Our newest new house

Here's a fun fact for you. In the past 5 years I have lived in 5 states.  And actually I've lived in 4 states in the last year alone.

Last year at this time we were in Alabama.  We moved to Utah in November, We moved to Wyoming in May, and finally we made it to Idaho in August.  

After all that moving I'm looking forward to staying put for the next two years.  So when we looked for our rental house here in Pocatello we wanted to find a place that would work for us for two years.  The last thing I wanted to do was have to move again after only a year.  

I'm incredibly happy with the house that we found. And I want to tell you a little about how we found it.  At the end of July we came down from Yellowstone to go house hunting.  I'd put together a spreadsheet listing the details about 10 rental houses that fit our budget.  We were looking for a house rather than a town house or apartment.  With 4 kids we didn't want to have to share walls with any neighbors.  

After living in an RV for 3 months having a house with space was very important to us. Squishing into a tiny home is okay for a while. But I wanted a place where we could spread out.  I was especially concerned about having a house that wouldn't feel crowded in the winter.  

The first rental house we looked at was a three bedroom house with a living room and kitchen/dining room.  Technically there was nothing wrong with the house, but it just felt small.  I wasn't looking forward to spending winter in that house. 

The second house we looked at was quirky to say the least.  It had a few odd looking rooms and the basement had tile in the bedrooms. This was the least expensive house on our list and so I was willing to consider living there.  However, the house was on a corner and the yard didn't have a fence.  Plus there was no off street parking.  I told Brandon, "I'm fine with quirky, but I would rather live in the middle of a block."

Brandon and I looked at our list and he saw a house that was the same price as the first house, but had four bedrooms.  "Let's go look at this house. It has more space, but costs about the same."  This was the last house on our list and for some reason I hadn't written many notes about it.  I couldn't remember anything specific about it. 

We found the address and went to take a look at the house. It was and older home, and it was located in the middle of the block and had off street parking so I was willing to consider living there. The rental company used an app that would text you a code to the lock box on the house.  So while Brandon got the code I went up to the house and took a peek in through the front windows.  The very first thing I saw was an entry way and then a second door with windows.  I saw those windows and I was sold. I WANTED to live in this house.

We got the code and opened the front door and explored the house.  This one was pretty quirky too, but in a good way. It had many details that made me fall even more in love with it. And it was HUGE.  I was pretty certain that we could park the RV in the living room. Brandon and I both had a feeling that this was our house.  So we applied, were approved, and moved in.  We've spent the last several weeks unpacking and making it feel like home.  

And now I'm ready to give you the tour.  We are about 95% done unpacking, and we cleaned the house yesterday so I figured this was the best time to take pictures.  

The first room you enter when you come in the front door is a little foyer area.  When this house was first built, this was a porch, but later was converted into a room. 

I love having a dedicated place where we can put our coats, backpacks and shoes.  This makes the morning rush out to the bus stop so much less chaotic.

 Here's the other side of the entry way.  I think there might be more floor space in this single room than we had in the whole RV.

After you go through the second door you come into the living room.  I'm so happy to have all my furniture back.  

 This is the view of the living room from the other direction.  Look at how pretty those windows look.  I love how much light they provide.

 The room next to the living room is a large bedroom.  Brandon and I claimed this one as our own.

I was happy that our King size bed fits in the room without feeling like it takes over the space. 

 Part of our room is the other half of the old porch area.  We use it as an office.

 This reminds me of a room that was in my Great-Grandparents house.  That house also had a porch that had been converted to a room. My Grandma Edra used that room as an office and I vividly remember sitting in that room and watching her write checks to pay bills.  I was about 5 years old and I was so impressed by watching her manage her finances.  I think about that memory when I pay my own bills. So it makes me happy to have my desk in a similar room

 All the rooms in the upstairs part of the house are connected.  There is a bathroom off of our room.  The dining room is on the other side of the bathroom.

 The bathroom is small so this was about the best picture I could get of it.

 Here's the dining room.  It's technically the fourth bedroom, but I liked having a formal dining room in Alabama and wanted to have one again.

 Here it is from another angle.  It's so nice to have our big table again.

 Our kitchen is shaped really weird.  It's kind of an L shape.  I think this part of the kitchen is usually the dining room area.  But we are using it as a pantry.

Here's the rest of the kitchen. There is so much space in here!  It's really nice. 

 And here is what the kitchen looks like from the living room.  I'm especially in love with the floor.  It was another detail that sold me on the house.

 And yet, another angle of the kitchen.  Like I said, it's really spacious.  I love making dinner in here because it doesn't ever feel crowded.

 The doorway to the staircase down to the basement is off of the kitchen.  The triangle stairs remind me of the ones we had in our second apartment.

 The door on the landing of the staircase takes you out to the back yard.  And what a back yard it is!  Look at all this space and potential!  I'm still fighting a war with the weeds, but it's a war I will win.  I have plans for a garden.  And we've already used that fire pit once.

 We even have a garage!

Normally we like to park one of our cars in the garage, but this one is a little too small to comfortably use for a car.  So we've filled it up with tools, camping stuff, bikes, and other garage stuff. Brandon's pretty excited to have a place to work on all his little projects. 

 And it's a nice place to store all the empty boxes we have right now.

 One thing I was a little worried about was living in a house in surrounded by other houses.  For almost 5 years we've lived in communities where there was a lot of space between houses.  In Texas we didn't even have houses behind us.  In Alabama we had a big green space behind our house.  At my in-laws house in Utah we were living in the country on a couple acres of land.  And in Yellowstone we were on the edge of the woods. I wasn't looking forward to being back in a city with houses on all sides of us.  So I was very happy when I saw that we have an alley and a river behind us.  Yeah, you can't see it, but the Portnef River flows through a cement channel behind our house.  It's surrounding by a high chain link fence so I don't have to worry about the kids falling in.

 Okay, lets go back into the house.  If you keep going down the stairs you come into the basement.  And here is our family room.  My biggest complaint about the houses we lived in while Brandon was in the Army was that they didn't have Family Rooms.  I always wished we could have a living room that we could keep nice and then have a family room where the kids could play and we could lounge.  Well I finally have a family room and it's everything I hoped it would be.

 We love spending time down here.

 Derrick's room is right off of the family room. This is the first time in his life that he's had his own room. When we looked this house he kept coming in this room.  I asked him if he wanted to sleep in here and he said yes.

 Here's the view back into the family room from Derrick's room.

 Here's the doorway into the rest of the basement. You can see the second bathroom in the background.

 There is also a large laundry room down in the basement.  The house came with a washer and dryer.  We wanted to put ours down here too, but we aren't sure how to get them into this room. (The doorway is too small) So for now they are in the garage. Here's the side with the washer.

 And here is the side with the dryer.

 Over here we have Family Room Part Two. One day I hope to have a nice organized area for storing toys, but for now they are in boxes and there is an old dresser down here two.  We'll get it figured out.

 And the final room is the girls' room.

 Charlotte and Lydia are happy to have their bunk bed back.

 And Veronica is happy to have her big girl bed back.  (Derrick wanted to be in the picture.)  All the girls are happy to have their own beds again.  They spent almost 10 months sharing a big bed so they are happy to have their own space.

There is a door in the girls' room that leads to a little cellar type room that is under the old porch area.  We haven't ever seen much in this room because the light is burned out.  It smells damp and is pretty creepy.  Mostly we try to pretend it isn't there. 

 Here's the view looking out from the girls' room.

 There is another strange room located on the other side of the laundry room.  This one at least has light.  This room makes me appreciate the drywall and carpet that is in the rest of the basement.

 Okay let's go back up stairs.  Here's what the kitchen looks like from the top of the staircase.

  So that's the house.  I don't know if I'd be willing to buy this house.  But I'm definitely happy that we get to live here for two years.

While we were unpacking I found a list of the things we were looking for in a future house.  We made this list sometime last year when we thought that we'd buy a house after Brandon got a civilian job. I smiled when I realized that our current house has just about everything on this list.

This is the 9th home we've lived in during the 10 years that Brandon and I have been married.  I'm excited to fill it up with memories.