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