Hello, Good-bye

Well, the big news around here is that we moved in December. We have been talking about moving for what seems like forever, and we finally actually did it. Remind me never to move again. Especially at Christmas time.

Anyway, let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we?

Here is the kitchen/dining area in our old apartment. Complete with turquoise tile counter tops, burn mark on the floor from previous tenants, mini oven, very limited counter space, and no pantry--so half our food was on top of our fridge. Also, what you can't tell from pictures is that the wood cabinets were so old they constantly shed sawdust on our dishes.

But, you know what? I learned how to cook in this kitchen. I mean, my mother had done a good job of teaching me the basics growing up, but this kitchen is where our family life began and where I really learned to cook. And I think I'll always love it for that.

Moving on to our living room...

 I actually liked a lot about our living room. It was quite large, for one thing, so the kids could run and play, and it had these big sliding glass doors that let in natural light and had a nice view of the redwood trees. This room, in particular, is filled with the memories of our "just starting out" life, and they are wonderful memories.

The master bedroom was also big, but no bedroom is big enough to really fit in all the furniture we crammed in there.

 And once Grace was born, and we lacked the space for another dresser, her clothes all just stayed in bins under my craft table.

I don't seem to have taken a picture of the bathroom, which is just as well. It was small, and we were fighting a losing battle with mold. I was not at all sorry to say good-bye to that room.

The girl's room was a good size as well--their new one is actually smaller--but we did always have to warn them to stay away from the asbestos ceiling and to please not lean on the screen because it was a straight drop to the parking lot below.

And here is said parking lot! While the straightaway was great for riding bikes in when I could be out there with them, for the most part this parking lot was terrifying to me. And honestly one of the reasons we had to move. It connected the two streets near our complex, and drivers would often take a shortcut through it. Which would be fine except they would go rather fast. And my kids--Jane in particular--would go careening around the corner of the building to get to our carport anytime we were going someplace.

Every. Single. Time. I could see in my mind's eye a car barreling past at that exact moment, and the horror I would feel at watching her get hit.

Oh, I tried to get her to stop and look. I tried to keep up with her and make her stop. But she was incorrigible. And once I had a baby and was slowed down even further by having to lug the carrier down the stairs, I knew it was time to go.

Here's what I affectionately termed the "Tetanus Playground." Rusty metal and splintering, rickety wood. I very rarely let my kids actually play here. Though the Google bike adds a nice touch.

This laundry room was also given a cheerful farewell. I do miss being able to do two loads at once. But I don't miss quarters. I don't miss how the whites setting always made the floor flood. And I don't miss how the dryers were often broken and that I always had to pay to dry my towels twice. I didn't really mind sharing it with the complex though. It was right under our apartment, so I didn't have to carry laundry far. And as one of only a few stay-at-home moms, I had Tuesday mornings all to myself in there.

In short, our old apartment was a bit of a dump. BUT, it was amazingly priced, the location was perfection itself, we had amazing neighbors and a fabulous ward, and it was actually quite large, with a big storage room to boot. And all of those reasons are why we stayed there for over six years and mostly really loved it. I was happy there. And I kept telling Chase that it would take finding the perfect place for me to be willing to move. 

Luckily, after months of stalking craigslist, I found it. 

Our new place is a duplex, not one mile away from our old apartment. We are in a different ward, which is a bummer, but due to a recent boundary change, several of our old friends are in this new ward with us. So, can't complain too much about that. And all of our old friends are still close, so I can still keep up with my same book group, iron chef night, park days, preschool group, etc., Chase can keep his same short commute, and Livia can stay at her old school.

We have a yard. A garage. A washer/dryer. Three bedrooms. And two (count 'em, TWO) bathrooms). 

It's heaven. 

And it had been remodeled a few years back, so it actually looks nice!

Helloooo, new house!

 We moved over two months ago and the bedrooms still aren't done to my satisfaction, so those pictures will have to wait. But here's the empty master on move-in day.

 Fenced backyard!! Chase and I plan on fixing it up soon, and putting in a lawn of some sort.

My girls do miss our old apartment. Jane especially has been having a hard time with the transition, and often asks about our old house and talks about how it was "the best house." In a way, she's right. Because the best house is where you're with people who love and care for you, where you're warm and dry, and where you make wonderful memories. And we did have all of that. That decrepit blue apartment will always have a special place in our hearts. But I think this new house will be memory-filled soon enough. And without the rusty pipes and paper-thin walls. :)