A Weekend In Arizona

Well, better late than never... Right? So last Wednesday Dan flew down to Arizona for some meetings. He was also supposed to have a meeting on Thursday morning. So the plan was that I would fly down in the afternoon and then we would go house hunting. So Wednesday night he calls me and tells me he is done with all his meetings and I should go to the airport early and fly stand-by. Ok I say.... I get up and am at the airport at 6 am. Mind you my actual flight doesn't leave until noon. So I go through check in where I am able to for a mere $25 change my flight to the 7:05 or the 10. I figure OK there are tickets available so I will save myself $25 and fly stand-by. I go through security check my bag and get put on stand-by for the 10 flight. I get through security way faster than I had anticipated so I decide to go up to the gate for the 7:05 and see if theres a chance I can get on it. I go up they are oversold but if they have someone not show up they will put me on. Then they ask if I checked a bag and I say Yes. Oh, never mind, because I checked a bag I am not allowed to fly before my bag does. Ok I go over to the gate where the 10 and my flight is leaving from. The 10 flight is now over sold and I am still waiting. Dan calls to find out if I made the 10. I say no and is it too early to start drinking? I find myself in the airport bar drinking a tasty bloody mary and eating a terrible french dip. All is well I get on my noon flight and am in sunny Phoenix at about 2:45.

Thursday night we went out to dinner at this place called..... My Big Fat Greek Restaurant.... MMMMM If you ever find yourself by one go in and eat. Dan and I shared the special for the night which was.... 2 lbs of lamb shoulder the best lemon roasted potatoes ever (they felt like silk on my tongue) and this really yummy subtlety flavored rice.

Friday morning we were up bright and early ready to find a house. We had our first appointment at 9. We went over to Starbucks and headed to the house to check out the neighborhood. We love the area, the house could use some work but its pretty close to the job site. We go inside and it has not been taken care of over the years. It was alright but for the $$ we knew we could do better. It potentially could have been a nice place. I was very bummed to see that the wood beams that ran the length of the house in 3 different places had been painted white, and poorly as well. I kept asking WHY? Why would they do this?

House #2.... Cute little neighborhood but all very very close to each other. No yards at all, the cul de sac is the smallest one I have ever seen. It must have been a quarter the size of a regular one. Anyway the house was alright. It was 2 stories huge master bedroom and bath. But the kitchen was very small and I just couldn't picture our stuff in the living room. Plus it had no yard.

Moving on we call our 3rd appointment to see if we can go early. Turns out it rented and they didn't bother to call us. Great we have 2 hours till our next appointment. So we start calling on places that we have yet to hear back from. And that is how we meet Kevin. Kevin and his wife of 31 years are Real Estate Agents with Keller Williams. Kevin is also a minister at their Church. He clears his schedule and spends the whole day driving us from house to house. We offer to take him to lunch to try and repay him for his generosity. He recommends a restaurant named Abuelos. It is the best Mexican food I have ever eaten. I cannot wait to go back! The first house we look at with Kevin is one that we found and had an appointment to view at noon. It was described as being in "good condition" as per the description. The pics were of course of the few nice things about the house. Ok so if they thought it was "good" I don't even want to know what "great" or "bad" is.

So we move on and look at I don't even know how many houses. Then the last one we look at is the appointment for 4. I knew from the pics I was going to like it when we found it. However, after all the houses we looked at I was worried. We get there a few minutes early. Drive around the neighborhood. There is a park just down the road with a nice little grassy area. We take a picture of the playground to show the kids and go back to see the house. We walk in and I am in love. To the left of the door is the formal dining room. It has probably a 1/4 wall all the way around with sheet rock beams that for long open windows. Perfect for a playroom for the kids. From there it opens up to the living room. It has vaulted ceilings that soar into the sky. I can see our couches, end table and even the coffee table thats been in the closet for 2 years. Off the living room there is an area to use as an informal dining room. Then you walk into the kitchen which is just to the left of the dining area. There is a little nook, kind of like a bay window but without the seat. Here I see the computer desk. Of course the window looks out onto the neighbors fence, but hey I could put a flower box out there. The kitchen is good sized with lots of cabinets and counter space. Through the kitchen is the laundry room and out to the garage. Yeah a 2 car garage. Of course both our vehicles will never fit. Back inside the dining room has a sliding glass door that leads out to a big covered patio and a huge yard. And its grass... YEAH!

Ok so when you come into the house to the right of the entry way is a hallway. The first part of the hall ends at the master bedroom. We go in and it is huge. There is enough room for the bed, and the chair and then some. I think this will be a great home for the chair to live. Then I can actually sit on it. Then the closet. Its is a walk in shaped like an L. We just glance in since the current tenant is still living there and feel as though I am invading his space. So off to the master bathroom. It too is huge with a double vanity a separate shower and a large soaking tub. I'm not a big fan of baths but that may change. Down the hall again is the 2nd bathroom and the 2 spare bedrooms. Both of which are good sized. I think we will keep Hayden and Phedora in the same room and turn the 3rd room into a guest room/Dan's computer room.
Upon leaving the house we see that in the other direction also within walking distance is another park. Only this one has ball fields, a bike park and a spray pad. This is the house we want. So we go back and get the application filled out and the money order for the credit check. Yes I forgot the checkbook at home. Go figure right?
We spend Sat. looking at washers and dryers, tv's computers and water coolers. Fridges were also looked at but we really only need a washer and dryer. We went back to the hotel and took a nice nap and relaxed.