Quick Update from Las Vegas.

We made it! All of Alison's books (aproximately 2 tons worth) are still in boxes, but everything else is unpacked and we are really likeing it here. We've been having a lot of fun, and I'm not totally sure why. Not having work and getting to buy furniture and stuff is a little like being on vacation. Here are some quick LV impressions.

It certainly is no Garden of Eden, but there is a lot more vegetation than most people seem to expect. The streets in and around our neighborhood are lined with trees. Pine trees, leafy-trees, shrubs, palm trees, ocasional cactus etc. Some are pretty big, most are smaller than you would find somewhere with more water. But it is a surprisingly green place. Our little yard has been nice.

The first couple days were very hot. 109 and a little more. "Dry" or not, that is hot - no denying it. But today was only like 103. I stood outside talking to a neighbor for about 45 minutes and afterward thought "you know, for 103, it isn't too hot today to go for a walk or even ride a bike." Sure enough, we see people riding their bikes, walking, jogging, etc., all morning and all evening. I'm not going to try and convince anybody that there aren't some hot, uncomfortable days (months?), but by-and-large I think the weather is going to be fine. We are getting a lot of haze from the California fires, that has been my biggest complaint.

If you think of the Strip when you think of Las Vegas, you will be dissappointed when (when - not if!) you visit us! Driving in on I-15 you see billboards for un-savory places and activities, but once you get past that you would think you are in San Diego. We live close to some nice shopping and dinning areas that are pretty reasonably priced and lots of fun. I told Val that we plan on putting together some sort of incentive for people who visit us. Details are forth-comming, but right now I think a visit to either "Claim Jumper" or "Cheesecake Factory" are being considered. You could go to either in just about any big city, but they are lots of fun and both very tasty.

Finally, I love living in a house. We liked Provo, but sharing walls with people wasn't ever fun. A few years ago we had some horrible neighbors, but mostly we just lived around other newly-wed BYU students. But even those types can watch loud movies past my bed time or decide to cook Korean Food every day, all day. Nothing wrong with Korean food, but it has very strong odors. Our little yard has already hosted a couple soccer games. A garage is nice, too!

Thanks to everyone for their help, especially Rick, Sam, and Emma. We wouldn't have made it without you, and we all loved getting to see y'all. There will be more updates soon with pictures and food reviews, so stay tuned.

Riley's First Day Of Kindergarten

Riley started kindergarten last Monday and seems to have enjoyed her first week. The first few days I asked her what she learned and she said, "Well, we had recess!"

As you may notice she lost her first tooth the night before her first day.

She was excited to find out that her best friend Elizabeth is in her class.

Charlotte had a tough time saying goodbye.

Zain turns One

He just had fun all day. Even in church.
Fun
Fun
Fun.
Great Grandma Carver and Great Grandma Madsen came over and shared the afternoon with him. He loved his dinner, and his birthday cupcake, and his toys, and wrestling with Ezri before going to bed. Truly a great day.

It had to happen sometime...

Today I decided to start running again. Since the marathon, I really haven't done much. At all. When I started my sensor was dead. After almost exactly a year and exactly 748.48 miles, it died. Good thing I had purchased an extra one just in case, or I'm sure I would have just called it quits and gone back to bed (at 9 a.m.). The old sensor seemed to hold all the runs, cause now that I have the new one, only my latest run shows up on my history. I figured the little chip you plug into the bottom of the IPOD held all the info. It still shows up on NIKE+, but not on the IPOD, even after a few rebooting attempts. Anyone else had this happen?

Dreaming

As baby #6 approaches we realize that we likely will not be staying in our current home forever. When and where we move has not been decided, but at some point we want to move. So I want to start a discussion here about what features everyone thinks would be good to look for in a home. Please provide explanations for your ideas. To get things started, here's a list of things we've come up with already. Not all of these are for sure things we want, but they are things we've wondered about. I hope Rich and Buffy chime in, I know they have lots of experience with deciding what to put in a house.

High quality vinyl windows.
High quality doors.
Dressed windows (sash, molding, etc.)
Attic Fan/vents
Large yard
Large Kitchen - island & bar (what type of counter tops?, what type of flooring?)
Connecting great room
Intercom/Com system throughout house (wireless?)
Hard floors throughout living spaces
No Linoleum (tile or wood).
Craft/toy room
Utility sink in shop or garage.
2 x 6 construction (for insulation)
10 foot ceilings
Quality HVAC.
Single car garage doors (more room) (2+)
Storage space in garage and house (big cold room).
Porch/Deck
Landscaping, fruit trees, garden.
2nd story laundry room?
Master bedroom upstairs, or downstairs with a den that can be used as a nursery?
Mud room with lockers
Basement.
Media room in the basement.
Networked house (or is wireless the way to go now?)

Random Photos

Starting a couple weeks before going to Idaho Falls, we started going for drives on Sunday. There are many Scenic Byways and mountain passes and "loops" around Provo. This year has been great for lush, green mountain tops. Mostly as satire, I insisted we stop at every informational sign on our last drive through the Mt. Nebo Scenic Byway. The picture above is me reading a very informational sign explaining seasons and their progression (cue curiosity from Val. . . ).

M will haul either a Barbie or a stuffed animal just about anywhere we go. This cat she got from Grandma for a birthday, probably her 2nd birthday. It's head is kind of falling off, which causes great concern everytime she notices it. Lately, we hear her playing with her Barbies and saying things (for the Barbies) like "Oh, we can kiss. . . no, we can't, we are both girls. . . but where are the boy Barbies. . . we have to get married!"

Tautphaus park. . . the world's greatest joy.

West Yellowstone

Here are a few of the pictures we took at Hebgen and on our excursion into Yellowstone:

Banks walking away from homes. . .

I am not a lawyer. I am certainly not your lawyer. This is not legal advice.

We (I) briefly discussed mortgages and banks' remedies in the event of default. This clip shows banks who have taken possession of a homes but who haven't gone through with a foreclosure sale. In other words, the owners (mortgagors) have been evicted but still hold title.

I'm pretty positive that it is a matter of state law that will control how long the bank has to go through with a foreclosure sale and what sort of damages or remedies a homeowner will have against the bank if the bank doesn't comply. In some states, the bank can never hold the mortgagor personally liable for the note (debt) secured by the mortgage. In other states, the Bank must foreclose on the home before holding the mortgagor personally liable. "Personally liable" just means the mortgagee (bank) can look to all of your assets to satisfy the debt you owe, instead of just the mortgaged real-estate.

Any time before the bank sells the home (and in some cases even AFTER the bank has sold the home), the mortgagor can "redeem" by coming up with full amount they owe plus whatever other costs they owe the bank. I'd have to check my notes, but I am pretty sure this is how a "short-sale" works; the owner agrees to sell the home before the foreclosure sale and use the proceeds of the sale to "redeem" title before transferring to the buyer. You can see how that gets complicated, and can take awhile.

In the end, no body wins with a foreclosure. The bank loses all of the interest it would gain on the loan, incurs large costs in the process, and (nowadays) is left with a deficiency after the sale that collecting on is a pain. The homeowner loses a place to live, watches his house be sold for far less than it is worth (usually), and has to worry about deficiencies after the sale. The bank doesn't just take and keep your equity, but your equity is usually destroyed by the process. I guess maybe the buyer at the foreclosure sale can come out ahead.

It is possible, but not usual, for a foreclosure sale to result in a surplus. The foreclosed-owner stands last in line to recieve any surplus, behind all mortgagees, HELOCs, mechanics' liens, etc. Why it is so odd, though, is because if you can sale your home before a forclosure sale and get enough money to pay everyone and even keep some profit, you do! A foreclosure auction isn't considered the best way to get top-dollar for you house, not to mention the effects on your credit.

Well, that was longer than I expected and I added a disclaimer at the top. Watching Morgan gives me some time. Whether a mortgage is a promise to pay that a security interest, or a promise to pay OR to deliver the security interest will have to be another post. . . or not. Maybe I'll takle desalination tomorrow!

Hebgen Picture

I am in Driggs and uploaded a bunch of picture to a jump drive to bring up here to update my blog and apparently I only uploaded pictures of Zack - I guess I love him the most :) I have other pictures at home on the computer that I can post later. Eating so many peas has had some SEVERE side effects for Zack and for me cleaning it up.

Zack - not minding the cold water.

This is what my boys all thought of the geyser smell in Yellowstone. I posted more pictures of our afternoon in Yellowstone on my blog.

Comments?

It doesn't show me a place to comment on the post below. If it does here, then you can use this space to comment.

Best Golfing Before Camping Ever

Trent, Dale, Jared, and Brad (me) hit the links before going to Hebgen.










I'll put up the other golf videos on YouTube and post a link here, but they are really all about like that. Video of Jared's first tee-shot might have been funny. . .



Morgan took hundreds of photos and put them on FaceBook, and she even uploaded Pat's photos. The rest of you should find somewhere to share yours. We didn't take many, but here are some:

Weather Warnings

I just checked the weather for West Yellowstone for this weekend and it is not looking good.

Fri. 65 degrees with 60% chance of rain/thunderstorms
Sat. 62 degrees with 50% chance of rain/thunderstorms
Sun. 70 dgrees with 40% chance of rain/thunderstorms
Everyone pray for weather.com to be wrong!

Moving

We need to figure out our vehicle/moving situation in the next couple of days. If anyone is planning on driving up to Idaho or down to Utah the weekend when we move (the 22nd of August), or the prior weekend of the 15th, please let us know. Due to the moving van, we'll be short a driver, and could have Buffy's brother drive down a car the weekend before if needed. Thanks, Rich and Buffy.

It's Trent's Birthday!!

Trent said this is the first birthday in a long time that he didn't celebrate out on the boat. We hope to make up for this next weekend! Can't wait!!

Finished. Kind of.

I took the Nevada Bar exam. Perhaps the most remarkable feature is it's 16 hours of testing. I felt fine taking the test, even thought I was doing pretty well. But with that much material it is easy to start second guessing. So I try not to think about it. The pass rate for the July test is usually between 60% and 70%. I assume I am smarter than most people who take the test, but it is still disconcerting to think that between 30% and 40% of people who go to three years of law school and then go through the same preperation I did fail. By comparision, Utah's pass rate is about 90%, closer to 96% for BYU graduates taking it.

The most frustrating part of the exam has to be the 6 hours of multiple choice questions. I've come up with the following non-law question to demonstrate:

Thomas has 10 oranges. He gives 5 to Sally, 6 to Susie, and steals 8 more from Peter. Assuming these transactions are otherwise valid, which of the following is the best description of how many oranges Thomas has?

A. Doorbell
B. Radio
C. Overcoat
D. Finland

In some instances, learning the answer and hearing an explanation makes the answer seem fair. In other instances, you end up thinking the test was really of your Jedi Mind Powers, not any legal knowledge or reasoning. Alison came down on Thursday so we could go look at places to rent. We found two 3 bedroom homes that we are considering. Your input will be considered.

Willows House:One is in a neighborhood called The Willows, which has parks and grass and a community pool and stuff like that. The Willows House is 3 bedroom, 12oo sqft with tile counters and tile floor everywhere. The real upside to the Willows House is it has a nice little grass backyard, maintenance paid for by the landlord. Single door two car garage. Rent would be $1150 a month. 5 miles from work.

Aspen House:This house is larger, about 1450 sqft. It has brand new carpet everywhere but the bathrooms and kitchen, colored formica couter tops, 8 foot ceilings, double sinks, walk-in closets, and slightly upgraded plumbing features. It is newer than the Willows. BUT, it only has a paved patio in the back. It is in a gated community that is about 10 miles from work. It has a community pool, but not the nice parks and walkways that The Willows has. It is clearly a litte community that was built just before the real estate bust and is kind of the last thing before the endless desert begins. Similar garage. Rent would be the same.

And, a house Alison says we can't consider:This house is located in Desert Shores, an established community built around 3 man-made lakes. Community features include beaches, walk ways, paddle boats, shopping centers, and (did I mention?) beaches and lakes. 2300 Sq Ft, synthetic stone counter tops, fancy apliances, cieling fans, 3 dinning areas, 4 bedrooms, 3 bath, roman tubs, seperate showers, upgrades throughout, a grass back yard, a large 2 car garage with built in storage cabinets, vaulted cielings, etc. About 5 miles from work. $1495 a month. A nice many name Johnny and his Russian friend with bleached-blonde hair showed us the place, letting us know it had been paid in cash. Johnny showed us a couple of places, all owned or occupied by Russians.

This was kind of funny/disappointing. Almost every landlord/realtor we met commented on how we looked like the perfect renters, how wonderful it was that we are married, and had trouble not being excited when we told them I would be working for a law firm. The conclusion I drew was they loved that we were white and assumed we would have the credit and income to rent. Well, they are right that we are white. . . :)