Happy anniversary, house!

This week marks the 5 year anniversary of moving into our house. How has it been 5 years already?! As they say, time flies when you're having fun - and we've definitely had some fun times in this house.

This is where Mark proposed to me, for example. While we were going through the building process we were so excited that we visited at least a couple times each week, especially towards the end when the progress was more fun. One day we arranged to meet here after work, as we often did, but Mark seemed a little weird about it. He kept calling me to see where I was (stuck in traffic on the 494 bridge, which is STILL under construction), but I didn't think too much of it. When I arrived I figured he was just excited for me to see that a huge change had taken place - the sheetrock had been joined by doors, cabinets, trim, and other woodwork.

Before


After


He said there was a surprise upstairs, but that he needed a minute to prepare; when he called down with the ok, I headed up. Our bedroom is at the top of the stairs, and beneath the closed doors I could see lights on the floor - there was a big gap because the carpet hadn't been installed yet - it looked like a strand of Christmas lights, or something. When I opened the door, I found several dozen votive candles and red roses covering the floor with a path leading to Mark in the middle of the room.


Holding a silver jewelry box, he got down on one knee and said some nice things - honestly, I don't even remember everything he said because it was so surreal (yes, even though we were buying a house together, and had talked about the fact that we would be getting married and having children together one day, it was still a surprise.) I somehow said yes through my tears.

Moving in was an adventure in itself. Remember how frugal we are? Of course we (Mark) did it by ourselves (himself), with the help of a friend and a few family members. One of my favorite moments was trying to get the large, 80s hand-me-down couch into the basement. Going down the angled stairway was challenging, but the guys made it without even scuffing the walls or taking out the low-hanging light fixtures on the way; but when they made it to the cramped hallway at the bottom, they discovered that there was no possible way to maneuver it around the corner without tearing down a portion of the wall. So back up the stairs they went, out the front door, around to the back of the house, and in through the basement window. By unscrewing the feet and angling it just right, they were able to squeeze the couch through...barely. And remember, this all took place in January. In Minnesota.

Babyproofing, playdates, entertaining friends and family...


All of Claire's firsts have taken place here, and we have had so many great times with family and friends here. Whether we're stuck inside on a cold day, or out enjoying the sunshine in our yard or the park behind it, this has been a really great place to live. I'm looking forward to many more happy memories here :)