House Updates

For those of you wanting to break into our home and steal our massive wealth, don't do it!!!!! Kevin met yesterday with the rep from CPI Security to go over the security system we wanted, as well as home theater pre-wiring. He splurged for the 'glass break' sensors in the kitchen, LR and dining room areas, which is great if someone tries to break a window to get in, but not so cool if I drop a plate or a glass, which I will. The really cool thing, though, is that their monitoring system is INSTANTANEOUS. If the alarm is triggered, or we press the rescue, police, or emergency button on our keypads, a representative will come online and will start talking to us through a speaker in our house, and we can respond through a hidden microphone, from ANYWHERE in the house. Kind of cool, actually, especially for those with small children. All Connor would have to do is press a button and talk. And he is very good at talking. :-)

Also, our builder called!!! They will begin to clear and grade our lot on Monday, and after we drive by and take a look, we will meet with him for our pre-construction meeting. He said they want to do that as soon as possible, because they are ready to get started building our house! We are really excited, and I can't wait to move in.

In other news........I finally got approval from our property management company to extend our lease by 3 months, so we have a place to live after May. That is a relief! Kevin came down with whatever sinus thing I had going on last week, and I sucessfully managed to survive a day subbing in High School. I met some......................interesting kids. :-)

That's all for now. Hopefully next week I will have some pictures to post after they get the land cleared!!!!!

Details, Details

Well, we went yesterday to choose the fine details of the house, and it was more fun (and less stress) than I thought it was going to be. I was envisioning miles of countertop and cabinets and carpeting to choose from, and imagining 3 hours just to pick out which color I wanted for them. I think Kevin was slightly (maybe highly) relieved when the entire process took only about an hour. It helps to have begged the price list off of the sales lady before going to the Design Center so that you walk in knowing what IS and is NOT in the budget.

We chose Corian countertops, Maple cabinets with a Spice finish, and Hardwood for our foyer. We even splurged a little bit and opted for granite around the fireplace instead of slate, and a tile backsplash in the kitchen. I did NOT get ceramic tile in the kitchen, as I tend to drop things, and ceramic tile is not very forgiving. So we upgraded the vinyl, and I think it will all look very nice.

Next up is the meeting with the security and wiring lady to discuss the security system, surround sound, etc.

In other news, we are leaving today for several days in Fairfax with Mom and Dad. Connor has Monday off for President's Day and Tuesday off for a Teacher workday, so we are taking advantage of the time off to get out of town for a bit. Except for the drive, it should be a fun trip. Please pray for us that our dog, all 8 pounds of him, manages to NOT be continuously carsick. I actually went to PetSmart yesterday and bought a booster seat so he can see out of the window and Benadryl to knock him out (after checking with the vet, of course.) I sincerely believe that Kevin feels his mandhood is being threatened with all of this. And I can't really blame him. I felt kind of stupid, too, buying a booster seat for a dog. But they say it works, and I really don't want to spend an 8 hour drive cleaning puppy vomit.

So, that is really about it for us. I am off to finish packing, and Connor and Kevin are headed out for a Field Trip to a local Nature Preserve. I will update when we return with pictures of our trip.


And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kevin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (He is not thrilled that I remembered, I'm sure. He likes to forget that he is getting older.)

Our New House

To commemorate our very first family blog posting, we are sharing exciting news: we have decided to build a house! We are very excited about this, especially since we get to choose a lot of the details that will go into the house. We signed the contract about a week and a half ago, and should be able to move in by the first week or so of August.

To tell you a bit about the subdivision: it is called Mill Creek Falls, and Connor would still be in the same school, Crowders Creek Elementary, which is great, since it is a fantastic school and we all love it. It just received a Palmetto Gold Award for Excellence through the State of SC, which is a huge honor for a school. Anyway, the subdivision has a clubhouse, walking trails, a 6 acre pond, tennis courts, a playground, and a junior-Olympic sized swimming pool. Plus countless families and children for Connor to play with.

We are building in the new phase of Mill Creek Falls, and were the third family to contract a lot. We chose a beautiful lot that is just over a third of an acre, nice and flat, and backs up to a 25-foot wooded buffer between us and the neighboring property, which is privately held and will never be developed. In other words, PRIVACY and QUIET! Two things we really are looking for!

The house itself is right at 3000 square feet, with a 3 car garage, 4 bedrooms (and a HUGE Master Bedroom), 3 full baths, a good-sized loft area, and an office downstairs for Kevin. The floor plan is what we were looking for, even though I resisted a bit in the beginning, swearing we didn't need THAT much house! Then I walked through the model and fell in love.

We have already started trying to figure out how on Earth we are going to fill up that much space, since it needs far more furniture than we have! We go on Thursday to the Design Center to choose our cabinets, countertops, carpeting, fixtures, and appliances. AND, I can finally have my gas stove back! That was the one option that I refuse to be without!!! I got more excited over that than anything else on the options list.

Here are some pics of the floorplan, as well as a couple of our lot.

We will have 2 guestrooms, and plenty of beds for lots of company. This is a beautiful area with tons of stuff to do, so if you are in the mood for a little get away, please come see us! We would love to share our new home, and our new hometown, with all of you. We have found our little niche here, and are very happy. :-)

Until next time,

Kevin, Kristi, and Connor