Church-Crashing, Candy, and the Great Quest to Find Holly

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

(officially.)

We both worked today - you know, 'cause we're grown ups and have to contribute to society (like a couple'a suckers), but in the evening the ladies catted themselves up, I grabbed a camera, and we set out for sugary plunder.

Check it out:

The White Cat

The Black Cat

This is the only time of year when seeing something like this isn't out of the ordinary.  Of course, then again, this is Florida. . .

We hooked up with some friends of Kris' for Trunk or Treating at this random church that absolutely none of us attend (located somewhat near our old house, around the corner from the library.)  It was free, and our family is big on 'free.'

That's Sophia, one of Abby's friends from school.  You may or may not recall the girls recently were in attendance at her birthday soiree. 

(I think this lady's having a stroke.)

(This one, too.)

Making the rounds with a six-foot-tall Olaf.

Homegirls.

The Cannonball is not amused.

The church hired some food trucks to feed its patrons this year, which was very hipster-ly of them.

I dressed up as a disgruntled middle school teacher this year.

Note the kid sitting on the pumpkins. . . like you're never supposed to do.

The temperature was dropping fast, and all four of us decided it'd be smart to drive home real fast (as we were only a couple blocks away) in order to grab some light jackets before we started Trick or Treating througout the neighborhood.)  Of course, once we got back into Kris' van and saw the actual temperature outside, we all felt like a bunch of vaginas.

I left the SLR at home for the actual Trick or Treating, as I don't like being obnoxious with a flash around crowds at night.  As a result, what little pictures I did take didn't amount to much.  Not that me leaving the SLR at home really mattered, anyway- lots of people were snapping  away throughout the neighborhood.  Anyway, our kids were pretty exhausted from the onset, so we didn't do much candy-collecting this year.  Early on in the Trick or Treating, Alayna bumped into one of her friends, and after parting ways, that was all she cared about - finding Holly.

We drove over to our old subdivision in order to score more candy for the kids (where we were previously had some really awesome houses decorated, but they were few and far between.)  Sadly, the same situation awaited us in the new neighborhood, but the silver lining to this was that those people handing out candy wanted to be rid of it, and almost every house we stopped at dumped most of their bowls in our kids' bags.  After two or three houses, the kids were topped off.

We ended up returning to the original neighborhood in order to stop by Holly's house (Kris is friends with the family, we're not stalkers trust us,) if only to get Alayna - who was far past bedtime - off our backs.

The girls were dead on their feet when we finally got home, but they were stubborn about going to bed.  They wanted to watch a Halloween movie and eat some of their candy, and, being the festive lot that we are, we obliged.

The girls have really been enjoying Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas lately - which I'm 100% cool with.

So while they watched that, Yours Truly dumped out all their plunder on the floor and began sorting through it, searching for poisoned fruit, hidden razor blades, dirty syringes, and all those other urban legends that the media hypes up but that no one you've ever seen or heard of has ever witnessed firsthand. . .

Establishing a spooky atmosphere for our Halloween movie night (though I'm not sure if those lovely family portraits are helping the mood at all. . .)

I usually pass on pumpkin beers (they're waaaay overrated, if you ask me), but this one from Shipyard is really good.  Personally, I attribute this to its 9% ABV.

And so ends the Hough Family's Halloween - a king's ransom in candy plundered, cases of fall craft beers stocked, and legions of pumpkin spice candles burned.  If it's one thing this family does well, it's holidays. . .

And we all know which holiday is coming up next. . .

- Brian

Santa Meets the League of Extraordinary Soccer Moms

YULE!!!!!!!!!!!

We sure do love seeing Santa in this house.   I mean, I know the guy's cool and everything - God knows he's got a thing for handing out free crap to kids each year, right? - but I honestly don't know how many photo-ops with the poor guy we really need.  The girls have already met him at both of their schools, and now Kris has taken them over to some lady's house so that they can see him for a third time.

Borrowing dress-up clothes. . .

Let's hope the guy's gotten their requests down by now.  Third time's the charm.

Anyway, as you may or may not recall, Kris is a member of the Leagues of Extra-ordinary Soccer Moms (of Hunter's Creek) - a group of privileged moms that get together for various kid-related activities.  Somehow - and I really don't know how - Kris knows every mom in the greater Hunter's Creek/Southchase area, whether it be from the Order or her church.  As such, her calendar is solidly booked with kid activities, and never moreso than during the Holidays, where lately it feels like we've involved with some sort of Christmas obligation every day throughout the month of December.

So, readers, behold the latest Hough Christmas outing - Santa Visits the League of Extraordinary Soccer Moms (or whatever the hell they call themselves.)

Enjoy:

If it's one thing Alayna hates, it's eating.

Abby got a huge kick out of this vanity play set (that belonged to one of the little girls that lived at the house) - we may have to pick one of those things up. . .

The Arrival of Claus. . .

Alayna was that obnoxious kid who bum-rushes Santa and refuses to let go of his hand. . . total opposite of Abby, who cowered behind Kris is mortal terror.

Time for stories (note Alayna's hand clinging to Santa's belt.)

A smaller turnout this year - last year this room was packed.

Santa entertaining a captive audience.

Santa and the Cannonball

Alayna beau, Derrick, was also there with his family. . .  the Order is indeed far-reaching.

Abby's pity candy cane (she wouldn't go near Claus to save her life.)

Homegirls.

Saying farewell to Santa and his bitchin' throwback ride.

Abby, happy that the threat is over.

- Brian

The Quest

Hi gang,

You've heard me discuss, at great length, the current housing dilemma in which Kris and I have found ourselves; namely, whether we should a.) continue renting, or b.) buy.  A month ago, this dilemma didn't exist - buying was out of the question.

The Great Debate.

Now?  Not so much.

A couple months ago, Kris and I were both actively looking for work outside of Florida, as we were getting tired of all the congestion, separation from family, etc.  As if to hasten our job search, the house we're currently renting is going up for sale at the end of the summer, which means we'll either have to find work elsewhere and move before then or else dive into another rental property.

The problem?  There's NOTHING around here that's as big and cheap as our current house:  we scored a huge deal when we signed our lease, and with home buying at an all-time low - and rentals throughout the greater Orlando area at an unheard-of 98% rate - rental prices are sky-high. 

For example, in order to get a similar 3-bedroom/2-bathroom house in the Southchase/Hunter's Creek area - where we'd like to stay - we'd have to increase our monthly rent by at least $200 - $300.  That's an additional couple hundred bucks we'd have to pluck off the ol' Money Tree out back on a monthly basis.  Not so awesome.  And while this whole rental situation is indeed sobering, it's nowhere near as sobering as the prospect of manning up, digging in, and buying a house.

Thank God we weren't in this situation in 2008. . .

True, as the housing crisis has staved off, and property values reached rock bottom, the risk of buying a house down here in Florida has diminished greatly; but it's the idea of permanency that scares us most about buying a house.  That's a long-term commitment, and even though I have pretty good job security at my school, that's at least five or six years more of living outside of Michigan.

That's a long time for kids to grow up without having additional family around.

More or less.

Anyway, as our job searches out of state continued to produce nothing, and our end-of-summer deadline began to loom ominously in the distance, we decided that we'd have to seriously weigh the pros and cons of renting vs. buying in the area.  What we've learned in the process has completely changed our outlook on our current housing options: we could buy a house and pay much less per month than if we were to rent an identical house.

This is crazy.

So, the Great House Quest has officially begun.  Over the last couple weeks, we've spent hours upon hours listing our must-haves, our it'd-be-pretty-cool-to-haves, and our if-we-were-super-rich-and-could-have-its, and we've come down to a list that we've started taking around to realtors.  We know we want three bedrooms (four preferred), two bathrooms, a two-car garage, AC and washer/dryer, a fenced-in yard and covered back patio, and the house has to be zoned for A-rated schools (Alayna will be starting Kindergarten in a year and half. . . which is just plain scary).

A tall order, perhaps, but we're picky-ass people.

Capt. Steve

Kris knows a couple realtors and brokers through her Order of Extraordinary Moms and library play groups, so we were fortunate enough to have a pool of talent to start with.  Through these contacts, we got in touch with a no-nonsense realtor named Steve, who quickly produced a list of eight or nine houses for us to look at yesterday.  All of them would keep us paying basically the same amount of money per month in expenses, and were mostly in pretty good school zones, and each had their pros and cons. 

Here are some stand-outs from our all-day housing adventure:

House #1:  

Pros:  Two, huge living rooms, lots of trees in the backyard, vaulted ceilings, huge kitchen
Cons: Small back patio with torn screens and moldy carpet (who puts carpet outside?), no room for pool, shitty garage, small bedrooms

House #2:

Pros:  AWESOME condition - automated sprinkler system, new roof, pavers, garage door, etc..  Sellers are original owners, there's a garden and tree orchard in the backyard, a shed FULL of tools, vinyl fencing, big bedrooms, gothic-looking safety bars on all the windows, and a large, screened-in patio in the back. 
Cons: Same square-feet as our current house, so we'd have to get really creative with the storage issue, as we'd be losing our Library and Play Room.  Plus, there's this huge, ceramic Virgin Mary statue cemented into the front.  Which is kinda creepy.


House #3:   
Pros:  HUGE house!  Five bedrooms (four upstairs with the master downstairs), three bathrooms, two stories with a hallway overlooking the living room below, huge garage and large fenced-in backyard, big shed.
Cons:  The inside looks like a cross between the Simpsons home and the set of a '70s horror/porn flick - we'd have to repaint everything.  Plus, the carpet was absolute garbage, and would have to be replaced immediately.  Kitchen and the shed are kind of in rough shape, too.


House #4:   
Pros:  Model homes, custom-designed and built from scratch - could customize it right from the get-go and get a really, awesome home for a great price.  Excellent floor plan and brand-new appliances.  Safe neighborhood with pool. 
Cons:  Located way out in St. Cloud, which would mean an extra 30 minute commute for Kris to/from work (mine would stay the same).  Also, no fence in the backyard - we'd have to install one, which would be pricey.

Lots of options to consider here, folks, and plenty of crap to think about.  I'll get back with you when we figure out what the hell we're going to do. 

Stay tuned,

- Brian