Landing - for a time

Traded in the little white house for the little yellow and green one.

The past few weeks have been full of crazy.

It has been a slow process - we had to be out on the 6th of October.
And the family who's home we have moved into weren't completely
out the day we moved in so we all felt a bit on top of each other for awhile.
Luckily we all get along really well - especially the kids, so it is more funny

 than frustrating.

We were grateful for the help of church members the night we moved - we
couldn't have done it without them.

The unpacking has been slow as I injured what I thought was my shoulder moving heavy furniture
so many times in such a short period. It has made typing and writing an talking on the
phone a bit painful so please accept my apologies on not being better at staying in touch.
I saw an Orthopedic Surgeon last week who quickly figured out that the pain in my shoulder was actually my muscles compensating for a crushed disk in my upper back. 

I can't remember ever being in enough pain to nearly pass out -

until that Ortho pressed on my back then gave me a couple of cortisone shots.

Luckily, the home owner of the place we are renting is a Physical Therapist with his main office just up our street (yep, walking distance) and I am doing much better after many days of physical therapy (3 days a week!).  

Otherwise, we are settling in. The 3 boys are sharing a room and a bathroom. Tember has her own room (she will share it when grandma's and friends come to visit) and she shares a bathroom with Tom & I.

The home owner & his dad just finished building an office for Tom in the garage and we are, for the most part, amazed that we can fit in 1600 square feet. The back patio is still full of empty boxes we aren't sure what to do with and there is a small pile of boxes in the living room. Those will be unpacked as I figure out where to put pictures and when we get some book cases.

The house is in need of some paint and a few repairs and there is this little ant problem . . . but we are trying to take it all in stride and are incredible grateful for good renters of our own back in Salt Lake.

Below are a few pics of the home we left behind -
super groovy stove - that also included the ONLY outlet in the kitchen.

 and a totally retro oven - previous owner never used it - she stored newspapers in it (???)

The little too detailed mermaid on the tub/shower door we really don't miss.

along with the strange cabinets in the bathroom

Wednesday

Last week we realized it was time for us to make a decision and get out of this house.

We felt we had really looked at everything and the best option seemed to be the townhouse near the middle school Spencer attends.  We called the property manager and told him we were good to go and he got things going on his end. We offered to come meet him to sign a lease, give him applications, whatever he needed and he kept saying not to worry about it - he would get something to us the following weekend.

The townhouse would be nice. It would be much bigger than what we have now, it would be fine. There's a pool, a fitness center and it's a gated community full of expensive homes and a handfull of townhomes.
There was this funny little nag inside us - no yard, no kids in the community and it is pretty secluded from the rest of the area because it is flanked by busy roads and the water.  Our first few weeks here were so rough because we didn't have friends for the kids to play with yet - but we knew there were kids in this area so we had hung in there and sure enough, they are having so much fun now! Oh well, we will just have to drive them a lot or hope more kids move in over there.

A few days later our realtor (who is also a friend and neighbor) called.  There was this house that belongs to some friends of his that was coming up for rent. His friends had offered to buy another home in their same neighborhood last year and their offer had been turned down. That same home had just been put back up on the market at the price they offered last year and word had been put out that they were hoping this friend of our realtor would offer again.

The house they are buying is gorgeous - and the price was right, but they weren't comfortable making the offer unless their current home was taken care of - rented or sold.  That's where we came in.
We went through the home.
It's not big.
It's not fancy.
It has 3 bedrooms (big ones)
It has 2 Full bathrooms
It has a backyard - complete with trampoline, hammock, skate ramp, swing set & patio.

The kitchen is tiny
There's no office

And our first thought was:


no


Spencer and Tember didn't want to share a room any more.
It is not much bigger than the place we are trying to get out of.

It's in a different ward (different congregation for church)

But it had tons of kids, including their 5 who would still be living in the neighborhood (they are also Mormons).

We offered a prayer before bed with the kids and again before we turned in that night, we decided to stick with the townhouse.

I didn't sleep most of the night. I woke up the next morning with a pit in my stomach.

We had made the wrong choice.

I called Tom at work and asked him if he was sure about the townhouse. 
An hour later he called me back - he had come to the same conclusion I had -
the house was a better option for us. The kids will be happier and we will just have to
find a way to fit.

The owners of the house called us - in the middle of the night the husband had an idea - he could wall off part of the garage to make Tom an office. They have a wall unit to keep it cool and he would have more room than he has right now.

We went back that night and walked through it again.

After we left, September said to Tom - "Dad, I think we are supposed to move there"

We did too.

I slept that night.  So did Tom.

Their offer got accepted in a matter of hours the next morning.

They have been moving out all weekend - into an 800 square foot home owned by her parents until their new home closes.
Their home will go on the market next spring when we put our home in SLC up for sale again.
We can stay as long or as short as we like.
The property manager of the townhouse said we were free to go since he never got us anything to sign.
It is only a few blocks from the water, an amazing park and it is just across the river from the neighborhood we are currently in.
It is full of that funny old house charm.
It is closer to the beach.
They are happy to let us have chickens, a garden and even bees if we like.


It has a dishwasher (not me!)
Central A/C
She is leaving her dryer! (no more laundromat for me!)
and a full sized fridge
and they are leaving the ping pong table until they move into their new home =)


Funny how simple we really are.

We move on Wednesday.

Stay tuned for pictures. . . .

One week

Tuesday started bright and early - as it should!
Theo turned 6! And who would want to miss a minute of that day?
Grandma Debbie & Grandpa Steve called all the way from Egypt before
the kids got off to school with birthday wishes.

It was also International Day of Peace - and Wakeland Elementary celebrated with a program where the kids got to donate pennies to “Pennies for Peace”, sing a Peace song and have the schoolwide picture taken on the grass. They lined the kids up in the shape of a dove and the photographer stood on a ladder on the top of the school to get the shot. Should be fun to see the results.

After school was filled with birthday calls from family and friends, lots of birthday cards and fun. We ended the night with cake and ice cream with some new friends down the street.

Because it was a school night we put off miniature golf for a night (Wednesday is early out day here). The mini-golf facility is decked out as a pirates cove - complete with live allegators!

 

Check out the footage of the kids feeding the baby allegators and the Birthday Boogie Man!

Wednesday we met some of our new neighborhood friends at the park to discuss a possible camping trip for the weekend. (Camping!!)
At first we couldn’t figure out where one would camp in this area - but we were soon educated.
You camp at the beach!

While we were at the park figuring out menus and such the kids ran and played with a big group of kids from the area.  They ran and played and suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw this:

Check out that smile! And he is giving his friend Emma a ride as well!

BEN RODE A BIKE!!! Why we didn’t think to put him on an old man’s bike I don’t know!! He rode and he rode and he rode - he pumped kids around and around! Needless to say - we are on a search for a 3 wheeled bike for him!

Thursday, Theo got to go have lunch at the Pittsburg Pirates training facility across the street from their school because he had been chosen as the kindergarten Student of the Month!

Spencer spent the week trying out for yearbook comittee at the middle school - going an hour early each day to design a cover that would be judged at the end of two weeks deciding who would get to stay on the comittee.
Unfortunately, the teacher didn’t feel he had all the skills necessary but  encouraged him to try out next year after he had a chance to take a graphic art class. He was a little disappointed but thought the class was a good idea.

We found a good swim team, but it is a bit of a drive. We are still trying to work out how to get him there. But we are still trying to work out a bunch of things so we will add that to the list.

It was so different from the camping we have done up north!
First of all you bring a fan, and extension cords because the campsites have power! (keep in mind it doesn’t get much below 75 degrees here at night - nothing like the near freezing temps we were used to in the dead of summer in the mountains)

The campsites were full of Christmas lights at night -
strung up between palm trees on the beach campsites. Totally magical!

Since we arrived after dark on Friday night, Saturday morning brought such a surprise - we were camping in a jungle!
Theo learned to swing on the palm fronds like Tarzan and September
spent the morning swimming with a few Manatees!
Unfortunately, our camera ran out of battery - the heat zapped it in the car the night before and
we didn't have the charger, but we have been promised pics from our fellow campers and when we get them I will post all I can.
Tom took Spencer and Theo to meet a group from church to go fishing on the south fishing pier before he went into work for a few hours.
Ben spent most of his time fishing with the boys and doing everything he could to get ahold of the 3-wheeled bike that belongs to one of the older boys. We had to RUN after him several times to bring him back when the owner of the bike decided he wanted to ride it!




Monday Ben and mom spent the day at All Children's Hospital in St Pete.  Unfortunately, Ben's heart function has dropped and he is being referred to the cardio myopathy clinic in November. We have several more appointments ahead of us in the coming weeks.  For news on Ben's health we update
www.caringbridge.org/benjaminswapp  - please feel free to check that out any time if you are interested.


Tonight we are hoping to get to the beach (tropical storm in the gulf = good waves) and make a decision on moving. We have a townhouse we are scheduled to move into next Wednesday - it is nice, and big and new with a pool out back and within walking distance to the Spencer's school. But there are very few kids in this community, it is gated and it includes some very exclusive million dollar homes. The townhouse has a private elevator (the only way we would do it with Ben) and a good sized garage for storage. It even has an office. But we are concerned about the lack of children in the community and hopeful that they will be tolerant of the noise and activity that comes with our family.

Out of the blue, this weekend, a family in the neighborhood across the river from us found out the house they have been trying to buy for years now has come down to their price.  It is in their same neighborhood and they have offered us their current home for rent for as long as we need it.
It is small - 1600-1700 sq feet. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a backyard full of toys. It is a neighborhood full of kids - including their 5. The price is right, they are willing to move out next week and are also willing to enclose the garage so Tom can have an office.
We have to make a decision tonight -
As a side note, I got a call from a woman whose husband is being transferred here from Birmingham, AL. They are also Mormon's (we have a mutual friend) They have 3 kids and have been looking for  a 4 bedroom home for weeks now and are so frustrated - we talked for almost an hour about this crazy market and all the messes that are out here. It was so nice to hear someone else going through the same thing - although we are sorry someone else is feeling our pain. I was able to give her some leads and hopefully they will be here soon so we can get to know each other.

Wish us luck - better yet, offer a prayer. We are a bit tender in light of the new information on Ben's condition and we need to get out of this house next week.

Welcome to Fraudula

After Dr Choo we saw a place on craigslist - decent price for a 3 bedroom with a den in a much talked about master planned community out East of the highway.

A phone call and I was on my way to see it - Tom stayed back to work and wait for the kids to get off the bus.
Many of these communities are gated and this one as no exception. The guards seemed nice enough and the drive in to the property was beautiful - lots of water, trees, green grass. At a roundabout before the I got to the property there was a fabulous swimming pool and playground. They were similar to the county parks and pools in other places we have lived - complete with fixtures that spray water, slides and lots of new shiny equipment - the kids would LOVE this.

The house is one of the last ones on a loop not far from the pool area.  The realtor is waiting in his car in the driveway. When I get out of the car he rolls down the window and with his cell phone in one hand he says
"It's open - go in and tell me how much you love it! I have to make a few calls!" and quickly rolls up his window.
Weird

I opened the door and saw what seemed like a sea of shiny marble floors, marble pillars and hardwood. The house feels really big and the yard is the biggest one in the neighborhood . . the price they are asking for it is too low for something this big. Something just isn't right.
The house is full of glass - lots of windows and even 2 of the interior walls are glass

you can't see it really well but this entire room is walled in glass

It would certainly be big enough for us and the kids would love the community amenities. The yard care is included in the cost of the rent - it is the cheapest thing we've seen in here by a few hundred dollars a month - something just doesn't add up.
Before I left I gave Tom the address of the property. He looked it up - sure enough the property is in foreclosure - no payments since November of last year.
The realtor walks in just about then -
You love it - don't you!
hmmm. . .
I ask him about the foreclosure proceedings.
Oh yes, the owner wants to be very upfront about that, and we would give you plenty of notice before we show it if it goes to short sale or if you have to vacate the premises.
(seriously?)
This home is owned by Dr ***** he's a friend of mine - gave me a cortizone shot 2 weeks ago! Don't you just love this place?
(Funny, that's not the name on the county tax records or the foreclosure docs we saw online . . )

Yes it certainly is nice - plenty of room. The central vac is nice and the landscaping is beautiful. I ask him a few questions about the HOA rules -
Aww, my policy is don't ask, if its a problem the owner will get a notice from the association and he'll  tell you not to do it anymore. No trampoline though, against renters insurance.
Interesting he's worried more about renters insurance than the fact that he is showing a foreclosing home.
I continue to press about the foreclosure situation.
I manage over 100 properties and over 20 of those owners have been in foreclosure for the past 2 years. They haven't paid a dime to the banks but have been renting them out and pocketing the money for 2 years now! What a deal huh? Banks have lost the paperwork so these people are making out like bandits! Haven't dealt with this bank though, I have no idea how long it will take them. I think you'll be fine for a few months though . . 
This guy is amazing
Hopefully you are picturing him right now - Hawaiian shirt open at the top to reveal a hairy chest and a big chunky gold chain with a cross.  Perfectly coiffed hair and a tan - the only thing this slick willy is missing is that sound you hear on a commercial when the slick spokesperson smiles into the camera and it catches the light just right.
He hands me an application - the home can be ours in a blink
Fabulous! I should introduce him to Dr Choo . . .

Comic Relief

3 houses yesterday -
1st one- 9am, 4 bedroom town house, community pool, lots of stairs but would work and they will take a 9 month lease instead of a year if we want. Keeps us in the same area of town basically, no yard though. Definitely a possibility.

Quick trip out east to meet a Steve from the Dam Ranch - he raises cows, chickens and pigs on pasture and runs a co-op. You pay a small deposit to partially own one or more of the animals, then when they are ready to be taken to the butcher you get whatever part of the animal you pay for (1/8th, 1/4th, etc) we did this in Utah and loved it - best meat we ever had. (Christiansen Hog Heaven if you are interested)
He also sells eggs by the dozen from cage free, free-range chickens - it was a delight to hold a hen again!
He can hardly wait to meet the kids and mentioned there was a rental on 10 acres he heard about on the way back to town.

Cool

On the way back to the kids school I find it - call and sure enough - its available.
80+ year old man from Taiwan owns it -
4 bedroom

you have horse?

no but we would love to raise chickens

how many?

maybe a dozen?
a dozen? on 10 acres you could have 100! 
You have husband?
Yes
He handy?
very
Oh good - he fix up my barn, you have horse! Won't have to mow 10 acres!
*laugh* maybe someday.
You want to see it?   
Yes, of course

Okay, I call you back

Ran to the school to help and have lunch with the kids, in a 20 minute time period while I was

in the library (oh sorry, center of inquiry) he called 3 times:

Sherri?
1 -Dis is Dr Choo - you want to see da house? 2 o'clock okay? You call me back?
2-Sherri?
Dis is Dr Choo - 2 o'clock I come to da house. You have chickens, pigs, what ever you want. Call me.
3-Dis is Dr Choo . . . ;you get there 1st you wait, I get there 1st I wait for you!

We met him at 2
He opened the gate
We followed him down the driveway (he signaled when he turned to park!)
The 10 acres was freshly mowed, stunning - beautiful horses in the property next door (I own, they pay $2200/month to live there and keep 6 horses, ) looked like a nice place next door - hopefully this one will be too.
We spent the next few minutes looking for the key - supposed to be left under the mat by the other renter who mows the lawn and cares for the pool.
No key
There's a window that is unlocked - Okay Tom you can go in that way

Tom hops through the window and unlocks the door
Strange - there is newspaper all over the counters - and Dr Choo casually begins to tuck his slacks into his socks as he invites us to go look around. Old renters said there was a flea problem . . he says casually.
(WHAT?)
We walk through a very small family room and down the hall, check out the old yellow bathroom and begin to feel a strangely painful sensation on our ankles and feet - 
by the time we get back to the kitchen our feet are covered in FLEAS!
You Like?
Um, no - these are kind of a problem
Oh no! Fleas no problem! I have Borac Acid! I spray - they no problem! I use to own hotel, had lots of fleas, we use Borac Acid - they all gone. I still have 1/2 a bottle!
I call right now and we can spray today!  He spends the next several minutes leaving multiple messages for his renter that cares for the place - repeatedly telling him to come and spray borac acid and kill the fleas. He doesn't want kids to get bit by fleas. (what a nice guy)
We're going to go look at the yard . . .   
As soon as we get outside we are stamping our feet, cleaning off our shoes and trying to figure out how to get out of this place as fast as we can.
You think about it - I will spray tonight - you bring kids back tomorrow - you see, no fleas!
I make you great deal! I never met someone from Utah before! The bank says I in foreclosure, but I pay them the money, I don't want to lose this place. I retired Dr, came from Taiwan in '54. Fleas, no problem.
   My phone rings as we are driving home - Sheri? Dis is Dr Choo! My wife bring borac acid to me now, we spray tonight - you come back tomorrow with kids. It be no problem! I never met someone from Utah - I make you great deal! You have 100 chickens, pigs, cows, bees - whatever you want!!

Oh man - gotta love this world we're living in - the Lord certainly MUST have a sense of humor.
  Just wait 'till you see what I saw next.
  

Crossing Over

Not much to report on the housing front - the home in the country turned out to be a big foreclosure mess - owner not having paid a dime on the place since last year and is now divorced and leaving the country with foreclosure proceedings started. Its hard to imagine being that desperate - these people take your deposit, your rental payments go straight to him and one day there's a knock on the door from the sheriff informing you that you have 48 hours to get out because the bank now owns the home.
Your deposits gone, you no longer have a lease and you are out . . . 
FUN? not really
The sad part is the realtors turn a blind eye to it - they just list and market and don't check things out.
Luckily our realtor has shown us how to look the properties up so we don't get caught in a mess like that.
So, we are still looking . . . and looking and looking . . .

That hasn't stopped the rest of life from moving forward - last night, Spencer finally received his arrow of light - the highest award in cub scouting and the only badge that you can continue to wear throughout his scouting career.
Pretty cool!
The scout leader got to paint his face throughout the ceremony =)

not a great shot - but if you look closely you can see the arrow of light on his forehead,

 and paw on his cheek

 

after the arrow of light ceremony they did the cross over ceremony - although he has been in 11-year old scouts for 4 months now, it was so nice to have everything "official"

really, he was happy -

Spencer loved it - I know, hard to believe by the pictures, funny boy - he gets so nervous in front of people and cameras that he forgets to smile =)
They also made him a beautiful plaque - several people in the ward helped put it together - when we finally get the arrow on it I will post a picture, we are still waiting for that to come from his old leaders in UT.
September got to try out Girl Scouts last night as well and loved it - I don't know if we will commit to that as we are still working out Activity Day schedule, but it is nice to have a few things come together for the kids.
Gotta run - going to look at another house and track down a grass-fed farmer.
Looks like Tom is going to be working for both companies for a few more months - 2 here, 3 there (from home), that will be a blessing  to have him around. Nice to be in such demand!
I have some great beach pictures I will post later and hopefully some fun ones of our current neighborhood (think mayberry) and this fabulous place we are living in (bet you can't wait to see!)
until then
cheers!

A little sun . . a little rain . . .

There really isn't anything like living by the beach -
Labor Day weekend would have been much tougher if it weren't for the easy access to sun, water & sand.
We spent Saturday evening and all day Monday camped out at Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island.
Before we even set our towels down we met a great family on Saturday who had just moved here from Iowa - their 3 boys (ages 10-15) spent the bulk of the evening teaching our kids how to skim board and we discussed neighborhoods and housing issues in detail with a couple who really new what we are going through.

On a Sunday morning walk we saw the owner of the other home we had offered to lease and he backed out, he just wants us to buy it (which we can't until we sell our home in SLC).  Sunday was a tough one - that house was the one home we had walked into and instantly felt "at home" it really had felt like the right place for us and up until that day our exchanges with him and his realtor had gone well so we were knocked for a loop when he suddenly changed his mind. 

Luckily, Monday was Labor Day and a few families from church invited us to meet them at the beach.

We had so much fun that we didn't get many pictures - but Tom got a few shots of Theo on the skim board he picked up for the kids. The rest of the kids tried it a few times and opted for the boogie boards (good waves that day!) but Theo just kept at it - by the time we left he was better on the skim board than kids twice his age - its much tougher than it looks.  If you look closely you might catch the other kids in the background in the middle of chicken fights with a bunch of kids and dads from church as well.
It was a fun day - started out a bit grey and drizzly and ended up bright and sunny - we all have a bit of sunburn to show for it - we'll be better about reapplying sunscreen from now on.

The kids played so hard on Monday that Tuesday came a bit too early - Ben was so tired when he got out of the car that morning (missed the bus) that he fell and hit his head and knee in the parking lot.  We spent the next 20 minutes in the school clinic  - they have full-time nurses in the schools out here! Once they determined he didn't get a concussion and the knee was properly bandaged he was good to go and happy to have his wheel chair for the rest of the day.  

Spencer got to start scouts on Tuesday evening and they are planning to do his crossover ceremony next Tuesday - Spencer earned his arrow of light back in May and for a variety of unfortunate circumstances was never officially awarded it. Hopefully next week I can post pics of a happy boy finally getting it!

Tom is busily trying to figure out how to finish working for Ernst & Young so he can start his new job here - E&Y is trying hard to keep him on as long as possible so it will be interesting to see how and when all this gets resolved.

We've taken a few drives to different parts of the county as we have been looking for housing and unfortunately are more confused than we were when we started. However; the Lord puts good people into our lives on purpose and some much needed guidance was offered last night that turned the lights back on and restored our hope.  (Thanks Alli)
So with renewed faith we went back at it today - confident that the Lord above will guide and direct us and that we aren't amiss in waiting for the place that feels right, that works and is something we can be excited about.
In the mean time, we are fascinated by the amazing amounts of rain that comes out of the clouds here and we're meeting plenty of nice folks at the laundromat and in all sorts of neighborhoods as we search high and low for the right place to be.

its like a waterfall in the backyard

This is the front yard /moat - can you find the sidewalk?

We have a home to see tomorrow and another on Friday - hopefully one of them will work. 
Cheers & hugs -