So, Covid is THE WORST!!!! I know.. I know... you've heard that before, but it really has messed up almost everything. Not the least of which is that we couldn't attend Reagan's volleyball games. They would only allow one parents from each team to attend the tournaments. That parent would have to live stream the games and we would watch from home. We would try to follow what was happening, but it was tough. We tried to screen mirror our phones to our televisions. That gave us a bigger screen, but not necessarily a better view. Ugh!!!!!
Anyway, finally, we were able to attend one of Reagan's games and it was only two people per player who were allowed to go. Sorry Cole! Steve and I headed to watch her. First the team warmed up. They did drills, practiced serving and hit in lines.
There are clearly some girls on this team that have played for years. They are really good and will seriously benefit our team. I hope Reagan will learn from them and improve her skills as well.
I had to laugh ... because of covid, the teams are no longer allowed to walk by each other and slap hands. They each go to the serving line of their side of the court and the line up and wave to the other team. What a joke! Two minutes after this distanced wave, they were inches away from each other at the net, sweating on each other, touching a ball and sending it over to the other side of the net for the other team to touch the ball, etc. They should dispense with the virtue signaling and let the girls slap hands to say "good luck or good game". Oh well.
Reagan is clearly in her element. She was having so much fun! They won their game and Reagan's skills have really improved, but she needs to keep working to get better.
We loved finally being able to watch her in person although she said it made her a bit nervous to have us there. What?!? We are your best and finest cheerleaders Reagan!
Reagan had a few hits and a couple of blocks. We'll take it!
Reagan loved to play and we loved to watch her love to play! She is representing her school, has made new friends on the team and is enjoying this team and this sport so very much.
Cole was invited by Chris Etherington to go with he and his son Ryan (who is Cole's age) to cheer on some of the other boys in the ward at their football games. How sweet! Shannon and Benton called and were headed out of town, but had Cole's birthday gift for him and knew he would want to use it right away (a month early). They actually went to the game and met Cole in the parking lot and gave him the gift. It was biking glasses. So cool!!!!
After that, Cole headed with Reagan and some boys from the ward to the HOA pool. It's SO cool to have an HOA pool that we can use anytime. Also, there is a basketball court and tennis courts as well as picnic tables and a barbecue area.
Then, we headed up to the Kearl's cabin. It's always so much fun there. We love hanging with them. Plus, it was nice to be out of the heat and to be in the cool, mountain air.
The kiddos shot the bb guns and made s'mores.
They even got into the freezing cold stream. Whoa!
We will miss being able to carpool with our friends each day, but Cole still goes to APA, so, we will see them at the bus stop and school activities. Yay!
The kiddos have SO much fun up here. They play and hike and shoot and swim and play games. We love to chat with our friends and to enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery.
Now that we live only a few minutes from the Draper Skate Park, Cole is in heaven. The Cycle Park is even closer. He brought his scooter and tried some new jumps and tricks.
There weren't as many kids here this time. That's fine with me. It was like a traffic jam here that one time. I'm glad for Cole to have some room to try things and not worry about smashing into someone.
Today was actually our anniversary, but we have been so busy running around that it was lovely to just relax and spend time with Reagan and Cole. Steve actually turned to me that night and said "But... I didn't get you an anniversary gift." I threw my arms in the air and said "Are you kidding me? I'm in BLISS!!!! I LOVE this house and I LOVE you!"
We had a play that Saturday and were excited to see our friends, the Shapiro's. It was Mary Poppins this time and HCT did a fantastic job with this play.
After the play, we picked up food and headed to our new home to give the Shapiro's a tour and to enjoy hanging out with them.
One of the things we most love about this house is the ability to entertain. Our old house wasn't set up very well for entertaining and it was somewhat old - thus our desire to remodel or to rebuild. This house is amazing for entertaining and we are so glad to have our favorite Shapiros here with us.
We ate out on the deck and had a lovely chat. It was a beautiful night.
The kiddos hung out on the playground equipment.
We sat outside and talked until it was dark. We have a great view (well, nothing like our old home) and we loved sitting in these comfy chairs (that we were given the opportunity to re-purchase... ugh) and enjoyed being with our friends.
Right after I dropped Reagan off for her first day of high school, I returned home to pick up Steve and we left Amber to continue packing while we headed to the closing. We prayed everything would go well.
We met Yvette Wilkes for the first time - we had only ever met Dave Wilkes. She was nice. We were in separate rooms and apparently they signed their papers and we signed ours. They stopped into our room to say hello and then they were on their way. Linda Secrist, the realtor, had gift baskets of bread and jam and cookies for each of us. We SO appreciate everything she did to make this work.
The plan was that we would meet Dave Wilkes after the closing to get the keys and to do a final walkthrough. We were so excited after the closing that we headed straight to the house. He was running late. Ugh! We waited in the driveway and were anticipating what it would be like to actually live in this beautiful home. Eventually, Dave showed up and let us in. We walked throughout the house, taking pictures and ensuring everything that should be there was actually there. We paid Dave the $11,000 and he happily went on his way. (The backstory on this is that we had driven by the house every day... sometimes multiple times a day. We noticed a couple of days before the closing that the front patio furniture and the back deck patio furniture was gone. We called the realtor who called Dave Wilkes and he said, in essence, that since we didn't pay full price for the home, we didn't get all of the furniture in the home. I was livid! I was seriously ready to sue. The contract said all furnishings inside and outside except for the list he gave us. Those were NOT on the list. Steve, though, reminded me that we would have paid more for the house and that it is better to stay friends. So, we offered to "buy" the furniture that I considered we had already bought. He also offered the two vacuums and the rags that the cleaning ladies use and some other household items. The total came to $11,000. I was bothered, but deferred to Steve who thought it was fine. We told Dave to put the furniture items back in the garage and we would move them to their locations. He had them there by the closing date.) We really needed that front and back patio furniture because the new patio furniture we ordered on August 21st from Leisure Living may not arrive before winter. Ugh!
Not long after Dave left, Amber and the moving truck appeared. We started showing the movers where to put things and it turned into a busy day. We ordered Jimmy Johns for the movers and they unloaded and put everything where we needed it. Except for our bedroom furniture from the old house. We brought the master bedroom set from the old house. We wanted it in the 3rd floor bedroom, but the movers didn't think the mule chest would make it up the stairwell (especially the corner in the stairwell). Steve agreed to assume responsibility for any damage done and encouraged them to try. They tried and they succeeded. The mule chest made it up the stairs. (It may never leave that room...... ever!)
It came time for Reagan to be done with her first day of school. Our sweet neighbor, Jazmine, agreed to bring her home. Reagan literally left one house in the morning and returned to another house that night. Reagan gave Jazzie a tour of the house and we continued with the movers. Then, it was time for Cole to come home from school. Our friend, Brenda, brought him home. We gave her family a tour of the new house and continued with the movers. Our friend, Jennifer Davis, came to help unpack boxes and our cleaning lady, Maria, came to wipe down cabinets and drawers. Our friend, Kathy Bowman, came to unpack boxes as well. Amber was our supervisor and decided most of the locations for things in the kitchen and storage areas. We were so grateful for the help.
At one point, I needed to move my car, so, I drove up the street and parked. As I was walking back, there was a man standing outside of the house across the street from us. I walked up and asked if he lived there. He did. I introduced myself. His name was KC Tubbs. We chatted for a few minutes and then I needed to get back inside. I encouraged him to come over and meet Steve. He said he would. About 20 minutes later, he was at the door. He said his wife would be upset if he came emptyhanded, so, he grabbed a box of his favorite popcicles and brought them over. So fun! Later in the day, his wife came over. I recognized her from the gym. Love it! Still later that day, the Bishop and his wife came over. It was so fun to meet them. He immediately transferred our records from our old ward to our new ward. Wow! We also met the Etheringtons although it was later that night and I was actually up in the 3rd floor room talking to Amber who was exhausted. I had no idea we had company and so I didn't get to meet them, but Steve did. Later that night, Steve and I were locking up the cars outside when KC went walking by again. He was headed to play pickle ball with a neighbor. He asked "Don't you have a daughter going to Corner Canyon?" We did! He picked up his phone, called his daughter Janie and said "Janie - you're going to drive the new neighbor girl to school." I jumped in and said "Ugh - Janie ... WOULD you drive the new neighbor girl to school?" I commented about seniors having a reputation to uphold and how driving a freshman could damage her rep. He laughed and said the bus comes SO early here that it would be horrible for her to take the bus. Plus, he said it was his car that Janie drives and that she would do it without any concern. Reagan thought it was a bit weird to be driving with a complete stranger to school, but Janie ended up being a sweet friend to Reagan.
Amber started unloading stuff and had Reagan's closet pretty much decked out by the time she left to go back home to Manti. Way to go Amber!
That first night in our new home was wonderful. It seemed unreal that we could actually be there. The fact that 17 days ago, we saw this house for the first time and now we are here was incredible. We feel so lucky and blessed to be able to be in this house and to have found our dream home that we didn't even know existed.
It seems incredible, but Reagan is in high school!!!!! She is beautiful and couldn't be more excited about her first day of high school.
It's actually a day of many "firsts" for Reagan. As mentioned, it is her first day of high school. It is her first day of public school (we've been at Challenger and American Prep). It's her first day without having to wear uniforms. It's her first day of being an athlete at the school (since she made the volleyball team). It's her first day of not having met any of her teachers before school started (Freshman Academy was cancelled this year), It's her first year of having to wear a mask at school (darn that Covid).
Well, it may be a bit scary for being her "first" of many things, but she is ready and super excited!
One of our friends and neighbors offered to drive her to school, but I wanted to take her on her first day. As was the case with her first EVER day of school, she jumped out, smiled and waved and headed inside. I couldn't take it. The tears started streaming down my face and I couldn't contain myself. She is SO grown up and getting more so each day. Don't get me wrong.... I love that she is so excited. It's just hard to see her transition to this grown up, lovely girl.
We continue to go to the new house .... well, the neighborhood .... every day. Sometimes, Steve would suggest we go look at the house in the morning. Then, we would go every. single. night. One morning, Steve went at 6am with Reagan. We wanted to see it in the morning, in the daytime, in the evening, etc. Seriously! The neighbors seem so nice. Everyone waves or smiles. We've wanted to stop and talk, but since there is no "For Sale" sign on the property, people might not know they are moving and we don't want to mess up anything.
We go to the top of the street, let Cole off with his bike and he goes through a gate to drop in on the lower half of a trail he likes to ride. As he goes down, he tunnels under Highland Drive and ends up at the Draper Cycle Park. Love it!
Then, we sit and look at the house, try to remember everything inside (we've only actually been in that house three times) and plan for the day we move in.
We signed the final Real Estate Purchase Agreement digitally on 8/12/2020 and quickly got started on the necessary inspections. We want to make sure the inside is as amazing as the outside and, of course, that everything is structurally sound, etc.
My friend Kelsey's husband came to inspect the HVAC system and everything there. Steve's brother David referred us to a home inspector. I found the company the put the roof on this home and they came to inspect the roof. Every inspector just raved about this home and how well built it was. That's good news for us!!!!
When we conducted the home inspection and the meth and radon inspection (on 8/17/2020), the homeowners were gone and they left a side door open for us. It was weird to be in this home that would - hopefully - soon be ours. We took tons of pics. We were buying the home furnished, so, we wanted to make sure to document what was there before they started to move out and take things. That was the first time that Reagan and Cole had a chance to see the inside of the home and only the second time that Steve and I hd seen it.
We also had my sister Amber meet us there. She has a critical eye and would be able to see any problems as well as to help us plan for the move (where things should go, how many cabinets were in the kitchen, etc.). I guess it is sort of weird that we entered into the contract to buy the home without Reagan and Cole seeing it first, but we knew that this was the place for us and we assured them that they would love it!!!
When we had Tom come to inspect the HVAC system, we were told to use the same door. We walked in and the seller was there! WHAT?!? I thought maybe I had gotten the wrong date or time and that we had just walked into someone's home. Dave Wilkes (the seller) said not to worry and that we had the right time and date. He encouraged us to do our inspection. I went with Tom downstairs to the furnace room and Steve stayed and talked with Dave for the next hour and a half. Wow! It was good, though, because he suggested Steve just call him with questions, rather than having the realtor be the go between. He asked how soon we could close. Our answer was as soon as we could get all of the inspections back. We weren't asking for an appraisal, so, it was just the inspections. He asked if we could close on the 21st. Um.... next week? We think so????
The seller had to fill out disclosure forms and clearly he wasn't paying attention when he filled them out or didn't care. For example, he said that there had never been a flood in the house, but then answered that when there was a flood, they had all necessary repairs made. Um... ok. He answered that there was no warranty on the roof. Um.... yes there is. I found the company that put the roof on this house and there is a 75 year warranty on it. I had them transfer it to our name when they came to inspect... effective on the date of closing.
As I mentioned, everything came back wonderfully. This house really was built to the highest standards. We completed all the necessary disclosures, wired the earnest money over, arranged everything with the title company and tried to ask all the questions we could think of. We contacted movers but since it was so close to the moving date, no one was available. We finally got one company to agree to send one truck for one trip. If we needed more things moved, it would have to be on a different day. Fine - just come! Without having furniture to move, we reasoned that we may not even need a second move day. My sister Amber came up to stay with us for almost a week to help us get packed up and ready to go. She had come with us when we had the inspection of the house. She loved it as well!
As it came closer to the closing date, we actually thought "this is happening!!!" and we figured we'd better let our neighbors and ward know. So, on August 19, 2020, we wrote emails to our Bishopric telling them of our impending move. They were shocked (so were we frankly!) and said "Permission to move denied." :) We will miss them. We also told some of our closest neighbors and friends as well as our family.
Right before the 21st, the sellers informed the realtor that they couldn't make the closing. The wife was in California with her mother and couldn't get back in time. We had a final inspection to measure some rooms, etc. that day and it looked like they hadn't moved anything. There was still clothes in the closet, pans in the cabinets, food in the fridge, towels in the laundry, etc. We wondered how it would have been possible for them to close that day. Oh well - hopefully they will be out by our new closing date of Monday, August 24, 2020.
We completely stalked them over that weekend. We sat for hours on the street up from the house and watched. Cars came and went. A trailer came and went. We saw a small moving truck there and when it left, we followed. All four of us were in the car and we joked that we were spies. We thought we would be able to see where they were moving to.
We were following it past the local middle school when the moving truck pulled over. We drove past and pulled into the school parking lot where we sat and waited. Another car came up behind the truck, the guy driving the truck got out and got into the car and drove away. They left the moving truck on the side of the road. We waited and waited and, finally, he came back and got in the truck and continued driving. We followed..... we are... after all... spies! He drove down the street, past Corner Canyon High School and pulled into a storage place. He is getting a storage unit? Weird.
We drove away and thought maybe they were finally moving. (What we later learned was that they were getting divorced and she wasn't in the state. He had the ward go over and help pack things up and it was awkward because he had "hers" and "his" boxes for things. The ward members helped, but thought it was so strange because they didn't know what was going and what was staying. They had little direction from him and just helped the best they could.)
We packed up all weekend and crossed our fingers that nothing would go wrong to push back the closing date again.
Cole and Drew wanted to bike together and asked Brett (Steve's brother) and I to shuttle them. I laughed because when Cole rides with Shannon, she tells him that he has to work to ride up so that he can love the ride down. Well, they are lazy cheaters today because we dropped them at the top and then they rode down and Brett and I met them at the bottom of the hill and then drove them back up to the top, etc.
We had a slight complication when we met Brett and Drew at the top of Suncrest...... Drew had no shoes!!!! Brett had on flip flops and I guess Drew thought his shoes were in the car, but they weren't. We didn't want to waste the trip, so, Drew put on Cole's shoes and Cole put on my shoes. Silly boys. I drove to shuttle them, but couldn't get out and take pics on the trail because I was barefoot, so, Brett did the filming. Ha ha!
Cole's shoes were definitely small for Drew and my shoes were definitely small for Cole, but they made it work and were still able to take several runs.
Drew is SO good! Cole is learning and getting better each time he rides. I'm glad these cousins could hang out ..... even if it meant swapping shoes. :)
"Mom on the Run" is the title that best describes me these days. After practicing law for 11 years, I had two little ones and am now a full time Mom and loving it. With a 14 year old and an 12 year old, life is full and crazy. Each day we "run" whether it is to the gym, shopping, guitar, karate, piano, school, lunch with friends, institute class, family activities or church functions. Reagan and Cole keep me crazy busy and we have lots of fun.
Steve (the love of my life) and I have been married for sixteen years and we live in Sandy, Utah. Playing with the kids is our most enjoyable hobby these days. We also try to fit in snow skiing, walking and hiking, and playing in our yard. We love to spend time with Steve's three daughters (and their spouses/kids). We traveled much more before we had our kiddos, but still try to travel when we can. If we are away, we can most often be found on one of the Hawaiian islands and we love to spend time at the beach.
