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Summer Fun

Time for a recap of what our summer has been like so far.  We’ve gone to Steamboat Springs, a soccer tournament which Luke played at, spent time at the splash park and…well moved!  Here are some pics of our summer activities.

Home Sweet New Home!

Wow, talk about some crazy days!!  It’s been a whirlwind here since Thursday when the movers came to load the truck.  Friday was the last day of our lease and closing day on our new house.  We’re fortunate to have closed on time (actually it was an hour late).  Our builder was suppose to close on two other houses on Friday as well, but because of changes in the lending world those were pushed to Monday.  We on the other hand had to close on Friday because it was the end of our lease.

So we made it home!!  It was a little bumpy at times, but we’re finally here.  Boxes still linger in the house but I have the kitchen, living room, mudroom and Izzy’s room completely unpacked which feels good.  Now it’s the little stuff around the house like bathrooms and the guest bedroom that need to get unpacked.  It will feel so good when the boxes are gone and I get to put the finishing touches on our new home.

We are so excited to be in our new home.  It’s a little surreal since we’ve walked through the house so many times and now that it’s actually ours it’s a little hard to believe.  I’m sure reality will hit once I get that first mortgage statement!  Pictures to come later…

Rush to the Finish!

Our final walk through was today.  Nothing new or major was really uncovered, besides our dark purple front door…which will be replaced shortly after we move in.  We are so happy with how everything turned out, and even more excited to move in on Friday!

Closing on a house is always stressful.  You’re writing the biggest check in your life, making the biggest purchase and getting in debt for 30 some odd years.  Nerve wrecking!  This week already feels crazy.  On my list of things to do is: finish packing, drop Samson at the kennel, chase Izzy, find mirrors for new house, make a bank run for our closing check, move out, clean our rental, and move in!  Whew…it’s going to be busy.

Izzy’s not really helping my packing process right now.  She’ll “help” by taking out things that I’ve already put  in boxes and has now started to climb on top of my stacks of boxes.  I think she likes the view from way up high.  I’ll have to post pictures later.

One Week

Our closing is scheduled for exactly one week from now!  We’re packing at night after Izzy goes to bed and have made quite a bit of progress.  Our movers are scheduled to come load us on Thursday, then our stuff goes into storage for one night and then we move in on Friday morning.  Our final walk-through is on Tuesday morning.  If there isn’t anything major that we find we may be able to close a little earlier, which would be awesome.

I’m still waiting for HOA approval to install landscaping and fencing, so hopefully that will come through soon so that we can get the outside of the property done and keep Samson from getting muddy.  The last time we were in our house the carpets were getting installed and touchups were being done.  Here are some pictures from our last visit.

Steamboat Springs

We’re back from our week long summer vacation. Actually we’ve been back for a few days now, I’m just getting around to posting pictures and doing a blog post. We left Fort Collins last Thursday and drove through Rocky Mountain National Park to get to Steamboat Springs. Rocky Mountain National Park was so beautiful and full of wildlife. We saw a whole herd of deer and two moose drinking from a stream. The road we were on took us above tree line to about 11,000 feet in elevation. The mountains were so amazing!

In Steamboat Springs it rained almost everyday we were there. But we did get a chance to do a couple things. Unfortunately it was the beginning of the summer season so not everything was up and running yet, plus it was a little difficult to do things like white water rafting or biking with Izzy along. So we stuck to the easy relaxing things.

There is a waterfall just a short walk from Steamboat that was one highlight from our trip. Another highlight was Strawberry Springs which is a set of natural pools feed by a hot spring. The drive there was nail biting (through steep, dirt roads) but it was worth it. The scenery was breathtaking and definitely a relaxing atmosphere. We also went to the local hot springs complex, which is more like a man made pool but Izzy had fun there.

Here are some pictures from our trip. Click here to view the entire photo album.

Why We Love Colorado

Today we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park on the way to Steamboat Springs and were in awe at the beauty of God’s creation.  More pictures to come after we get back. 

   

Storm Before the Calm?

Why is it that things always get crazy before we go on vacation?  Pre-Izzy, we would have to wrap up client work or hand things over to other people to go on vacation, so I thought this time around it wouldn’t be as crazy since we no longer have clients.  That has not been the case today.  

We’re leaving for Steamboat Springs tomorrow and for the past couple days I’ve been dealing with issues on our house and trying to submit things to our new HOA for approval.  All things that I would have done months ago had I known that this was the process that needed to be followed.  Because we’re going to be gone until the 10th and we close on the 19th, we’ve felt the added pressure to get everything done before we leave for our vacation.  However, it’s now near the end of the day and nothing has been submitted and only some of the issues have been resolved.  

I hate feeling this disorganized even though I know it’s not my fault for not knowing what needed to be done.  This evening my goals are to pack our suitcases and clean the house so that it can be shown while we’re gone.  Other than that, I guess I’m bringing everything for our house with me on vacation so that I can submit items as I get everything together.

Observations

I am sitting at the Fort Collins mall on a rainy summer day. It’s a sad little mall that really needs to be torn down or remodled. But since school is out and it’s raining it is “the place to be”. There has been a line of at least 20 people at the Chick-Fil-A for the last 45 minutes. There is a table behind me that has 10 kids under the age of 5 and two women. I think they’re crazy!

The indoor play area was crazy packed with kids and parents sitting off to the side. I don’t think they are watching their kids. I can tell that some parents wish their kids were still in school. They are doing their best to try to keep their kids occupied. That will be me one day.

It’s time to find someplace else to go that isn’t as crazy!!

Annoyed

Before Izzy arrived I was a project manager dealing with all things web. I loved what I did. I built relationships with our clients, created estimates, scheduled projects, built budgets, wrote specification documents, managed a specific project process and handled any issues that would come up during the project. We realized that great customer service was the key to keeping our customers. So during every project we tried our best to find solutions to any issue that presented itself, to make our clients happy, to keep the project budget under control and to keep the project on schedule or faster.

I am annoyed because a lot of companies don’t realize that great customer service is the key for happy clients. Because I was a project manager, I’m probably one of the worst people to work for because I keep record of everything that I request and any agreements that are made. I also expect the level of customer service that I gave to my clients. If I present an issue that was overlooked on their part, I expect that company to find a solution…period.

I’m annoyed because I hate a project that seems disorganized and lacks process and approvals. All of this annoyance is making me want to just take over and do things my way. But I’ll control my urge and try my best to be an understanding client. ARGH!!!!

Splash Park

All the splash parks and pools in Fort Collins opened up this past weekend. Since yesteray was nice I took Izzy to her favorite park which also has a splash pad.  She LOVED it!