Taking The First Step

What a busy, busy week we have had! Bob and I are on the verge of some very big changes in our lives and this was the week we got the ball rolling!

For the last month or so Bob and I have been seriously shopping for a realtor and loan officer we trust to help get us into our first home. I have interviewed several Realtors with the same 10 or so questions every time. It seems the Realtors with experience are real downers. They are always trying to convince us we want something different than what we are telling them. You'll be more comfortable in a condo than in a house... you would like this split entry more than any rambler I can show you... etc! The ones who listen to what we want and are excited to help us no matter how picky we are, have little to no experience! In the middle are all the sleaze balls and jerks just in it for the money who try to bully and push us into using them without answering any of the questions we present.

Then came Jen Mascaro. She's a realtor with more than a decade of experience in real estate, owns her own firm, and teaches at one of the local real estate schools. However she was excited to answer all our questions and let us know that the most important thing she could do for us was put us in a home we would love for years down the road and could afford comfortably. Even if it took a long time to find "the one". Finally we found a realtor that meets our needs! After letting Jen know she was hired, she told us about a special loan called "The American Dream" loan only offered through US Bank. This special loan allows us as first time home buyers to get a home for only a $1,000 down payment and no mortgage insurance! It's an elite loan with an extensive qualification process. We called US Bank and made an appointment for pre-qualification next week!

On Tuesday after a quick check up with my doctor, we rushed home to watch my nephew Ryan for a couple of hours. I don't know if I'm just getting old, or if he has limitless energy but boy did he wear us both out! He is always on the go!

The only time he was holding still long
enough to snap a picture!

On Thursday the reception team decided to do a team building activity together as an unofficial farewell to Shamae since she won't be our boss much longer. We decided we wanted to get away from the office, so we stopped at Kneaders and picked up some bagged lunches to take up the canyon. We did a short but beautiful hike up to Lisa Falls and ate our lunches at the foot of the waterfall. It really was a wonderful spot that I had never been to before but am excited to bring Bob back to! That night after Shamae left, Teresa and I decorated her desk for her birthday. We wanted her to know how loved and appreciated she is by the team, even if her manager doesn't feel the same way.

Our view at lunch

Our view on the other side

Shamae's desk all decorated



After such an exciting and eventful week, Bob and I just wanted to relax this weekend. On Saturday we had 6 tickets to the new X-Men movie from work, so we took Kelsey, Savannah, Ricky and Dani with us. The movie was fantastic! It's definitely one Bob and I will have to add to our movie collection when it comes out on DVD. After the movie my sisters and I began planning out X-Men Cosplay costumes we could get or make for Comic Con in September. We all wanted to be Phoenix, so don't be surprised if one day you see us all in different color phoenix costumes... I will be in red! After all the discussion of cosplay costumes, Bob and I decided we better get our Comic Con tickets purchased since the prices are so low right now.  We went home and purchased them that night. We are so excited for September!

This morning Marcie needed to go check on Grandma Malan down at Kirt's house. Bob and I haven't seen grandma in quite a while so we decided we would go down with her and visit. We had lunch with grandma and talked to her about all the plans Bob and I have for our future house. While at Kirt's, I discovered an in-ground trampoline in the backyard. I had to show off to my husband by throwing out a couple flips. I forgot how much of a work out trampolines are. Maybe we can get one at our future house!

After saying our goodbyes to grandma we made our way to my parents house. We are going to California with them in July so we needed to hammer out some details. My dad thought, what better way to plan a vacation, than over BBQ? So he BBQ'd for us while we discussed who wanted to go where on what days, where we were going to stay and what transportation we would need. Nothing is set in stone yet, but I think we are going to have a lot of fun this summer!