As you can see the house was a complete cave! Definitely not my style AT ALL!!! Even my husband couldn’t believe I wanted this house, but I did! I was just so drawn to the backyard, floor plan and wood work and knew this is where I wanted to raise my children.

So we sold our lot and bought this house. (see post here)

I could never get myself to want to build where there was major wind, no trees, in an isolated neighborhood that connected to a high speed street out of a canyon and I really couldn’t get over that my “dream home” was going to back up into someone else’s “dream home”. It would be great for so many people, but it wasn’t for me.

We realized we had different dreams when it came to a home. So we ditched the idea of having to have the latest and greatest and went with this one. And over time we’ve started to make it our own.

We are outside people.  The feeling I got when I went into my backyard was freedom. I had flashes of my kids building tree forts, swinging in hammocks and rope swinging across the river.

A great childhood is what I desire most for my children.

The three biggest “things” I looked for in a home are…

1. Where are my kids and I are going to bike to on a Tuesday ? It needs to be flat, have interconnecting streets, parks close by, no bugs and no wind (check)

2.  Master room proximity to my children’s room. There are three bedrooms on the main floor. So-o perfect for what I wanted. My husband wanted master on the main, I wanted my children close (win-win!)

3. Good neighbors. Shortly after we moved in the neighbor with the rotwhiler and pitbull moved out and in came a family with 6 kids. It’s been bliss. Our kids play so well together and best of all I don’t have to plan playdates, I just get to watch my kids explore and be creative all day long.

Bonuses

Having multiple sets of cousins in the neighborhood, a town bell that dings every hour and plays patriotic bell chimes every hour on the Fourth of July, & a little quaint gas station and donut shop that I visit too frequently 🙂

My home is far from perfect, but it’s perfect for us!

BABBA BUTTERFLY

When we put an offer on the home Dallin’s mom was in town visiting for her last time. She had always lived with us as a second home since the day we got married. No one knew us like she did. I still remember her walking through and getting her opinion. Of course she said we have to finish the basement and put in a pool asap. And then she sat there looking out the window saying she wished she could be here to see it all finished.

We lost her two months later.

We have this yellow monarch butterfly that taps on our window & follows us in our home every time we have workers here. When my children play in the back yard sure enough this same big beautiful yellow butterfly is right there. At night I get a hat and take it outside.

It was Holland the first spring we moved in that called the butterfly Babba. If you followed me on snapchat last summer you might recall all of our butterfly encounters.

The day I brought home Brooklyn I heard a tapping on my window. I was holding Brooklyn walked over to the window and sure enough it was that silly monarch butterfly wanting to get a peak of the new baby. This was the first time seeing Babba butterfly since last summer, I couldn’t believe she was back.

I’ll put the butterfly on instastories today, it’s here everyday and follows my children everywhere. If we are in the front yard it’s there, if were in the back yard…you get the picture.

Maybe it’s just a friendly butterfly, but my kids & I chose to believe differently and feel a special connection to it. After all Babba did say she wanted to see our remodels come a reality.