SNOW!

This is really why I love it here! A beautiful snowfall with beautiful scenery!

Back corner of the yard/ back side

View from the front of the house

Home Sweet Home!!

Doesn't get much better than this!!

I disappeared... I will come back!

I did it, too. Disappeared! Life is nuts!

Just wanted to give a quick update and will post more when I have a chance.

Turns out a bunch of HVAC systems in our development were not measured correctly and almost everyone building around when we did got units that were too small. This explains some of the inconsistent temperatures, especially upstairs for us. So, SURPRISE! We are getting upgraded bigger units upstairs and downstairs! A bunch of our neighbors got this or some variation and said things run much better now. It's like getting a new house all over again! Well, sort of ;-)

Other than that, things are going smoothly and we continue to love our home! Our development is about to release the last section of lots, all premiums ones (beautiful views of the woods and sunsets!) and then will stop until 2015. We are so amazed by how many homes are being built. Almost all of the lots are sold and building is well on its way! The prices continue to increase and we love being in the green as opposed to the red like we were with our townhome!

If we could do this again we would. What a great adventure it has been. We love our neighbors, who are now our close friends, and our kids love to play all the time outside with their new friends! We are sneaking up on our 10 month (CRAZY!) and need to get moving on what fixes we want. I will post that when we have the whole list together.

Any tips from other 10 monthers out there?

Hope everyone is enjoying their homes and home building!

Lot pics as promised!

Better late than never!

View from the front of our house up the shared driveway, main street at the top.

View from the top of the shared driveway down to our house and our neighbors' (ours is on the left at the bottom)

View from the patio of the back and side yard

View from the front of the house to the side yard

Another view heading down the shared driveway

Other side of the yard

Our house :-)

Another view of the back/ side yard in the corner

Patio and backyard view

Top 20: #3: YARD and LOT 15!

Growing up I did not have a backyard and our townhouse had a very small yard, which was mostly pavers. Now we have a BEAUTIFUL backyard and a huge side yard that ends at the tree line.We weren't expecting such a huge side yard! The kids enjoy the swing set and all the room they have to run. Luckily we are good friends with the neighbors whose yards are near us, so all the kids in our little section play together in the combined yards. It is so beautiful and peaceful out there, I could stay outside for hours. It is so nice to just let our kids go out and run around and not have to worry about them running into a street.

Out lot is tucked back off the street. It is like having your own little private driveway and cul de sac. We share the driveway down to the houses with the neighbors across the street and it then turns into our driveway with a little turn around at the end. I will have to take a picture of it tomorrow morning to better explain it! It is great because the kids can walk out the door and we don't ever have to worry about cars since it is just us and our across the street neighbors! It also makes it super peaceful and private. There are only 2 shared driveway areas like this, 4 houses total that get these lots. They are also significantly bigger than the others. With the trees and the view of the (water retention) pond, it is PERFECT! The best part is we got all this with no lot premium! Couldn't be more pleased with the lot we chose!

Here's the plan when we bought our lot. You can kind of see the set up. Lots 10, 11, 15, and 16 are
all shared driveways. We don't face the street, we are turned to the side (our house faces lot 16's house face).

Top 20: #5 and #4...

I know I am a slacker, but here we go...

#5: The Space and Open floor plan. We had NO space for anything in our townhome. We even kept strollers in the dining room! Here everything is so nice and open and spacious. The kids can play in their rooms if they want and have SO much room in the basement to play. I love how the kitchen, morning, room, and family room are all open to each other. I just LOVE the feel of the house.

#4: The Morning Room. 'Nuff said. This is my favorite room in the whole house. I am sitting in it right now as I type this. I love looking out onto the backyard and the trees on the side. This was the best thing we could have added and I feel like the house would be incomplete without it.

I will try and keep up now... :-)

Top 20: #7: Trees and Nature; #6: New Patio

#7: Trees and Nature

These are the trees in our side yard. Forest preservation area, so they are staying!

We have beautiful trees in our side yard, but our whole neighborhood is covered in trees. It is absolutely beautiful. On top of that there are families of deer and tons of bunnies always running around. Sometimes I feel like I am in a fairy tale! There are lakes, hiking/nature trails...it's just wonderful. 

#6: New Patio

We have a fire pit near the sitting wall (these pics are not updated yet!)

Grass has grown in since this pic was taken :-)

We love being able to sit outside, relax, and listen to the nature sounds. I am so happy we could do this so soon and we have really been taking advantage of it! The kids love having a direct route to their play set outside, too! The neighbors come over when they see us out there and it has been great! So happy we have a yard big enough to do this! One day we'd like to expand it around the back, for now, we love this!

Top 20: #9: Kitchen, #8: Floors

#9: Kitchen- 'nuff said.  I love it. I love the color of the cabinets, the space, the stainless steel, Santa Cecilia granite...love that my kids use it as a race track! It's a amazing! We chose not to do the gourmet island since we could both picture our kids bashing their head on it while running around! I am glad we did that since it gives us a lot of open space between the kitchen and family room.

#8: Floors: Love the darker floors! They shine and I am happy :-)