Our Newest Addition

I know it’s been awhile since I have posted. Things have gotten pretty crazy with moving and everything. I promise to show pictures of our house SOON! Anyway, when Nick and I were renting we were not allowed to have any pets of any kind (well, except fish) so we were SUPER excited about being able to FINALLY have the option of owning a pet once we bought our new house. Both of us thought that the first pet we would own would be a new puppy and that almost happened but we have to be patient with that one (hopefully one will be arriving in time for Christmas). However, we NEVER thought we would own a cat, especially a grown one! In fact, Nick didn’t even like cats! It’s funny how quickly your mind can change. Anyway, it all started at our old house. This pretty cat started sleeping on our deck everyday and since she always looked hungry, we decided to set out some food for her. Eventually she never left and kind of adopted us. Nick was a little hesitant to all of this at first but once he saw how sweet she was, he decided she wasn’t so bad! We started letting her warm up in the house for a few hours at a time (gasp!) and once we had officially moved, we felt it would be best if we just moved her with us! The car ride was less than favorable for her but once she got here, she never left our yard! In fact, we have officially decided that she is going to be a house cat (which I vowed would never happen) and she doesn’t like going outside much! Haha! She is so incredibly sweet and we absolutely love her! Nick even adores here! We have decided to name her Sophie (since she loves laying on the sofa, hehe) and have really enjoyed cuddling with her. She is a very calm cat and LOVES to sleep! Haha! Her current favorite place to lay is underneath our Christmas tree although I think she could sleep almost anywhere! Here are a few pictures that my husband took. He and Sophie have been able to hang out every day the past few weeks because he is currently out of work due to the weather. We are praying that changes VERY soon! They have both appreciated the company though!

Exciting News!

Our plans to build have recently fallen through because of the fact that we currently can’t get a building loan. With the economy as low as it is, banks are being very cautious as to what loans they give out and apparently building loans are one of them. It was very sad for us because we had been so hopeful but the Lord is so good! Only a few days after we found out that we could not get a loan, we were asked by a local pastor if we would be interested in buying their beautiful house. Of course we thought that there would be no way we could afford it but the owners were so desperate to get rid of it, they offered us a KILLER DEAL! It was one that we could not pass up so we called up the bank to see if we could possibly get a loan for it. After spending a few minutes on the phone with our loan adviser, she told us that we were pre-approved for the loan! It was such an answer to prayers! Not only do we now (almost) own a house but we are also able to keep our land due to the fact that our monthly payments are going to be low enough! Praise the Lord! We will hopefully be moving into our new home sometime in November and I am so ready!

Here are the details on the house. It is a 3,483 sq. ft. home in Rosita. Built in 2005, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, finished 2-car garage, walnut hardwood floors, luxury carpet, patina stamped concrete floors (in the basement), hand-textured earth-tone walls with contrasting high-gloss, white baseboard & trim. Above the sitting room there is a large loft. There is a large deck off of the kitchen/dining room facing the mountains as well as a concrete patio that you can walk out to from the basement/garage. Custom cabinets in the kitchen and baths complement the historical motif. Thoughtful attention to detail is evident throughout.

Here are a few pictures of our new home. I will obviously post some more once we are moved in and have added our own personal touch. I have lots of painting that I want to do and I am going to be giving the kitchen a little bit of a make-over. Other than that, the changes we make will be later on down the road!

Here is a front shot of the house. There is a lot of beautiful landscaping out front.

This is a picture taken from the loft looking down into the kitchen/dining room/sitting area. We are for sure going to change the look of the cupboards.

Here is a picture looking out from the kitchen toward the dining room/entry way.

This is part of the loft. You can see the kitchen wall down below.

This is the master bedroom. I am definitely going to be giving this room some color!

Here is a picture of the basement living room. You can see the door to the garage as well as a door to the bathroom.

And finally, here is part of the deck. We will definitely need to refinish the deck but that will have to wait until next spring.

Well, there you have it! Those are just a few pictures of the house. Apart from what you have seen, there is also a master bath with a whirlpool tub, a full guest bath, and two other bedrooms down the hall on the main floor. In the basement there is a bedroom as well as another full bathroom and the laundry room. In the basement living room there is a propane stove as well. The garage is very large with a work area and it is finished! We also share property lines with a huge park that is just beautiful! If you have any questions, feel free to let me know! I will keep you updated!

An Update On My Garden!

FINALLY! Here are the pictures that you have all been waiting for! My garden and what it looks like this week! Now I must warn you that this is my very first time gardening so it’s not going all as planned. However, we are almost ready to harvest our first crop of spinach so that is super exciting!

Garden #1

From left to right: Carrots, Spinach, Peas, Peas

Garden #2

From left to right: Peppers (not doing so well), Broccli, Cucumbers (taking forever)

Garden #1 & #2

Garden #3

Tomatoes! They have to be against a south facing wall since it gets so cold here at night. One is not doing so well.

Nick watering the garden!

We Have Visitors! :)

This week has been CRAZY busy due to the fact that Nick’s sister and her family are vacationing here! We have been doing all kinds of things with them and it has truly been a lot of fun. I will try to let the pictures do most of the talking for today’s post so that you can see for yourself what we have been up to!

A Trip To The Park

Nick chased the kids all around pretending to be a shark!

The Hike to Hermit Falls

Absolutely breathtaking!

Visiting The Great Sand Dunes

On the dunes it was windy and miserable but in the water it was quite enjoyable!

Well, there you have it! It’s been a fun week so far! We have really enjoyed their visit!

Our Trip to Steamboat: Fishing Struggles

So I have already mentioned that while in Steamboat it rained, A LOT! Well not only was it rainy but it was cold too! Anyway, Nick brought all of his fly fishing gear and so of course he wanted to use it so we waded through the weeds to the banks of the Yampa River. Now, you must give my husband a break because the water was moving EXTREMELY quick due to the rain and snowmelt so it was difficult to fish in. However, he still attempted it.

Check out that wonderful form! He’s a skilled fisherman!

He caught a fish!

NOT! I would say he’s snagged.

So instead of losing his brand new fly what does he do? He goes wading in the almost freezing water!

The water was so cold he snapped my scissors before even using them! It was a good pair too!

Well, after drying him off, he was done. He did not want to fish anymore so we decided to take a break for awhile. However, we did want to check out Steamboat Lake so we drove the half hour up and hiked down to the lake. It was absolutely gorgeous!

I decided to try my hand at fishing.

Let’s just say it was a failed attempt!

Well, there you have it. Our fishing failures! We are usually pretty good fishermen (and women) but didn’t feel like sticking it out due to the cold and the rain. I guess you can call us wimps but hey, who wants to be miserable on vacation? Anyone? Nope, us neither! Well, either way we still had fun and can say that we have been fishing on the Yampa river and Steamboat lake. Even if it was a lost cause!

Well, that’s it for this evening. I am off to bed! My sister-in-law and her husband are bringing their 3 (fabulous) kiddos on vacation here this next week and I need to wake up EARLY so I can finish cleaning my house! I am excited for their visit and will have to share some photos with you! Until later, take care!

Our Trip to Steamboat: Yampa River Botanic Park

While in Steamboat we also decided to check out the Yampa River Botanic Park. As you know, Nick and I LOVE flowers so we were really interested in going. Well, as we were walking in the park, a couple of ladies (from Texas) came up to us and said “We just want to warn you that there is a bear stuck in the gardens!” Well, of course, if you know my husband then you know that makes us want to HURRY before it leaves! Haha! He practically sprinted to the gate so that we could catch a picture of it before it took off. As we were approaching it though we watched it cross in front of the gate and bound over the fence. My husband then proceeded to chase it down so that he could snap a picture. Now, I would share the pictures that he took but they turned out to be pretty blurry since the bear was on the run so here is a picture of one that looks VERY similar to it!

After seeing the bear off, we then decided to take a stroll around the gardens. My fantastic husband took some wonderful pictures of the gorgeous flowers and so here are a few that were our favorites (he helped me pick out which ones to share with you)!

Nick’s fabulous reflection picture!

He wanted me to take a picture of his reflection so I did! I risked my life doing it too. He made me stand on some teeny rock in the pond! I seriously almost lost my balance trying to get a good picture. Oh the crazy things we do for a neat picture!

And here I am in front of one of the prettiest sections of the garden! We just loved all of the gorgeous colors! Can you tell it was a chilly day?

Well, I hope you enjoyed this portion of our trip! We certainly did! Now I am off to work in my own garden! I promise to share some pictures of it soon! We have had horribly strong winds here though and I am now missing many leaves off my poor pepper plants! We hope that the weather starts shaping up soon! It’s been too cold and windy for our taste! Until next time, have a great day!