Offer...

Hi,

We wrote an offer on the house tonight. It took a long time and now we have to wait and see if they decline, accept or counter. We hope it's one of the last two options. I'll let you know how it goes! http://thegroup.wyoming.remax.com/Listings/AllPictures_r4.aspx?ETID=100&PID=48202524

BTW - here are some other links you might like to glance at:

Todd's hospital: http://evrh.ernesthealth.com/index.html
I know, I know! He isn't on it yet...I already nagged him.

Casper: http://www.casperwyoming.info/

We went for a drive tonight out past some ranches and almost up into the mountains. We saw lots of antelope, a deer and LOTS of bunnies. :O) The kids were enthralled with the open range and cows being able to go wherever they like. They thought the cattle guards were especially cool.

Brennen is determined to climb a "foot hill" and Kindrid can't understand why we wouldn't take the rutted track leading up into the mountains at dark in the Toyota Corolla. (My dad is probably wondering the same thing....love those memories, Pa!) For the children and me, it's tough to understand we are going to get to live here. I so feel like I am on vacation and, come Sunday, will be headed back to Peoria and work and life there. :O)

A grand Grand Opening...

Elkhorn Valley Rehab hospital celebrated it's Grand Opening yesterday in the evening. Todd was emcee and there were speeches from the first patient that was discharged there, the mayor, the CEO of Ernest Health (the company that owns Todd's hospital), the CEO of the local hospital and a prayer by a Salvation Army guy (Ernest is affiliated with Salvation Army).

The kids were super good and really enjoyed the food - ESPECIALLY the chocolate fountain. Here are some pictures....

House...

Hi All,

We looked at the house again last night. The inside of the house is perfect and seems to be in wonderful condition. The space and layout are perfect for us. Outside there are three main issues:
1. The driveway concrete seems to have settled and there is a 5 or 6 inch difference between the driveway and garage concrete with the garage floor being above the driveway. The Expedition wouldn't think much of that as a challenge, but the Corolla is going to hit it, well, like a concrete wall!
2. The house has cedar siding which needs to be re-stained or whatever it is they do to it and the deck (which is lovely and huge) also needs re-doing very soon. This is an understandable expense, but not one we want to deal with after coming up with down payment, closing costs etc.
3. Although there are two possibile sites, there is currently no RV parking.

Todd is waiting to hear back from some concrete folks and painters about how much both those items will cost to deal with. The RV parking issue can wait awhile. Depending on what we hear back on costs, we may or may not be making an offer on this house. I absolutely LOVE the inside!

The kids are playing "let's buy a house" right now. Brennen was THRILLED that we found a "Hometown Buffet" restaurant to eat at last night. Casper just went up about ten notches in his estimation!

I can't get used to seeing the mountains all the time. We went to the mall yesterday and passed an entrance - looking out we could see a breathtaking view of the mountains. Brennen and I just looked at each other in amazement. It truly is beautiful here and I can't wait to get the house hunt done so we can dedicate more time to exploring our new home.

We are off to do laundry and visit our storage unit for some needed clothes and food.

Lots of love,
Christy

First Days...

The last seven days are somewhat blurry and run together. We enjoyed our last busy days in Peoria saying good-bye to friends and wrapping up the house. The closing on Friday went very smoothly. We are excited for the neat young family that bought the house. They were so thrilled with it and promised to take good care of it. Isn't that sweet?

We left Saturday morning for the long drive Way Out West. We stayed the night in Lincoln, Nebraska. Todd got us a super nice room and we enjoyed some time with just our little family, swimming in the pool and hanging out. Todd had to switch out the little U-Haul trailer we'd rented to haul out the junk we needed for the summer (the vast majority of our stuff is in storage in Bloomington, IL until we call for it when we find a house). The trailer had a break line problem. That took a little longer than planned but we were soon on our way.

The kids rode with Daddy most of the way so I had lots of nice quiet time in the Corolla. The drive was uneventful. From Cheyenne to Casper we enjoyed such gorgeous scenery. The sky was a mix of sun and rain clouds and everything shone golden. The land here is far more beautiful than I had remembered. The mountains still have snow on them, the hills are now green and the clean, wide open spaciousness of it all makes me feel like I can breath here!

We got settled in and organized on Monday. If you don't already know, we are staying in the camping trailer until we find a house. We are now pretty organized with systems in place for storage, dishes, toys, bathing, clothes etc. Todd rented a storage unit that is on the same property as the RV park. It's the size of a one car garage and acts like a really big pantry, closet and shed. The RV park is sandwiched between an railroad track (not as loud as I feared it would be before getting here to hear for myself) and an interstate (pretending that is the soft burble of a little stream!) The park is very clean with a super nice laundry area, small heated pool, a very MINI mini golf course and nice people. Many folks here are full-timers and there are some pre-tty nice rigs! Everyone seems to think that it's going to be tough living in the camper for this extended perioud of time except us. It really isn't that big of a deal and actually frees a bunch of time normally dedicated to housework, yard work etc. It's the simple life and one I'm all too ready to live for a while after the final busy days in Peoria.

I did look at some houses yesterday with our realtor and looked at one that Todd saw at an Open House a couple Sundays ago. Link is: http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?ctid=3878&ml=3&mnp=25&mxp=24&bd=6&bth=6&typ=7&sid=de95add3f0284faf9d3dd41b75482d3b&lid=1099570491&lsn=3&srcnt=5#Detail
Anyone that knows me knows how I get excited about something right at first and then temper that first enthusiasm with the passing of time. I'm really excited about this place. We are going to look at it again this afternoon. It will either pan out and be our new home or... not...I will keep you posted (no pun intended). Don't be surprised if tomorrow I'm all excited about the next one! :O)

The kids are doing great. They've been playing all morning while I get caught up on some emails etc. They have lots of things they can play in the trailer. The weather was cold/rainy the last two days but looks better today so hopefully they can get out to play some.

Todd's hospital's grand opening is tomorrow. We'll all go. Hope I find something to wear! :O)

I'm very impressed with myself that I figured out how to do this blog. I'm not the most exciting author, but just wanted a way to share how we are doing with all my family/friends without typing the same thing over and over in emails. I will keep it up these first days out here in case you want to check back. Hope everyone is doing great! Miss you, Peoria!