Wednesday, September 15, 2010

House hunt in Ogden

OK, I'm totally coming to terms with this Ogden thing and even getting excited about it.  But what's NOT exciting to me is the process that will be involved in renting out this house, packing, finding a new house, moving, etc.  I don't have an extra 500 hours to do all this stuff right now!!!  I've got 3 more sick kids (the twins are better, now it's the big kids' turn), I'm heading to CA to do a Power of Moms Retreat this weekend, I've got to present at a conference in SLC the following weekend (Touchpoint - click on the icon on the right and come if you want - it's going to be wonderful - you can get $50 off using the coupon code powerofmoms) and do a Power of Moms Advisory Board meeting, we've got several exciting new Power of Moms products that need polishing and marketing (podcasts, a whole program for building Family Systems, great new family night lessons...).  Oh, and the primary program is coming up (the kids at church get to present a big program once a year) and guess who's supposed to put a big chunk of the program together?  And help run an activity for the kids and their families next Sunday (after rushing back from the CA Retreat)?  And do a primary teacher training meeting the next weekend (after rushing back from the POM Board Meeting and Touchpoint)?  Yep, somehow it's me.

I'm totally implementing April's fabulous Mind Organization for Moms program and prioritizing and delegating and all that - but some months are just plain crazy and some things just can't be delegated or postponed or anticipated (the move to Ogden, the sickness, the new calling to help in primary...when I planned all the Power of Moms stuff I've got going, I didn't anticipate any of this).  So we'll plow on through and come up for air sometime, hopefully.

But on to the title of this post.  The kids and I headed up to be with Jared for a couple days and look at neighborhood and houses and start figuring out what the possibilities are.  We saw 10 houses in 10 different neighborhoods and liked things about each. The only house we LOVED was in a pretty sketchy neighborhood - a newly and gorgeously restored house built in 1896.  Oh, I love that house.  Just about everything about it is what I'd have picked out.  Jared said the kids could just wear bullet-proof vests while they rode their bikes around the neighborhood....The neighborhood is getting better and better and many of the homes are being restored and it seems like lots of great people are moving in - but it's a gamble.

I love old houses.  I love the woodwork.  I love the details.  One of the things I put on my dream list back when I was in high school was to restore and live in a beautiful old house (and if someone else could restore the house first, exactly as I would like it, without me having to figure it all out and do it - all the better).  Another thing on that dream list was to live in an understated house in the desert, one that would blend with it's surroundings (been there, done that).  Actually, a lot of things on that dream list have come true - even though I forgot about most of those dreams for years....

Anyway, here are some photos of the house we love.  Wish we could pick it up and plunk it somewhere just a tad bit more tame...

We looked at the one on the left.  Anyone want to buy the one on the right and come be our neighbors?

Front entry-way and main staircase
Master bedroom - check out those restored windows and the gorgeous original parquet floor

Master bathroom
Liza picked this room
the big boys picked this room.  on the third floor there are 3 bedrooms, a bathroom and a large landing area/playroom - so perfect for the kids to have their own floor of the house - and the rooms were even painted their favorite colors...
The kitchen was a little small but so beautifully done

10 comments:

anna said...

Love that house! So much character. And the colors...I'm just sayin'. Good luck on the Primary Program. We do our's this Sunday. We have about 70 kids plus teachers to fit in the choir area. Good times...but it worked pretty well last week and we ran exactly 40 min. Awesome! Now if we could just get Nursery leaders and Scouts taken care of..and oh, present our budget for next year...

ellen said...

That house looks awesome! They both do. I'm not leaving Boston for Utah. :)

The Ballard's said...

Is this down on Jefferson or Quincy ish? I have been reading your blog and I am an Ogden resident. I got excited when I thought you might move. (That makes me creepy right??) Anyway, if this is around 25th, my sister-in-law lives down there. We do all kinds of things together and have fallen in love with Ogden. Her husband owns 4 different restaurants in Ogden. I grew up in North Ogden, but we play in her town all the time. So, the point is that President Monson once said that these are the times when parents can't afford to leave their kids unattended. My sister-in-law has loved her home in down town O-town and it keeps her more involved with her kids.--They do go to a wonderful charter school though. I follow your blog and Shawnee's. So feel free to check us out www.ballardbanter.blogspot.com & my sil www.mleballard.blogspot.com

emily ballard said...

Hi, I am the SIL. . . and possibly your future neighbor? I resisted moving to Ogden for years, but truly have fallen in love with it. I picked our house out online. When I showed my husband its location on the map, he said no way we were living here. We came to look at it anyway, and it took all of two minutes to decide this was exactly where we were supposed to be.

We moved from our nice little cul-de-sac in Logan, where the kids ran around with all of the other neighbor kids to downtown Ogden. And we love it. We have lived here for exactly three years now and don't plan on going anywhere soon.

This is actually an incredible neighborhood. Because of the way it is, the neighbors are all pretty tight, and you definitely get a sense of community. We are part of the largest neighborhood watch group in the county, and the police officers who patrol this area are extremely proactive.

There are a few neighbors here and there with one or two kids, but none with as many as us, so we would welcome the company! We did five "kids" in six years. . . but one is adopted, and one is actually my granddaughter.

Feel free to email me with any questions: emily@thesonoragrill.com. Or just stop by. . . you can probably figure out where I live.

Shawni said...

I love that house, Sar!

And I'm sending good luck wishes to help you get everything done you have on the agenda!!

Rosie said...

Inner city Ogden has some beautiful homes. We lived in the area for many years but were just unhappy with the schools. Unfortunately the bullet proof vest might not be a bad idea. I used to hear gunshots quite often.

There are some newer charter schools that I would highly recommend if you are serious about that area. The regular elementary system stuggles. Not that the teachers aren't good but the majority of the students don't have English as their native langauge.

Nothing like those old homes-especially when they have been well restored.

Hard hard decisions!! Good luck!

Cath said...

Ogden is looking mighty nice. That house is amazing! You have a great attitude. I'm sure you'll pull everything together. Best wishes Saren.

Really? You're renting your St. George home?? I empathize.... :)

Miken Harding said...

WOW! Congrats on the upcoming move. Beautiful home. Goodluck with the retreat and everything else, you are SUPER WOMAN.

brittanimae said...

I like that house so much that after reading your post I suddenly wanted to go all through down-town Fort Wayne (where we just moved) looking at the older houses there. I think we're pretty decided already, but WOW, that woodwork is something to behold!! Good luck with all the decisions/work/stress in front of you--you'll do great!

Amanda said...

Really I think this world is so small sometimes. I'm Amanda, Tal's friend and I just sent you an email in fact. I have lived in Ogden for 20+ years and I LOVE it. You will learn to love it here too. Its beautiful and has an awesome vibe. Plus if you purchase that house we'd live close to one another! Emily Ballard is one of my dear friends and is in the same ward as I am, so I find it almost ironic that she found your blog first. Needless to say, we would love to have you join the neighborhood! And your kids wouldn't even have to wear bullet proof jackets. I guess that's a bonus.

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