Becoming Homeowners

Michelle and I have been living in our new (new to us) home for about three weeks now.  In other words -what I've really been wanting to say for a long time - we are 'homeowners.'  I like calling myself a 'homeowner,' it feels pretty good.  After paying rent for the last eight or so years, it's nice to know that our mortgage payment is going towards something substantive that matters in the long run now (as opposed to just paying for us to live somewhere one month at a time and essentially paying someone else's mortgage and making someone else rich).  Our house still is not fully decorated and furnished, but it is progressing nicely.  Despite how much stuff we had in storage and brought with us from our apartment in Virginia, it is much more of an ordeal to set up an entire house.  It is a much more rewarding and fulfilling task though.  I find myself taking more pride in and thus more time getting things to look right because we own this house.

The Process of Buying a House

The process of applying for a mortgage, working with a bank and Realtor, closing escrow, and everything in between required lots of patience.  There were many steps in this process, some that made sense to us and some that didn't seem to make any sense at all.  Apparently, to sign off on a mortgage application, mortgage underwriters operate under a great deal of scrutiny ever since the whole financial crisis and consequently they asked us for documentation of lots of things.  Some things were very trivial - in our opinion anyways - and we felt like having a good credit score or enough money in savings would have been good enough to not need to explain so many things about our finances.  This was not the case though.  Of course we had to provide bank statements and all that stuff, but some of the bizarre things they asked for were a letter from the in-laws explaining why we weren't paying rent while living with them and a letter from Teach For America explaining a (small) 'Transitional Grant' that we had been given when we joined TFA to help us move to our new job location back when we first moved to the D.C. area.  We saw these things as trivial when looked at in the grand scheme of things, but we really had no choice but to role with the punches.  At times, we thought they must have suspected we were drug dealers or something because of the level of scrutiny with which they were seemingly examining every last tiny aspect of our finances.  I can't imagine what hoops people have to jump through these days when they are doing less ordinary things in housing like refinancing, getting a second home, or anything else.

There were times of frustration and head-scratching, but overall it really wasn't that bad, and we would recommend the banking institution we chose.  All the hoops and regulations aren't the bank or the bankers' fault.  The lady working with us on behalf of the bank/lender was very helpful and nice.  Also, our Realtor was fantastic.  She was our next door neighbor while we were living with the in-laws and I would recommend her without reservation.  She drove us to a lot of houses and was very patient when we wanted to see some houses multiple times.  If anyone needs a Realtor in Idaho let me know :)  From beginning to end, every person we worked with (our Realtor, bankers, home mortgage folks, escrow people) explained everything to us and made us feel like a valued client.

Being Patient...

From the time we made the offer on our house to when we moved in, it was about two months.  This was mostly due to us needing to take care of some financial loose ends with my old job and getting all set up and situated financially with my new job.  I think the entire process could have been done in just a matter of weeks if you didn't have anything you needed to take care of like we did.  Luckily, the owners of the house we bought allowed us to set the timetable for everything.

One of the things that has taken the longest though even after moving in was getting furniture.  Even after finding and purchasing the furniture we wanted, which was and is still an ordeal in and of itself, we usually had to wait at least a week or two or sometimes three for it to be delivered.  We are a little ways out from most of the larger furniture stores in Boise so they weren't able to make delivery trips right away and we didn't want to try and move the furniture ourselves.  This gave us lots of time to envision how we would set things up though when it all started arriving.  Although we wanted everything all at once, it was actually easier to set things up and decorate the house one room or piece of furniture at a time.

Painting

Since we had to wait a while for our first load of furniture to arrive at our house, this gave us the opportunity to do some good old fashioned painting.  We (and by 'we' I really mean Michelle, and mostly our in-laws) painted all of the rooms and bathrooms in the house.  This took a lot of effort, was sort of fun at first but that faded kind of quickly, and was surprisingly expensive.  We would not have been able to do it alone though, and it was 110% worth the effort!  When we finally get some pictures up here of our house we will show what colors the rooms used to be and how they look now.  My father-in-law used to be a professional painter so that made things go a lot quicker and smoother.    

Lots of Little Things

The simple fact of having your own place is awesome for all the obvious reasons, but on top of that what makes owning a home so sweet is really a lot of little things.  For example, having a master bathroom that you can get to without having to walk outside of your room.  Another thing is having a walk-in closet where Michelle and I can both hang up all our clothes (no more using closets in miscellaneous places throughout the apartment for clothes and other things).  On that note, it's a wonderful thing to not have to put things in places they shouldn't have to go due to not having enough room elsewhere; the best example of this would be the fact that in Alexandria we kept all of my bikes and bike stuff (which was a lot of stuff) in our spare bedroom, which happened to be Mason's room, and at the same time served as an overall storage space with industrial metal shelving and a large wardrobe for extra clothes.  No more of that though!

Other things a lot of people have and maybe take for granted that we finally have now: a backyard for kids to run around in and play in; a garage for stuff that should be kept in a garage and not in a bedroom closet; never having to scrape ice or snow off windshields because, again, we have a garage; not having to carry trash bags a couple of blocks away to the community dumpster (Eaton Square friends, you know exactly what I'm talking about) and instead having both a trash bin and a recycling bin that gets picked up right in front of your house every Monday; having a laundry room and a washer and dryer that works and cleans well and holds more than a couple of towels and a tee shirt; finally, I have to say how great it is to have way more shelving and storage space throughout the house (closets with built in shelves in every room, a pantry, a walk-in master closet, a three car garage, a laundry room with shelving, more closets in all the right places, book shelves, and even more shelves and drawers on our bed, dresser, and the list goes on...) than we can use or even imagine using right now.  We have been told that we will accumulate 'stuff' rapidly and grow into it though   These may not be the first things you would think of as the perks of owning a home but after years and years of renting a variety of different apartments, these are things that we really love.

We will be sharing lots of pictures of our new house once we get things set up just right, which will hopefully be
soon!  When you really want everything just right though (and even I am trying to make sure everything 'works' right with the other colors and everything else in the room) it takes some time.

Painting

I've never really thought art was one of my talents.  I draw stick figures if that gives you any idea.  Cara is an amazing artist. She has an incredible talent for drawing and painting. Brandt also does amazing drawings. I've always said that those 2 got the artistic talent in the family. However, when we moved to Idaho and I realized I was going to get the chance to live with Cara for a few months before she left on her mission, I asked her to teach me to do acrylic painting.  We've done 3 paintings - she always does the same one I'm doing and I watch her and try to do it (except the 2nd one).  My first few paintings have turned out a lot better than I ever expected. Cara and Brandt's talent is still leaps and bounds above mine, but I am learning and it has been a lot of fun. I've learned that I need to be more open to trying new things even if I don't think I will be very good at them.

This is the first painting I did.  I really struggled getting the technique down to blend the colors together, and there are some things I don't like about it like the leaves on the trees, but considering it was my first one I think it turned out pretty.

This is my second painting.  Cara said that doing a black and white painting would probably help me learn to blend better. She was right. I finally figured it out. I'm still not very good at it, but I can at least do it now. This painting isn't finished yet. I still need to add clouds to the sky and trees.  Cara didn't do one like this. She just helped me figure out what to do and then I worked on it on my own.

This computer is rotated correctly on the computer, but for some reason turns sideways when I upload it. I can't fix it!

This is my 3rd painting. Cara and I were really excited to do this one.  I think it is more my style - it has a different and less careful blending technique and then a lot of just dabbing the brush on the canvas.

Aaah, can't get this one to upload right either. I guess just turn your head to the side to look at it. It's hard to tell from the way it's turned, but it's a path through trees.

I really love painting and am hoping to get my own paint set soon so I can start doing and learning more. It's a lot of fun, and it has been a great activity for Cara and I to do together. 

Here is Mason doing some of his own painting with Daddy. Thanks Daddy!

This is an old practice painting of Cara's that Mason painted over. He did the red, blue, and white splotches. Some of the paint he put on the canvas himself and some I squeezed on the canvas and he smeared around.

Yellowstone National Park

Last weekend we went to Yellowstone with our good friends the Johns Family.  We all stayed in a big cabin together about 20 minutes from the West Yellowstone entrance. We arrived on Thursday night and just as we pulled up there was a loud bang and the power went out.  Luckily we had a flashlight in the car and found a few candles in the cabin. We sat in the front room in the dark and visited for a while. The power finally came back on about an hour later and then we were able to explore the cabin.  On Friday morning we did the lower Yellowstone loop. Our first stop was the Lonestar geyser. It was a 2 1/2 mile hike to the geyser and then 2 1/2 miles back.  It was a pretty hike and on a paved path for most of the way which made it easier with all of the kids. Unfortunately Mason was really tired and not too happy on the hike. He screamed in his stroller so Chad and I ended up switching off carrying him most of the way. The Lonestar Geyser only goes off about every 3 hours, so my mom said a prayer that when we got to the geyser it would be close to going off.  Her prayer was answered and the geyser started pretty much right as we walked up. It went off for about 30 minutes and was really cool. We had some snacks and then hiked back to the car and had our picnic lunch. Then we finished the lower loop. We saw bison, antelope, elk, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the Upper and Lower Falls, the lake, and lots of other smaller falls.  We also saw some mud pools and a mud volcano.  It was all really pretty and cool to see, but it was also a lot of driving.  We got back to the cabin and had dinner, watched movies, and sat in the hot tub outside.  On Saturday we did the upper loop of Yellowstone.  We saw quite a few waterfalls.  We were planning to swim Saturday afternoon and then do another hike to Mystic Falls, but the Johns had tire trouble and we ended up having to go back to the cabin early.  We watched the BYU football game and relaxed at the cabin for the rest of the evening.  The next day we went to church and then headed home. It was a really fun trip with great company and yummy food. The lower loop of Yellowstone was my favorite and I would probably do that one again, but not the upper loop - too much driving.  Thanks Dad and Brandon for planning such an awesome trip!

These pictures are from Lonestar Geyser and the hike there.

The rest of these pictures are from other parts of Yellowstone.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Mason loved just going up and down the stairs and he wanted to do it by himself as much as possible.

This was our last stop and Mason's clothes were already filthy from going up and down the stairs, so when he wanted to run through this puddle we let him.  We had other clothes in the car that he could wear an we decided after all day in and out of the car he deserved to run around and get dirty and have fun. He ran back and forth through this puddle over and over again laughing and splashing. Other people started to stop and watch him and laugh. Some people took pictures too. He was attracting quite the crowd. He had so much fun - and was so wet and dirty by the end!

The Way A Teaching Career Is Supposed To Be

I have been teaching Social Studies at my new school in my new school district here in Idaho for about a month now.  I learned many invaluable lessons about teaching and about life while working in Washington, D.C and I wouldn't trade the time that I spent out east with my family for anything, but I believe that my new job is the way a career in teaching is supposed to be.  I am not saying that there is something wrong with teaching in the District of Columbia Public Schools, just that I have found a much better fit for me.

I am loving everything about my new job.  I love the content matter that I teach (World History and U.S. History); I love my school administration and all of my assistant principals and principal; I love how respectful the students are and how fun they are to work with (not to mention the fact that they enjoy learning); I love that my school is 10 minutes from home and that I get to spend 2 more hours a day at home than I used to (I used to spend 2 hours commuting each day); I also just like the logistics of how this school works: the bell schedule, the hours, block periods, the way you request time off, the way you get a substitute to cover your class, and the list goes on and on.  I don't mean to say that my experiences in my prior teaching job were negative or that I didn't love these things out there too, but so far everything about my new job just feels like such a great fit for me.

It's a great feeling to look forward to going to work.

The Expedition Man - My Fourth Ironman Triathlon

 At the finish line with my uncles and aunt

Biking 

 Crossing the finish line -- always such a releif

T2: going from biking to running

Swimming like a dolphin

More biking 

 Leaving the T2 area and starting out the run.  My legs always feel surprisingly fresh after the bike ride...for a little while

Michelle walking with me on the run course 

My mom walking with me on the run course 

T1: going from swimming to biking

Last Saturday, August 24th, I competed in the Lake Tahoe to Reno, Nevada, Ironman-distance Triathlon called The Expedition Man.  This was my fourth Ironman-distance Triathlon.  Despite finishing in my worst time for this race distance, I managed to finish first in my age group (29 and under).  It is always cool to get an extra award to take home with you!

The race was tons of fun.  It was the most fun I've ever had on the swim portion of an ultra distance Triathlon (2.4 miles).  The water was warm and very clear.  I had a lot of fun looking at the sand, rocks, and pieces of metal objects like chains that had been left in the lake by boaters.  I think this helped the time pass and gave me something to think about other than the normal "3 strokes then breath on the right....3 strokes then breath on the left....3 strokes then breath on the right" that is normally going through my mind on an endless loop.

I set a new PR on the bike portion of the race, finishing the 112 mile bike ride in 5 hours and 21 minutes.  This is well above 20 mph (20.93 mph to be exact), which is what I now consider my new minimum standard for long bike rides.  There were some very big hills on the course, which is what allowed me to pass a lot of people because the bike portion is my biggest strength.  On one of the long, steep downhills I hit 52 mph.  That's definitely the fastest I've ever gone on my road bike, maybe the fastest ever on any bike.

So I did really well on the swim and the bike, but I did not do so well on the run.  I really didn't have much left in the tank at the start of the marathon run, and I was only able to run about 8 or 9 miles before I had to just walk the rest.  This really didn't come as a surprise to me because my training leading up to this race was nothing like in the past, mainly due to the major transition of moving out west to Idaho and starting a new job and trying to develop entirely new training routines (something I am still working on).  Luckily Michelle walked 7 miles of the marathon with me and then my mom walked the last 3 miles with me.  That helped keep me moving at a good pace and get me to the finish line.

Overall, I had a great time and would do this race again without hesitation.  I liked the race venue (starting out in Lake Tahoe and riding all the way to Reno where the finish was), I liked the race organizers and staff, and the volunteers were all very nice.    Maybe next year I can set a new PR there.

Seattle Trip

Last Thursday afternoon we drove to Seattle to see Chad's parents. We thought Mason was going to sleep in the car most of the way since the majority of the drive would be when he would normally be sleeping for the night. Unfortunately he only slept from 8-9 and then 11-1. We got there at 1:30 and he didn't go to sleep until 3:00 a.m.. Ooops.  Needless to say he was exhausted the next day and the next time we take a trip we will just go during the day so he doesn't miss so much sleep.  Despite getting a lot less sleep than normal, he was really happy the whole trip. The first day we went on a picnic to the park/beach at Lake Stevens. Mason kept trying to chase other people's dogs. He loves dogs. He also ran straight into the water without any reservation when we walked on the beach. He ran in up to his knees and then walked and splashed around. Of course I was right there with him. He really loves the beach and the water.  Then the next day we went to the Lake Stevens Aquafest and walked around, watched the beginning of a parade, and Mason played in a bounce house and rode the carousel with Grammie. He was a little afraid of the bounce house, but loved the carousel. That afternoon we went swimming at the lake with Chad's cousin Elliott and then had a BBQ and played UNO. It was a lot of fun. On Sunday we took a ferry to a local island and walked around a little. We really enjoying seeing the sites and relaxing with Chad's family.  We left on Monday and decided to drive through the day this time.  Mason did a great job. We drove 6 hours straight before stopping and Mason slept for a couple hours and then entertained himself in the car on his own for a long time.  After 6 hours we stopped at McDonalds and let Mason play at the play place for about an hour. He wasn't too happy to get back in the car after that and was fussy for a while, but then finally fell asleep and slept for a few hours. When he woke up he was a little fussy again, but as long as Chad kept his arm on Mason's arm, shoulder, cheek, etc. to comfort him then he was fine. One time Chad was taking his hand away and Mason grabbed it and put it back on Mason's shoulder.  lol. He did a great job on the trip and in the car and we were so proud of him!  It was a great trip. We are really looking forward to living much closer to them and being able to take trips like this more often.

Mason and Grammie

Mason was cold after swimming in Lake Stevens so Grammie wrapped him up all comfy and warm.

We forgot to bring Mason dry clothes so he wore Chad's t-shirt after swimming. 

Playing cards with Grandpa and Elliott.

Bounce house slide with mommy. Mason wasn't too sure about this.

Mason was a little nervous on the carousel at first, but was loving it by the end. Thanks Grammie

Picnic before the ferry

On the ferry - it was sooo windy!

Ferry ride - Mason loved it!

Walking around on the island after the ferry ride

Mason found a sea shell that he had fun digging in the sand with.

This water was a little colder than Lake Stevens - Mason didn't like it quite as much.

Ferry with Grandpa Wallace

At the parade with mom and dad

At the parade with Grammie

Lake Stevens with Elliott