Millington

The house that we’ve been working on in Millington is done.  For those that aren’t aware, my dad recently purchased some land in Millington, which is about 30 minutes from where we live.  The primary intent of him purchasing it was to give us a place to go hunt when he was up. 

When we bought it, it had a house on on it that was built sometime around the early 40’s.  It hadn’t been lived in for 9 years and it was in shambles.  We actually used the fact that we’d incur the expense of tearing it down as a negotiating tool.  Once we bought it, we took another hard look at the house.  We’d probably spend 10 grand or more to tear it down.  And it definitely had some potential.  You had to squint to see it, but it was there.  The renovation process began.

The house is pretty simple.  2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, sunroom (that is a converted porch) and one bathroom.  There’s one picture of the renovation below.  I’ll post more as I remember to take pictures.  We sleep in one bedroom and the kids sleep in the other.  There are three twin beds in the kid’s room.  As of now, Avery sleeps in ours, but Haley and Trey can’t wait until she can join them.  We’ll be making a lot of memories there. 

Here we are about 8 months later and I’m happy we chose to repair it.  It’s got a charm to it.  We’ve spent the night there a couple of times over the last few weeks.  We’ve been checking off the punch list – final cleaning, brining in furniture, stocking the closets and hanging pictures.  We’ve nearly got it to the point that we can grab a change of clothes and head out to spend the night on a whim.

I knew having a place to go like this would be nice.  But frankly, I had no idea just how nice it would be.  Away from the phone and computer.  Away from the honey do list at home.  Just relaxing.

We’ve been bringing a small TV and a DVD player so that we can watch a movie as a family (typically Fern Gully or Tangled) and eat popcorn.  The ONLY thing that gets the kids in front of the TV out there is darkness.  From the minute we get there until it gets dark, the kids run around like crazy outside.  This past Saturday, I don’t think they stopped squealing for the first few hours they were there.

I love watching them run around.  There are a couple of acres around the house where they can run till their hearts are content without danger of streets or being kidnapped.  There’s no such thing as strangers…just a couple of overly nice neighbors that would do anything for you.  We’re so grateful to have a place to go where kids can be kids like we were growing up.  Where there were no worries.  Where skinned knees were a clear indicator that we had a lot of fun that day.  Where riding 4 wheelers isn’t something you do every once in a while as a reward for being good – it’s how you get to the pond.  And where there’s always a ring around the tub after giving them baths.

First Day of School

Yep, I know we’re fashionably late on this post.  But now we’ve got two weeks under our belt and we can tell you how school really is.

Both of them are in pre-school at St. Paul’s Methodist.  (thank goodness their curriculum is a step above their website design!)  Haley’s been playing musical schools over the past two years.  We were hoping to get Haley in St. Paul’s each year, but the waiting list is pretty long.  So welcome our leverage – Trey.  We knew it would be easier for Trey to get in.  If Trey made it, Haley automatically went to the top of the waiting list.  Mind you, she didn’t automatically get in, but it would give her priority.

We got word about mid-summer that Trey made it.  Now it was a waiting game for Haley.  We had already registered Haley at another school in case we didn’t get in to St. Paul. 

The good news about Haley getting in came while we were in the hospital right after having Avery.  Laura was super excited.  This meant that she could drop BOTH kids off at the same school and St. Paul is only about 5 minutes from the house.  While she had the lady from St. Paul on the phone, she actually went ahead and put Avery on the list!

Their first day of school was a smashing success.  We’d told Haley that she’d need to teach Trey what to do at school, since this was his first time.  Haley took her job VERY seriously.  The whole way there she told him what to expect.  Then it was the cutest thing watching her hold his hand while they walked in…explaining to him the whole way what he should expect.

Trey’s little backpack is as big as he is.  And Haley Michelle Pirate Simons is totally rocking her personalized pirate backpack (big thanks to Ali, Richard and Griff – nice pick). 

Now, as long as we can keep them out of the principal’s office, we’re set!

Pickin’ Peaches

Hayden’s parents kept the kids in Jackson for a few days to give Avery and I a little time to sew, run errands, eat lunch out, and breathe!  When they brought the kids back to Memphis, they spent the weekend with us.  We decided to stop at Jones Orchard in Millington on our way to go check the land and house at Millington.  It was hot but we had a great time picking peaches!  Both kids really got into it and didn’t want to stop.  All I could think while the basket got more and more full is 1) can’t wait to make peach cobbler; 2) I’ve got to find more peach recipes!  After working hard to find the best peaches in Memphis, we hit Chick-fil-A for lunch and ice cream!!

Visiting the land and house in Millington got us fired up about having a “camp out” so we spend the night out there this past weekend.  We really enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to a lifetime of memories spent out there…four wheelers, hunting, cook outs, and soy beans!

Let’s Go Swimming

Well, as some of you know, we got a pool last summer.  Mind you it wasn’t in our back yard, but in the back yard of a house that we’ve been trying to flip.  This is our first attempt at flipping a house.  Let me tell you, it has been more of a flop.  When we bought it last August, we got an absolute steal on it.  It’s a good thing too.  Because we’re right at breaking even.

We’ve got friends that have said, “Even if you made a dollar, it is worth it.  You’ve learned so much.”  They’re right.  We have learned a lot about flipping houses, house repair and pools.  We’ve learned all about taxes and insurance.  We’ve also learned that we won’t be doing this again any time soon.

The ONLY silver lining to this cloud (outside of not completely losing our shirts on the deal), is that the house has a pool.  And it is in our neighborhood.  So we’ve at least gotten to make some use of it.  It’s been great watching the kids turn more and more into fish-like creatures.  Haley’s still a little nervous around water, but as you can see from the pictures, Trey’s all in. 

Trey had been jumping off the side without too much fear.  I was in the pool and said, “Hey Trey – why don’t you go jump off the diving board to me.”  Much to my surprise, he bee-lined it to the diving board, ran down it and flung himself off.  I told Laura to grab the camera and asked him to do it again.  Sure enough, we got the shot below.

We also managed to take sweet Avery for her first swim ever.  She sported her little MSU Bulldog one piece.  (she’s a little young for a two piece).

Now we’ve actually got a contract on this house.  Lord willing, we’ll have it sold on August 30th.  We’ll definitely miss having the pool that close, but sure as heck won’t miss the acid reflux holding on to this house has caused.