The Dark Side

I am crossing over to the dark side.

It's true.  I guess you all should know...that I'm getting my real estate license.  Now, I know what you're thinking, Gentri, a real estate agent, no way.  Believe me, I'm there with you.  It was right up there on the list of things I would never do with things like becoming a used car salesman and wearing leopard print, and yet here we are.

I've been working on the online training for almost 2 months and am over half way through.  Everyday, I sit down and digest hours of videos and power point slides on things like deeds, foreclosure and loan types.

At dinner tonight, Heb was chatting about a friend of his and their terrible real estate agent experience, which got me talking about our terrible real estate agent experience, which led to another story and then my blood started to boil.  This is why I'm putting myself through this.  It's these experiences exactly.  I don't want to have to deal with someone else.  I don't want to play the game or be played, I want to have the knowledge.  Whoever said that knowledge is power was absolutely right.  So day after day I do it.

Do I ever expect to be a practicing real estate agent?  No, not really.  Luckily for us, we have a broker in the family and I'm planning on selling my own condo (hopefully soon) and purchasing a home and then I plan to hang it all up.  Perhaps I'll help an occasional friend or family member purchase a home.

So, there it is.  I'm doing what I said I'd never do and part of me thinks it's not that bad.  Maybe it's not so bad knowing all this stuff.  I'm thinking it will come in handy someday.

Or maybe....well, did I ever tell you a story about the real estate agent we met with a diamond embedded in her tooth?  Well, you never know what might happen.  Maybe I'll have to buy one of those classy blazers too.  Hmm, I wonder what Heber would think of that?  Oh, and what about a business card with some glamor shots of me...yes!  I can see it now.

Outer Banks, Vol. 2

 

We just got back from our second (hopefully) annual Outer Banks trip yesterday.  There is nothing like being by the ocean.  I bask in being there by the waves. We've spent the last year dreaming about being back there and it did not disappoint. 

We rented a beach house with our buddies, the Blakes, and spent five days spending as much time as possible on the beach (which wasn't too hard because it was our house, a dune and then the beach), relaxing and playing games together, visiting lighthouses and enjoying the scenery. 

Our old friends from Logan, the Kudin's were also able to join us for a day.  We were quite the crowd with 3 babies under two and a doggie.

 

Leo loved the beach and several times a day would ask to go on a "walka" to the "beach."  He was in heaven digging in the sand. 

We ate way too much junk food.  We bought our traditional bin of cheese balls.  Man, it's a good thing we only buy those once a year when we go to the beach.  Those things are addicting. 
 

Our fresh donuts from Duck Donuts.

One of the highlights of the trip was a special experience for Heber.  For his 30th birthday, I put together a hang gliding trip up 2,000 feet.  You have to do something big, something memorable.

There he is, up there.

Do you see the huge smile on his face?  He loved it.

From our house, you could hear the beach and I spent several evenings listening.  I have to admit that I spent a lot of our trip thinking.  How could I not, there is so much change coming our way.  So many things to think about, so much to prepare for. 

 

Oh yes, remember that I'm having a baby? 

Hopefully we'll be able to come back next year.  There is nothing like spending a few days on the beach. 

Lighthouses

We visited two lighthouses this past week, Bode Island and Currituck. 

 

I love the idea of lighthouses, standing watch on a ragged, rocky coast, to guide ships to safety.  I picture the lighthouse keeper running up the winding stairs in his rubbers to assure that the light keeps burning strong as the wind howls and the sea churns.  The light cuts through the darkness for 19 miles to keep sailors aware of danger as the ships toss and turn on the waves.

Perhaps it's the metaphors you can draw about looking for beacons in the darkness to guide you to safety.  I think we are all looking for those guides to keep us safe from harm.   

We climbed to the top of both and enjoyed the views.  At Currituck, the allowed Leo to go with us.  He climbed every stair to the top all the way up to 165 feet.  He was so proud of himself and felt like such a big boy. 

 

Most of the crowd.  6 parents, 3 kids under 2 and a doggie.
Aren't we a wild bunch?

A Nerdy Party

We have been celebrating Heber. 

When I showed Heber the invitation, he laughed for about 5 minutes solid.  He couldn't believe I had put this together. 

We rented a little park and invited a few friends. 

 

I put on my nerdiest shirt and nerdified my glasses.

Happy day Heb!

At the Park....

This happened at the park today.  These two little buddies just started holding hands out on our walk.  They sure like hanging out.  Pretty much melted my heart.

Labor Day

It's been quite the week.  We found out we are expecting a girl, we celebrated our anniversary over Labor Day.  We also heard some not so happy things about the new job (which I'm not going to get into) and we told everyone that we were moving.  Which is such a hard thing, especially with many friends who have become our family out here.

I dreaded telling some about the move.  It was incredibly hard.  These past few years have been some of our hardest but most happy.  I've learned so much about myself and we've grown closer as a couple as we faced all the changes together.

Our friends have become so much more important and it's hard to leave them behind.  I think many of them will stay "our people" for a good long time.  

Let's see some happy things from this weekend, snap us out of this dreary post. Labor Day weekend was filled with so many fun things.  It was just what we needed to cheer us up, and we needed some cheering up after this week.  We played with friends, BBQ'd, went on a date! 

Leo got to play with some of his favorite friends.  It's a little buddy picture!

We spent the morning at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer's Market.

We saw this incredible view from the top of the Masonic Temple.  I toured it years ago but it's been on our list to visit again.

The George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple.

Here's us at the top.  Yes, we were "those" people on the tour with a loud, wildy boy.  He was not happy to be there, as you can tell.

We went out for breakfast and played in a fountain.

We hosted our friends from the South, the Kudin's.  We always love having them come visit.

Heb and I got a date in Georgetown to celebrate our Anniversary!

We decided to be tourists for the evening and eat at the very popular DC Cupcakes.  They were so delicious and I don't even like frou frou cupcakes.  It was even worth a 30 minute wait in line.  Can you tell I'd go back?

 Happy Labor Day!  Best weekend of the year!

Eight Years

I am feeling quite nostalgic today.  It's our eighth wedding anniversary. 

All day I've been thinking about that day and especially the man I chose.  There are no other decisions that impact your life more deeply than who you marry.  Together we have created our life together.  Where he is, is my home. 

Out here in VA, it's not common to marry at a young age (as you would imagine), most wait until their late 20s or early 30s to make the commitment.  I was 21 when we were married and it is one decision I have never regretted.  Somehow, I found someone who is exactly what I need, even as all the years have past. 

Ok, so I'm getting mushy now. 

When I think back on all these years, my memory is flooded with so many good memories.  Simple ones like hanging in hammocks up Logan Canyon, or studying our Friday nights away when we were first married (ah, the college years).  I can't help but picture Heber in his yellow backpack walking through the SciTech Library at Utah State.  Some of our adventures together, being in Turkey together or trekking Machu Pichu in Peru, riding the trolley in San Francisco or walking on the beach in Outer Banks. 

I just don't know how I got so lucky.  Ok, ok, I'm done.  I'm allowed one mushy post a year, right?
 

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