The Lake House

I said I'd have a post with pics of the house soon, and I delivered! Only 5 days after making the promise! So without further delay, here they are... ok, no wait. First, some background. I know some of you may be surprised that we bought a new house. This may be the first you're hearing about it. Well, we starting talking a little over a month ago about how this might be a good time, financially-speaking, to buy; it is a buyer's market after all. So we decided that if the "perfect" house came along, then we'd consider buying it. The "perfect" house had to have several things-- a second guest suite downstairs for visiting parents (or other guests), two full baths upstairs, so that when the kids get older they could have their own space, more counterspace/cabinets in the kitchen... you get the idea. Well, we found that house. It's an inventory home (meaning already built with everything picked out by the builder, but never lived in) in Fairfield, so just about 10 minutes from where we are now. We close towards the end of June. And no, we haven't yet put our house on the market. We're aiming for end of May to get that done. So really, now, here are the pics:




Another "must": plenty of driveway for Ryan (and/or) Rachael and Daddy to play basketball.


Another one of Mark's "musts": covered patio in the backyard. The builder is putting in a ceiling fan for us.


The view from the backyard-- we are on one of Fairfields' lakes. We have access through a gate in our fence, and yes, we will put a lock on it, so the kids can't get down by the lake by themselves.


The view from the gameroom/playroom windows upstairs.


The dining room


The study with another "must": French doors that Mark can close and actually get some work done from home. The study currently has carpet, but the builder is replacing that with wood floors before we move in.


In the entry way-- dining room's on the right, study is on the left.


The living room, with gas log fireplace


Looking into the breakfast area from the living room


View of the kitchen from the living room


Loving the island in the kitchen; there is a ton of counter space and storage.




The master bath


The other side of the master bath, opposite the tub; there are separate vanities on each side.


The playroom/gameroom; the half-wall on the right looks into the media room.


The media room, already wired and ready for Mark's tv


And finally, Rachael's room with what could potentially be an issue-- she has access to the sink and WATER from her room. Her room and Ryan's are separated by a Jack & Jill-style bath; they each have their own vanities, but share a bathtub in the middle. There is another bedroom and bath on the opposite side of the house upstairs that one of the kids will move into when they are older.

Anyway, so that's it. We're getting excited, although there is a ton of stuff to get done on our house. As of now, we close June 24th. So, fun and crazy times ahead! I do have to say, I'm gonna miss my house that I'm in now. This was our first house-- so many memories here. My kids were born here, well, not literally HERE, but you know what I mean. They learned to walk and talk here. Well, I'm excited about all the memories we'll make in the next house, and there will be a lot of them because we're not planning to move again for a VERY long time. Hopefully.