We can now finally call ourselves home-owners. We signed our lives away this bitterly cold Colorado afternoon, ensuring that for at least the next 10-20 years our debt will heavily out-weigh our assets :)
This delightful, newly bestowed title did not come without some serious frustrations and delays, however... While the government is strongly encouraging first-time homebuyers to purchase, the mortgage companies seem to be doing exactly the opposite. Granted, if I was cooped up in a cubicle for 40 hours a week with little to no natural light, and nothing but a huge stack of papers in my inbox - not to mention a dead-pan boss incessantly breathing down my neck about how I didn't fill out the latest TPS reports properly - I would be a little bitter too! I won't bore you with the details of the hoops we had to jump through, but let me say that I was incredibly surprised that we only had to bump back our closing date once. I guess it didn't help that both Amanda and I were such transient people. We had to track down our rent checks for the past 12 months, which wouldn't seem like that big of a deal... but when we each lived in three different places, paying rent to three different people/companies, it got a little difficult.
At any rate, we are now proud owners of our first home. Now comes the fun part - cleaning! The previous owner had two beautiful golden retrievers, so this could make our job all the more fun. She was nice enough to leave plenty of cleaning supplies though. Anyway, we hope to move me in this coming weekend.
Then soon enough Amanda's family will be out for Christmas and we'll be having a painting party. "Merry Christmas, now grab a brush!" What a wonderful way to spend the holidays, eh?
If anyone else wants to join in on the fun just give me a call :)
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Engagement pics
Happy American Thanksgiving to you all :)
Amanda and I are still in a food coma at the moment, recovering from a great day of fun, food, football, and more food in Appleton, Wisconsin with the Messerschmidt family (Amanda's mom's side of the fam).
Our evening with the Hoogendam family was very enjoyable - it was great to catch up with some relatives I hadn't seen in a while, and introduce Amanda to them at the same time. We also got to briefly check out Niagara Falls, which was partially hidden behind the billowing clouds of mist. At any rate, we can check that one off the list. Maybe later when we're rich and famous (either/or would really be quite alright, actually) we'll come back for a second look and stay a little longer.
On our way back to the States, we stopped off near Guelph to visit my Aunt MaryAnn and check out my old stomping grounds. It was great to see her as she wasn't able to make it to the Vyn gathering on Saturday!
Now to the initial reason for posting... the new engagement pics. Tyler Jones, our awesome photographer, just posted a sampling of our engagement pictures to his blog (see: http://www.tylerjonesphoto.com/blog/?p=228). I've selected a few of our favorites so far and posted them here. Thanks again Tyler - looking forward to seeing the whole batch!
Never knew we could look so good ;)
Aspen grove we spotted on our way to Squaw Pass
Yes, we live in Colorado, and it is B-E-A-UUU-T-I-F-U-L !!!
This was a fun experience, and even more exciting to have such tangible memories. It was getting pretty cold as we made our way toward the pass, but we survived, as did our two valiant photographers - thanks Tyler and Dusty!
Amanda and I are still in a food coma at the moment, recovering from a great day of fun, food, football, and more food in Appleton, Wisconsin with the Messerschmidt family (Amanda's mom's side of the fam).
Our evening with the Hoogendam family was very enjoyable - it was great to catch up with some relatives I hadn't seen in a while, and introduce Amanda to them at the same time. We also got to briefly check out Niagara Falls, which was partially hidden behind the billowing clouds of mist. At any rate, we can check that one off the list. Maybe later when we're rich and famous (either/or would really be quite alright, actually) we'll come back for a second look and stay a little longer.
On our way back to the States, we stopped off near Guelph to visit my Aunt MaryAnn and check out my old stomping grounds. It was great to see her as she wasn't able to make it to the Vyn gathering on Saturday!
Now to the initial reason for posting... the new engagement pics. Tyler Jones, our awesome photographer, just posted a sampling of our engagement pictures to his blog (see: http://www.tylerjonesphoto.com/blog/?p=228). I've selected a few of our favorites so far and posted them here. Thanks again Tyler - looking forward to seeing the whole batch!
Never knew we could look so good ;)
Aspen grove we spotted on our way to Squaw Pass
Yes, we live in Colorado, and it is B-E-A-UUU-T-I-F-U-L !!!
This was a fun experience, and even more exciting to have such tangible memories. It was getting pretty cold as we made our way toward the pass, but we survived, as did our two valiant photographers - thanks Tyler and Dusty!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Amanda's first trip to Canada!
This weekend I've been showing off my fiancée to the extended family. Not only had Amanda not yet met my extended family, she hadn't ever been to Canada before. Since I have the whole week off for American Thanksgiving I figured this would be the perfect opportunity for her to meet everyone. Although she was disappointed by the fact she couldn't get a stamp in her passport as we crossed the border, she has enjoyed meeting everyone and hasn't been too scared off yet. I recognized the potential risk in having her meet everyone before we're married, but then again I don't have any crazy aunts or uncles that might want to jump in her lap and lay a wet one on her (here's to you Aunt Rhonda!). Anyway, we had the party with the Vyn side last night, and now on to visit the Hoogendams tonight :)
In other news, we found a home that we absolutely love on the south side of Denver, and are currently under contract. We're in the final stages of gathering up all the paperwork to get approval for our mortgage, and we'll hopefully be closing when we get back home at the end of the month. It's a really cute ranch with a fully finished basement apartment - so if any of you are looking to make a trip out to colorful Colorado, you're more than welcome to stay with us. Here's a few pics to give you a quick glance:
In other news, we found a home that we absolutely love on the south side of Denver, and are currently under contract. We're in the final stages of gathering up all the paperwork to get approval for our mortgage, and we'll hopefully be closing when we get back home at the end of the month. It's a really cute ranch with a fully finished basement apartment - so if any of you are looking to make a trip out to colorful Colorado, you're more than welcome to stay with us. Here's a few pics to give you a quick glance:
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Snowed in...
So Denver got hit with a respectable winter storm over the past couple days, totaling up to 27 inches in some parts of the Mile High city. While this type of snow might not shut down a robust Midwestern city, we Coloradans aren't used to snow that lasts longer than 24 hours. Snow removal in these parts is almost exclusively the sole responsibility of that giant ball of burning gasses in the sky (a.k.a. the sun).
At any rate, I have benefited from two consecutive snow days and am crossing my fingers for a third! I know I sound a little greedy, but if you had twenty pairs of eyes staring at you all day you'd be ready for a break too :)
On my first snow day I drove Amanda to work, and hung out at the Hospital cafeteria catching up on grading until the campus was officially closed in the early afternoon. We took advantage of the free time and headed to the mall with Amanda's brother Greg. We capped off the night with a riveting game of Rook.
Day 2 wasn't quite as eventful, but equally delightful. Amanda had the whole day off too and we hung out at her apartment most of the day watching movies and only left once to get some groceries.
Anyway, the scrumptious aroma of pumpkin pie is beginning to fill the air. I’m going to investigate…
At any rate, I have benefited from two consecutive snow days and am crossing my fingers for a third! I know I sound a little greedy, but if you had twenty pairs of eyes staring at you all day you'd be ready for a break too :)
On my first snow day I drove Amanda to work, and hung out at the Hospital cafeteria catching up on grading until the campus was officially closed in the early afternoon. We took advantage of the free time and headed to the mall with Amanda's brother Greg. We capped off the night with a riveting game of Rook.
Day 2 wasn't quite as eventful, but equally delightful. Amanda had the whole day off too and we hung out at her apartment most of the day watching movies and only left once to get some groceries.
Anyway, the scrumptious aroma of pumpkin pie is beginning to fill the air. I’m going to investigate…
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Still house-hunting
For the past two months Amanda and I have been looking for a house - after all, what better way to decide what to put on our registry than to buy a new place and see what needs to be added! Anyway, it's been a painfully slow and slightly frustrating process thus far. We started out looking at townhomes and steadily bumped up our price limit after not finding exactly what we wanted. There have been a handful of houses we liked and a few we even put offers in on, but the long and short of it is people out here think it's perfectly ok to list their house for $30,000 above the appraisal rate! We still have our fingers crossed to get a deal done before the tax credit expires at the end of November.
This past weekend Justin and Sarah were in town with their two little ones, shopping in the big city and visiting friends and family. This gave my bride-to-be the opportunity to talk about dresses with her flower girl, Anna. While she was dissappointed that the wedding wasn't actually happening this weekend like she thought, she is still very excited to dress up like a princess next summer.
I also got to play baby-sitter as Justin and Sarah went shopping. Since Amanda was conveniently at work I had to roll up my sleeves and change my fourth diaper ever - and it was a solid one! Little Johnny sure downs his protein shakes :)
This past weekend Justin and Sarah were in town with their two little ones, shopping in the big city and visiting friends and family. This gave my bride-to-be the opportunity to talk about dresses with her flower girl, Anna. While she was dissappointed that the wedding wasn't actually happening this weekend like she thought, she is still very excited to dress up like a princess next summer.
I also got to play baby-sitter as Justin and Sarah went shopping. Since Amanda was conveniently at work I had to roll up my sleeves and change my fourth diaper ever - and it was a solid one! Little Johnny sure downs his protein shakes :)
Friday, October 2, 2009
And on tap we'll have...
Coors light (this is a nod to our Rocky Mountain neighbor, Golden) and Pearl Street's Down Town Brown - really, did you think Amanda would want to serve anything less?
Next, this is where I'd tell you exactly what the menu is, except - as will soon be verified by the inventory we took at our first pre-marital counseling session - I’m not the best listener and can't remember much more than chicken and beef. Oh, and this will be served up buffet style, so you can have as much or as little as you like!
Ok, those are minor details compared to everything I else I have to report on. So things really fell into place while Amanda was home a couple weekends ago. Besides arranging the church and reserving the reception hall, she also found her dress (the exact one in the picture she had been carrying around as the example of what she wanted!), her bridesmaids’ dresses, a DJ, a cake maker, a florist and a caterer. Needless to say, she keeps making my job easier and easier.
We also started our pre-marital counseling a little over a week ago with Dave. We got out our #2 pencils (well, actually they were Dave’s) and took a 165 question scantron test with Likert scales and all – made us feel like we were back in school! I have to admit I did peak at some of Amanda’s answers, but it’s hard not to resist when half of the questions she’s answering were about me. Some of the questions really made us chuckle – like the one that stated, “I am often embarrassed by my partner”, or “My partner is a good listener.” Anyway, we’re excited to get the results back so we can start to discuss her strengths and my weaknesses :)
Next, this is where I'd tell you exactly what the menu is, except - as will soon be verified by the inventory we took at our first pre-marital counseling session - I’m not the best listener and can't remember much more than chicken and beef. Oh, and this will be served up buffet style, so you can have as much or as little as you like!
Ok, those are minor details compared to everything I else I have to report on. So things really fell into place while Amanda was home a couple weekends ago. Besides arranging the church and reserving the reception hall, she also found her dress (the exact one in the picture she had been carrying around as the example of what she wanted!), her bridesmaids’ dresses, a DJ, a cake maker, a florist and a caterer. Needless to say, she keeps making my job easier and easier.
We also started our pre-marital counseling a little over a week ago with Dave. We got out our #2 pencils (well, actually they were Dave’s) and took a 165 question scantron test with Likert scales and all – made us feel like we were back in school! I have to admit I did peak at some of Amanda’s answers, but it’s hard not to resist when half of the questions she’s answering were about me. Some of the questions really made us chuckle – like the one that stated, “I am often embarrassed by my partner”, or “My partner is a good listener.” Anyway, we’re excited to get the results back so we can start to discuss her strengths and my weaknesses :)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Ok, Ok, I know it's been a while :)
So, my only true responsibility thus far in helping plan the wedding has been to update this blog site weekly with bits of information and other random anecdotes... clearly I’ve been failing at that.
I am pleased to announce that Amanda has been holding up her end of the bargain! We now have a church, a date, a pastor, a reception hall, and a dj. For the first month and a half or so of our engagement there was a drought of post-worthy information to pass on due to the difficulty of finding a church, but now things seem to be rapidly falling into place.
What I can tell you thus far is that we will be tying the knot on Friday, July 30th, 2010 in lovely western Wisconsin. Part of the reason for choosing this date is that Amanda's parents were married on July 31st, and her grandparents on July 30th. The ceremony will take place at the English Lutheran Church in downtown La Crosse, followed by a reception at Stoney Creek, in Onalaska (I was really pulling for the French Lutheran Church, but I wouldn't want to be the only one that understands what's being said at the ceremony, so I graciously conceded!). Our good friend, Dave De Ridder, who graciously opened his doors to the then long-haired hippie from Oregon for an undisclosed amount of time, will be guiding us through our pre-marital counseling as well as officiating the ceremony.
Well, my duty is done for this week. I'm sure there'll be plenty more to update you on next week as Amanda is currently back in Wisconsin and making plenty of arrangements for her, ahem, OUR big day :)
I am pleased to announce that Amanda has been holding up her end of the bargain! We now have a church, a date, a pastor, a reception hall, and a dj. For the first month and a half or so of our engagement there was a drought of post-worthy information to pass on due to the difficulty of finding a church, but now things seem to be rapidly falling into place.
What I can tell you thus far is that we will be tying the knot on Friday, July 30th, 2010 in lovely western Wisconsin. Part of the reason for choosing this date is that Amanda's parents were married on July 31st, and her grandparents on July 30th. The ceremony will take place at the English Lutheran Church in downtown La Crosse, followed by a reception at Stoney Creek, in Onalaska (I was really pulling for the French Lutheran Church, but I wouldn't want to be the only one that understands what's being said at the ceremony, so I graciously conceded!). Our good friend, Dave De Ridder, who graciously opened his doors to the then long-haired hippie from Oregon for an undisclosed amount of time, will be guiding us through our pre-marital counseling as well as officiating the ceremony.
Well, my duty is done for this week. I'm sure there'll be plenty more to update you on next week as Amanda is currently back in Wisconsin and making plenty of arrangements for her, ahem, OUR big day :)
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