New House

On a Saturday in late July, I mentioned to Becky somewhat out of the blue that we should start thinking about moving in about a year. Kyla loves to play outside, even if it's just out on our little deck, so it seemed like it was time to get a yard. Until recently I have been spoiled by the zero-maintenance required by condo living.

The next day Becky went to Stroller Strides in the Issaquah Highlands and was immediately convinced that we needed to live there. The Highlands is a massive housing development on the southern edge of the Sammamish Plateau. There are thousands of houses and condos there with a retail area, Park and Ride, and elementary school under construction.

The following weekend, Becky had zeroed in on a home that she dubbed her "dream house." The price tag was a little staggering, but according to the banks we could afford it... barely.

By this time Becky's house-fever had rubbed off on me, so we put our condo on the market. By the time we got a buyer, the dream house had sold, but we found one just like it on the same street, but with more extras.

We should move in by the end of the month, and we couldn't be more excited. This place is much larger than our condo with a small but still reasonably sized back yard, a bonus room for all of Kyla's new toys from her birthday, and a bedroom for "Baby-X," which is my name for our second child whom we plan on having some day down the road.