Moving On

Moving day has finally arrived. I know I’ve talked about it a few times on the blog (here and here), but we’ve been patiently (well, sometimes impatiently) waiting for this day for an entire year. We searched and searched and searched to find the perfect house for the next phase of life. As it turns out, we aren’t buying the perfect house. However, we are buying a house that checks most of our boxes and where we can see ourselves having a whole lot of fun. Is there really ever a perfect house? Probably not. After all that searching, we did find a place that will fit our family perfectly.

Note: This post contains affiliate links

My outfit details: white tank, jean shorts, white birkenstocks, headband

I’ll admit, this move is my most emotional one to date. We are only moving about 10 minutes away, but it’s still a big move for us. Kurt and I lived in this house for over 7 years and boy, have our lives changed in that time. The house we are leaving behind was our first home in Arizona. When Kurt and I moved here from Ohio in 2010, we dreamed about owning a Southwestern house with a tile roof, a pool and a saguaro cactus in the front yard. While the big saguaro wasn’t technically in our yard (it’s in the space next to our yard), it was close enough. It was just what we wanted at the time.

When we built our current house, we only had a fur baby in tow. Rio has been with us since we lived in Ohio. She watched the walls go up, the bulldozer dig the pool in the back yard, the artificial grass go down (yes, that’s seriously a thing out here) and us bring two human babies home from the hospital. All in all, she handled all these changes with the utmost husky grace. She’s occasionally the forgotten first born, but I’m so excited she will finally have some REAL grass at the new house to scratch her back on. Well, until we can’t keep it alive any longer and replace it with artificial. #desertproblems

As with most moms, it’s always hard to leave the house where your kids were born, and ours is no different. I have so many memories nursing my babies here in the middle of the night, watching them throw balls repeatedly down the stairs, smear food on the walls, and scoot cars down the hallway. Clearly, it is going to be hard to leave those memories behind today. Thank goodness for digital photos (and Instagram), otherwise I’d be one giant teary-eyed mess. Let’s be honest, I probably will be anyway.

It’s funny looking around the house now, as our style has changed quite a bit in the 7.5 years since we moved in. In 2010, we loved southwestern style. Now, if I never see another brown tile or beige wall again, I’ll be a happy camper. However, brown walls weren’t enough to make us find a new place. It was simply a desire for more space and a new challenge. We wanted a bigger lot for our kids to play. But more than that, Kurt and I were ready for something new. And by new, apparently we meant a 1991 fixer upper. We’ve never done a full home renovation before and both feel like it’s something we would be really good at. We watch a little too much HGTV (one of the only channels we can agree on) so this will be our first adventure into becoming Chip and Joanna.

A lot of people think we are crazy, but neither Kurt or I are “forever home” people. We both like variety and change and are already dreaming about our next home purchase. Yes, we might be insane, but it’s who we both are together. Thankfully for our marriage, we are on the same page. We even went as far as to get a 7 year ARM, so there’s a good chance you’ll be hearing similar news from me by 2025.

So as we pack the last few boxes and struggle with mixed emotions, we know it’s time. We are leaving behind wonderful neighbors, beautiful walking trails and a fantastic neighborhood. I’m sure there will be bumps in the road when it comes to building our new home, but we are welcoming the challenge with open arms. Scottsdale, here we come!

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. – Walt Disney