It is official, we are no longer owners of our house in Minnesota. The closing on our house in Minnesota went through this morning with only small issues. Most of the problem was flood insurance misunderstandings and confusion but our realtor and insurance agent really came through with a solution. There was a mad scramble by our realtor at the last minute to get some stuff out of the house the buyers wanted removed. I can't say enough about the great service we were given by Duane Bauermeister of Edina Realty.
It was a hard morning for Holly and Lilly leaving the house. Lilly was upset to leave her friends and the neighbor kids were sad as well. Lilly left the house and said, "Goodbye house. Thank you for keeping us safe." How sweet is that?
Now the next step is to get through closing here in Colorado on Friday.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Lilly Has Figured Out Disney Movies
Holly and Lilly watched The Ice Princess this weekend and this conversation happened close to the end:
Lilly: "I know what is going to happen at the end."
Holly: "What?"
Lilly (wispered in Holly's ear): "They’re going to kiss."
Holly: "How do you know?"
Lilly: "Because that is what always happens at the end."
Lilly: "I know what is going to happen at the end."
Holly: "What?"
Lilly (wispered in Holly's ear): "They’re going to kiss."
Holly: "How do you know?"
Lilly: "Because that is what always happens at the end."
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Boat is Out
I flew back to Minnesota this past weekend to take the boat out of the water and fix a few things around the house. I fixed the garage door in the lower garage (it blew a spring), the thermostat in the basement (it was set to 77 degrees for 7 hours of the day making it 80+ degrees upstairs) and winterized the mower, weedeater and leaf blower.
My friend Rob came over with his 4Runner (ours is in Colorado) to pull the boat out of the river. I got it winterized and put the trailering cover on. It should be ready to pull down to Iowa for the winter.
Holly, Lilly and I went to Serum's in downtown Anoka for the first time for lunch. We watched the Gopher game and I tried their World Famous wings. Mmmmm....hot.
Holly was able to go on a chilly ride with Madonna and Larry on Saturday afternoon. A bunch of friends met at Moonrock after their ride for dinner and some drinks. It was nice to see everyone again. The CrossShark made an appearance after a strong, mid-pack finish in the CX4 race.
On Sunday we carved Lilly's homegrown 37lb pumpkin:
Scooping it out
Here's how the lid goes on.
Scary!
After pumpkin carving we went on a hike in Elm Creek:
The park is beautiful now.
Ninja in the woods.
A nice dinner at Maverick's and then down to the airport. What a great weekend!
My friend Rob came over with his 4Runner (ours is in Colorado) to pull the boat out of the river. I got it winterized and put the trailering cover on. It should be ready to pull down to Iowa for the winter.
Holly, Lilly and I went to Serum's in downtown Anoka for the first time for lunch. We watched the Gopher game and I tried their World Famous wings. Mmmmm....hot.
Holly was able to go on a chilly ride with Madonna and Larry on Saturday afternoon. A bunch of friends met at Moonrock after their ride for dinner and some drinks. It was nice to see everyone again. The CrossShark made an appearance after a strong, mid-pack finish in the CX4 race.
On Sunday we carved Lilly's homegrown 37lb pumpkin:
Scooping it out
Here's how the lid goes on.
Scary!
After pumpkin carving we went on a hike in Elm Creek:
The park is beautiful now.
Ninja in the woods.
A nice dinner at Maverick's and then down to the airport. What a great weekend!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Long Time, No Update
It's been a while since I updated. I've been out of town in Atlanta on a project management training trip for the past week. I've also been pretty busy at work and busy in my spare time getting housing paperwork rounded up.
First, a housing update. The people buying our house will close on October 28th. I'll be back in town the weekend before to pre-sign our closing documents allowing our realtor to handle the closing in the middle of the week. I'll drive a UHaul back to Colorado on the 25th. We close on our new house Thursday or Friday of that week. For now Holly and Lilly are planning to stay in Anoka until the first weekend in November so Holly can help her company get through month end before she leaves.
Our new house is a new construction house in Stapleton. Stapleton is a neighborhood in the city of Denver. This is an urban renewal project creating a big new neighborhood where the old Denver airport was located. It is designed as a sustainable community where things are within walking distance and houses are pretty close together. There is some research that shows neighborhoods become very closely knit in situations like this. There are kids everywhere and a lot of the residents are our age. There are neighborhood pools, trails, parks and schools all built with the philosophy of brining the neighborhoods together into one community. I'll post some house pictures shortly.
Last weekend Holly and Lilly did a 45 mile bike ride in northern Minnesota near the headwaters of the Mississippi river. Lilly did great! She was a little cold and hungry at the start but after it warmed up and she ate some food at one of the rest stops she was happy and singing.
This past week Holly and Lilly made some Halloween treats. Marshmallow ghosts and chocolaty treats.
First, a housing update. The people buying our house will close on October 28th. I'll be back in town the weekend before to pre-sign our closing documents allowing our realtor to handle the closing in the middle of the week. I'll drive a UHaul back to Colorado on the 25th. We close on our new house Thursday or Friday of that week. For now Holly and Lilly are planning to stay in Anoka until the first weekend in November so Holly can help her company get through month end before she leaves.
Our new house is a new construction house in Stapleton. Stapleton is a neighborhood in the city of Denver. This is an urban renewal project creating a big new neighborhood where the old Denver airport was located. It is designed as a sustainable community where things are within walking distance and houses are pretty close together. There is some research that shows neighborhoods become very closely knit in situations like this. There are kids everywhere and a lot of the residents are our age. There are neighborhood pools, trails, parks and schools all built with the philosophy of brining the neighborhoods together into one community. I'll post some house pictures shortly.
Last weekend Holly and Lilly did a 45 mile bike ride in northern Minnesota near the headwaters of the Mississippi river. Lilly did great! She was a little cold and hungry at the start but after it warmed up and she ate some food at one of the rest stops she was happy and singing.
This past week Holly and Lilly made some Halloween treats. Marshmallow ghosts and chocolaty treats.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Snow
I looked out the windows of our building today at about 10:00 to see snow flurries. Wow. There is now a dusting of snow in the mountains. From near 80 degree highs this weekend to a high of 48 today. Only in Minnesota Colorado.
Holly and Lilly Weekend
Soccer in a park
Holly and Lilly were in town this weekend. Saturday was concentrated on house hunting. We found a house we both like and are now waiting for the offer on our house to become more solid before we make an offer on this house. We spent a large part of Saturday out and about so that evening we stayed home and played in Beth and Geoff's backyard. We grilled and just took it easy on the deck. Sunday we took another peek at the house we liked and then spent time playing in the neighborhood parks and scoping out the distances to the pool and school.
Backyard
Lilly's new favorite website:
Badger, badger, badger...
Monday, September 14, 2009
Weekend Update with John Rotach
Friday eve: Rockband at home then karaoke at the Hangar Bar
B36 made out of beer cans
Saturday: House hunting in the morning then mountain biking at Mt. Falcon in the afternoon. That's about as technical as I can handle while climbing 1,500 feet over the course of an hour. Ouch. Great views of Red Rocks park and the city from the top.
Sunday: A flat, windy ride out past the airport. Very nice.
B36 made out of beer cans
Saturday: House hunting in the morning then mountain biking at Mt. Falcon in the afternoon. That's about as technical as I can handle while climbing 1,500 feet over the course of an hour. Ouch. Great views of Red Rocks park and the city from the top.
Sunday: A flat, windy ride out past the airport. Very nice.
Fall Already?
Holly took the neighborhood to a movie, treats and Elm Creek Park. This tree seems to be getting ready for winter a little early:
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
1st Day of Kindergarten
Today was Lilly's first day of Kindergarten. She said, "School is awesome, Mom!"
Labor Day Weekend
Holly and Lilly were here in Denver for the long weekend. We drove through neighborhoods, looked at houses, walked to the dog park and farmers' market and went hiking. It was a terrific weekend and I was sorry to see them leave. Here are some pictures from the weekend:
Rock Climbing in Stapleton
Fat Sully's NY Style Pizza
Lookout Mountain Park
Balance
Dad and Lilly
The rock snowman
Mom and Lilly
Rock Climbing in Stapleton
Fat Sully's NY Style Pizza
Lookout Mountain Park
Balance
Dad and Lilly
The rock snowman
Mom and Lilly
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