Change of Plans

If you've been following the blog from the beginning, you'll remember how I mentioned early on that one of the biggest stressors in preparation for this New Zealand experience was figuring out where we would live when we returned to Utah.  We had sold our home in beautiful Mountain Green.  We loved Mountain Green.  We enjoyed living in Steve's parents' home in Kaysville for a year before moving to New Zealand.  We loved Kaysville.  I felt strongly that if we decided to settle in Kaysville, I wanted to buy a home in the same school and church "zones" to minimize even more changes for our kids.  There weren't many options within that criteria, but we considered the few that presented themselves, with no luck.  In Mountain Green, it's such a small community that even if we didn't move to the same neighborhood, the kids would at least go to the same schools that they had attended before our move.

After hours and hours of study and discussion and weighing all the options, we made the decision to buy some land in Mountain Green and have a home built while we were gone.  During an already very busy time of our lives, we spent the extra time required to meet with designers and make every single choice for the new home.  It was exhausting, to say the least, but we arrived in New Zealand and breathed a sigh of relief that we had tied up all of those loose ends.  Despite worrying a little that the costs of the new home had exceeded what we were expecting -- not grossly, just a bit annoyingly -- we still felt great about our decision.  Here's a photo taken from our lot in Mountain Green:

No denying that it's a beautiful spot!

So, things were moving along, a bit slower than planned, but still moving nonetheless.  We actually didn't mind the delay, as long as our home would be ready to move into by June 2014.  In late October 2013, we received word from our builder that all of our plans had been approved and that they would be ready to dig the hole and begin building the home within a few weeks.  In the meantime, my step-dad passed away, and I made the trip home for his funeral and to support my mother.

Only a few days after returning back to New Zealand, I received an email from my friend Kendi Ostermiller.  I had met her at church while living in Ray and Danita's home in Kaysville, and Julia had quickly become good friends with her oldest daughter.  Kendi and her husband Scott had invited us to a Bar-B-Q at their home several months previous.  During that evening spent with their family, Steve and I shared a private conversation, saying something like, "This place is perfect!  Gorgeous home, big private lot, mature trees, swimming pool, great neighbors.  If only they were selling it, ha ha!"  

I guess the joke was on us, because Kendi's email, out-of-the-blue, was to tell me that she and Scott had decided to sell their home and wondered if we might be interested.  As I read the email, a pit formed in my stomach.  Are you kidding me?  I had just returned from Utah!!  I could have at least gone to see the home in person!  But it didn't matter anyway, right?  We had made our decision.  We were building a new home.  The kids had their hearts set on moving back to Mountain Green. 

When Steve arrived home from work that evening, I immediately pulled him aside...

Me:  I got an email today from someone in our Kaysville neighborhood, asking if we might like to buy their home.

Steve:  (long pause)  Please don't say it's the Ostermillers.

Me:  (even longer pause, followed by a deep exhale)  Yup.

Steve:  Are you kidding me?!

We considered it for several hours, but ultimately emailed our friends and told them thanks so much for thinking of us, but that we felt obligated to stick with our original plan to build.  We told them that changing plans at that point felt akin to dumping a fiancé at the altar.  Kendi and Scott replied back, telling us they understood and wishing us the best.

End of story, right?  Wrong!  Steve couldn't stop thinking about the situation, and apparently Scott felt the same.  A couple of weeks later, Scott emailed to tell us that, despite Kendi's protests, he felt he needed to email again, just to make sure that we were set on our plans for building the new home.  They had put so much of their hearts and souls into their home and really wanted to sell it to a nice family that would take good care of it and would be a good fit for the neighborhood.  I think Steve was grateful for Scott's follow-up, which validated his own feelings that we couldn't just let the opportunity disappear.  

I'm sure you can see where this is going, so I'll spare the very long and probably boring details of the remainder of the story.  "Skip to the end!" I can hear you saying.  Okay, okay!

We canceled the build job, and we are buying the Ostermiller's home in Kaysville.

After initial shock and a few tears shed, the kids are all genuinely excited about the home and schools and neighborhood.  Turns out that the boundary lines for our neighborhood are on the Layton High School side, not Davis.  Great news for me (Go Lancers!), but a little hard for my Davis Dart hubby Steve.  Julia is excited for Fairfield Junior High, especially because her close cousin Seth will be there too.  Cameron will be back at Creekside where he had nice friends, and Emily is over the moon about going back to Columbia, riding the bus, and seeing her beloved friends and teachers.

We are all excited to live close to parents/grandparents and other relatives.  We really loved our church congregation and look forward to associating with them again.  Above all, we feel confident that we are getting an amazing home that has been immaculately maintained.  Plus, we're saving a decent chunk of money to boot! 

So much for having the "home" situation tied up with a pretty bow before moving to New Zealand!  I can joke about it now, but trust me, this was NOT a decision we made lightly.  We lost sleep, cried, and prayed and pondered like crazy.  It actually took over three months to make all of the arrangements to move forward with the Kaysville home.  It was so hard to finally break ties with our builder, and our wonderful agent Paul, who had been with us every step of the way.  We will always be grateful for the many people behind-the-scenes who assisted us in our efforts to make the switch from one home to the other.

The trip I mentioned for Steve a few posts ago?  He went to the States for a conference, but scheduled a short detour in Utah to see the house in person and make the final decision.  I still have yet to see most of the home myself, but have pored over the photos and trust the opinions of those who have seen the entire home in person (Steve, his parents, my mom, my dad and step-mom...to name a few!).

How about some photos?  Here's the home, after a foot of beautiful snow!

Same day, in the backyard (hi Sydney!):

As much as I love new snow, you can't appreciate the beauty of the property without seeing it during the warmer months:

Here's a peek at the inside:

Check out this cute craft room!

As much as we love the house, we are absolutely smitten with the yard:

Can't wait to plant in this garden!

I'm sure that the large detached garage/pool house will get a lot of use:

To Scott and Kendi:  Thank you for contacting us!  We love the home and can't wait to call it our own.  The only downfall is that you won't be our neighbors. :(  We wish the very best for your family in the future.

To our Mountain Green friends:  We will miss you dearly.  Since it's only a 15-minute drive between the two towns, we have promised our kids that we will organize parties and play-dates.  Please save us seats next to you on the Snowbasin gondola!

To our Kaysville friends:  I guess you're stuck with us!  We love you and look forward to being in your midst again soon.

To our New Zealand friends:  Please come visit us anytime!!!