Our New House (and Ride)!

Things are moving right along here in Vegas. We've already gotten our new "family car" and found a house, although we won't be moving in for a few more days. Our household goods are "in port," but it will take about 10 more days before they reach us. Unfortunately, the Air Force won't pay for us to stay in lodging that much longer so it looks like we'll be in our new house and sleeping on an air mattress soon. Should be fun since I'm 8 months pregnant. ;)

Anyways, the first thing on our "do-to" list was to find a car for me. We still had Jonathan's truck from before our time overseas, but I no longer had my car. Why was a car our first priority? Well, with Jonathan working at least 30 miles away, it would be a BAD THING if I went into labor without a way to get to the hospital. In addition, sitting at the hotel while he was in-processing was way too boring. I actually missed being able to walk everywhere like in Korea (but trust me--you do NOT want to walk around the area near Nellis.) So by the end of day one in Vegas, we had our new car, a 2011 Ford Escape.

Next up, the house. The housing market in Las Vegas is absolutely horrible right now, and everyone was pushing us to buy. But, for us, renting was just a better option. We simply did not want the stress and hassle of buying a house at this point in our lives when all we really need is to get settled QUICKLY before the baby comes. So, anyway, after looking at several houses, we settled on this one in Providence. It's as far northwest as you can get in Vegas, which will significantly cut down on Jonathan's commute time (although it will still be hellacious.) The house itself is 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths; smaller than what we had originally planned on getting, but honestly, it's the perfect size for this stage in our lives. And, for anyone who knows how obsessively clean I am, I need a smaller house so I can still keep up a "Jenn level" of clean after Gherkin gets here. ;)

Here's our sub-division. . .

It's on Quindio Street (pronounced 'quin-dee-oh' for all you midwesterners like us who can't pronounce these strange southwestern words). . .

Here it is from the outside. . .

Front door is off to the side. We definitely need some plants to spice up this area. But what grows in Vegas? A cactus, perhaps?

Our garage. And no, Jonathan's truck does not fit inside. He's going to have to take off his brush guard . . . and he is very sad about it.

Immediately to your left after entering through the garage is our laundry room. Yay to no more insanely loud fan-thing whenever you want to dry clothes!

Looking back towards the garage entryway. Laundry room on the right in this picture and the ".5 bath" is on the left.

The dining room has an OKB door in the wall! We can't get him to use it (although we've only tried once) and Jonathan is terrified that if we leave it open (it has a piece that slides across it and locks so we can close it at night) rattlesnakes will get in, but it was a big selling point for me.

Kitchen. Finally. . . counter space!

Living room. Ignore the dust floating in this picture. The house is clean but, as I've said, it needs a good "Jenn cleaning."

The backyard and patio area. Small, but it has grass and trees. . . the only house is our sub-division that has it. Another HUGE selling point for me. At least Oskar has somewhere fenced in where he can outside when he gets the urge. No more elevators and 4 walks a day just to go potty!

More of the backyard and patio area. . .

The front entryway, including closet and stairway. . .

Upstairs is the guest bedroom. Not quite ready for visitors yet, but it will be soon!

This will be Gherkin's room. I LOVE the window!

Small loft-area upstairs that will our "office." Okay, so it will really just have our desk in it, but that's enough. :)

Guest bathroom. . .

This is the upstairs landing looking out from the master bedroom. The guest bathroom is to your immediate right with the loft-area right behind it. Guest bedroom is off to the left, and Gherkin's room is straight ahead.

Master bedroom. . .

Master bathroom. LOVE the separate shower and tub, as well as the fact that the tub is HUGE and is next to a window. It's crazy the things you get excited about after living in MFH for two years. . .

More of the master bathroom. The doorway you can see if the mirror leads to the toilet area.

I wish I could get a more accurate picture of how HUGE this walk-in closet is, but I can't. This is just one side of it and then it curves to the right for even more space. I am so excited to have room for my clothes again!

The balcony outside of the master bedroom. . . another HUGE selling point. We're planning on getting some plants to give us some privacy along the side. I want to put a hammock up here and snuggle with Gherkin and Oskar during the cooler winter months out here. :)

View from one side of our balcony. . .

View from the other side of our balcony. You can't tell from this picture, but you can actually see the Strip from here. A nice, safe way to enjoy Vegas. :)

So that's our new house. Hopefully we'll be in it soon, get our furniture, and be ready for visitors! :)