6704 Kenmont

For the last few months Adrian and I have been saving money in hopes of finding a house to purchase.  We visited with our realtor a few weeks ago to talk about our budget, what we were looking for and were eager to start the house search.  We got pre approved for a loan and were one step closer to homeownership.

Every day our realtor sent us listings.  We went through them, and marked those we really liked with hearts and those that were possibilities with light bulbs.  Jana babysat Valentina while we went out house hunting with our realtor.  After viewing about 7 homes we finally saw one we could live in.  Then we went to another house in Annandale and fell in love.  The two houses we saw after that one were okay.  We then went to 7104 Kenmont, a house we had marked with a heart online.  It had everything we wanted - a nice open living room, a great kitchen with lots of storage, a gas stove and stainless steel appliances, bedrooms that can fit our furniture, a lower level that can hold all of Valentina's toys, a big backyard and, most importantly, it was in our price range.

When we walked out of that house we knew we wanted to put an offer in, but our realtor told us to think it over and let her know how we wanted to proceed.  The next day we told her we were in and she prepared a contract for us.  While Valentina was playing with the Kormans and Petersons we talked to our realtor, signed forms and dropped them off to her at 10pm.

On Monday, February 9th we received a phone call as I was putting Valentina to sleep that our offer was accepted.  It was a very exciting moment and yet another step forward on our adventure in homeownership.

Valentine's Day we spent doing the most romantic thing in the world... a home inspection.  We both knew we wanted this house when we walked in hoping there were no major issues with the house.  There weren't and we were relieved.

On March 27th we are scheduled to close on our house.  Until then we will spend many hours on Google and Pinterest thinking of ideas and paint schemes we like.  Ideas welcome!

THE KITCHEN...

  

LIVING ROOM

MASTER BEDROOM

VALENTINA'S ROOM

ADDITIONAL BEDROOM UPSTAIRS

BEDROOM DOWNSTAIRS

LOWER LEVEL

BACKYARD

Lady bug puddle fun

After a week of frigid temperatures it was 40 degrees and warm outside.  We had a great family walk followed by a cul de sac wide attempt at getting the melting snow water into the drain.  It doesn't make any sense to me that the snowplows cover the drains, so Adrian and a few neighbors cleared the drain and made a channel to it for the snow melting in our area.  Tomorrow morning we will all be grateful for the team effort.

Valentina, on the other hand, wanted to use her little lady rain boots for something fun, like playing in puddles.  It was so great to see her explore.

Watching over her sister and slightly upset for being on a leash

Contemplating how to stomp on all the snow

There was a brief moment of DRAMA when V was told to get on the sidewalk

She moved on rather quickly and strutted her stuff down the sidewalk

Snowed in Saturday

This weekend started off with a good snowfall followed by some evening wintry mix.  Needless to say we spent our Saturday at home enjoying some of Adrian's home cooking, lots of great books, a few dance parties, princess playtime and a couple episodes of Handy Manny.  

Weekend mornings are fun.  We start with some snuggle time in bed but are starting to realize that there is a fine line between snuggle time and breakfast time.  Saturday morning we enjoyed snuggles in bed a bit too long because when Valentina decided she was hungry we were still upstairs.  Adrian made her some Mickey Mouse pancakes and after a few tears she realized the pancakes were in front of her and started laughing.  Silly kid!

Last year Tia Pretty (Tia Melissa) bought Valentina a princess castle.  The first time we brought it out Valentina was just learning to walk and it overwhelmed her.  Now she loves it!  She's also trying to entice Akira to join her with treats.  

Adrian will now be able to tell Valentina that he walked through the snow to get her some milk and groceries for dinner because she would have lost her mind had she gone a meal without milk.  I would also like to thank Adrian for walking in the snow because we had a great spaghetti and meatball dinner.  Valentina loved it so much the evidence is all over her face.

 

Girl Scout Cookies

Maddie Thompson is a Daisy and started  selling Girl Scout cookies this year. We had to support her so we are the proud owners of a few boxes of cookies. This evening those cookies gained a new fan in Valentina. 

So far the samoas are two thumbs up in her book. 

Snow day!!

Finally we received enough snow to really play in.  We got Valentina suited up in her snow bib (pants), her coat, hat, gloves and snow boots, and we got Akira suited up in her leash.  The girls had a good time while Daddy plowed away.

I went to work in the afternoon for a meeting with our CEO then we had dinner with Tia Julia and relaxed as a family.  Valentina took the relaxing to a new level with her sister, who was a good sport.

Akira not helping Valentina get up