Happy Father's Day!

This week was our last week to do our due diligence on our new home. Of course we want to be 100% sure this is the house for us before we get locked in, so we got down to business.

Wednesday was the day of our scheduled inspection. Naturally, despite having a noon appointment, our inspector didn't actually show up until almost 2PM! Luckily the guy didn't delay us any further. He started the inspection, meth test and radon test as soon as he arrived. After the inspection was complete, he walked us through everything that needed to be fixed. It was a quick walk through since I had to rush to work, but it seemed like the only thing he found that we weren't already aware of was the electricity not being grounded. My dad has done his fair share of electrical work over the years, so I asked him if he could take a look at it. There were a couple reasons the electricity might not be grounded so my dad agreed to take a look at the outside of the house Thursday morning before he went to work. He wasn't expecting the welcome party he got when he arrived however. It appears some teens got bored on summer break and went on a tagging spree through the neighborhood. Our garage was one of the houses hit, so when my dad arrived he was greeted by one of the neighbors and the cops. My dad was already concerned about the neighborhood, so he talked to the three of them for a while and asked if crime like this was common. The neighbor told my dad that she had lived on the corner for years and never seen anything like this happen before and the cops reassured my dad that our neighborhood got less calls than most of the rest in their jurisdiction and the graffiti wasn't gang related. The graffiti was kind of a blessing in disguise since dad's talk with the cops and the neighbor put his mind at ease that the neighborhood we were moving into was a safe one! Unfortunately he wasn't able to fix the electrical issue from the outside of the house while he was there....

I still wanted to know the extent of our electrical issue so Danyl arranged a trip inside the house Friday morning. Since the dishwasher wasn't hooked up during the inspection we had Bob's dad tag along to fiddle with the dishwasher while my dad fiddled with the electricity. Not feeling like much help, I made myself busy taking room measurements and matching color swatches to the floors and cabinets so I could begin designing my home. I finished before them so I proceeded to draw up a list of fixes I wanted the sellers to take care of before our purchase was finalized. Most of the fixes in the house Bob and I are comfortable tackling ourselves, but this is what we wanted them to do:

1. Electricity should be grounded and in working order
2. The drain in the basement should be cleared of debris and in working order
3. The large dead tree in the backyard should be removed
4. The broken down awning in the backyard should be removed
5. The stove and dishwasher should be hooked up and in working order (both were new, but not working...)
6. The graffiti should be removed from the garage

Now armed with measurements and color swatches, Savannah and I hit the stores for home decorations. My number one mission was to find throw pillows for the living room that incorporated our red couch and the brown carpet. It took several stores, but we finally found the perfect pillows! They not only matched the perfect shade of red and brown but also had yellows, greens, purples and blues that we could use for all the other decorations. My house is going to be much more colorful than our apartment was, but I think these pillows will tie it all together beautifully. Since we were out shopping anyway, Savannah helped me pick out some Father's Day gifts for dad, my father-in-law and Bob. The gifts were kind of last minute, but we have been so preoccupied with our house buying, that we plum forgot about Father's Day! We are not very thoughtful children.... Luckily I was able to find things for everyone!



The pillows together in the store

I bought the pillows but had to test them on the couch before I could
remove the tags!

Today was by far our busiest day this week! With our due diligence coming to an end, and the garage being tagged, Bob and I wanted to make sure our neighborhood wasn't just safe for us, but one we were OK starting a family in. Our first stop that morning was the baptist church around the corner. Unfortunately not many in the congregation actually lived there, so they weren't really a good gage on the neighborhood. It was however a different experience! I had never seen anything like it. The congregation was extremely diverse and came in everything from their Sunday best to jeans and T-Shirts. The music was played by a band with electric guitars and included drum solos and a disco ball that shone crosses across the ceiling and walls. The preacher would ask questions from the pulpit and expect answers in return. If not enough people answered, he would say, "I'm sorry I couldn't hear you!" The audience was encouraged to speak out whenever they felt the need, everything from Amens and hallelujahs to preach it brothers were shouted at random. After the services we were given coffee from the in-church coffee shop and fraternized with the rest of the congregation. There were certainly things I liked and disliked about the service, and although I won't be returning, I'm glad I got to experience something new!

Next we hit the local LDS ward's services. It was night and day from the baptist church we just attended! Everyone was very friendly there, but I think the average age was around 75! Luckily everyone here lived in the area so we were able to really gage the neighborhood this time. Everyone we talked to told us it was a very friendly neighborhood, and crime was rare, violent crime even more so. It was certainly a confidence boost! We had one last test for the neighborhood though, meeting the neighbors on our street! We knocked on a few random doors and were able to meet several of our perspective new neighbors. We asked a variety of questions about the neighborhood, and everyone said the same things. It's a quiet street, with little to no crime and very friendly neighbors who watch out for one another. Our tagged garage was a surprise to everyone, and chalked up to teens on summer break who tagged several vacant houses over night. Not one occupied house was hit, probably for worry of being caught. Everyone we met was so friendly and welcoming, I think these are just the neighbors we have been hoping for! Today was the perfect reassurance for Bob and I.

Today was also Father's Day, so after our adventures checking out our neighborhood it was time to celebrate our dad's at home. We started with Bob's family, eating dinner with them and giving Wayne a new hose for his garden. He was really excited about the new hose since his old one had sprung several leaks. I also surprised Bob with the same hose and a couple different nozzles we can use to water our new yard once we are in the house. Bob didn't expect anything, but had been worrying about all the things we need to get for the house before we move in. He was happy to check this off the list. After a successful Father's Day at Bob's parents, we made our way to my parents to eat another Father's Day dinner and give my dad his gift. My dad has a tendency to use his phone while driving, so we gave him a dashboard phone holder. This way he can still talk on the phone or use the maps function while driving and stay hands free! I think he really liked it. Another successful last minute gift, yay!

Dad and his Fathers Day gift