june: in review

summer is here! I love summer & the happiness it brings. despite the hot hot hot weather & humidity we have here in missouri, it is so nice to be outdoors...however we do have our weekly thunderstorms of course. so, what have the terry's been up to lately?

1. HOUSE
We've been very very busy with the home buying process! at the beginning of the month, we put down two offers on two really great houses.

house one:
-brand new construction
-split level
3 bed, 2 bath
-vacant
-in O'Fallon
-great location
-nice backyard with shed
-awesome kitchen with nice floors
-awesome living space
-unfinished (small) walk-out basement
-small rooms, small closet space
-small master bath
-2 car garage
-no deck
-potential for kitchen additions

house two:
-29 years old
-split level
-3 bed, 2.5 bath
-vacant, bank owned
-sold "as is"
-awesome location
-AMAZING backyard (fenced in, shady trees, leveled, shed)
-all new kitchen (except nasty fridge)
-awesome planters on the deck & in the front yard
-awesome deck with stairs to yard
-big finished basement with half bath, laundry room, fireplace
-2 car garage with work counters
-good sized rooms
-gross bathrooms but we will renovate
-bigger master bath (nasty shower, awesome counter space, walk in closet)
-2 hallway closets (one of them is really big)
-great space for our big kitchen table
-potential for kitchen additions

so, we heard back from the seller of house one but he was stingy & was asking for way too much. we felt hopeful about house two because it was more promising & we knew we could stay there for several years because of the size. we continued on with house two & as of now, we are in contract to buy it & we are scheduled to close on August 1st! we just had inspections done this past week & we have been busy figuring our our expenses to buy the house & to do the necessary renovations (the roof needs work, the showers need to be updated).

we cannot wait to own a house! we are so excited to have a two car garage & a basement to protect us from the crazy weather here. We are also excited to do DIY home improvement. The yard is to die for!

I don't want to post too many pictures of the house just yet. I guess you will just have to wait & see!

we will have a house just in time for our first anniversary! originally we had wanted to wait till our lease was over in January but we wanted to jump in on the low mortgage rates before they went up! everything is looking good so far & july will be our last month in this apartment. we've loved living here & have had a great experience so far though.

so, anyone wanna help us move? :) august 6th!

2. Gateway Arch
We went to the gateway arch this month! it was austin's first time. the first time I went was 3 years ago when my mom, sisters, cousins & aunts took a girls trip to st. louis to head up to nauvoo for the pageant.

anyways, it was a beautiful day. we had just finished helping our friends move into their house & we decided to visit the arch afterwards. it took us awhile to find parking but after we finally go there, we got our tickets, looked around the museum & then watched a movie about how the arch was made. it was a really interesting documentary & we enjoyed it. it was finally time to head up to the top of the arch afterwards. i love the cool pods that you get to ride up in even though they are cramped & you usually have to share it with some random strangers.

the arch

 austin touching the arch

 austin was checking out the welds...typical engineer :)

mini model

awesome picture of when the last piece was installed

the door to our pod

inside the pod

view from the top

busch stadium

looking down from the top

mississippi river with a view of illinois

a series of awkward pictures of the arch. its impossible to get it all in one picture when you're right by it

the grand staircase

got this from the website :) lol

3. St. Louis Temple
we make at least one temple trip a month but this june, we got to go twice. the temple is wonderful here! it is pretty close by & I can always plan on seeing someone I know from our ward there. it is a special feeling seeing familiar faces in the temple. I imagine that that feeling will be quite like what heaven will be. I always enjoy our trips to the temple & getting to participate in such an important work & service.

4. Father's Day

my first father's day away from my family. I am a true daddy's girl. I am so grateful for his influence in my life & all that he has done for me. he is the ultimate example of hard work, sacrifice, love, & care. he has always looked out for me & taken care of me whenever I needed help. ever since I was a kid, he would always make sure I had a jacket & would make me soup & take care of me when I was sick. when I was at BYU-I he would call & leave me messages just because he wanted to say hi & tell me that he missed me. I am so grateful for such a wonderful father.

my dad is so awesome! working at southwest airlines...got to transport some Sea World penguins

made this cute card for my dad

daddy's girl

5. Operation

austin had a minor operation this month & all went well! he loved being drugged up & it was pretty funny to watch him wake up & come out of it.

my cute husband!

well, by the time I reflect upon this next month, austin & I will just about be moving into our new home  as long as everything goes as planned! can't wait to be homeowners & can't wait for the coming adventures ahead!