Pushing Up Daisies

Pushing up daisies, kicked the bucket, bite the dust...or my favorite, BOUGHT THE FARM! Those all may be euphemisms for death, which may make this seem depressing, but we're far from depressed, or dead, here (so far)! We bought a farm! We kept it quiet for quite a while in the event that it fell through, but it's all out in the open now, so here's the official announcement in Blog Land.

The story leading up to it-
We (mostly I) had been searching craigslist and real estate listings daily since we had moved to Twin Falls in May. We went back and forth between land for sale listings and actual house listings, trying to get a grip on what was in the area. I had my schools in mind so that helped narrow the search, but we were constantly feeling frustrated and didn't really know which way to go. After our Texas adventure and that insane home revamp we had hopes of finding a few acres and building our next home. Land out here is somewhat scarce though, unless you're loaded! And Sandy really didn't want to commute from Nampa, where I was continually able to find some good listings! So we constantly reminded ourselves to be patient and eventually the right option would come along. I can't remember who ultimately found the listing but wayyyy back in August we found an existing home on 20 acres that had a barn and a shop. Since everything can be made to look good online we scheduled a viewing and ended up quite impressed with land but the home wasn't quite what we wanted. So we pressed onward, supposedly forgetting the listing. But neither of us did. It sat with both of us in the back of our minds for quite a while actually. Then, in October, Sandy brought it up and we decided to call the listing agent. As it turned out, someone had just put an offer on it. We both felt SICK! Here we thought it wasn't what we wanted yet all the while we couldn't forget it, so much so that we felt like it was something we had to do, and now it's gone! The offer fell through within the next day or two. We scheduled another viewing and both felt that this place was where we were supposed to be so we made an offer, played that game for a couple of days, and ended up with a house on 20 acres! Since the previous owners were remodeling the home they were moving to we weren't able to close until January; thankfully we had the holidays to keep us busy and make the time go faster.

Another existing home?-
We didn't think we'd go that route again. Sandy and I really enjoyed the feel of our home in Utah, having it the way we wanted, not to mention not having to deal with someone else's tastes and mess like we did in Texas. Revamping a home "can" be fun, for a while, and if you have the time for it. Sandy is not one of those people with time, though. Why, then, did we make this decision? Both of us grew up helping on the farm. We both have cherished memories of that (the good and the bad) and for several years have had this sort of dream that we could offer something similar for our children in hopes of creating similar memories with them, not to mention the responsibility that comes with such a dwelling and the freedom of letting them play outside with ample room to roam. When we looked at building a home, we knew it would be a while before we had a shop or a barn, if we could find the land for it and then if we got around to it at all! When we kept going back to the listing we had found, the barn was there, and practically new which made it all the better, and the shop was existing, too. It even had little bonuses like a riding arena, alfalfa field, and they were even including tractor implements (Sandy promptly got a tractor). Plus, the home is at the back of the property rather than up front like so many others, just what we had planned on doing ourselves, and in a school district I am happy with. Eli had to go through another first day of kindergarten; she's so brave! We kept her in her other school for a while to finish the semester, but she is almost done with her first week in her new class and is loving it!

The home itself-
After making such a big deal about the home not being what we wanted, I gotta say it's exactly what we needed. And, let me say, there is nothing wrong with it. It's only a few years old and thankfully, the only wallpaper is an American Flag border in the laundry room. The rest of the home is fairly neutral (with 2 exceptions to follow). The previous owner didn't have animals in the house, nor did she smoke, and to top it off, kept the home really clean! Eventually, like in a few years, Sandy and I will end up doing some updating, but for now there's been minimal things to be done to make it feel like ours. I'm in love with the kitchen! I've lived in a lot of different spaces and dealt with a lot of different kitchens; this one is AMAZINGLY functional! There are so many large windows in the home you can't help but feel happy when walking around. The girls run through the house and spend so much time playing; they immediately felt right at home. When we were moving Livi would actually throw a fit whenever we had to go back to our "old" house. So, no regrets. We. Are. LOVING IT! Moving has been a great way to start out the year-spring cleaning early! It's been a long time coming, but after 5 years we are unpacking...NO MORE BOXES!!! And just in time for this new March arrival, too! So it looks like the Lilyas may actually be in one place for a while-the plan is a LONG time, no more job changes and the way things are looking, no transfers either! It took us a while to get here but it's SO nice feeling like we're finally home.

As I eluded earlier, there are 2 rooms that needed some immediate attention; here is a before/after picture of the girls' bathroom downstairs. It was a dark, scary green that should never have been, now it's a happy bathroom (still in need of some new flooring, fixtures and a new vanity to suit my taste, but it will do for now)!


The other room will remain a mystery to some of you until its completion (unless you come see us)!

Here are a couple of pictures of the outside; these were taken when we first found it so it's all green and pretty, not wintery and muddy looking like it is right now, haha!