Where I was born, where I was raised... where I keep all my yesterdays. Where I ran off cause I got mad. And it came to blows with my old man. Where I came back to settle down, it's where they'll put me in the ground; this is my town.

So, a lot has happened in the span of a few short days... First of all- we are in contract on a house!!! It's a lovely little home in Westerville. It's absolutely precious, and we are very excited to call it our own.

Since it's been 6 years since we last went through the process of purchasing a home, I forgot about all of the sh*t FUN that comes along with doing so. Namely, the negotiation process (always more difficult when the sellers play hardball), and the home inspection with concessions. JOYFUL. Er, not really. But we are getting through it.

We have electricians, roofers and plumbers (oh my!) coming out to give us some estimates so we know just what to ask for when it comes to repairs or concessions. Crossing our fingers, eyes and toes that the sellers are amenable. Isn't this so much fun?! You're jealous, aren't you?

I will say, one of the things that tends to stress most people out when buying a home, circles around the lending process... Luckily, I have friends in high places and this has been NBD for us. My lovely friend Sara (friends since Sophomore year of HS) works for a lender and hooked us up with a fantastic loan officer. This process has been pain free and enjoyable. I will definitely be using Peoples Bank for my future lending needs! Sara even had cookies for us today when we came in to sign some paperwork. Friends in high places folks, friends in high places.

Did I mention the house is just precious?

We went to the zoo last week as well. There is a fantastic Out of Africa exhibit that just opened. So we took advantage of the last of our family time together and enjoyed a trip to the zoo. We also got a membership which I'm pretty excited about. It has 2 extra guest passes so any 2 people can join us for free anytime we go! Anyone want to go??

This past weekend was my brother Jim's 30th Birthday! We celebrated on both Friday and Saturday (that's so baller! I mean, who gets to celebrate their birthday for more than one day?). Friday night he had friends and family meet up at 'My Friends Bar'- good times.

Then on Saturday we went to Dad and MK's lakehouse with some family... and our Mom, Grandmother, Aunt and Cousin flew in to surprise him. That was a lot of fun, and I think Jim was really surprised.

Say hello to my little friend... It's a Gun-Cumber and was a recurring theme 

How many dudes does it take to inflate a baby float?

Jim with the Gun-Cumber, or is it a Cu-Gun-Ber? 

Elle with the Gun-Cumber

It's not a party if Dr. Garee isn't whipping out the Patron!

Gammy with Evie

Jason's birthday was on Sunday... and was much more low key than Jim's. I didn't even get the man a card... and I just ordered his gift this morning. But, that's ok. We still had a nice day regardless. And I think he will forgive me. We've had a bit on our plates as of late.

I suppose that's it for now. Jason starts work next Monday. So, we've been trying to soak up our remaining days together. Today we are going through boxes to find clothes that we want to keep out and clothes that can go back to storage. How fun is that? Gah! So, ready to just be in our own space and get all of our stuff out of storage.

Until next time...