First Design Appointment

We had our first design appointment this past Saturday on September 26th.  The whole week leading up to it I was so full of emotions-- anxious, nervous, overwhelmed, panicked, and then finally on Friday the day before I was really really excited.
If we would have had our design appointment right after we signed off on structurals (mid August), our home would have turned out so differently.  Having 6 weeks gave me way too much time to research all the brands and products and upgrades that we wanted.  I priced out all the upgrades again and again and again to try to stay within our budget.  Of course we got there and ended up changing things a little when we got to make the actual choices instead of just basing it on levels pricing.  
Our designer Heidi was lots of fun to work with.  Because I had done so much research before our appointment that I felt well prepared.  That is, until she asked us to pick out hardware for our cabinets.  I told her I didn't want to get hardware through them, we would do it ourselves.  Then she dropped a bomb.  She said that if we added our own hardware after, then it would void our warranty because it would be modifying the cabinets.  We decided to upgrade our cabinets quite a bit and they come with a limited lifetime warranty.  I would HATE to void that kind of warranty!  So I had a mini meltdown trying to pick out some hardware.  I didn't love any of their choices and had already made up my mind on some that we found at Home Depot that are MUCH cheaper (especially since they don't have extra costs tacked on for installation).
Because I was so well prepared, we cruised right along and had time to go over EVERYTHING.  We are waiting on pricing for a few items but should be able to sign off on everything at our next appointment next Friday the 9th!

I'd love to post pictures but I feel like they just don't do it justice, so except for this sneak peek at our exterior, pictures will have to wait until they're installed for reals. Unless my new iPhone gets here before our next design appointment, then maybe I can get some good pics to share for those siblings that live far away (or they can always ask for updates and crappy pics) ;)

I'm so excited to get everything finalized and I love how it's turning out!   
If you hate my choices, just pretend like you love them, because I do haha. 
According to our latest update from our sales agent, our plans are to the city for permit so hopefully they can start digging the end of October/beginning of November!

Coming early 2016...

I can't believe that almost two months ago we started the process to sign our lives away... at least the next 30ish years of it.
We are building a home in Heber with Oakwood Homes and are super excited about it!
At first I was in denial.  Lots and lots of denial.  We had been looking at builders and existing homes for months.  We really liked Edge Homes but the floorplan we wanted seemed out of budget.  We discovered Oakwood Homes in June and I fell in love.  Their floorplans are perfect for our starter home and in a price range we were happy with.  Homes in Heber are PRICEY, and these new construction homes were the best price we've found plus they are NEW and will be finished however we want!
I feel like Oakwood Homes gives you more bang for your buck.  They seemed to have more included items in the base price of the home (like granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, LARGE kitchen islands) that would all be upgrades for Edge.  I notice as I type this that those are all kitchen upgrades haha.  It's true, Oakwood Homes have nice kitchens and that was a super important condition for me.  Even little things that you wouldn't think as much about like including elongated toilets (instead of circle), large walk in showers in the master bath, etc. are included in the base price.  So I feel like we're getting a great deal!
The biggest downside to Oakwood Homes in Heber is that their lot sizes are teeny tiny.  Like .11 acres- you can reach out and touch your neighbors house- teeny tiny.  They had a few bigger lot sizes available but they were on a road that required you to do a 3 car garage to match the curb appeal of the Ivory Homes subdivision across the street.  And for us, a 3rd car garage wasn't exactly what we want, need, or have the money to pay for in a first time home purchase.  The floorplan we also were most interested in doesn't have a model home in Heber and I wanted to be able to walk through it before deciding to buy it.
We were in contact with our sales agent and let her know that we were interested in a particular lot that was one of the biggest lots (.19 acres), on a corner, and didn't require a 3rd car garage.  That was on a Wednesday.  She wrote back to us that the lot wasn't available yet and that many people had interest in that lot so it might come down to a lottery.  That Friday night we got another email back saying that the lot was available! Saturday we drove to Centerville to walk through our floorplan model and then met with her that afternoon to sign a contract.  We put our earnest money down and got the lot we wanted!

Our corner lot

It was super nerve wracking to sign the contract and it took us a good while to do it.  I felt like we were crazy but at the same time felt really good about building this home.  We said a prayer before we went in to our meeting and by the time it was signing time, we still felt like it was the right thing to do.  Even though we were unsure about Dustin's job or what the heck we're doing in life, we felt like this is where we are supposed to be. Side bar- Dustin's job has all worked out, he's now at a different clinic in Park City working for Dr. EJ Raven and we are so happy for this change!  It was such a blessing to us and amazing to me how it all worked out in the timing that it did.  We love the Ravens are are very happy to be a part of Freedom Chiropractic!
The next day (Sunday), I was super anxious and afraid that we had made a terrible mistake.  At church we sang Hymn No. 34 and when we came to this verse I felt like it was a confirmation that we had made the right choice.  But when we drove home from church, we both said that we were really sad to be leaving our ward.  We love the Heber 1st ward!

PS don't mind the typo on the last line.  Auto correct was out to get me.  It should just be "All my hopes are centered in thee."

This picture is the  view from the backyard of our new house looking at Mt Timp.  I'm so excited to make Heber our mountain home!  I've been scouring Pinterest and Houzz for ideas, and crowd sourcing ideas on Facebook.  I love all the ideas and have to keep telling myself "this is our FIRST home, it's a STARTER home, we don't need ALL THE THINGS!" But I think it will still be a really nice house.
If you'd like to take a virtual tour of the model home, you can check it out here.  And if you want to see the floorplan, you can find it here and then click on "Search for homes in Cottages" and we are the Granby floorplan.
Our design center appointment is in 2 weeks and I can't wait! We've already been to the design center a few times to scope things out and get a feel for where we want to put our money and the different finishes for everything. It's so much to decide!
They told us it should be done in February, but we are thinking it will probably be March.  Our plans are in to architecture to get permits so hopefully once we're done with all the design center appointments in a month, they can get things started soon after!
I apologize in advance for all the house pictures/posts to come in the next few months.  I'm a little bit obsessed and excited.

Seriously So Blessed

Does anyone remember that satire mommy blog "Seriously so blessed" by "TAMN"?  It was a funny Mormon stereotype blog about how she was seriously so blessed.  That's what I think of every time I say or hear "seriously so blessed" but for reals-- I feel seriously so blessed.

Isn't Heber gorgeous?!

We have made it to Utah and it was hard to say goodbye to Portland (breaking up is hard to do), but we are really excited about this next chapter.  Right now it still feels like we are on vacation.  We've been here just a little over a week and all last week was filled with getting Spencer off on his mission and then getting Nicole married.
Dustin has been in to the office a few days this week but we are waiting on the state to get his license finalized so he can start working.  The update today was that they have everything so it will just be another 7-10 days.  We just wanna be working already!  We really are super blessed to have this job.  I know that it's been a lot of fasting and prayer for us (since March really), with combined efforts of our family and friends we asked to fast with us in August, and it's the perfect job for Dustin.  He will be working with Dr. Jared Nielsen at the Nielsen Clinic in Heber City Utah and is so excited to start working.  Dr. Nielsen is pretty incredible and Dustin knows he will learn a lot.  We have a three year contract and it feels great to have our next three years outlined with a salary coming in.  No more school!! Heber City is beautiful and though I'm nervous about snow (I hate it.), I'm really happy Dustin got the job that he really wanted.  Seriously so blessed.
We found a cute little basement apartment in Heber City and we can move in October 13th so in the mean time we are chillin in my parent's basement.  I really really really wanted a townhouse with a garage (because SNOW), but this basement apartment will be good for the next 6 months to a year.  All the townhouses had no availability and were at the high end of our budget.  This basement apartment is below our budgeted amount so we will be able to SAVE and hopefully get into our own house in the next year.  Which would be AWESOME.  It will be a good space for us, has 2 bedrooms, includes a washer/dryer, and the rent price includes utilities.  So, um, like I said, awesome. I think it's the right place for us for now.  Seriously so blessed.
Being under budget also means that there is no rush for me to get a job. I can get one when the right one comes, but don't have to stress about rushing to find a job so we have enough income to pay our bills.  I don't know if I'm ready to start working again and part time sounds much better than full time, but wouldn't include benefits, so there's a lot to consider.  We also want to start on fertility meds (clomid) again soon.  Like real soon.  I may or may not have a 6 month stash to get started on so might as well take it easy, rest up, Whole30 up, and fertility drug it up,  right? At least for a little while.  We'll see....
I feel like we're really lucky and that everything is coming together. Just 2 months ago I was wondering how the heck we would survive after graduation, especially if we were opening up our own practice.  I was stressing about what we would do for an income and where we would live and how we'd be able to start on fertility meds if we were so broke and poor.  It is all working out and the pieces are coming together.  I'm excited to see what the next few months bring with all these changes.  We really are seriously so blessed.