Moving to the big MI

Jed, Benny and I went to Michigan last weekend to look for a house. It was a long 12 hour drive there and back! I find that searching for a house is always a bit discouraging at first. After a disappointing Saturday morning, we found a little home that was just right for us.It's a 3 bedroom home, only 20 minutes from the hospital and a freeway entrance is super close. (And family members: the airport is a whopping 15 miles from us! yippee!) The owner will be a first-time landlord, and he seems like he will take good care of the maintenance and all that. You can see part of the two car garage to the right of the house. And guess what! - That hot guy modeling the home in the picture is actually included in the lease! This is the entry way and front room. In the entryway picture you can see the bedroom through the open door. That will be Benny's room; the walls are painted blue- perfect for a little boy! The entryway, hallways, kitchen and dining area are tiled with slate stone (or something like that). The living room is hardwood floor, so we're in the market for a nice carpet-type area rug. There is a gas fireplace in the front room, too. I've heard that Michigan winters are forever LONG and biting COLD. I'm really looking forward to snuggling up with a good book on the couch, with some hot chocolate, a blanket, and a warm fire in the fireplace.... Aaahhhh....

Here's the kitchen. Marvel of marvels - the stove is included! In case you didn't hear all my complaints when I was researching housing in Michigan, many landlords do NOT include kitchen appliances. That's right, folks - NO STOVE. Sure, I understand it's normal to need to buy a washer/dryer, and sometimes a house doesn't have a dishwasher, and I guess I'll consider buying a fridge, BUT A STOVE??! Soon landlords will be asking me to bring my own cupboards and countertops too. What is the world coming to?

Luckily this place comes with the fridge, dishwasher, stove, washer and dryer. Bonus!

Here's the backyard. Obviously the trampoline won't be there when we move in. There's a lot of little trees but still lots of open grass, and there's a deck that our landlord is planning on staining before we move in.

And here's Benjamin's favorite part: An enormous sandbox. Or sandpile more like. It's behind the garage, and spilling over. I plan on taking out lots of it and planting a garden, maybe along the fence if it gets full sun. The landlord is taking down the treehouse, so that's good since Benny is too young to play on it anyway.

I'm really happy that it is landscaped. And the landlord is fine with me planting some other flowers or what-not.

Anyway, now that we've got a little home waiting for us I feel much better about our upcoming move. It's actually going to be an exciting adventure to move to the 'big city'!