Smorgus Board of Our Life

Elin loves riding this horse

Reading time with Daddy, both the kiddos are very into books right now

Scrub a dub dub, Elin is in the tub

Running at Daddy’s office into the wall of beads

Backyard Begonias, so pretty!

Sleepy family after a busy week

Arboretum fun

The nights toys to go to sleep with

Found him checking out his Highlights magazine

Wish they were always that sweet together

Elin rocking her backpack

Asleep after the flight and a long trip in Texas—even big he still fits in the carrier :-)

Itzy is packed and ready to move

Veggies from the garden

Fall is in Seattle

Thomas’ self made “oh sh*t” bar

Tucker has earned her title as the worlds best nap cat

Riding on a Camel…just another Zoo Adventure

In the midst of all the chaos of our house today we headed off to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.   Whitney, Dahlia and Reier were also up for the adventure so we loaded all the car seats in and took off. 

Once at the zoo we went first to check out the shark feeding.  They had some pretty massive sharks in the tank and we were all in awe.  After seeing a few more fish we went and grabbed lunch before checking out the adventure show. 

Then it was time to see the animals.  This is one of the prettier zoos I have been too. Although not huge, it was on a rolling hillside and it kept giving you views of Vashon Island and Puget Sound in between.  Anyway, they animals, we were able to see many different animals with my highlight being the walruses and Thomas’ being the camels.   As much as I tried to persuade him to not ride the camel, it was really high and he would be alone, he was super eager to “ride that camel.”  So off he went and he loved it.  He said it was his favorite part of the whole zoo day and he has been talking about it ever since.

Elin was a little leery of getting too close to the big animals enclosures.  She seemed to like “grrr-ing” at the tigers and the aquarium fish the most. 

It was a sticky hot day and after a long car ride and day at the zoo we were ready to hop back in the a/c and head home. 

A walk to the soccer field

Epic Snoqualmie Falls Hike

We decided to go on a family “hike” to Snoqualmie falls.  It was an epic flop, after a 45 minute drive there was no hiking to be done.  We walked along the path, saw a gorgeous waterfall, and looked at the hiking trail that would open the following weekend.  Oh well.  We let the kiddos get some energy out and turned around and headed home!

Grandma Nancy to the Rescue

Just after the Dallas chaos, Grandma Nancy decided to make one last trip out to help us in Seattle.  For me it was a life saver as I had boat loads of paperwork and phone calls to make to get the move scheduled.   I feel like I spent 2 days on the phone all day long with time only to eat and sleep.   It was so helpful having her there because I didn’t have to balance the work with trying to maintain life as normal for the kids.  I set up the office in the kitchen and went to town.

With her in town Mike and I also took the opportunity to head out on a biking date to grab a drink after dinner.  It was so nice to get the cruisers out again, I think this was the 2nd time I had ridden mine since moving to Seattle.  

Grandma and I also took the kiddos to the aquarium.  We had lunch, watched the seal show and the kids had their faces painted for the first time.  This is where Thomas fell in love with having his face painted.  Before we knew it Grandma’s trip was over and it was time for her to head to the airport.  Thanks for all the help Grandma, we so appreciate

Potty Adventures

Little Ms. Elin has entered the world of learning about her body and potty training/learning.  Elin has started to copy her brother and she will lift her shirt or dress to go potty like Thomas.  We also realized that she was actually peeing when she did this so we tried her out on the potty chair…and she was successful. 

I myself forgot how much patience potty learning/training takes.  Elin wanted to go constantly and she was also refusing diapers for a bit.  She also caught on pretty quickly and started to bring us to the bathroom when she needed to go pee.  Let the adventure of potty learning begin!

Stamping Art Project

After we got home from Dallas we were all tired and very off schedule.  Elin needed a much earlier than normal nap and Thomas was not ready for one.  Mike and I were swamped with trying to get the paperwork in for the “next house.” Normally Thomas either naps with Elin or he gets to watch and zone out to a tv show or movie.  Today we started the art project and then Elin erupted mid Thomas creation.  I looked saw washable and non toxic on the stamp pad and thought to myself it wasn’t paint what trouble could he get in.  Off I went to nurse Elin to sleep and in the 10 minutes it took here is what I came back too.  His face is priceless, I don’t know how in the world he was able to stamp some places on his body.  It was too funny.  I think he had to have taken off his shirt, painted himself almost head to toe and then put the shirt back on.   Thankfully it all washed up and he had a small masterpiece created and we both had a giggle too!

1st Trip To Dallas

We took off Tuesday morning bright and early for our trip to find a house in Dallas. We landed got our rental car, grabbed lunch and then headed to the hotel.  After a quick stop at the hotel it was time to head out on our house hunting adventures.  With Mike along we met the realtor and saw the first 5 houses in our search.  Mike and I were both astounded and in disbelieve about how much the houses were and what we were looking at.  They were huge, some even had master bathrooms bigger than our kitchen in Seattle.  We immediately started to narrow our search and decided that too big just wasn’t for us or our air conditioning bill!  After seeing some potential we headed back to the hotel for dinner and rest!   Here are some of the things we saw and liked while house hunting

Wednesday morning we were up and the realtor picked the kiddos and I up for day 2 of house hunting.  As the day progressed I found 2 houses that had a lot of potential that I wanted Mike to see.  After a recharge at the hotel and an Elin nap we headed back out on our hunt.  I had come down with a super ill feverish case of mastitis, boo, boo, boo!  Thankfully, I know of a homeopathic treatment that along with rest knocks it out of my system pretty quickly without needing antibiotics.  So after a full day of house hunting, I was tired.  We grabbed a quick dinner out and then headed back to the hotel where Mike took the kiddos swimming. Thursday morning the kids and I stormed Walmart for some morning play time and then walked to a little pond to “feed the ducks.”  Little did we know this pond was also filled with cute turtles big and small.  It was the wildest thing!  We had also decided that a full day out house hunting for the kids was too much. 

So we narrowed down our search again and waited for Mike to get off work before we went out as a family.  By Thursday night we felt like we had 3 favorites and we wanted to head back to look at them again on Friday before we made a final decision and an offer.  After we saw the houses we headed over to Mike’s new bosses house for a dinner and some swim play time for the kiddos.  By the time we left they were both exhausted and sleeping in the car, which allowed Mike and I some much needed adult conversation time.

I had a sheet of paper going listing out pros and cons, Mike had his and we were also getting input from our families.  Buying a house in a new town in 5 days is crazy wild/stressful and a huge leap of faith.  On Friday after Mike got done with work for the day we went out and looked at 5 houses all in the Frisco school district.  We had decided after talking with Mike’s boss and his wife that that would be the best educational decision for us with the kids, especially Thomas, being school aged.  So off we went.  We decided on the Remuda house and put in an offer.  We then went to a Hibachi Grill to “celebrate” finding a house and the beginning of our new adventures in Texas!   This is the house we thought we bought below (more to come on that).

At the hibiachi grill we were instantly surprised by the price of 2 beers and a shirley temple.  We in fact asked the server if we had been charged right, to us $4 for drinks was not the norm.  We then enjoyed our dinner with a few Elin tears here and there.  She was not a fan of the fire and was in fact pretty terrified that we were all going to burn up.  She would hide her head, cry and say “hot” and “scared.”  After we finished torturing Elin we headed back to the hotel for more swimming.

Saturday we woke up and headed over for more duck/turtle feeding before we headed to the airport.  All was going well with the home buying and we needed to stick close to the hotel for fax/email purposes.  At the airport we hoped as we flew back to Seattle the paperwork would be signed by the buyer and as we landed we’d get the confirmation email that “we had bought a house.”  Well we landed and instead of the above, we got a text message from our Realtor saying to call her ASAP….UGH!  It is never simple is it?!

Anyway a long story short, a second buyer had come in and they wanted us to compete for the original house we had found.  Mike and I talked and decided that we were not willing to budge too much more for a few reasons: 1) we were at the top price range with that house and the fixes we would have done immediately (needing new fridge/washer/dryer and replacing carpeting/flooring) 2) the taxes at that house were really high 3) our realtor said, well maybe since this is happening it is a sign that the “cookie” house is the way we should go?! 

On Sunday morning we found out that we had in fact been “out bid” on the Remuda house.  So onto fingers being crossed for the Cookie House.  Our realtor called and got in touch with the sellers and in a few hours we were buying a different house, the house we originally wanted, but thought it was “just outside” of the price we wanted to pay.  Thankfully the sellers came down in price a bit and as always it seems like the cards played out perfectly for us to the the right fit.  Below is a picture of the house we did buy!!  It is a 5 bedroom 4 bathroom home with a community park and pool.  It is a perfect fit for our family and we are so excited that we bought this house instead of the other home. 

Seattle Arboretum and feeding the ducks

Feeding ducks is a popular request at our house.  On a lazy Sunday the kiddos, Mike and I headed over to the Arboretum to get some wiggles out and feed the ducks.  It was a beautiful morning of calm together, in a month that has had a lot of chaos!

100 Mile Ride

About a month back Mike decided that he was going to participate in the inaugural Obliteride for the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center.  Many of our family and friends donated to this cause and his team raised a good chunk of money all that was left to do was the ride! 

Friday night Mike and I had a date to go get the race packet.  It was a party in itself at Gas Works Park with free dinner, drinks and a concert by Michael Franti and Spearhead.  Mike has been listening to these guys for awhile and I have been too, just never knowing their name, so we were excited to check it out.

It was a really fun evening.  The concert was great because it was such a small venue and the small crowd size enabled Michael and the band to come off the stage and be a foot away from everyone.  That is probably a once in a lifetime thing.  Moreso than the fun of the event the messages of hope and encouragement on the journey to find a cure to cancer was inspiring. 

After a couple hours it was back home to the kiddos and time for Mike to get all his last minute preparations done.  He was off early in the morning with a 7 am start time.  The kids and I in the support “van” took off about 9:30.  With this being the 1st time they had put on the race we had no clue what or where we were going.  There were only turn by turn directions and the 40, 50, 80 ect mile marks were just written into the direction without a specific location.  So that sent the kiddos and I on a wild chase trying to find Mike.  We started off thinking that we would meet him at the 50 mile mark.  Half way on our drive he sent us a message that said he was at the 30 mile mark.  So I made a wrong decision to try to meet him at the 40 mile mark and that is where we got lost on the course.  We ended up being first in front of him and then jumping behind him and he was going very fast.  We passed many riders looking for him and after some technical help from my parents on the internet while I drove we figured that we would eventually catch him.   Finally at the 65 mile mark we saw him, gave him a quick “High Five” and he continued on. We drove up the very large hill and waited at the 80 mile pit stop for him to come.  After a snack and some encouragement he was off again and we went to the finish line to meet him.

100 miles done, raising money to cure cancer and in honor of his Nana Banana, Nana J, my mom, and in memory of my cousin Josie, he rode.  There were 5,000 feet of elevation gain and the official course was 107 miles. 

Thank you to Mike, to the other riders and to the many of you who donated!

The little house that could…

Monday morning bright and early Mike headed off to Minneapolis for work.  I was home with the kids and pets and this house that was on the market.  Let’s just say each night I was glad we were one step close to our Wednesday offer review deadline.

Your reading that right, in Seattle, in our neighborhoods, homes like ours are going so quickly that there is usually an offer review deadline.  This is also a bit of a gamble and really stressful.  By doing an “offer review date” our realtors were hoping we could get at least one if not multiple offers, with possibly pre inspections completed.  Our realtors told us to trust them, hold on for the ride, and it would be over before we knew it. 

Monday the kids and I got up and headed over to drop Stella off with the dog walker we then went and spent a few hours walking around the zoo.  We saw Olivia the giraffe who was due with her baby any day (she had him or her on Wednesday), the baby jaguar cubs, the elephants, gorillas, lions, hippos, zebras and a few other animals before it was time to head over to a bench for a picnic lunch, then it was back to the car for a nap!

We got home and we were still kicked out of the house so we went over to the park and played around with the neighbor boys for a few hours.  Yes, you read that right hours, this inspection was 4 and a half hours.  It was the start of me being super annoyed with this potential buyer.  We got home to the house at 5:30 and we were all exhausted.  A quick dinner and bath and we all crawled into bed.

Tuesday we were able to be at home almost the whole day.  It was amazing, we played, read books, ate at home, did everything normal that doesn’t feel great until you haven’t had it for a few days.  We then made a trip to Whole Foods and Petco to check out the animals.  The kids were so excited and a very nice guy working took out a ferret and guinea pig for them to pet.  Thomas liked the ferrets, lizards and fish; Elin liked the fish and birds.  We then grabbed our groceries and headed home to pick up Stella before the next inspection and showing.  A trip and picnic at the park and we were able to come home for books and bedtime.

Wednesday was another long day out of the house, but knowing that at 4:30 we were looking at offers and that Mike was coming home was very helpful.  Stella was again with the dog walker which helped free up my stress load.  The kids and I started the day off with a walk to the park and coffee shop with Whitney, Dahlia and Reier.  We then tried to go swimming at Whitney’s parents place but the pool was closed so it was time to head home…somehow we made it to 3:30 and through the home mess insanity.  If you talked to me on any of these days you will know it was overwhelming, exhausting and I had to do everything in my power to not loose my noodles.  I was so so glad to have these 5 days of mass chaos over. 

The babysitter came and I was off to the realtors office to review offers. That is right, review offers.  Mike was flying back from MN so we conferenced him and as the realtors presented each of the 4 offers we had on the house, their was a 5th offer that also had a pre inspection that backed out at the last minute.  Their were 2 main contenders and the offer we decided to take was free of contingencies as the woman had already done an inspection and sewer scope (and waved any fixes from us), lots of money to put down and a hefty chunk for earnest money.  Mike and I were ecstatic to get such a solid, free from worry offer, better yet it was above our listing price.  We also will close on selling the house on September 10th and have free rent back until the 25th so we have a little window of time to get our chaos out of the house and on our way to Texas.  While I was signing papers our babysitter had the kiddos painting up the sidewalk and doing some carefree play, I am so so sad to be moving from this babysitter, she has been amazing for us!

It was the little house that could and she sure did!   Mike and I are still trying to wrap our heads around the furry that was selling our house in this market and neighborhood, it was I am sure a once in a lifetime thing.  We will forever be grateful for what this house was able to accomplish for us in 2 short years, if you need a reminder where we started with her at you can click here.  From walking into the house and realizing all the work we had to do, to changing the home little by little and then selling it with offers competing this house has been very very good to us. 

Time to catch up on this thing…

It seems like I blinked and life changed and we got busy, really stinkin’ busy.   We are not a little in between and I am going to get this updated before I start forgetting everything!

Just a quick heads up that I will be posting stuff and will change the dates on everything so you will need to go below this post to see it. 

House is on the market…

…and we sort of were kicked out!  Right now Seattle has a very hot real estate market.  Houses go on the market and typically fly off just as quickly as they go on.  We put our house on the market on Friday morning and by Friday night we had already had 14 realtors through the place. 

Our realtors said the best case scenario for them was for us to pack up and leave for the weekend. We thought about it but decided that it would be best for all of us, especially the kitties, if we returned home to some normalcy each night. 

So Saturday morning we packed ourselves up and headed out of town.  After a quick stop for some breakfast we headed East towards the mountains.  About an hour and a half into our trek we pulled off for a hike. 

Thomas and Stella loved running on the trails and expending their energy.  Elin “hiked” for a little bit the whole while singing “hikin’ hikin’” and then rode happily in the back pack. 

On our way back Thomas spotted a giant slug and we were all checking it out when I got stung by a hornet on my finger.  As I am telling Mike to get the kids and go, he was telling me “it was probably a black fly and I was over reacting” and I got stung a 2nd time on the back of my knee.  By then we are all away and trying to get the stingers out.  Boo hiss, those hurt, but I am glad it was me and not the kids or Mike who is allergic. 

After that excitement we were back on the way up to Crystal Mountain.  When we arrived we noticed it was the Brew Tour and thanks to weird Washington Laws we were not able to play along with the kids there.  We instead took the gondola up to the top of the mountain where we had a nice lunch, took in the amazing view and then headed back down the mountain. 

It was nice to end a long day away from home and after closing up shop we all enjoyed a good nights sleep.  Our realtors were very happy with the open houses and said they went through 60 fliers, nuts. 

Sunday we were back up and needed to be out of our house by 9 a.m.  At 8:58 people had already pulled up to come in the house and we were off to breakfast.  We then headed over to Kelsey Creek Farm to see the farm animals and get away.  Elin loved seeing the cows and happily “moo-ed” at them.  Thomas’ favorite was driving the Johne Deere Tractor.  After our fill of animals and the play ground we headed to grab lunch and pick up something at Mike’s office.  After some fun at Daddy’s office playing on the white board, Elin and Thomas playing with the strings of bead and me “pretending to be Mike working” we took off for our daily nap drive.  Both kids fell asleep so Mike and I drove the city for 2 hours waiting for nap time to be over.  We then went to the wading pool and we had passed our 2nd 8 hour day away from home!

It was hard to be away from home and the kids were very displeased with their car seats after 2 full days in and out.  Every time we tried to put Elin in she would scream “no no noooo.”  Our realtors felt very encouraged about the 2 days of showings and we were hopeful that they days would set us up in the right direction.  Stay tuned…