Home at last

How do you spend more money in a single transaction than you've spent in the last few years combined? The number of 0's behind that dollar sign was difficult to accept at first, but we're so happy to finally have a place to call our own!

After all, one of the reasons we had to leave our beautiful Flagstaff residence was the inability to afford much of anything home-wise on one income. We wanted to own a home, to experience the ups and downs that come with maintaining a bunch of sticks and drywall plastered together. To weed a garden, fix a broken sprinkler line, spend hours on youtube figuring out which pipe is supposed to go where under the sink.

Most importantly, to have a place where Wren and any future Papenfi could run and explore to their hearts content.

We found the house on zillow.com the week before were were to move to the Tri-Cities (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco) area. Stopping in SLC to visit family on our way from AZ to WA, we enthusiastically showed our find to our family and wondered if it would still be around when we got there. Listings we loved had come and gone many times since we started perusing real properties once Layne accepted the job offer there and we weren't about to let our hopes get too high.

After arriving on October 21st, the first thing we did was schedule a walk-through of this home. It can be over-the-top and beyond annoying sometimes, but the amount of research Layne puts in to buying anything paid off this time. We knew what was out there and that this was the cream of the crop to us.

Walking through the house was a much different experience than online slideshows (obviously), but we felt a special warmth about the place that should definitely be described as "homey". The next couple days were spent gallivanting all around the three suburbs trying to find anywhere that might match what we felt in this Pasco home, but nothing really came close.

SO! After much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth we put in our offer. A counteroffer and counter-counteroffer later we had ourselves a deal.

We officially closed on December 12, and then the movers brought our stuff on the 15! So far we are slowly unpacking. It is so much more space than we have ever had before so there is a lot of room for growth, and people to come visit... Hint, hint az and ut friends! 

We love our new ward and we have already met some amazing people. Heavenly Father really does lead you in the right direction. We have already been so well taken care of by the people we have met. Layne found a biking friend and I have some hiking/yoga friends. We are definitely feeling the love of the people here In the tri cities. I'm hoping I can find a good running buddy soon.

Here are a few pics from lately

Layne received his arrowhead from the NPS

This is a picture of me when I was a little older than Wren!

Moving truck. We were so happy