Great News!

The family we are buying the house from is going to fix EVERYTHING we asked for.  AMAZING!  We are truly so blessed.  Two other houses that we looked at seriously (including one we offered on) closed this week.  One for $435,000 and one for $422,500.  We got a much better house than either of those for LESS!  We have been truly blessed throughout this process.

House updates

The cheerleadering was actually last Friday (the day before we found out that they accepted our offer on the house).  Since that time, life has been all about the house.  We had the inspection, then spent the next few days gathering quotes from various contractors to do the work that needs to be done.  Considering the age and size of the house, the work list is relatively small.  We will submit the quotes and our request to the seller this week and see if she is willing to help with anything.  In the meantime, I took lots more pictures of the house.  This is probably what the listing photos should have looked like (but we are glad they didn't).

Kitchen complete with granite countertops...one of the only updates in the house.  I love the gas fireplace right there!

Looking the other way through the kitchen.  There is one family room that is basically a part of the kitchen.  

Formal dining room.  

Giant living room/dance studio/party room.  Also a gas fireplace.  

Entryway and main floor bathroom.  I love the wrought iron details.  The wall paper will be going...but look at all the space!  We could fit 40 coats in this closet alone!

Here is the "squishy toilet seat" that Sarah so adored!  This light fixture is slated for replacement, as is the wallpaper (including gold ceiling).

First room in the "guest suite."  It is two rooms that have a closet in between.  You have to go through this one to get to the other one.  Right now it is more like an office.  

This room is the bedroom of the guest suite.  It has a Juliet Balcony.  This carpet has nice wood floor under it like the other room it connects too.  Wallpaper and light fixture are on the replacement list too.  Eventually.  

Main bath.  It currently has carpet.  That will be one of the first things to go.  But I am keeping the wallpaper.  I love it.  

Master Bedroom.  Carpet going, but I seriously love the lights.  

Master dressing room.

Master Bath

This sideways picture is the office.  It looks out over the stairs.  

Ben's bedroom.  Will look very different very soon.  

This is the girls' room.  This will also get some immediate attention.  

View from the girls' room.  There is a carpeted greenhouse kind of thing out in the yard.  It has electricity.  We will probably replace this with a shed eventually.  

Yes, there are 3 pictures of the laundry room.  I love it.  Sewing desk on one wall.  This door opens to the garage.    

Serger desk on the other?  Maybe paper crafts since I don't have a serger.  This side opens to the back yard.  

Where the washer and dryer will be once we buy them.  

This will be the gym.  It is in the back of the garage.  I will slowly purchase equipment and then start doing some training out of the house.  

Soon to be TV room.  This is a nice view of the back yard.  

Another view of the TV room.  I am standing in the family room off the kitchen taking this picture.  I love how bright this room is.  We feel so blessed to have this amazing space become our home!!!

Cheerleadering

Libby and Sarah were so excited to cheer at the EW football game with all the other girls that did their cheer camp this summer  We first went to the Shorewood game (and the girls got some looks in their EW gear), and cheered on their future school.  Then we went to the EW game (vs. Mountlake Terrace, the school where I taught.)  The girls went out to cheer just before half time.  Just after they started, EW scored!  The crowd went wild.  Some of the girls, including Sarah had to cover their ears.  They weren't prepared for a huge crowd roar!  Anyway, despite Libby's concern that she wouldn't do good "rally" (this is the extra cheering after the cheer where the cheerleaders do kicks and jumps), they did a great job!

Maren and Ben enjoying the Shorewood game.  The stadium where they play is now about 2 blocks from our house!

I love this picture!

School Days

I am LOVING the longer school days.  It is so much better than the rush rush of morning kindergarten.  Now if only Libby would eat lunch at school, she wouldn't be in hysterics when she gets home.  But that is another story.
Libby came home upset on Friday because their teacher made them pick up the floor in their classroom.  Imagine!  But in general she is liking school.  Her class shares a lunch table with the other first grade class.  So Libby sits right on the edge of her class and her friend Ava sits on the edge of her class so they are right next to each other.  Libby has had one homework assignment so far, and she did it quickly and easily--not the struggle like her first one last year where she didn't even want to put her name on it.  So things are going well.
Sarah is enjoying preschool.  I am glad and sad that it is only 2 days a week.  She would like to go more often...although she is loving having time to make up her own games with no one bossing her around.  I am glad that I am not having to do even more commuting to pick her up more often.  The class is definitely beneath her skill level though...I am kind of wishing I had put her in the Pre-K room.  I may see if I can make a switch.
Ben is having a great time watching movies in the car as we drive girls to school and back every day.  He is so cute asking for "Credibles" (Incredibles), or "Kung Fu Panda" or "Wreck it Ralph" or even (don't tell Derek) "My Little Pony."
He made me laugh yesterday when we were dropping the girls at dance class.  He walked up to a cute little girl about his size and said, "What's your name?"  Her mom helped her answer and he said, "That's a pretty name."  Oh my!  Already flirting with the ladies?

WE GOT IT!

We got the house!  We got it!  We got it!  For those not living in the Seattle market, it is HOT here right now.  Inventory is low and houses go fast. This house dropped close-ish to our price range at just the right time because the house we were selling was about to close.  We were nervous all week even though we felt so good about the house and felt fairly confident.  We couldn't be happier.  Now to get through inspection and finalize this house!
It is so, so awesome.  I took some pictures of the amazing light fixtures the last time we went to see it (I have been there 6 times now!)

Little entry way little chandelier 

Giant entry way lights.  We are going to return these ones to King Arthur :)

Upstairs bathroom light fixture--and love the gold and silver wallpaper. The ceiling is also silver.  

Master bedroom.  These lights hang on either side of the bed.  We have a fireplace too.  

Master bathroom has purple accents.  My favorites are these pendant lights.  There is also a skylight in this bathroom (something I LOVED having in my last master bath and thought I would be giving up forever).

This is the master dressing room.  It has this dressing table, probably my favorite of the hanging lights, a skylight, and 4 closets.  Yep, 4.

Triathalon Spectating

For a couple of years now, I have had friends doing "Sprint" triathalons.  You swim, then bike, then run.  I have never been interested really, since the swimming thing wasn't my thing.  Then, Maren and her friend Liz gave me a pep talk about swimming.  They told me it is okay if you have to stop and gasp for air after each lap at first.  Huge revelation.  So while the girls had swimming lessons, I reserved a lane and started swimming.  And I really like it.  Really like it.  Now I know it is not the same as swimming in open water, where fish might touch me.  Or seaweed.  But I am going to start with the pool and see if by next summer I feel strong enough as a swimmer to try getting in open water.  (And we will see if I have mastered the flip turn--which right now often leaves me sputtering and frustrated.)
Anyway, that is a long story to preface that Maren mentioned that in all her triathaloning, no one from the family had ever come to watch.  So, I decided to be the first!  It all worked out.  Several factors came together to help us make it.  Our Auntie Jen was doing it to, I had Saturday morning free, I wanted to see what a triatholon actually looks like, I thought it wasn't going to rain (turns out I was wrong there), and I really wanted to support Maren.  We got lost several times on the way there, and the kids whined just about non-stop after watching the swim.  But it was worth it.  I love seeing people dig deep and accomplish something that challenges them.  Both Maren and Jen did a great job!  They finished happy after giving it their all. Next year, I think I am in!

Happy spectator Ben.  He was probably the least whiny.  Only when someone took his spot in the stroller did he get really frustrated by the whole thing.  

Even with our wrong turns, we got there just in time to say hi before our Aunties started their swim.  

Sarah.  Fine for the moment.  

Libby, mid-whine

Maren, Looking STRONG!

Jen after the finish.  She killed the bike.  

Ben having a meltdown moment at the finish line.  

All smiles at the end.

Libby's First Day of First Grade

Libby started first grade this week.  I have been a bit worried about how things would go--the whole eating lunch at school thing.  It got even worse when I found out that she has kids in her class with severe peanut allergies so she can't bring pbnj sandwiches--her lunch staple.  This week I sent a kidz Clif bar (she loves the iced oatmeal cookie variety), but now I discovered that they may have "trace peanut elements."  Not sure what I will send this week.  But as long as I had a snack for her when I picked her up, (which she devoured) things went pretty well.  All 3 days she was in school I would start to get all nervous and worked up around 11:30 like I would need to be there to get her off the bus.  Then I would realize I still had HOURS until her 3:30 pick up.  Awesome.  I would relax and get a lot more done.  Her teacher is awesome.  So far in 3 days I have had more communication than I had in all of last year.  It is going to be sad to leave.  I think this teacher is in part why we haven't secured a new home yet.  I think she is going to help me figure out how to help Libby feel successful with school.

This is the dress she picked out for her "first day of school outfit".  Sarah picked out the same one.

Libby begged me to straighten her hair for the first day.  It looked great.

Home Shopping Update

We are submitting another offer today!  It is another sort of long shot.  But we love the house and the location.  It is a really big house with  more storage than I could fill in a lifetime.  So pray for us!  If we get it, you will all be invited to a wallpaper scraping party.  But the space is so great and the spirit in the house is so amazing, it is worth doing some updates.  I am not even going to gush any more, or go into more details, but stay tuned.