The Pool has Water!

The backyard is a construction site! I can't believe that all my grass is GONE! But, the fence is finished and the pool is in. The picture didn't come out too well, but this is the general idea. We still have to put the patio in and build a retaining wall behind the pool area.

This is the pool liner that we chose. The brick pavers will be a reddish color, so I think it will look really good. The pool has to sit like this for a month so it can all settle before anything else is done. It's dirty right now and has a DEAD FROG in the bottom of it ... YUCK! We will start running the pump today, I think. What a LONG process ... I can't wait to be IN IT!

Day 1 of our backyard make over came to a sudden halt when we realized that the sprinkler people put our sprinkler on the outside of our property line- into the easement. I don't think we're allowed to put the fence on the other side for our yard to include our sprinkler system. So we have to make some phone calls and plans before we can proceed.

We've decided to do a patio instead of a deck and I can't wait to have lazy days back here in the pool with family and friends! The pool dig should start very soon. I'm going to be going crazy becuase of all the construction that will take place.

Charlie loves to be outside with us. He's getting so big. This morning I'm going to call the vet because his temperment has changed drastically due to some scrapes on his little paws :(

Daniel- staking the yard for fence.

Pool Design #1

We talked to a guy named Taylor about the style and design of the pool we wanted. He sent us his first design with the dimensions of our house and yard! It's so cute. It looks like something from The Sims. So this is our backyard and what it will look like with this pool. I'm glad there is a lot of grass left. I didn't want the pool to take up our entire backyard. I don't LOVE the shape of this pool though.

House Hunting in Chesapeake

My first day of house hunting was awesome! My agent and I looked at about 15 houses, I think. Some were great some were not so great! Then we looked at new construction and I became convinced that we should take this route! For the money, it's so worth it! We looked at two houses that were beautiful. One was in a community of only 10 houses. The house was beautiful, but I had rather live in a larger community with more neighbors. This house was also in just the beginning stages of the neighborhood. . The next one was in an already established community with lots of military families. This community has about 40 houses and we would be one of the last people in the neighborhood, so we already have an idea of who our neighbors will be and what the value of the neighborhood is looking like. The house isn't finished so we would get to pick a few things. It is 5 bedrooms, 2.5 baths with a 6th room (sunroom) and also an additional bonus room at 2749 sq ft. This is my first pick of the day!

This is the kitchen facing an eat in area.

This is the cute little sunroom!

This is the soon to be driveway. You can see some of the other houses in the neighborhood as well.

This is the outside with driveway on the left side.

So, this was the first day. I'm not sure what we'll decide to do. The lots are pretty big so the yard would be a nice size. We've talked about it and if the builder doesn't accept our offer, we could build one, which will take 4 months. Then we would have to find a rental until the house was ready. In the whole big scheme of things, 4 months is not long and for the community and schools, it would be worth it. We'll see how it goes! I haven't "fallen in love" with this house, but I have fallen in love with the neighborhood I think. I'm just not getting my hopes up for anything right now... So the roller coaster ride begins!

Three Days Away!

Oh My Goodness! I can't believe that we're really about to leave the island! I've been packing and doing laundry and trying to keep things organized. It so isn't working out that way! My house is a mess!

Wednesday- I took Daniel to work so I can have the car! So glad I did that! The pre-move people come to see what they will need to move our household goods. I will use today to finish packing our suitcases and run errands. I think we may also do something with Paul and Angela tonight too! YAY!

Thursday- The packers come and will be here all day and I'm going to dinner with the wives from the wardroom to say goodbye. We're staying in a hotel (I think) but we don't have firm plans of where. Daniel is trying Lockwood Hall this morning sometime.

Friday- The packers come and finish packing and loading the crate! My house is never too big for needing more days than this! I'm proud of that! hahaha. I get rid of anything we don't need quickly!! We are also staying in a hotel this night too... somewhere.. not sure where again.

Saturday- Our flight from Honolulu to Chicago leaves here at about 4:20pm. From Chicago, I fly into Norfolk, VA. I don't have many plans for VA in place at the moment. I'll work on that today! I'm planning to stay with friends there. But I think for the first night I might be more comfortable at a hotel. We'll see. My ride from the airport is Kevin from First Team Toyota in Chesapeake. He will be picking us up from the airport in our NEW PRIUS! Now, that's service! I'm worried that our bags and us won't all fit! I'll have the weekend to lounge and learn the area.

On Tuesday, our real estate agent, Karen, will be showing me some new houses! I can't wait! I will for sure be taking lots of pictures of the houses. I think I need to buy a little mini laptop for uploading my pictures and everything. I haven't sold my old one yet though! I have been trying to sell it on Craigslist. Okay, I have a million things going on... More later.

On the GO GO!

This is THE DRESS that Ally has been so excited about. It's a very cute dress. I was a little critical about the length, but all dresses looked short on her because she's 5'9"! I did make her wear cheer bloomers/spanks underneath though. She had a really good time with her friends. I'm glad there are things she's able to do with them now. She will miss them!

Bye- bye Saturn Outlook! We almost have one car turned in. I'm just waiting for the people to call and set a time to pick it up. So today, I need to clean it and get all of my stuff out of it. Once we have proof that we have turned it in, we'll buy my new car in Chesapeake! We did finally get to test drive the Prius! It's much bigger than the Insight! The back seat has more room and it has a much nicer interier! It has a push button start and Park button. The gear shift is really cook too! And I can't forget that it has a cubby to put my purse it!

Navy Federal gets a BIG BOO from us! In the process of dealing with Navy Federal for our mortgage, I found them to be rude and really demanding of what they needed from us- and not to mention time-consuming! They said Daniel had to be living in the house within 6 weeks of closing or we couldn't proceed with the loan. I thought this was insane! And not being sure of him being there, I was not about to enter into that deal! Military people buy houses all the time and go to sea for 6 months! I just don't get it. It took almost two weeks to get any information about our mortgage, and we still weren't even close to being finished and they hadn't even given us a pre approval letter or good faith estimate! When I told them nevermind, they were magically able to appove the loan and offered to send me paperwork right then. I hate dealing with people like this. IN THE BOOK it says to stay away from these people- while I know that Navy Fed has a great reputation, they were not the bank for us! We have two other banks that we're thinking of using and will make a decision when we put in a contract on the house we want.

We have still not heard from the landlord about what we're going to do about the deposit they owe us. Still seems a bit shady. We'll see what happens. I turned in a 30 day notice, so our last day here/Daniel's last day will be July 9. I think I'm flying out sometime this weekend, maybe Monday. The kids and I will be there first to look for a house then Daniel goes on househunting July 3 - July 8. Then back here to turn over the house. Then he'll go stay at Paul and Angela's house until he goes to sea. After he checks out, he'll be on his way to VA with us! We're hoping he'll be available for closing. Since submarines are a bit out of touch with the world, we're hoping we can arrange something... like a miracle! haha.

So anyway, these are the crazy things going on with our 10th move in 14 years. WOW- I just figured that out and I think it's crazy!

1. Titusville, FL- Orlando, FL

2. Orlando, FL- Goose Creek, SC

3. Goose Creek, SC- Auburn, AL

4. Auburn, AL- (Daniel-Pensacola-OCS) then to Goose Creek, SC again

5. Goose Creek, SC- Kingsbay, GA

6. Kingsbay, GA- Bremerton, WA

7. Bremerton, WA- Goose Creek, SC

8.Goose Creek, SC- Groton, CT

9. Groton, CT- Pearl Harbor, HI

10. *Pearl Harbor, HI- Norfolk, VA*

September will make 15 years in the Navy! So it's possible that we move 2 more times times before he reaches the 20 year mark. If he stays for 30, I wonder where we'll go!? EEEEK!

Our orders are here!

In the wee hours of the morning, Daniel woke me up before he left for work and showed me that we had ORDERS! I could barely go back to sleep, but I did. If I wasn't sick, I would have stayed awake I think. I'm convincing myself that I'm not sick so I can deal with all that is ahead!

This means we can finally schedule our pack-out, get plane tickets, buy a house, and ultimately... get OFF this island for good! I was beginning to feel like Gillagan!

Finding a Travel Agent

I wonder if other people catch up on blogging all in one day...

I explained before how a friend of mine wanted to be my real estate agent and I just didn't feel comfortable... So after stressing about finding a real estate agent for weeks, I go on the dependents cruise and Daniel gives me a note card that has an agent's information on it. He said that he talked to the CO (I think) and was referred to a woman in Virginia Beach, Karen Honore. I was so glad to hear that someone we knew was actually referring us!

I called Karen and she quickly filled me in on her real estate career. She was raised in the area and has been in real estate for many years! She has two children and understands the concern moms have when it comes to choosing the right schools. She was very nice! She explained how she knew another military family that had also used her in the past. She has a long line of experience when it comes to military moves. She couldn't be more perfect!

In our books, I've read about how important it is to feel completely comfortable with your agent; but yet not too comfortable because that could allow you to be persuaded or manipulated by the agent very easily. I totally agree! I was just about to start asking around for recommendations from friends and then this popped up at the perfect time!

Orders and Mortgages and Landlords, Oh my!

I finally got all of Mason's EFM paperwork finished and now we are just waiting for orders! I have been checking Bupers like every 30 minutes! I can't help myself! The bank just called about our loan and (of course) won't talk to me. She has to talk to Daniel! He's at work and I can't get in touch with him. I can't wait to hear the verdict! Well, maybe I don't really care about that part... I just want to go look at cute houses!

About a 3-4 months ago, I gave the landlord a call to tell them we would be leaving the house here on July1. The date seemed about right and I knew since I was on a month-to-month lease, I could ask for more time if needed. I also called again last month to remind her that July 1 would be our last day. This time, I think she was avoiding me- I left a message. So just a few days ago, Daniel called and a woman said he had the wrong number. He made sure the number was correct and then called back and the husband answered this time saying yes, it was him. The landlord proceeds to tell Daniel he didn't know July 1 was our last day and they didn't really know what they were going to do. This doesn't sound good! So we're writing up a letter to send (certified) that we will be vacating July 1, 2009! We've been a little worried this whole time that they wouldn't have our deposit money to give back to us. We'll see... I know Navy Legal is well used in this department. I hope we don't have to go that route. It also sucks that we won't have that money during our move. I'm glad we didn't count on it. Our deposit was $3000! I'm praying that it all works out for the best!

Off to check for orders and call Daniel about calling the bank... YAY! This is finally happening!

Organized Chaos

I really do try to blog everyday. I have so many things going on in my head that by the end of the day, I'm exhausted. So let's try the morning!

Yesterday, Daniel didn't have to go into work until 9am! It was really nice to wake up to a husband! When I got up he was working on mortgage stuff, phone calls, etc. I'm so glad to NOT have to do everything by myself! I haven't seen him on a weekday morning in ... oh... a year or so! It was really fun! :)

Our time here is getting close and we have many things coming up, I can't even wrap my head around it all. We've made some great big life decisions lately and it's a bit scary and exciting at the same time!

We finally have orders, but now they are on hold until we fix some things involving Mason's EFM (exceptional family member) paperwork. I never knew that this program "expired" and had to be updated. So today, I have to take Mason to an appointment with his PCM (Primary Care Manager) and have him fill out some paperwork. I took other paperwork to the school that had to be filled out yesterday. After this is done, I will take it all to Tripler and then Daniel's orders will be released! YAY! I'm pretty sure they say NORFOLK VIRGINIA!!! I can't wait to see it on paper! THOUGHT: I'm so going to take a picture of that!

Daniel has also talked to our finance companies for our cars and is arranging to turn in our leased automobiles under the soldier and sailor act of 1940! This means since we are being shipped back overseas, we can turn in the leased cars and we won't have to ship them. Which saves us A LOT of money!

We are going to buy a new car hopefully from here so that when I land in VA I can go pick up my new car! This way, I won't have to rent a car and I won't have to wait for mine to come. I'm so excited to be getting a new car and for so many different reasons this time! Daniel and I have always been car people! We love our cars and get new ones pretty frequently, that's why we lease. So this time we're thinking of going CHEAP and PRACTICAL! We test drove a Honda Insight over the weekend and loved it! These cars cost about $20,000 and can get up to 70+ MPG! Yes, you read that right! Daniel is sold on the Insight. I'm still waiting to test drive the Prius before I make up my mind. So we will either have 2 Insights or an Insight and a Prius! We have never been so frugal with cars but I think with buying a house and having added expenses we are making a great effort to contradict the "American Dream" and actually live WITHIN our means!

Above is the Insight, Below is the Prius.

I have lots more to say, but this post has run long enough. More to come about finding a real estate agent and the dependents cruise!

Buying Our First Home

I wanted to make sure I blogged about us buying our first home! So this will be the first post about the process. I'm hoping to blog about all the details of getting orders, the moving process, finding schools, the home buying process itself, and all from a military family's point of view.

We are now about a month out from at least being out of the rental house in Kapolei, Hawaii. We have told the owners our last day will be July 1, 2009. We are still awaiting orders but have been given a verbal assignment to Norfolk, VA where my husband, Daniel, will be on a TRE team. That means he'll inspect submarines while they are at sea. So he will have some sea time there, but not a lot. We are really looking forward to this move. My husband has been extended on this sea tour once now and we are ready to get back to the mainland to be closer to family.

So far, I have done some research about home-buying in general, mortgages, VA loans, areas to live in Virginia, and researched schools -Elementary thru High School. I have a daughter that is 14 and a son who will be turning 11 in August.

Just this research alone has been a task. I don't trust too many people to tell me where to live, so I had rather do the research myself. It always helps to have other military families give advice on where to live and what schools to attend though. Most of my research has been for the High Schools. I have been tossing around the idea of private school or homeschooling for my son.

These are the sites I found useful in school research

http://www.greatschools.net/

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/src/index.shtml

This link ttp://maps.roktech.net/Chesapeake/ is the Chesapeake School District Adress look up. You can put the address of a house in and it will show you what schools your kids will attend.

I also use Google Earth to zoom in on the neighborhoods and to see what is close; water, stores, churches, schools, etc.

So far, I have narrowed my search to Chesapeake, VA. The High School that we're interested in for my daughter is Great Bridge High School.

I have been doing so much research on buying a home I think the fun in it may be gone. I'm sure It will be fun again once I get to physically look at a house. Internet shopping gets to be overwhelming! I do have an idea of the market now though.


I've been reading two books and I also downloaded book I found online. The books are really helpful! One covers the buying process beginning to end in great detail, one is a book of checklists to reference, and the downloaded book has actually been the most helpful. It was just an easy read. It was only about 160 pages and gave great detail about the most important things of buying a house.

So, from my reading, I understood that one of the first things I should be doing -after finding the area that is most appealing to us-is shopping for lenders and finding the best mortgage rates. As I began this step, I soon realized that I can't lock in a rate until I have a contract in on a house. This gave me stress because recently mortgage rates went up a whole percentage and will continue to go up as the housing market shows signs of stabilizing. I really hope there continues to be a lag until we buy our house:). We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Another important step is finding a realtor! This has caused me much stress! I've been in touch with an agent, but I don't really know much about him. I haven't committed to anyone, but I have said no to one. My friend just got her real estate license, but I just don't think it's a good idea to have a friend do such personal business with you. I also know myself, and I know that I would be taking her input in as a friend and not as a realtor. I have to be focused and make decisions for our family and this only. If my friend was there, I'd just be distracted. So I still continue to search for the right person. Hopefully my friend isn't too broken about it:).

So this is the stage that I'm at...

still waiting for orders- can't do ANYTHING without them

getting this house ready for turn-over

finding a realtor

checking mortgage rates (to make myself crazy!)

internet shopping here and there for houses

reading as much as I can about the process

We aren't sure if we can all go house hunting together, if it will just be me, or if my husband will go. The latest- he's working and I will have go find a house and come back here, or we wait for the house hunting until the kids are out of school (June 23) and the kids and I go - in this case we won't come back. The military life... living in limbo:) We're all used to it though!

Maybe I can do a house blog on Wednesdays! We'll see how it goes:)