Our new place

We have finally settled into our new place and we are loving it!  Although it's not perfect, I think it'll be a great place for us for the next few years.  Here are the pros and cons:

Pros: It's a duplex, so we only have to share one wall! (no more sharing floor and ceiling), it's close to the mountains, it has all the necessities (like central AC, dishwasher and disposal, washer and dryer), brand new carpet and linoleum, new windows and light fixtures, mature trees in the front and back, a fenced landscaped backyard, and a garage.  Not to mention we are saving some money each month in rent.

Cons: It's an older house, and although a lot has been updated, some things are still old (like the appliances, the doorknobs, the pink tile in the shower and the dark cupboards, doors and trim), there's only 1 bathroom (which is a major downside for me, but we'll make it work!), there is no 'dining room' area - the table is just right there in the kitchen, the neighborhood is what we like to call "cultured" - meaning, it's not the nicest area, but so far there hasn't been any problems and the people we've met are nice, so hopefully it'll stay that way! (The surrounding streets are pretty nice, so at least we have somewhere to go on walks/bike rides.)

Overall, I'd say the pro's outweigh the con's, so we're really happy with the place!

I didn't get any pictures of the process... but here is the end result:

The front

The living room

The kitchen

The laundry room

The master bedroom

The bathroom

The guest bedroom

The hallway

The backyard.

Our first backyard BBQ!!

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In other news, I LOVE MY NEW JOB!!!  It is awesome.  Working in the office of an elementary school is just the best possible job for me.  I like doing office work and I also like being around kids, but without being in charge of them.  It's really perfect!  Great hours and benefits, I love the people that I work with and the school is an old, historic, cool building in a cute little town (right next to Fort Collins).  I'm so happy!

Last Monday, Brody started the SECOND YEAR of his PhD program.  Supposedly, the second year isn't as hard as the first, since he only has 2 classes.  BUT in January he has to take the big QE (qualifying exam) which is a huge test you have to pass in order to get your doctorate (kind of like the bar exam).  You only have 2 chances and after that, you're done. That's it. No degree.  It's kind of a big deal, so he'll be busy studying for that as well.  He's got one more year of class work, then he'll spend another 2-3 years working on the dissertation (while hopefully teaching at the same time).  It's a good thing he likes being in school, because he won't be done any time soon!

Other than that, we're just LOVING LIFE in Fort Collins!!  As of Aug 20, we've officially lived in Colorado for 1 year.  Kind of sad the summer is coming to a close, but looking forward to Fall (and hoping that we'll get a longer fall than last year).