Laying Tile

We couldn't let Ed the Contractor and his crew have all the fun. We wanted to share in the joy and thrill of laying slate tiles too ... that, and save a little money in the process. So Paige took lessons from Tito, one of Ed's crew members, on how to prep, mortar, and grout 12" slate tiles. The end result? A beautiful laundry room, bathroom, kitchen, and fireplace floor! 

... and the best part is that Paige came away with all 10 fingers!

Stock Car Races

The town of Cortez (about 20 minutes west of us) has a great 1/4 mile dirt track that has occasional car races on weekend. Tyson and Cody went to check them out one night and had a GREAT time! Tyson had so much fun that he was ready to go down on the track and jump in one of the modified stock cars himself and drive. In fact, when it was all over, he asked Cody if he could drive home. Uh ....

As it turned out, he did drive home and he did a fantastic job of staying within the speed limit and avoiding any wildlife on the highway. He's going to be a great, responsible driver.

Renovation Loan Begins

One of the delays in the purchase of our house was working through the details of a 203K loan. A 203K loan allows a homeowner to purchase a house and include the renovation/remodeling costs into the same mortgage (up to 110% of the value of the home). So while we're still living in our rental home, we had Ed the Contractor come in and do about $20,000 worth of renovation projects.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Ed and his crew will replace the hardwood floors (they were infested with beetles), carpet the bedrooms, add an exhaust fan in Tyson's bathroom (thank goodness! :), finish the exterior, restore the sheds, and so much more! It's an older house that was built in the late 1800's but was renovated by the previous home owners. They didn't have a chance to finish everything ... which is where Ed comes in. When it's all said and done, it'll have the charm and character of an older house with the beauty and conveniences of a newer house.

Homeowners Again

We did it! We're officially homeowners again. Around the first part of August we signed the papers to call this cute little house ours. We initially started the paperwork on the house back in April but there were a number of hoops to jump through including the short sale paperwork, FHA inspections, waiting for a lien to be released on the title from the IRS, etc. It was certainly a test in patience ... but in the end, we can't help but be grateful AND excited.