Life is filled with countdowns right now.
11 more school days.
19 days until I am officially done being cooped up in my classroom.
One month and 2 days until I leave for my birthday party in San Diego.
One month and 6 days until the Mexico mission trip.
And…
26 more days until suburban girl sheds her flats, laces up her hiking boots to become MOUNTAIN COUNTRY GIRL at the Shackelodge.
7 years ago we moved to Utah into a beautiful house in the middle of suburbia. And life has been good.
I found a job where my kids attend school. All 5 of us walk to school each day.
We love our little community, where my little students come to jump on my tramp after school, and ring the doorbell for a hug when their hamster dies.
I love my tidy “Oaks” home.
Several years ago, I heard the word “nature-deprived children.” Sometimes, words grab you and repeat themselves in your mind.
I also LOVE the wild. the mountains. rivers. lakes. streams. the ocean. trees. flowers. shells. rocks.
So the idea that my dear children, my most importants, were deprived of something that I love the most, haunted me.
I felt depressed when I would look around the living room at my favorite people, all staring at screens.
I want them to experience a 3-D life. A life where you sit on your back porch and watch the deer grazing as you sip your morning coffee. A life where your chickens gently cluck, and birds outshine each other. A life where you may not be able to get to the dishes because you were too busy weeding the garden. That’s what I’m talking about.
So years ago, Eli and I started watching real estate in our valley. We often went on “dates” to open houses that we were slightly interested in. We set up appointment to homes resting on the side of the Wasatch. Any time a property came up with a creek running through it, we would jump in the car as soon as I was home from work to check it out. And there were some good ones. We even put offers on a couple.
But even the couple we put offers in on weren’t my dream property. They felt like “as good as it gets.” Salt Lake developers like to pack ’em in, baby.
Then one day this March, Eli told me he found a house for sale by owner that he was going to go see in Herriman. I wasn’t that interested because I LOVE the Wasatch Mountains on the east side and the Oquirrh’s on the west side are just, meh.
As we so often do, we ran parallel for a week without getting to talk about the house.
Monday, climbing team. Tuesday, cheer practice. Wednesday, climbing team/Kid’s Club/Youth Group. Thursday-tumbling/cheer/Small Group. Friday-Saturday-cheer competition. Sunday-worship practice/church (This is not a joke, folks. This is our actual schedule) Never mind that we both work demanding full time jobs.
I figured if it was amazing, he would have said something.
One day the next week, he asked if I wanted to go see it with him. By some strange miracle, I had a few minutes to make the 15 minute jaunt over to Herriman.
LOVE. at. first. sight.
The property was everything I had dreamed about.
Rose Creek running through the middle of the property (complete with a giant rosebush growing out of it.) An apple orchard. A fully functioning barn. Fenced horse pasture. An oak hollow for camping. A hot tub. A stone patio. Mountain views on all sides. A bubbling spring. Deer walking around as we checked everything out. 2 1/2 acres that we could call our own.
The house was a bit of a different story.
It is a made of huge dark logs. It has a teensy weensy kitchen. It has a weird layout. (Including a secret room hidden behind a bookcase.) It has AN EAGLE (more about this later for sure.)
But somehow that all didn’t matter and I adored it.
Those of us from northern Wisconsin find log homes a little clique and…Yawn…boring. Cabin decor is the only kind of decor you find in the Northwoods, so we find ourselves a bit repelled by it. But all of a sudden, I am in love with it and I am pinning lumberjack quality rugs onto my Pinterest board.
“This is the place.” Giggle. If you’re from Utah.
Eli said he had never seen me so decisive. I am an enneagram 7, after all. FOMO.
It was a little beyond our price range. We determined the best we could do and made an offer. She accepted. (45K less than she was asking!)
The months between then and now have been filled with busy. We were busy before, but adding an “immaculate house ready to show at a moment’s notice,” to the list has been a bit over the top.
So here I am, several months later, with only a few hours of sleep in between under my belt, (I’ve discovered that I deal with stress by being an insomniac) but with the hope of becoming my dream mountain girl in 26 days.
I don’t really know what I’m doing with a farm style property, or how to remodel a log home to fit my love of aesthetic and beauty. Or how to add pictures to this blog.
I guess I just need to get packing.
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