In the last batch of pictures I shared we had walls and a few bathroom fixtures inside, but not much more. We were two weeks from closing and I didn't go back to the house until our final walk through on August 1. It was hard to stay away, but I was so busy getting everything ready for the move the time flew. Logistically there was a lot to work through: packing, moving trucks to reserve (and village covenants that limited their access to the neighborhood), hired help to schedule, loading and unloading, walk through with the builder and closing. To add a layer of planning, Jackson's school was closed for teacher in-service on our closing day (yay Aunt Nikki for planning a fun-filled day with Jack at the water park, bowling alley and movie theater while Drew & I were occupied). And, of course, being 90 miles away every trip required 1.5 - 2 hours of drive time each way. The entire process needed to be a well-oiled machine and I had it choreographed down to the minute.
Our walk through on August 1 was fabulous. The house looked great and we were so excited to finally be homeowners again the next day.
Unfortunately, even the best laid plans often go awry.
The first snag came Thursday afternoon. We were expecting to get the final closing statement from the lender so that we could pick up a cashiers check for the proper amount and have that item checked off the list before closing day (we're still banking at our Kansas bank and there are only 2 branches in the Denver metro area - not exactly a quick trip). Those numbers never came. Not a huge deal, but Friday's to do list got a bit longer.
The first item of business Friday morning was picking up the Penske at 8 am. We had exactly 4 hours to pick up the truck and fill it with load #1 before needing to head to the bank and then the title company for closing. Except it wasn't ready. An hour delay turned into two hours by which point our blood was boiling and my perfectly planned schedule was history. Several angry phone calls later we had a truck (and a significant discount). Somehow, Mom, Dad, Drew & I managed to load all of our furniture on the truck in about an hour. I dashed off to the bank (the numbers had come through first thing that morning) while Drew finished loading and we met at the title company 2 hours later. Where we learned that the Certificate of Occupancy had not yet been issued. Turned out they were waiting on a city engineer to approve the sidewalks in front of the house. After signing all of the loan documents and going over the warranties with the builder we sat in the conference room of the title company with our Realtor for an hour waiting for the Certificate of Occupancy to come through. Thank goodness it did. Just as we were getting ready to head to the house...our house...we remembered that the title company was to reimburse us our $1,000 escrow deposit. Except they had no record of that. Several more minutes of scrambling...and waiting...resolved the issue and finally we were headed out the door, check and house keys in hand!
We went straight to the house but had no plans of moving anything Friday evening. We had hired help on Saturday morning and planned on bringing 2 truck loads from Castle Rock to Fort Collins while Jackson spent the day and overnight with Nana & Papa, giving us a chance to get things somewhat put together before throwing Jack into the mix.
Walking through that door was such a relief. We were exhausted from all of the emotions of the day - the packing, the loading, the excitement and the waiting, waiting, waiting through one snafu after another. I knew it was going to happen (I even told Cortney so earlier that day) but I couldn't hold back the tears. We had finally reached the moment that was put into motion nearly 9 months ago when Drew dusted off his resume. I could hardly believe it. Once the tears slowed, we cracked open a beer and toasted to new beginnings.
The straw that broke the camel's back happened on the way back to Castle Rock. We had picked up a pizza off the interstate and were 5-10 minutes from Mom & Dad's house when we got caught up in some mysterious police barricade. Once again...we waited. Eventually we were forced to travel about 20 miles out of our way and finally got back to the house 40 minutes late with cold pizza.
Thinking back now, the series of events that day almost sound comical. Except it wasn't.
Although, despite being frustrated and exhausted, we went to bed happy. The next morning we were headed home!
Here are the "before" pictures that I snapped on Friday afternoon just after we took possession.
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| Home Sweet Home |
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| Kitchen |
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| I've been dreaming about this pantry! |
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| Gas stove. My other favorite part about the kitchen. |
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| Living/Dining area. |
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| Entry |
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| View of the main floor |
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| TV Room |
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| Upstairs hallway to laundry and all bedrooms. |
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| Laundry room. So excited for a room instead of a closet and love that it's on the same floor as the bedrooms. |
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| Master. |
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| Master Bath. Walk-in closet to the left, toilet nook straight ahead, soaker tub and walk-in shower to the right. |
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| 3 car tandem garage. Drew's favorite part of the house! |
Despite planning to do all of the moving on Saturday without Jack, we decided to bring him along for one of the trips. He was so excited to see the house and really wanted to be part of the process. I'm so glad we did. Here's the little guy headed back to his room for the first time. He insisted on bringing his Jayhawk pillow - his first item in the new house.
Here we are just over a week later and things look quite a bit different. In fact, dare I say, it feels like home. I'll be sure to share the progress as we get each room closer and closer to done. In the meantime, we're enjoying a more normal schedule as Jack gets settled into his school routine, I'm back at work and Drew gets 3 hours of his life back each day instead of spending them stuck on I-25!
If you would have told me last Fall that this is where we would be I'm not sure I would have believed you. But we did it. And we couldn't be happier!
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