… that’s a wrap!

(Almost)

I can’t believe we’ve made it through so many months in this state of Kentucky! It has NOT been easy on me. But that rant is maybe for another day. In summary, the weather here is not my cup of tea and I am very ready to get back to my Colorado lifestyle.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Ben was offered a great job in January. Ben was invited to join an amazing law firm on the western slope. His law firm is based in Aspen, but Ben will be working out of the Glenwood Springs office most days.

Which leads me to the most exciting news — WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! Our own house that we picked out all by ourselves. Well, me. I picked it out. Thanks to Ben for trusting me!!! We own our home now, but we had to house shop from a distance which is just so dang tough. And Ky was and is only temporary, so this new home we are buying feels just…. Special.

I had found a home on Zillow, but we had almost completely ruled out the town it was in. On a whim we decided I should fly out to Colorado and visit a few of the homes we had been watching online. Our house search journey was very, very difficult. By the time it was time to buy, the rates were up and the housing options in an already hard to get into market were absolutely terrible. When it came time to put an offer down on a house we had four homes to choose from in a 60? mile radius. Four. Four homes and three of which would have really stretched our budget. But despite the budget stretch we had narrowed down two that we’d already looked at with our realtor through a Face Time tour. When I arrived and saw them in person I just couldn’t imagine spending so much money on these beautiful homes…… that had no yards! They had beautiful views. Mountains all around! They were on a golf course which meant rec center access, pool for Emery, manicured lawns (helllloooooo weed killer roundup / glyphosate which Ben and I do everything in our power to keep away from our sweet baby girl) and hello quiet, fun life with walk able access to trails. But it didn’t sit well with me. It just didn’t. Even with the incredible double balconies and wrap around deck and views for days. The third house I loved, but I did not feel qualified to make a decision on that house because Ben wasn’t with me and the house was older and in the mountains-ish and I needed someone much more knowledgeable than me to see it and determine what work would need to be done.

So back to the golf course homes. I had thought I’d chosen which one I liked more and could see ourselves living in for a few years. But before I headed to Boulder from the West Slope for my final day in Colorado, I wanted to drive out west a bit further to a town called Silt. It was about 5 miles down the highway from New Castle, just as the mountains swap to desert. There was a house there that I’d been watching on Zillow and coincidentally they were having an open house that Saturday afternoon. I showed up about 15 mins before the open house closed. When I walked into the house I knew it was going to become our home. I just knew. I think I drove up and down highway 70 5 times to make sure I could see myself living in Silt, Colorado. It is 5 miles down the highway from New Castle (where the other homes were) and about 45 minutes from Redstone (where the mountain-ish house was). It’s different. It feels, to me, like Utah. Our house sits up on a mesa. It feels removed. But its only a 20 minute commute to Ben’s office, in a super well established, older neighborhood. And it’s roomy. Four bedrooms. Four bathrooms. A huge fenced in backyard! Oh, to have space! Our home in Kentucky is so much smaller than our apartment in Colorado so raising Emery in it has been so challenging for me. I can’t wait to have SPACE! We put an offer down and they accepted our offer. We went under contract and for the first time in a very long time, we were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Light.

I am counting down the days until I’m back at home in Colorado. I cant wait to be a drive away from my family vs. a $1400 flight and a full day of flying. I have seen my family once in nearly a year and that is hardddddddd on me. I can’t wait to be a few hours from my church and my city that I love so much. I am under no illusions that placing roots on the western slope of Colorado will be super easy. We will be in a small rural town without a grocery store! But Colorado is home. HOME. For 13 years. And I’ve missed it so dang much.

We close on our house August 1st. Bring. It. On.