At the beginning of February last year (like nine weeks before my due date mind you) Cameron came to me and said "I think we should look in to building a house." On our radar at the time? Nope! Crazy? Yes! Odd timing? Absolutely! But for some reason it just felt right and within a few weeks we not only had chosen the neighborhood (it wasn't hard - it was kind of the perfect place), but put down a deposit on the lot and sent the ball rolling. We spent an entire day in the design studio just a week before Noah was born, and attended the meeting with our builder to sign contracts when he was just six days old. I still can't believe we made all of those big decisions, and dealt with all the craziness, AND added a new baby into the mix all at the same time. My biggest regret is that we didn't use a realtor, but all in all things went pretty smoothly.
By the beginning of summer we had a hole in the ground and from there everything went in fast forward right up until we closed and moved in the second week of September. It was so fun to see it all take shape! (And since the lot was just five or so minutes up the road from our current home it ended up being an evening summer tradition to go check out the progress and hang out at the park - yes, the PARK! - right behind our future backyard.)
Anyway - here it is! The Evolution of Our House!
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| Our lot! We LOVE how much space is between the houses and having the neighborhood playground right out our back gate! |
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| Digging the hole |
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| Pouring the foundation |
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| This is the back view that looks out on the park, and beyond that an unobstructed view of the valley, the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and the Wasatch Mountains. The two large windows are the family room, then there's the back door, and the kitchen window. |
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| Front view that looks out on Herriman farm land and beyond that the Oquirrh Mountains. Caleb is standing in his bedroom window on the left, Cameron and Noah are in one of the two bonus/playroom windows, and Olivia is in her window on the right. |
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| In love with the long, covered front porch! |
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| Yay for the exterior! This was our biggest sticking point in the decision process and really the only thing we had to compromise on. I wanted a more neutral color pallet and a really colorful front door (that could be changed as often as I fell in love with a new color.) Cameron loved the bright colored exteriors throughout the rest of the neighborhood. Hence this "neutral" light green color. |
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| Cameron's first order of business after moving in was a tree. (And there will be many more to come!) |
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We've been in the house now for a little over six months and I can honestly say I wouldn't change a thing about when/how we did it, the floor plan we picked or the design choices we made. It has been the perfect home for our little family, and in a neighborhood and area that we love. We are fortunate to be able to stay in the same elementary school and still be super close to our wonderful friends in our previous neighborhood, all while making new ones here. To sum up - I am feeling so blessed and am NEVER MOVING AGAIN!
