Let this be a lesson to you all

We put our house up for sale the first week of February. We also had our first offer on the house which was good, we didn't play games, but the buyer did. She pulled out of the contract in the end, but it wasn't long before we had our next offer.

The couple with the second offer also wanted to play games. B and I enjoy game nights, but not being toyed with. We had already been messed up by the first offer, so we were a little leery of any offers to follow. We were in day 4 of going back and forth with the second buyers when another offer came in.

This offer was the best we had seen yet, and they weren't making any demands. They just wanted the house. So, we gave up on offer number 2 and moved onto the people who seemed anxious to win the house.

Today, we are finally out of attorney review.(It's a NJ thing, and I don't feel like going into it now. It basically means that if they pull out now, they lose their earnest $). Now we just have to get out of inspection tomorrow, and we're good to go. Not to mention our agent has the names of three parties that are interested if the deal falls through.

The sad ending to this story is that buyers #2 are kicking themselves in the pants. They are devastated they lost the house. All they had to do was play nice, and it would have been theirs. You snooze you loose.

The New House

One week from today, the moving truck will pull away. Tomorrow we close on our house in Jacksonville, and many have asked, so here are a few pictures. It will be ours tomorrow afternoon.

Wish B luck, he has power of attorney for me, so he has lots of signing to do-- Brian J. Swindell for Julie D. Swindell attorney in fact-or something like that. I'm just glad I'm not the one doing it.

When it rains, it pours!

It's official, it's raining. It's not just a little either. We've had rain for three days now, and that combined with the snow melt, NJ is in a state of emergency. We're fine though, it's our basement that is suffering. I'm on 24 hour towel patrol to keep the river from running.



This is coming down the basement stairs. All towels that must be switched out every hour or so


I was watching the news this morning, and Mr. Jim Cantore informed us that if it was hurricane season, this storm would have a name, and not only that, we skirted a snowstorm of a lifetime because if it was cold enough, we'd have 7 feet of snow outside. I can't even imagine. Just down the road from us, 30ft waves were crashing on the shore.

The winds are crazy. I think we heard they were around 60 mph last night. B and I left the girls with a sitter to head north for his going away dinner with the managers here in NJ. As we were driving, trees were falling, power lines were down, and emergency workers were everywhere blocking off streets. We even had a stop sign blow down right in front of us and we had to just drive on over it.

As for what's happening with the move, it's a story that develops by the minute. We do have a house with a contract on it down in Florida. We close on March 25, and all looks like it's going well with that end of the move. The truck is scheduled to start packing on March 29, and we'll pull out of here on the 31st.

This house has been another story. We were excited to have a contract on the house within the first week of listing it. Long story short, the buyer was a little crazy. After a month of going back and forth, she pulled out. We're back to square one. Our realtor was excited enough to call last night and tell us we may have another offer coming our way today. We'll let you know.

Only two more weeks here. It's definitely bittersweet. I'd stay forever if I could.

Ballet Class

We have a wonderful thing here. The Monmouth County park system. The programs that are offered are endless, and one of our favorites has been ballet. Lise' has been participating for almost two years now. She loves it, and we like it because you only sign up for four weeks at a time, there are no commitments, and no reviews. It's just a class that introduces them to the fun of dance. As usual, go to the picture website for more.

Abri has been wanting to join in the fun for a long time now. Prior to this February, each time Lise' dressed for dance class, she did too. We even had to bring her pair of ballet slippers for her to change into so she could practice her moves as she waited outside the door. With her third birthday, she finally gained admittance, and she went in like a star. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the last day for both of them. With the move right around the corner, I did not sign up for the next class.

Here's Abri. She just discovered the mirror on the wall.

And again

Just when you thought the blizzard was it, we got another helping of 14+ inches of snow. That brings us to a grand total of 45+" this year. A record for this area, and a fitting farewell for us. I think NJ is sorry to see us go, and Mother Nature wanted to hand it to us on a silver platter.

As you know, I made it through the first storm with the help of my neighbors. This one originally was predicted to be 3-6" and done by Friday afternoon. By Wednesday, flights were being cancelled to and from Newark, and I could feel my heart sink with the knowledge that B would most likely not make it in to see us after two weeks of being away. It was devastating, and killed the usual excitement that comes with the arrival of snow. B's flight was cancelled for Friday, but somehow, some way, he figured out a way to get home on Thursday night, and for that he scored HUGE points. Not only did he have the opportunity to dig us out (something he enjoys), but we also were very grateful for and extra day with Daddy. The kids especially enjoyed the snow ramp he built off the back porch. I'm not sure who had more fun....B or the girls.

The girls love to taste the newly fallen snow.
I've added tons of snow pictures to our picture site. This includes newly added ones to the Blizzard File. Click HERE to see more.