Shumways and was thrilled to have Jacob in her class.  Jacob loved her enthusiasm and was excited to have her as his teacher.  I think this will be a good relationship and pray that Jacob can continue to grow and learn each day.  I definitely think that he will have a nurturing environment to do it in her class.  A funny note:  Ever read Mrs. McBloom Clean Up Your Room??  It was written with her in mind.  The author of that kids book was a parent of one of her students!  I found out because I asked her if she had ever read that book and told her she reminded me of Mrs. McBloom.  What a funny thing.  I am happy to have Jake in such a great teachers class.  Good Luck Jakie!  Momma will be there to help, but I know you can do just great.

Making An Offer On A Home

We finally found a place that we love. There is a home for sale in Riverton that both Rick and I like and we can afford it (it is usually one or the other)! YAY. It is a short sale though, so it may take forever to close, but I think it is worth it because it would be move in ready!!
It is in a cute comunity in Riverton that has a pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, basketball courts and a playground. Lots to do with the kids. There are 3 bedrooms, 3 & 1/2 bathrooms, 2200 sq ft., it has lots of windows,a fireplace, a gorgeous kitchen, beautiful brown floors, high ceilings, a laundry room on the second floor (brilliant),a finished basement that I love and has a 2 car garage to boot!  My only misgiving is that it is attached to others that look exactly like it on the exterior.  I kinda wish it had more character outside, but we have to compromise somewhere.  I would rather have a great interior if I had to choose.   We offered on it last night and we have until tomorrow evening to hear back from the sellers. If they accept, we will have to wait to hear back from the bank and we don't know how long that could take. Wish us luck! I really hope we get it! Here are a few pics from their web site.  Update (2 days later):  They accepted!!  We are not having it sent to the bank and we will see what they say.

House Hunting

So, we have been here all of 3 weeks and I bet I have seen 40 homes. Nothing I am in love with yet!  Frankie (Our Real Estate Agent & basically an Aunt) has taken me to see lots of single family homes and I have like most of them for one reason or another, but nothing has made me feel the way I want to feel when I walk in and imagine our lives there.  I am worried it may take a long time to find what we want.   Part of our problem is I am not sure exactly what i want.  I know what I want it to feel like but how do I describe that?  How do I filter a home by how it makes me feel?  I know that we are set on a price range that offers us a mortgage that is easily met and we are looking for something we can easily afford to maintain.  Everything I have seen so far needs work and is at the higher end of the budget we set.   I have pretty much narrowed the region to Riverton & South Jordan though SJ offers me the feel and access i really want.  If I could find something that was amazing in Riverton I would be game, but I think I may be leaning toward SJ.  There is a really great little community called Day Break that offers adorable single family and attached homes that are in so many cute styles.  I really love a lot of their craftsman styles and cute colonial inspired row homes. I think if I could find one that is in our price range and one that offered me the feel I am looking for it would be a definite favorite area.  Not sure about the HOA's though.  Some seem high but if they were offering a lot in them, it would be worth it.  Wish me luck!