Somewhere to call home

We bought a house!!!

That's right! I matched two and a half weeks ago, and now we have a house.

The speed at which everything is happening is nearly boggling.

Keith and I flew out to Iowa City over the weekends and stayed with a friend from medical school (Thanks so much you guys!).

Knowing that you have a small budget and only two days to find a house is just a little nerve-wracking. I was an emotional basket-case nearly the entire weekend.

At first, it wasn't looking good. What we could afford, we didn't like. Or it was too far away from the university. Or it was in a bad school district. Or it didn't have a yard. Or it needed too much work. I wasn't going to budge on the school district issue. I felt we had to be in a great school area for Roman and Blaise. Keith wasn't going to budge on the amount of work to be done (like, rebuilding half the house.) The first night after house hunting, we almost had our first fight. Almost.

The next day, I was looking at listings in the morning. I wrote several down.

Then we went and re-looked at several of the homes we had liked from the first day. Then I asked the real estate agent if we could look at some from my list.

The very last one on my list, the one I had written down while I was being shoo-ed out the door. That's our house.

Our first house!!

And we got it with our first offer. No counter-offer or anything!!

Okay, the house needs a little work. Think "vision." (Or like Keith says, "Project.")

The front room
(this one and the kitchen need the least work)

The kitchen (with brand new cabinets!)

But seriously, this house is perfect for us. There's enough space, it has a yard, it is right next door to one of the best elementary schools in Iowa City, and it is in a gorgeous neighborhood just two miles from the university.

Our back yard

What we live next to.
Isn't it just gorgeous?

Already, we've starting planning what changes need to happen (immediately: paint, carpet, and lighting; later: siding, windows, basement).

I am so excited!! Let the home-owner adventure begin!

Girl Night (And Day)

An amazing thing happened over the weekend.

I had my mom and my two oldest sisters over. To my house!!

It was wonderful. Nearly 24 hours of girl-ness. Something that I have obviously been in dire need of.

Even my 18 year old sister, Mercy, noticed this. "Wow," she said. "I bet this is nice. With you being the only girl living here." Yeah, it is.

We watched movies on the air mattress in my living room, while eating popcorn and chocolate. We giggled over silly parts in the movies (something definitely girly. Men don't giggle.)

The next morning, after a beautiful breakfast of fresh strawberries and crepes, we headed to Park City. For some pure, unadulterated shopping.

I love Keith. Very much. But, like I'm sure pretty much all men, he's just not that big into shopping. Even if we are looking at flat screens or laptops or such. It's a "well that's cool. Next!" type of thing.

Shopping with my mom and my sisters, I realized how much I miss just hanging out with girls. There was this particular moment, when we walked into the Coach outlet store, when I had that "we're not in Kansas anymore" feeling.

We were all nearly breathless over the beautiful displays of purses. My mom and sister were sifting through silk scarves. And I almost mentally allowed myself to buy this fantastic lilac trench coat. (Note: I hunted the internet to find a picture of this coat, to share it's fabulousness with you. But there was none to be found.)

I also think that I was able to share my love of Ann Taylor with my family.

Although, shopping with my super-skinny-should-have-been-models sisters was not exactly easy on my self image.

Finally we headed home with two jackets and a fabulous pair of jeans (and no purple trench coat).

I'm so thankful for the time I had with them. I try hard not to think about how long I'll be in Iowa, and how much with change while I'm gone.

Thanks, my girls, for the wonderful time.

Between Here and There

I keep wondering why I'm feeling stressed.

I'm not in school. I'm not working. I technically have plenty of time to sleep and relax and get caught up on all my project.

But I'm stressed!!

I could figure it out until last night, amid a minor tearful episode, Keith pointed out that we had only matched 6 days ago.

That right. Only 6 days ago!

Since then, I've finished my research, taken the boys out of daycare, found a real estate agent, gotten us pre-approved for a mortgage, created a list a houses to look at, booked a trip to Iowa to buy one of said houses, gotten a TB test, and nearly completed my physician licensing paperwork.

It's been a busy 6 days.

I can't believe we are going to buy a house! Our first home.

Keith and I have been renting for nearly 8 years. I rented for a year before that. Keith rented for 6+ years before that. So I have been living in apartments for 9 years. Keith for well, nearly 15 years.

And everywhere we have lived as felt temporary. That's what apartments can do to you.

But we have been pre-approved for our first mortgage and head out of Iowa next week to start the house hunt!!

Kitchen Table

It's no secret we don't like our apartment.

In fact, we are Done with apartment living.

We are actually in the process of looking for our very first house!! (In Iowa, of course.) There are no words about how wonderful this is.

Our apartment is bursting at the seams. It's really hard to fit a family of four into a two bedroom, one bath, ~750 square foot space.

Even so, I do have my favorite place. A place with the best light and the least clutter.

And the place where my color scheme is best seen...

Don't you love the colors?
Aqua, apple green, yellow!

So come on over and pull up a chair.

Just please call first, so I can hide the rest of the mess.

Time to Party!!!

I'm 27 years old today.

And what better way to celebrate than with everyone I love.

Happy Birthday!
Roman, me, Keith, and Blaise

We had a party at my parents' house. A combined Match and birthday party.

There were a couple shocked faces when we announced that we would be moving 1200 miles away. For at least 5 years.

But, I would like to think that in the conversation and celebration throughout the afternoon, most of the shock and even a little sadness was forgotten in just the enjoyment of being together.

My dad, me, and my mom
Thanks for all the love that
has gotten me to this point in my life

Sisters, Cousins, and Friends!

My sisters!
I love being part of this group of girls

I can't believe how many people came.

The whole party!
Wow, thanks for all the love and support!!

I want to thank everyone who came. It was unbelievably wonderful to see you. People I haven't seen for years. A chance to reconnect one more time.

Auralee, me, Mercy
I love my sisters!

Thanks.

MATCH DAY!!!

I feel like I want to keep my match a secret. Not because it went badly, or we are disappointed. But because I would rather be able to tell all of you in person, and watch your face change when you hear the news. I like giving news in person.

Yep, Match Day is that exciting

But Match Day is over.

My hands were shaking pretty hard when I was opening my envelope. Imagine, holding an envelope that contains information about your future. That doesn't happen very often.

Opening our envelope

It's good news!!

One happy family
(well, minus a Roman who is hiding under the table)

I guess there's no way to keep this news for getting out.

Can you guess where we are going?

Placing my pin in the school map

Roman pointing to our new home

Yep, that's right. Iowa. My first choice. Wow. It feels really good to say that I got my first choice. Like all the block exams and board study and suffering through terrible surgery rotations paid off. I got as much say where I go as any one could have.

So we are headed to the Midwest. Wow, that's strange. I've been saying for over four years that if we were going to leave Utah, it was going to be for somewhere warm. Where it didn't snow for 6-9 months out of the year. And I tried. But the "warm programs" just didn't fit our family as well. Iowa. Well, it felt right. The program is phenomenal. The housing market is very affordable. The schools are fantastic. There is a great dental school for Keith. And it is safe. I know that I will have to live through infamous Midwestern winters, but it seems like a small price to pay for all the benefits.

And like one resident I talked to in Iowa said, "It pretty much never gets any colder than, say, negative 30." Yeah, he said it like it was a good thing.

It was great to have my boys with me. Because, this isn't just me.

Happy Match Day
(And now you can see where Roman was
during the picture taking.
We at least got him IN this one)

This is for all of us.

Almost time

The countdown on the side bar of my blog is making me sick.

Suddenly there isn't enough time to get ready for this.

Here's to hoping for the best at 10 am tomorrow.