Ode to that First Place.

To the house on the hill – whom I said good bye to this past weekend,

Thank you.

Thank you for being that home that I had when I first got married. In one short year (and some), you’ve housed so many memories. Your rooms remind me of many things from the evenings in the den to the long life conversations on the patio to the meals in the kitchen to laying out on the floor reading the paper.
From Lola sitting on her coop in the corner to Matt and I opening Christmas presents and finding places to put the travel poster.

As I walked through the empty house I saw these memories play out in my head.

From trying to get into the house from the backyard when walking home in the rain to Matt bashing his head on the previous light in the dining room.

Matt laying on a ladder sanding wallpaper glue while I scrubbed the walls.

From the closet that Michele painted to the bathroom that my mother “graciously”removed the wallpaper from. The lights over the stairs that I watched our fathers put in to the face that Matt wouldn’t give me when I hung over the edge of the balcony taunting him.

From the first picture that went up (a picture of a pig in the kitchen) to the last taken down (a gift from my cousin, a bridesmaid, that was an etched mirror with our names from the wedding).
The friends we had over.

The private parties we had ourselves.

The conversations and fights with the cats.

The hard time with the tears to the happy with the laughs (that sometimes led to tears). 

To the gallons and gallons of paint that went on the walls and ceilings and the conversations around color and purpose.

To the miles of wallpaper that we continue to see hold on to the glory that once was. To the before and after of the master bath.

Matt’s expression of love after not freaking out to the learning process of “knock-down”.

To the pathetic garden we tried to make.

To Nike’s room and TonyDanza’s couch.

To the bedroom door that was shut with a laundry basket for the longest time.

To the puke stain under the bed that I’m pretty positive was not me.

From our first dabbling in canning to a kitchen full of steam and pizza sauce.

From carrying me over the threshold to champaign and leftover wedding sandwiches while we relived the weekend.

You’ve been an amazing house and I hope our forceful update upon our arrival was embraced versus resented.

You and your housed memories will not be forgotten…You were our first home that we came back to as husband and wife and for that I will remember you (and your high MDU bills) fondly.

Best meal: Muffins at the peek-through hole in the kitchen. It wasn't the most culinary advanced but it was the final meal there.

 

Driving on interstate.
ALR sees cow in pasture.
ALR thinks: hmmm... that cow is by itself, wonder what's going on.
MJR sees cow.

MJR: "Wonder what's up, that cow is all alone."
ALR whips head over: "We have been living with my parents too long! You are not supposed to think like that!"

Buying and Selling!

Things are picking up for us. I feel like we are going in a million directions all at once. We’ve had a crazy two weeks. We started it off right though…at the lake with the Petroffs. They are a couple that has been experiencing life at the same pace that we are. They got engaged about the same time that we did, we planned weddings together, purchased houses at similar times, and it was great to get out on the water with them. Matt managed to be the fisher of the group while Shantelle and I caught up and caught some sun. It was a wonderful weekend and cooking was amazing….I think it took 2 days for me to be unfull!

This past week was full of houses. We went to three more sessions of showings…I’ll admit that I lost track of our houses that we hunted but figure we had to be about at 15…but really didn’t need to get past 3 as we’ve put an offer in on a house, the third one that we looked at. It’s been accepted and we are set to close the first part of October. I’ll admit I may have known it was the one when we walked into it as it had that similar feeling that I got when I stepped into Hillside Drive. Open floorplan, faulted ceilings, the fireplace, the patio, the masterbath with walk-in closets, and it has a place for the camper. It doesn’t hurt that it’s on a lake and we can envision ourselves in a paddleboat complete with fishing trips and broom ball/hockey. After moving 6 times in the past 4 years….I’m ready to be done, settled, and planning a future.

Now it’s just getting all the stuff to Bismarck and into the house. We took another big step in that direction this past weekend. We hauled another load back on Sunday. We have completely packed the storage unit. We may be able to fit 3 or 4 more things in it…if they are small and thin and boxes or snow shovels…but the patio set will sit at the farm until it goes to Cottonwood as will the grills and our pictures off the wall. Our whole world is jam packed into a 10x30foot storage unit.
We also took in my cousin’s wedding on Saturday. This was her second wedding and I was blessed to be in her first and to compare them mentally, it was almost night and day. She still looked beautiful but the simplicity and basics behind what was done made me realize that as we grow up it doesn’t matter what the colors are, the center pieces, or tuxes or not…what does matter is who is waiting at the end of the aisle. Granted, I’ve never seen a grand march with the bride and groom riding on toilet thrones, but it was nice to see Heather happy. Was also nice to catch up with other family, the Stollers, who had come from Madison.

 

Letters from Nike:
Dear Matt, my B.F.F.,

Staying at Grandma's and Grandpa's is fine. Only fine....they think they can put me on a diet. So I got my own food. I brought home a rabbit. Life was great. Until they saw it. Not only did they think they had to take the rabbit away from me, but they also thought they should go out and catch a 28" long walleye. How'd they have felt if I took away their fish.

I guess I'm irritated. Tell Amanda and those other two cats that I don't miss them.

Love you and think of you every day, Nike.

Best meal: Gotta admit that Shantelle and Rick know how to make a camping meal between the huge steaks, the vegetable packs, and the appetizers...almost needed to take a long walk when we were done.

 

Staring at the storage unit, which is taller than Matt.
MJR: Hope you don't need anything from there.

ALR: I don't think I have the option.
MJR: Nope. Not even a little.
MJR: See you all in October. (Closes door and puts the lock on)

Diving, Deere, and Dears

There are weekends that wreck of summer….this past weekend was that weekend. It was gorgeous and the sun was shining and we spent it in a camper by the lake. What more could you want!

This past week started off with some green…John Deere Green to be exact. Dad got his new drill delivered and he proceeded to hay all week. Matt and I tried to help out around the house some but I forgot how seasonal the farm is. You make hay while the sun shines. That trumps stacking bales but may tie with weed whacking, which is what he did. We also watched the finishing touches go on the garage including siding, windows, and soffits. Millie and Mama Kitty are upset that the doors are on and staying shut now but there has officially been a vehicle parked inside of it!

This weekend was one we’d looked forward to for a long time. It was the annual dive trip and training at the lake. Last year, this was one of the only camping trips that we were able to take. It was a beautiful weekend with sun and fun. It was so good to see Matt in dive gear and enjoy himself with the boys. He had two dives, which resulted in some cramping in his legs but I think the pain was worth the fun, especially when he had the highlight of the weekend, he shot a walleye. Jess had attempted a few times but after Matt grabbed it from him, he had a good shot. We didn’t get to have fish for dinner though because the fish played possum with Matt and swam off after he got off the spear.

It was nice to spend time with Kay and the kids again, someone that appreciates my s’more cooking ability.

ALR: Sissy, who is your favorite me or Matt?
Sissy:  
K: Sissy, who is your favorite, Amanda or Matt?
Sissy: Matt.
K: Who is your favorite Matt or Amanda?
Sissy: Matt.
K: Hmmm, sometimes she always picks the last option, thought I could get that going for you. Sorry.

We’ve accepted an offer on the Dickinson home! AND we have officially removed a majority of the contingencies off the Dickinson home…We are set to close on September 19^th, fingers are crossed and breaths are being held. We’ll head back at least once more to take a load back to Bis to storage and we’ll close the chapter on our first house. Bittersweet may be an understatement.

We have officially started looking at houses. I forgot how much “fun” that can be. House count: 7

We also pickled a CRAPTON of beats this weekend. If we get more, we’d like to either make beat jelly or make and can borscht soup. We’ll see. I also have jalapeno jelly on my wish list and of course salsa and pizza sauce and tomato soup and marinara…but we’ll see. My basket with tomatoes wasn’t as wonderful as I’d have hoped.

Best meal: Pizza pies on the fire with s’mores and the nutella dessert pie. I had a bad run with the starter but once I got in the groove, it was all pretty good.

Sitting down to look at houses online.
ALR: This one looks like it's in our price range. (pulls up picture)
MJR: ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
ALR: What?
MJR: You don't see it?
ALR: (Looks at picture again)
MJR: It looks like it's screaming at us.
ALR: (Looks again and starts giggling)
MJR: I'd think a giant was eating us every time we park the car. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!