We are homeowners!!!

The big day arrived! Michael and I are homeowners!

We remember back to last winter when we signed the contract for our new townhouse.


This picture was taken in March at our options selection meeting.


Empty lot for our townhouse

Now, eight months later, we are about to move in.


Our townhouse as it looked at our walk thru on September 9.


Here we are on the day of closing!


Awww.


The building process was headed by Project Manager Asif Khattak, a true professional. He made the experience of buying new home construction virtually painless. Asif is a loyal reader of our blog and we thank him for being as excited about our new home as we are.

The house looked great, so it was time to go to the closing.


Do you see the fear in our eyes as we are about to begin the settlement process?


We conducted our closing at Magazine & Hillman, with our dear family friend, Arnold Hillman. Arnold has known me since before I was born and I can't imagine going through this process without him.


My dad, our Realtor, represented us well.


Arnold and my dad get along because they laugh at each other's silly jokes.


I don't think Arnold stopped smiling the whole time. He proves that closings can be fun!


I'll let the picture speak for itself.


Signing my life away.


Or did that happen at the wedding? Hehe.

Ok...back to the closing...


I think this was the moment Arnold threw a binder clip at Michael. It might have been aimed at me for getting excited about seeing an actual deed. (My bar review flashcards started popping in my head and I got annoying for a bit.)


It's getting dark outside when I notice the lender made a mistake on the forms, but no worry, Arnold made it all better!


Michael let me sign the check as he concentrated on breathing. (Note: Diet Coke Product Placement #1)


The exciting moment arrived and we got our keys!!!


What a feeling!

We headed back to the house to unload a few boxes when we got to our kitchen and saw a big surprise!


There were balloons and a smiley face stickey note on the refrigerator. This could mean only one thing...


Anna Cheng, the Ryan Homes sales agent, surprised us with Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper! She lined up the cans just like it is in the model's refrigerator, and for the first time, this house truly felt like home! :) (Note: Diet Coke Product Placement #2)


Then, we randomly opened a drawer to find a personalized cutting board from Anna! It says "Samantha's Kitchen w/ Michael's Supervision." Anna, who is also a loyal reader of this blog, was a joy to work with over the past year and I will miss annoying her with questions every week! Anna, thank you for this tremendously thoughtful gift and for making us feel so special.

After a long, exhausting day, there was no place else to celebrate but California Pizza Kitchen!!!




Oh yeah, did I mention this CPK is about one mile from our townhouse? Life doesn't get much better than this.

Moving day is Saturday! (Forecast calls for rain and thunderstorms, of course.) I guess I better go finish packing.