One month and counting!!!

On Friday Dan and I had to make another trip out to Hidden Hollow for a VERY fun reason. Standard Pacific homes (our builder) called us to tell us they are dropping the price of the house again by $21K bringing the grand total to $381K which includes $23K in upgrades!!! We couldn't believe it! Since we reserved the house in mid-July the price has dropped $46K for a total of $121 off the price of the house. I am amazed at God's generosity and goodness. Since we were in town we visited our new house again and I snapped several update pictures for you all. Since we were last there the interior painting has been finished and the baseboards put in. The interior doors have been installed as well as the hardware. The front door has been painted a nice dark blue/green. The porch and walkway cement has been layed, the side yard wal has been built, several trees have been planted, the central air unit installed, and probably a lot of other things we can't yet see. We met the construction manager on Friday (he was so nice!) and he told us about the things they plan to do to our house.
Today (Saturday) they will finish installing the sprinkler systems as well as the rest of the landscaping. They will also paint the shutters the same dark blue/green color as the front door. This week the granite and flooring is going to be installed as well. The house should be finished by Sept. 19th and our walk through with the construction manager will be on Sept. 22nd. We officially close escrow and take possession of the house on Sept. 29th. We have three other police officers in our neighborhood so far but we still have no neighbors in the house next to ours or across from ours. We are really excited to meet our new neighbors soon!

We have a move-in date!!!

This past Sunday Dan and I went to finish our paperwork and to visit our new house. Our official moving day is September 29th!!! We are very excited to say the least. The house will actually be done on Sept. 22nd when we will do our offical walk-through inspection.
On Sunday when we were there I was surprised at how quickly the house is coming along. The kitchen cabinets are up, the ceilings are painted, and the recessed lights already have their light bulbs. All the stone work and exterior painting is finished and it looks like they are about ready to begin preping the walls for paint. Dan and I climbed through the house and were excited to plan out how we will use each room.
The house next to ours is still available. . .any takers??? It is 2,800 square feet 4 bed 3 bath american colonial style (light green, white trim, with red shutters) for $416,000 (includes stainles steel applicances, recessed lighting, hardwood floors, granite countertops, etc.)

More Treasure

My second great find on craigslist: this pair of chairs!

I'm goin' on a treasure hunt. . .

I have finally discovered craigslist and this is my first deal! I am so excited to add this cute chair to my collection of unique furnishings. The man said it was pre-Castro Cuban mohogany but to be honest I really don't care because I like the way it looks and I paid $30 for it. I will have to reupholster it. I might go the the "Y" to look for some good furniture fabric. I think I did pretty good for my first craigslist purchase! Now I just need to find another one that is similar in structure. Wish me luck! (p.s. please forgive the mispellings- I'm feeling a little lazy today)

A new house for the Shacks!

We bought a new house! We were not exactly expecting to buy a new place but we were at that crossroads where you decide if you pour more money into a house that might have potential (but feels like a money pit) or you invest in a new house that better suits your current and future needs. We opted for the new house and we are very excited.

It is in a planned community called The Preserve in Chino in a neighborhood called Hidden Hollow. There are dairy farms all around and our best friends live in this same community. It is a new construction house to be finished in October. We were originally looking at this this house which was a short sale going for $400-$425K, but then we found out what a nightmare a short sale can be. As a back up plan we began looking again at the new construction homes in the community and were amazed at how much the prices had dropped. Our pick was this 2572 sq ft cottage style corner house on a park. It was listed for 478K but they are having a special and took 75K off the price of the house plus it sits on the second largest lot of 5,100 sq ft and comes with many upgrades (granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, recessed lighting throughout the house, designer paint, white cabinets) We put a hold on the lot so that we could think about it while we heard back from the bank on house #1. The next day I had to drive back to Chino to show the model house to my parents and put our deposit down on the house when the sales rep announced that just this morning the company decided to give us $20K towards upgrades in the house!!! So basically that sealed the deal for Dan and I and we are getting this huge new house for $403K plus $20K in upgrades! Here are some details about the house and some of the things I like best about it:

Floor Plans:

4 bedrooms
3.5 baths
2572 sq ft
3 stories
2 car garage
corner lot on the park
wrap-around porch

my favorites:
the storage!!!
the high ceilings
the old fashioned charm this new house has
the abundance of huge windows that let in the natural light
the master bath and closet is huge!
the master bed and bath overlook the park
there is only another house on one side of us
the view from the third floor (mountains are beautiful and the dairies fun to watch
the parkhouse which is a community center that has a huge pool, jacuzzi, bbq center, movie theater, pool/game parlor, 24 hour gym, meeting rooms (great for my music recitals), and Dan's favorite free Starbucks coffee in the internet cafe.
the school district (great for teaching and our future children)

Even though the move means a longer commute for Dan, eventually we both hope to transfer to local branches in our respective jobs. On Friday, we go to the design center to decide how we want to spend our $20K in upgrades. I am going for dark hardwood floors on the first floor and upgraded carpet on the 2nd and 3rd floors. I am still trying to decide if we should carpet the stairs or put hardwood on the stairs. Any opinions?

God has really blessed us with this opportunity. Chino definitely has a more tranquil feel to it. We are ready for the change! There will be lots of room for guests. I can't wait for you all to see our new place! Tim- we will be asking you for advice on renting out our current house. Dan already has several CHP cadets interested in renting it. We will visit the house again on Sunday to sign papers so I might be able to post more pictures for you all. If not, you will just have to make the trip down to check it out yourselves!
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Anatomy of an 18-day Caribbean Vacation

Never in my life have I so much needed a total and complete break from life. On June 19th Dan and I boarded a plane (first class) to Aruba for 18 days of rest and relaxation. We left the phones, computers, and other distractions at home and we are so glad we did! Here is a brief breakdown of our trip for those who wish to know. . .

6/19 Fly to Miami first class stay in Miami overnight
6/20 Fly to Aruba first class stay at Marriott Stellaris and Casino eat the most amazing meal at Texas de Brazil (brazilian bbq)
6/21 Drive to the California Lighthouse and move to the Marriott Aruba Ocean Club
and grocery shop at Super Food (they had Magnum ice cream bars!!!!)
6/22 Relax with the iguanas at the pool and earn marriott reward points for our next vacation by taking a sales pitch tour of the Marriot Surf Club (we almost bought-but didn't)
6/23 Went on an amazing catamaran snorkeling trip around the aruba coastline. We snorkled at the Antilla wreck where a German warship from WWII was captured by the Dutch. (The Germans sank their own ship so the Dutch couldn't use it.) This was such a freaky experience but i loved it except for the horrible sunburn I got. (FYI- arisol sunscreen doesn't work on a windy boat trip)
6/24 Watched movies in the suite while recovering from my lobster colored sunburn
6/25 relaxed by the pool in the shade and finished reading The Magician's Nephew (great book!) and then played slots in the Casino
6/26 Watched European cup soccer with serious soccer fans (we actually did this several days)- relaxed by the pool
6/27 Relaxed on the beach (snorkel/swim/float, lay out and read, order a tropical drink, repeat)
6/28 Shopped at the local market place and watched the aruba syncronized swimming team perform and a bartending contest. Ate at Moomba beach restarant (we dined barefoot on the beach while the sun set)Moved to the Westin Aruba resort for two days
6/29 Spent the most amazing day at Baby beach snorkeling and wading in the most pristine water I've ever seen. Relaxed by the pool. Watched the sun set over the ocean after eating an amazing italian dinner that we won for free at a raffle
6/30 Got up very early to fly to Puerto Rico! (not first class) checked into our amazing hotel room at the marriot Stellaris and Casino in San Juan. (Our room was floor to ceiling windows overlooking the city of San Juan, the blue bay and the green rainforrest hills in the distance)
7/1 Explored Old San Juan which is very much like a real life pirates of the caribbean. We loved the ruins of El Morro and the other Spanish fort that protected the city of San Juan from the Brittish, the Dutch, and pirates.
7/2 Drove to El Yunque rainforrest to hike to Mina falls. it was very beautiful!
7/3 Relaxed
7/4 Relaxed by the pool while listening to an amazing steel drum band. Explored Old San Juan again!
7/5 Toured the Bacardi Rum factory - fun! Took the ferry to Old San Juan again.
7/6 Drove to the other side of Puerto Rico to explore Ponce and tour a restored coffee plantation then stopped at La Route de Lechonores (the route of the pig bbq stands) We were the only white people there and people yelled "gringos!" at us but it was so delicious and very fun. Anthony Bourdain would be very proud of us.
7/7 Flew back home first class (Thanks Dad for picking us up!)

Well, it was an amazing trip. I came back relaxed and tan and so happy that I didn't have to go right back to work- sorry Dan. . .Hmmm I wonder where we should go next! Help us decide by voting in our blog poll!

Where we've been. . .

In May and June life picked up the pace. I almost feel like listing all the crazy things that have consumed my days in those crazy seven weeks- but I won't. . .for fear that I might get exhausted and never finish this post. So I will talk about two major things that have consumed my time. One happy, one sad.

One sad thing . . . that has consumed our time is the sudden hospitalization of Dan's mom, Joanne. At the beginning of May she had to have emergency surgery to remove nine feet of dead intestine. We almost lost her and her recovery has not been easy to say the least. Watching your parents (who have been the source of wisdom, strength, and leadership in your family) slowing lose their ability to function and be independent is so hard. Al and Joanne moved in with us for several weeks while Dan and I remodeled their master bed and bath and cleaned up the kitchen and dining room. We also did many other projects (water heater, plumbing, clean out motor home and storage shed, etc.) We finished this part of the project on June 17th and moved them back in one day before our much needed vacation in the Caribbean. Joanne still struggles with adjusting to her unstable digestive tract but we are thankful for every day that we still have them here with us.

One very happy thing. . . is that my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary! We decided to make it a celebratory weekend. "The sisters" came from the north and we all rode to Laguna Beach in a limo for a very fancy dinner on the water. We then had dessert at the Montage while the sun set and then off to Disneyland to watch the fireworks. Sunday we had an open house and many of our good friends and family were on hand to celebrate the anniversary. We had great food and watched an amazing video that Ben put together. I feel so incredibly grateful that I have parents who are committed to each other and their family. They are loving and self-sacrificing, and always put God first in their lives. Needless to say it was a weekend I will never forget!

The juxtaposition of joy and sorrow is such a profound aspect of life. Isn't it?

To finish this post I will share (in part) one of my favorite poems of love which I feel very much applies to my parent's marital example:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
-William Shakespeare