We are homeless – a farewell to a great house

It’s done…after eight years and three months, we are no longer homeowners in Las Vegas. The paperwork was finalized today and the sale closed.

We bought the house new at the end of April 2001, breathing deep from a purchase price that was nearly double the sale price of the Idaho Falls home we had just left. We grew from a small family of six (Melissa was 9, Colin 4, Carson 3, and Dylan just five months old) to a big family of seven (with kids aged 17, 12, 11, 8, and 4). It’s the only house Dylan or Levi have ever known – and the memories of others are faint for Colin and Carson.

Since our arrival we’ve poured a lot of time and energy and heart into making this house the home we wanted. It wasn’t our dream house, but it was a great house. It got its share of paint (and dents and dings), new (or new-to-us) furniture, artwork, and other elements that made it truly ours. We even designed and installed the landscaping (and then just this year converted the front yard to desert landscaping on our own, with all seven of us creating the design, stripping the sod, shaping the dirt, digging the holes, planting the plants, and placing the rocks).

We loved having friends and family over for barbecues on our patio or buffets spread on the kitchen island. The garage hosted a batting cage and an uncountable number of projects and repairs that included building pinewood derby cars, repairing bicycles, and finalizing school assignments. We played piano and guitar in the front room; in the family room we played Guitar Hero, watched movies, cranked the stereo, and hung out with each other and friends and family.

And we never got tired of the park just beyond our backyard (witness the path worn from our back door to the gate in the back fence). Melissa built up her right arm throwing and pitching across the park with Jason for hours on end; Colin, Carson, and Dylan followed suit. Yvonne chased two boys learning to walk and then run. We played baseball, wiffle ball, home run derby, Frisbee golf, lacrosse, football, tag, basketball, and many more games there.

We met our best friends in the world in that park, where a simple introduction just beyond our back fence planted the seeds of a friendship that grew into a relationship between two families that we will cherish and nourish for the rest of our lives.

There were many times, as the value of our house skyrocketed in the red-hot Las Vegas market (more than doubling over just a few years), we considered moving into another neighborhood to take advantage of our newfound “wealth” (and escape a certain set of boundaries). But the park was our set of “golden handcuffs” – no matter how nice the houses we looked at were, none could offer a backyard that compared to that @#$&%! park, so we never could pull the trigger on a deal.

In retrospect, that park finally helped make our move possible.

The “value” of our house plummeted back to earth in recent years, resting not far above where we bought it. If we’d have moved to a bigger house to capitalize on the mirage of equity gains, we doubt that we’d have been able to sell here and buy in Maryland.

We are happy that the house sold quickly, even though we didn’t make a lot of money in the current housing market.

We didn’t raise a fortune on this house, but we did raise a family. We hope the family that bought our house is as happy as we were.

In the end, we are also happy to move on to a great opportunity and another house, in Maryland, armed with lots of ideas and motivation – and experience – for making a new-to-us house into our new home.

If you are interested in a barbecue on the patio, a buffet spread out on the kitchen island, or wiffle ball in the back yard, we’ll be less than an hour north of Washington, D.C. We’ll leave the light on.

If you need a Las Vegas Realtor, we’ve got the man

Over the years we’ve had mixed success with Realtors. For the recent sale of our house in Las Vegas, we got the right guy: Robert Reisman of Re/Max. He came recommended by some people Jason works with, and those co-workers were so right.

Besides being a great Realtor, he’s a great guy. He and Levi bonded from the day we signed the initial paperwork, and Levi would often ask when Robert was coming over. We had many conversations during the two months our house was on the market, and not only was Robert always right, he was always protecting our best interest, and he was always professional and honest. We trusted him, and he rewarded that trust. It’s fair to say that we view him not just as our Realtor, but as our friend.

(As proof that not all Realtors are created equal, see a funny – or perhaps haunting – story on Jason’s blog at www.legendaryfatheroffive.blogspot.com.)

Our Tooth Fairy needs an assistant

With five kids, the tooth fairy visits our house quite often. Unfortunately, she is a little scatterbrained and doesn't alway come when beckoned.

When Melissa was about 11, she left a threatening note under her pillow to the tooth fairy telling her she knows where she lives and where she sleeps and if she doesn't come soon, Melissa will find her. This note was left after weeks of leaving a tooth under her pillow with no visit from the tooth fairy.

Colin has left the tooth fairy a nice note under his pillow asking for her to please remember to come visit. This note was left after many nights, maybe a week, of leaving his tooth under his pillow and no tooth fairy showing up.

Carson is the lucky kid who only had to wait two days for the tooth fairy. He didn't need to leave a note, she just showed up.

A few weeks ago, Dylan finally lost a tooth. He is eight and has been disappointed that all his friends and classmates are losing teeth and he has only lost two. After much wiggling, he finally had Yvonne pull the tooth. He put it under his pillow anticipating the tooth fairy and the treasure he would find the next morning, but to his dismay, the tooth was under his pillow for several nights.

He was tired of waiting, so he too left a note to the tooth fairy, but he didn't leave it under his pillow. He left his note on the white board in the kitchen so the tooth fairy, mom and dad, and anyone else who visited our house would see it.





Needless to say, the tooth fairy showed up that night and left Dylan his much anticipated treasure.

So, if nothing else, we know the tooth fairy reads our white board.

Jason's New Blog

For those of you interested in reading about Jason's travel and life adventures, check out his new blog at:

www.legendaryfatheroffive.blogspot.com

You won't be disappointed!