Star Wars, Episode VII: Rise of the Homeowners

Hi everybody.  How we doin'?

Cool.

We're still packing like crazy these days, but now we're moving as well.  FINALLY.

Yes, we closed with the sellers on May 25th. 

I took a half-day off of work 'cause there were seemingly hundreds of forms and paperwork to sign, and I legally had to be there.  Unfortunately, while we had taken the time and energy to ensure that we were at the realtor's office for closing at 9am, the title company representative did not.  Hell, the folks at their office didn't even know when/where the closing was to take place, and therefore hadn't left their office yet (a solid hour drive away).


That was cool.


Eventually, though, the title people did show up, and, after an hour and half of signing papers, we were home homeowners.  I found it fitting that the day I became a homeowner just so happened to be the 35th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope - one of the greatest movies of all time (not to mention one of my personal favorites. . .

This is the coolest thing you will see in your entire life.  Ever.

I guess the sellers had been ready to move out of their house once our check cleared all that bank mumbo-jumbo, seeing how we closed a week early.  This was goods news for us, since the only day the Clint and the Voigts can help us move the big stuff with the moving truck is June 2nd - this Saturday.  More or less that means we're having to move all the smaller crap (that which doesn't have to go over in the truck) on our own, after work. 

Should be a blast.

So, more or less, the hectic-ness of our day-to-day lives remains the same. . . we're just replacing 'packing' with 'moving.'  Here are some pictures of the process thus far.  Enjoy:

The Man Room gets boxed up. . .

The Library was the first room to be torn down and boxed up - making room for more boxes and additional crap.

We ended up finding a furniture set (bunk beds, a desk, and a dresser) on craigslist for $300 - a steal considering it was all in excellent shape and made of quality wood.  They even threw in a couple mattresses, of which we kept one (which became a big hit with the girls right away - see picture)

Beating up Mommy

Bodyslammin'

Toss-a-kid

On Monday (Memorial Day) we were anticipating to begin moving into the house, seeing how the sellers had vacated the premises and the selling agent had assured us everything was a 'go.'  But, as luck would have it, we ended up sitting around all day waiting for a phone call that never came - the selling agent was nowhere to be found, and eventually we just said 'screw it' and drove over to the new house ourselves.


The house was all locked up, but the side gate had been left open (which concerned me, regardless of the fact that the back patio and shed were still locked up).  So we let the girls run around in their new backyard for awhile before heading back to the house to schedule a time when we could get our house keys from the selling agent. . .

Our new backyard

Smelling flowers. . .

The side yard - where we'll be setting up the pool and soon as we possibly can. . .

The side gate

This shed was left FULL of tools, lawn fertilizers, spare parts for the house, pavers, soil, roofing material, and more - I'm excited to get into it and see what all's in there. . .

I'm not sure what the sellers were so afraid of - there's iron bars on all the windows and doors, the shed and garage have been upgraded to 'hurricane proof,' and now there's barbed wire along the back fence.  I feel adequately prepared for the zombie apocalypse.

Kris checks out the neighbors' yard. . .

Some of our new trees (that white PVC cage-looking thing might have to go. . .)

Abby explores the Orchard

I think we may have to get rid of a few of these trees, seeing how they're so close together.  I hate to do it, though.

Everywhere I look, there's more house stuff left behind for us - definitely appreciated.

This hose is much nicer than our current one - the sellers, seeing how they're moving into apartment next, left us three different hoses along with all their yard stuff.  That'll save me a small fortune.

Spying in the house

The Front Door (even though its on the side of the house)

The window on the left is the girls' playroom, the one on the right the kitchen sink.

Front of the house (that's the Study window)

Front yard

The driveway.   The sellers just finished this paving job a year or so ago. . .

The sellers also left behind the Virgin Mary shrine at the front house.  This is awkward for us, seeing how we're not Catholic and neither one of us has the stones to throw Jesus' Mom - who is cemented into the ground - in the garbage.

This is going to be a pain in the ass to mow. . .

A day or two later, on my way to work, I was finally able to meet up with the selling agent (randomly behind a Publix - don't ask) and pick up the keys to our house.  He handed me the keys in a loose bag, and none of them were labeled.  Some were to the front door, others to the back door, others to the iron gated doors, others to the iron gated windows, some to the shed, some to to the lock on the front fence gate, others to the lock on the back fence gate, etc.

You can imagine how much fun it was to walk around and try these things out around the house.

So, armed with our new keys, I finally moved our first load into the new house once I got out of work, and the move-in process was on. . .

The Living Room

Kris had me bring the girls' bike over, as she was bringing them over with her (and a van-load of boxes) once she got out of work. . .

Note speaker/iPod set up.  I made it a point to bring those over in the first load. . .

The Girls' Playroom

That crystal ball light is going to be replaced.  Soon.

They left behind a TV for us.  We have too many TVs already as it is, so I'm entertaining the idea of opening up my own appliance store once we finish moving in.

The miniature Kitchen Nook - fitting our table in that area should be interesting.

The Girls' Bedroom

Thankfullly not as small as we remembered it, and with a set of bunk beds they'll have more room than they had in their old room. . .

The closet's kind of small in this house, so we're going to have to get creative.  We bought a dresser along with the bunk beds and desk, so we're hoping it'll fit in there. . .

We're planning on painting the girls' room, and put it to Alayna to determine which color.  She chose purple. . .  so that'll be interesting.

Girls' Bathroom

(Note handsome man in bathtub, ladies.)

On the left, you have a coat closet (which we'll probably use for the vacuum, dust buster, etc.) and the girls room. At the end of the hall is my study. On the right, at the far end, is the garage, following by another closet (to be used for board games and puzzles, etc.) and finally the girls' bathroom.

The Study

First beer in the Study. . .

Initially I had envisioned this whole wall being wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling books. . . but with closets down one wall and a large window taking up another, I don't think it'll work.

Regardless, I'm very pleased with this set up.

View from the Study. . .

Game Closet

The Master Bedroom

That cable business in the corner was pushed back into the wall with ease - I wasn't about to have that crap in my room.

Not sure what's up with all the light spots, here - hopefully its not ghosts.  If so, hopefully they're cool and not a bunch of jerks.  Or pervs.

Walk-in Closet (prior to professional carpet cleaning)

Two sinks again - Huzzah!

The Garage

Although technically its a two-car garage, I only envision us parking one in here - I like having the extra work and storage space. . .

Like in the shed, the sellers left us a TON of useful tools, household cleaners, supplies, and storage racks/cabinets - all of which I'm sure will come in handy. . .

New Washer & Dryer - definitely a step up from the pieces of crap we had in our old house. . .

Not sure why there's a bottle of Head & Shoulders out here in the garage. . . maybe they liked washing their hair in a sink?

Aside from faulty latches that I'll have to replace, this workbench area is awesome. . .

If this palm tree falls during Hurricane Season, our cars are screwed. . .

Abby partakes in their first 'meal' in the new house.

Post-meal running session. . .

Door leading out to the Patio from the Kitchen

The Patio - probably my second-favorite room in the house.

Patio window, looking into the Living Room

The window to the left is the Living Room, the ones on the right the Master Bedroom. . .

Not too thrilled with the bizarre cable mess sticking out of the wall (its like that in a few rooms), but at least they're easy to push back into the wall for later use. . .)

These screen windows are layered with multiple vinyl panels that can be adjusted to let in air, keep rain out, etc.