Syracuse to Saratoga

I need to get going on this post before I lose allll motivation to keep up this blog! At the end of October we loaded up everything in the townhome and made the one hour commute to our new house in Saratoga Springs. Jason, Ryan, and Cort did all the heavy lifting and loaded up the uhaul. My dad, Debi, and Tierra were there to help unload the truck. It was an overwhelming couple of days packing, loading, cleaning, unpacking, and organizing on top of dealing with some health issues... but we are officially IN and we love love love our new home. I think we'd be fine never moving again haha.

There was a lot going on that weekend with the move, halloween festivities, and Tierra's fam being in town. Jason and I managed to sneak away for a few kid-free hours to deep clean the townhome before handing over the keys. It. Was. Exhausting. Before leaving I snapped some pictures for memories sake. It was a long 2.5 months in that place. The kids never fully adjusted to living there. We definitely don't miss the two flights of stairs, constant police sirens, extremely hard water, cheap appliances, right-turn only busy road, tiny jumping spiders, missing package deliveries, questionable neighbors, and hour commute to almost everyone. We do miss living close to Debi however!! The kids loved getting to see her so often. She took them to the park, the library, watched them for date nights, and was there for us in multiple times of need. She's the best.

So long Syracuse! I don't think we'll ever be back haha.

Now onto the good stuff. OUR HOME.

I'm still shocked that we got it with how crazy Utah's housing market is. This was the first house we put an offer on and our offer was under asking price. After a little negotiation, WE GOT IT. We ended up meeting the sellers during the home inspection and now we're instagram friends haha. They are so sweet! It's a blessing that things fell into place the way they did. We love the house, the location, and our new ward. Jason works from home at least three days a week which makes the hour commute to work bearable. I love living so close to my family and we have the sweetest next door neighbors that will hopefully become lifelong friends. I truly believe that we are here for a reason and that none of this was a coincidence.

Here are the photos from the house listing. I instantly fell in love after seeing it on Zillow!

We're hoping to finish the backyard in the spring. We've switched out some light fixtures, faucets, and added blinds to make the home feel more like ours. It is coming together so good! Here are some photos since we've moved in.

^^ View from the playroom

The kids have adjusted SO WELL to the new house. They've been sleeping better and playing better together. They also both love their nursery classes! That's something they haven't had since covid began. It makes church so much more enjoyable for all of us.

PSA: I got the island pendants, downeast barstools, and downeast dining table from Facebook marketplace. Seriously saved us hundreds! The barstools are a little too high so I'm debating on if I want to re-sell them for a small profit or cut the legs down to counter height. We will see.

Obviously I can't decide the best way to set up my living room lol. I realllly would love some new couches in here.... cough cough.... Jason. It's too bad that couch shopping is the actual worst.

Something we have purchased since moving here is a second car. We were living the one car life much too long. We got a 2022 Hyundai Elantra and it is the perfect commuter car for Jason. I guess we are a Hyundai family because this is our fourth Hyundai car purchase and we already know our next car will be a Palisade as our family grows. Take our money Hyundai! Or wait better idea, please sponsor us :)

As I finish up all I can think about is how much we've been blessed. I get so hung up on my daily struggles sometimes that it's hard to recognize how truly lucky we are. I'm so glad we are here. We are excited to start this next chapter of our lives, make new friends, and strengthen family relationships. We hope to be here a long, loooong time!

Coming Together

Things are  s l o w l y  coming together around here. It'll probably be a few years before our house feels full and complete, but I thought I'd share what home looks like for us right now.

p l a y r o o m

This room is Emmett's jam. I'm so happy we have a space solely for play and imagination. I can't wait for Santa to add a slide and basketball hoop in a couple months ;) That will basically be our boy's dream come true.

n u r s e r y

I haven't done too much to the nursery since I plan to change it up once baby sis gets here. Emmett has unfortunately figured out how to climb {fall} out of his crib, so we are in the process of transitioning him to a toddler bed or a full mattress. Once he moves into his big boy bedroom, this space is going to get a bright, girly makeover.

l i v i n g  r o o m

I'm craving curtains... and an accent chair... and some shelves. All in due time.

k i t c h e n

e n t r y w a y

Featuring the bats haha. I keep going back an forth on what I want to do with the bat wall once it's no longer halloween season. Wainscoting? Small entry table? Photo gallery wall? I can't decide, but it needs somethin'.

o f f i c e

Not much to see here. The office consists of a computer, desk, chair and that's about it. As for the rest of the rooms in the house {master, guest bedroom, bathrooms}, they're also quite bare. If only I had a spare 5k to drop on furniture and home decor :,) I had high hopes for Jason's work bonus this year, come to find out that Boeing will not be offering any employee bonuses due to the 737 max plane crashes. Dang.

Something I don't mind being bare, however, is this cutie little booty.

LOVE HIM. Annnnd that's a wrap on house posts for a good long while!