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!

Bye Bye 'Bama

I have news! Our offer was accepted on the house in Saratoga Springs!! AHHH. We move in October 30th and I AM SO EXCITED. We all are! It's a beauty and exactly where I wanted to live. I'll share more about that in a few weeks when it's officially ours. This post is a little bittersweet for me because it's my very last Alabama post :,) I made sure to save the photos from the house listing for memories sake. We sure are going to miss 6 Burke!

^^ Jumping for joy when our house finally went under contract.

Disclaimer: The colors in these photos are not very accurate. These look like totally different floors haha.

I think both me and the kids miss the playroom the most.

I'm still so amazed at the yard comeback. Our backyard was dead grass, weeds, and dirt for the majority of our time here. It made having a big backyard not so fun. I'm glad we had pictures taken when we did because thousands of army worms moved in a few days later and they sucked the life out of the grass. Those pesky worms got into the house a couple of times which made the idea of moving much more appealing to me. I wish I was kidding, but it's true. Our yard became a buffet for the birds so this was a sight I loved to see. We treated the yard and sprayed the house before moving out, so hopefully this won't be much of an issue for the new owners. Either way, no longer our problem!

I started packing up and selling most of our furniture the day we accepted the offer. I must say selling stuff on Facebook marketplace is basically a full-time job. Listing, pricing, messaging, negotiating, profile background checking, scheduling, pickup planning. My phone was blowing up! It was a hectic week for sure, but the wad of cash we ended up with made it all worth it haha.

While I was organizing bins I found this old picture. Um Brielle is that you?! I see so much of her in little me, it's crazy!

- Move out day -

Besides some heavy furniture, Jason loaded the uhaul entirely himself. He also helped load Ryan's uhaul because they were moving out that day as well. I was extremely overwhelmed with the amount of stuff that had to get done. There was so much to do, I didn't know what to do! My mom was a huge, huuuuge help. She packed up the entire kitchen, did so much cleaning, and drove the entire 25 hour drive while I dealt with the kids. I truly don't know what I would have done without her! My sweet neighbor Kenzie brought us a yummy homemade dinner that night and watched the kids for a little while we cleaned and packed up some final things. Her husband Jared and our neighbor Josh came over to help Jason move the fridge, washer, and dryer to the garage. I am so thankful for all the help we received! Before heading out early the next morning I snapped a final picture of our kitchen. It was so weird seeing it completely empty. It's kind of a sad thought that we'll never go in that house again. So many happy memories were made here.

So long 6 Burke! You were so, so good to us.

The drive to Utah was....... long. The kids did okay the first day, had a few more meltdowns the next day. Honestly, I don't blame them. We stopped at a fun park in Atlanta to help break up the drive. It was HOT but the kids didn't care because they were free!!! Emmett even made a cute new friend while we were there. The highlight of Emmett's trip though was definitely the hotel. He was in heaven riding on the elevator, running down the halls, jumping on the beds, and opening the door with the key card lol.

We made it to our townhome in Syracuse around 4 pm that evening. We had family there waiting to help unload the uhaul as soon as we got there. So grateful for them! It was a good workout for everyone because this townhome has two flights of stairs and most of the furniture had to go to the third floor. We're not looking forward to moving everything back out in a few weeks.... but it will 100000% be worth it.

Well that's that! We've been in Utah for about two months and have done sooo much during that time. I may or may not get around to posting about some of it... we will see. There's a good chance the next time I'm on here we will be in our new house!!!