Big News!

 No we are NOT pregnant again. We're building a house! We realized after searching for a few months that there were a few things that we really wanted and couldn't find in an existing home so we decided to explore our options by going the building route.

We wanted:

#1. To be in the same school district we are already in. We love the school the boys go to and it would be less traumatic for them if we could find a place in the same boundaries. Actually, the school they go to is open enrollment BUT we wanted to be somewhere where they were actually IN the boundaries of the school. Now I won't have to drive them back and forth all day every day because they will be in bus boundries! (Well, next year anyway)

#2. We checked out the ward and it seems like a fantastic fit for us. The kids already knew a bunch of the kids from school...especially Landon's age! I'm so happy that there are so many kids in this ward. I'm excited for the boys.

#3. We wanted a lot with a view. If there are no mountains to look UP at we might as well have a beautiful view of the city AND sunsets every night that take your breath away. I'm giddy already for the 4th of July. We'll be able to see ALL sorts of fireworks just looking out our windows! Squeee! We'll have a deck off of the back of the house which will be a great place to hang out and watch those sunsets and fireworks. YES, it will be even more windy then it already is down here in the city....in eastern Idaho, there is NO escaping the wind. Wind is wind....and I hate it all.

#4. We wanted a nice sized lot but not OVER the top. It's a little over half an acre and I think that will be PLENTY of land for us to try to manage.

#5. We wanted a nice walk out basement with 9 foot ceilings downstairs. I don't want to be in the basement and have it feel like were down in a dungeon. I want it to just feel like apart of the house...a place that I would WANT to hang out.

#6. We want a quiet street where cars drive slowly. A place where my kids can play out front and I don't have to worry CONSTANTLY about them being run over.by a person driving 40 miles an hour! The house we are currently in is on the busiest street ever and it annoys the absolute crap out of me if you can't tell. ☺ The neighborhood right next to ours has a park and walkways, and seems more like the neighborhoods we were used to in Boise.

SO..............wanna see the lot???





Behold....the site of the future Starnes Family Home:

 Here's a view from the back:

 All of the sheet rock is for the house that is going up next door.

 The view just goes on and on.......

This is a shot from the street ABOVE our street. I wish I could capture the intensity of the sun setting. My camera just doesn't do it justice.

Our house will look very similar to this house:

All of the boys will have their own rooms. We'll STILL have a guest room (hint hint), Nate will have a bike room, there is a huge storage room and cold storage room. O yeah....and we'll have an office! (We've never had an office before.) What I am I MOST excited about? I'd have to say having a fireplace again. I have so missed having a nice fire going on those cold, depressing winter days.

I am thrilled beyond words and scared out of my mind. We're putting down some real roots and there are so many mixed emotions associated with that. We only have 3 weeks to choose all of our colors, cabinets, counters, etc.

We've got a lot of time until it is done. It will be nice that we will move in after the school year is over. We close on the 1st of June!

Crazy and exciting times!