The New House - A few more pictures

We got to visit our house again today and I took some more pictures. Here are some from the outside.

The front of the house

The view down the street (we particularly like all of the trees!)

The entrance to the guest house

This small deck and door are just off the breakfast nook

The back yard (which is really on the side of the house)

Our New Neighborhood Park

Luis and I are in Dallas this weekend visiting Diego. Today, we went back to our house for an additional walkthru to help us plan for the move. After that was done, we stopped by Home Depot to pick out paint colors (the owners are graciously re-painting two rooms for us). Once the "work" of the day was done, we went to Kidd Springs Park - a park that is very close to the house. It has two different play ground areas, a small Rec Center, a duck/fish pond, tennis courts, sevearl big grassy areas and many picnic tables.

Luis admires the duck pond

Luis hanging...

... pretty high off the ground

Pick Up (Truck) Man

Luis has long been obsessed with trucks. As we drive around town, he is constantly pointing out the trucks he sees: Concrete Truck, Dump Truck, Pickup Truck, Tanker Truck, UP Truck (UPS Truck), Box Truck, Tow Truck, Flatbed Truck, Firetruck (and Ambulance and Police Car), Bobcat and Digger (Excavator). Tuesday, I bought a 10-set of trucks, so now he has his own trucks.

Grader

Hooking up the bobcat to the tow truck

Tow truck in action

Sticker Art - by Luis T Rincon

(The star sticker in his hair is still in his hair, as he sleeps - it lasted about 12 hours!)

Froggy Boots

Our Visit to Dallas

Last weekend, Luis and I went down to Dallas to visit Diego and start the home search process. We had decided to keep our house in VA (and rent it out) and find a house to rent in Dallas. Our awesome, awesome, awesome realtor here, Ken Tully, referred us to a great agent in Dallas.

After some last minute confusion on our tickets, Luis and I left here on Friday (10/31) afternoon. We arrived at our hotel at the same time that Diego was returning from work. Diego and Luis had a very joyous reunion, and we had a relaxing evening.

Luis didn't get the memo that we were in an earlier time zone and was up about 6a. We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then got in the car for a bit of neighborhood seeing. Diego had found an area called Keller Springs/Oak Cliff that he really liked and wanted to show me. We drove by one cute house with a "For Sale/For Lease" sign. We took a flier and noted that it only had 3 bedrooms (we had really wanted 4). But it was cute, so we texted the address to our agent to see if we could see it later that day.

Mid-morning, Deborah (our Dallas agent) and I went out to see 16 houses (yes, sixteen!). It was a whirlwind of a day, and I was exhausted when I got home. (Diego, who stayed at the hotel with Luis, was also exhausted, but in the best kind of way.) I saw the 3-bedroom house that Diego and I had found - and fell in love. It was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. It had recently been re-done, top to bottom. It had a very open floor plan, big bright windows that let in tons of light, high ceilings (which made the rooms feel even bigger), a gourmet kitchen (worthy of Diego), gorgeous hardwood floors, a great yard, trees, everything. Oh, and a guest house. And a garage (that was so new you could smell the fresh-cut lumber used to build it). It was perfect, but a bit pricey. Unfortunately, the next 15 houses had to measure up to this house - and none of them did. We did see plenty of nice house, all re-done with gorgeous tilework and fancy kitchens and big rooms. But they just weren't as good as The House.

Sunday, Luis and Diego came out house hunting with us. We saw about 5 houses from the previous day, and 5 new ones. Though we saw significantly less houses, we were all just as tired at the end of the day. Luis was a real trooper. Even though he melted down a bit towards the end, we really couldn't have asked for more. On Sunday, Diego saw the inside of The House too, and loved it. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. The long story made short, after a few back and forth negotiations between our agents, we signed a two-year lease over the weekend, and we take possession of it on December 1st (though Luis, Ashley and I won't be there until about Jan. 1st). Below are some pictures of my favorite parts of the house.

**The kitchen has a 5'x6' butcher block island w/ a vegetable sink

** The six-burner gas stove

**Looking from the breakfast nook towards the dining room (with the family room to your left)

**The Library (between the front entry and the dining room)

**The built in beds in the kid room (we've asked to re-paint this room)

**The big yard with TREES

**The Guest House (with a full kitchen and bath)

Being Helpful

One of Ashley's job is to bring the newspaper in from the driveway every morning. She gets a lot of praise for doing her job (and a couple of cookies as well). On Friday morning, Luis slipped out the door when Ashley went out to get the paper. While she was sniffing around our neighbors yard, he came cruising up the front walk looking like this:

A Visit from (Richmond) Heather

Heather came up for a visit this weekend - to see us before we head to TX. Yesterday, we went to our favorite sushi place (Sushi Hut), had a great visit with Bob, Emily, Maggie (2yr, 2mo) and "Baby Jackson" (5mo). Then, this morning, Luis, Heather and I went downtown for an early morning stroll. It was a gorgeous day and made for some great pictures! Unfortunately, Heather took all the pictures, so there are none of her. Next time...

Luis showing off his chop stick skills

Luis & Maggie at the park (this firetruck was a BIG hit!)

Luis at the WWII Memorial

Luis and me at the Lincoln Memorial

Luis chasing the geese

Luis at the Tidal Basin

Sleepy Time

I used to post lots and lots and lots of pictures of Luis in his bed, but it's been a long time. Here are a few from tonight:

proud of himself for balancing the cup on the railing

snuggled in

a little water...

... and a little milk

San Andres - Pictures

Last month, I blogged about our trip to San Andres, Colombia. Finally, I have some photos to go with it...

Mercedes & Hernan
Luis at the Beach

Luis at the Beach

Mercedes & Luis blowing kisses

Luis at the Beach

Luis at the Beach

Luis at the Beach

Luis admiring the beach

Luis & Mommy on the boat ride

A Trip Downtown

Several weeks ago now, Diego, Luis and I took a morning stroll downtown. It was a beautiful, sunny day - though the highlight was the walk-for-dogs event going on, bringing several hundred dogs down near the Lincoln memorial. Unfortunately, I don't have a single picture of Luis hugging and kissing all those dogs. But I do have a few from other sights we saw...

Luis & Mommy in front of the Washington Monument

Luis & Mommy petting the police horse