September

I was especially anxious for Jason to return from his fishing trip because there were a couple of houses I wanted him to see. There was one in Springville that I really liked that was in a nice neighborhood that had a big yard with an awesome playset. I had been to see it that weekend with Melissa and wanted to take him. There was also one that I saw online that looked awesome in Orem. I hadn’t seen it yet, but we were going to check both of them out the day after he got back. After comparing the two and considering the many perks of the Orem house, we decided to put down an offer. We loved that it was near 800 North and the mouth of Provo Canyon, we loved that it was just down the street from where Jason gets a lot of his materials for work, we loved the inside of the house, we loved the kept-up neighborhood, we loved that it was in a cul de sac, we loved the mature fruit trees and garden in the backyard, we loved the size of the yard, we loved that it wasn’t all the way in Springville...so many things were positive about this house. Well, apparently everyone else house-hunting thought so, too.That night, we were told that we were in a multiple offer situation...there were three other offers made within hours of each other. We were told that we had to bring our best offer to the table by the next evening, and they would pick from those offers by the next day. I was super nervous and didn’t want to get my hopes up, but it was hard because we really loved the house. I was so lucky to have such a great team on my side. Melissa spoke with my Dad and they worked together to present a great offer. Thanks to my Dad, he was able to bring closing costs down dramatically. Melissa asked me to write a letter to the sellers. Every little bit helps, right? We put in our offer and were told that they would let us know tomorrow if we were accepted or if they chose another family. Well, late that night we got a call from Melissa. The sellers realtor had called her and said they had made their decision; they didn’t want to make us go to bed being all anxious. They chose us!!! We couldn’t believe it! The realtor said we were chosen for three reasons...all the offers were within $500 of each other, and we weren’t necessarily the highest, but (1) we had the lowest closing costs, (2) the realtor felt most confident with Melissa because she was the only one who ever contacted her over the phone, not just by email, and (3) our letter is really what closed the deal. They appreciated having another young family living there and caring for the house. Winning the deal was literally unbelievable because it all seemed so fast! We had only been looking for about a month and had only seen the inside of a handful of houses...we were expecting a drawn out process as we had heard they can be sometimes. It all seemed too good to be true. This house was a night and day difference from most of the other houses we had seen (most were older, more run down and needed more fixing up, in kind of dumpy neighborhoods or on busy streets). The house was move-in ready and we would have just enough time to move and settle in before the baby comes. It was just perfect! And so the purchasing/loan process began...with the closing date scheduled for the end of month (September 30th). More on the move to come in a future post.

With all of the house things going on, that consumed a large part of the month, but we did manage to squeeze in a few more things:

I had a doctor’s appointment. Since I was measuring two weeks behind at my last appointment, I had an ultrasound done. The ultrasound showed that the baby was measuring right on track and that the fluid that was seen around his kidneys before was gone. So it had all worked itself out. That was a relief. And to top it off, I was feeling really good for being almost eight months pregnant.

Charlie and I had a playdate with cousins in Riverton and with Grandma Gruber. We played in their backyard and ate In-N-Out Burger.

We had a game night with friends from the neighborhood. We played a card game and Telestrations at the Gibbs house with them and the Bairds.

I made a Saturday trip (there and back) for Kendra's bridal shower. It was a fun tea party theme with a fortune teller and everything. So cute! While I was away at that, Jason went with Charlie and his family to the Ogden Temple Open House.

So tired on the drive home with Daddy

Jason was a trooper and took Charlie to Fathers and Sons...and they spent the night! I couldn’t believe that Jason actually did it, let alone considered it! He really lucked out because one of our friends from the ward was taking a really nice camper and offered to let them sleep in there as well. Turns out it was a REALLY nice camper...with three big screen TVs and everything! Jason said Fathers and Sons was pretty fun and that Charlie had a blast running around with the other kids. It is unfortunate, however, that it seems that nowadays Fathers and Sons is so short. People arrive once it is already starting to get dark, and then it is like a race to see who can leave first in the morning. Back in the day, I remember my brother going to Fathers and Sons and it would last a good part of the second day. They would have activities and relays. It doesn’t seem like that is done very much anymore.

I had a second doctor’s appointment that month. This time there was a lot of protein in my sample. This is usually a warning sign of preeclampsia...but my blood pressure looked really good. They had me do a 24 hour collection and some blood work to make sure everything was okay. I still had lots of protein….they said it was “sky-high”, but everything else looked good so they said they would test me again in two weeks.

Charlie and I had a playdate and craft day with our friends in the neighborhood. The kids played and watched a movie while the mom’s made fall decor.

Bryan had a mountain bike race up at Wolf Creek one weekend, and so we went to support him and spend the weekend at the WorldMark resort. As usual, the atmosphere of the meet was very exciting. The weather turned out to be perfect and very warm. Charlie had a good time with all of the excitement. A man even shared his cowbell with him. Bryan did well and we were all very excited for him. Charlie had a good time at the resort, and Jason and I even got some hot tubbing time alone.

The next weekend we headed to Idaho again, this time for Kendra’s wedding! I was so excited for her and was anxious to be a part of it. Jason, Charlie, and I stayed with Bri, Brad, and Bexley in their apartment nearby. We stayed Friday and Saturday night. The plan was to have the marriage ceremony in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard in front of the bridge...but the weather had other plans. It rained and rained so hard on Saturday! That was not going to happen. So the ceremony was moved inside to the living room of the house. It was still beautiful. Kendra made such a gorgeous bride. The reception was at the church, and we only had a short window to set up since there had been a funeral that morning. So it was very busy and crazy, but it all worked out and everything was beautiful! Hopefully that will be the last wedding we have to set up for awhile. 

Just tied the knot

Arbon kids at reception

We left early Sunday morning, instead of sticking around, because we wanted to make it back to our ward one last time before moving! We had Stake Conference and the Ogden Temple Re-dedication that month, so it felt like we hardly got a chance to say our goodbyes. Especially since our house hunt came and went so quickly, lots of people didn’t even know we were moving! It felt very sad to say goodbye to that ward since we grew to love it so much! Thanks to our callings, we knew practically everyone and we had made so many good friends. Luckily, the new house was only seven minutes away so we could still keep up our friendships. It was bittersweet. Hard to say goodbye, but excited for the adventures ahead.

Some last shots at our Pleasant Grove Apartment:

Some of our pepper bounty

On September 30th, we closed on the house...and we were officially homeowners!!!