Good Bye Bungalow

While I've been constantly trying to remind myself in the last few weeks that we are moving into an incredible new place, I can't help my weepy heart from getting all sentimental about leaving The Bungalow. This is really the place where our lives together, and our family began. As each room started getting cleared up and packed away, all of the memories came flooding back.

Like this empty space, which has come full circle and is empty again now, where 6 years ago my hubby proposed. We were in contract on the house, but hadn't closed yet, and we drove by to look at the home. Jason suggested we get out and peak in the windows (we knew it was vacant), and I jumped at the chance. From the side of the house I heard him say, "Hey, the door is open..." and I raced over to him yelling, "Don't go in there, it's breaking and entering!" But when I raced in the house after him, I found him on one knee in the middle of the Dining Room, ring in hand. He said something to the effect of, "Since this is where we will begin our lives together, there's no better place..." and I mumbled something like, "Oh my gawd yes." We ran around the house for a little while afterward planning what we would do with each room, before a limo came by to pick us up and drove us around the lakes while we called our parents, and then took us to dinner. I mean just try to say no to that. Impossible.

Or the garage we built together the summer before we got married, (with the amazing help of my foreman Father), which started our fire for home improvement.

Jason running the bobcat to tear down the old garage. (Yes that is a beer in his hand, but I swear we were done for the day and celebrating, we do not advocate drinking while running a bobcat.)

Jay and I attaching the Roofing (Don't mock the outfit, it was literally 104 degrees in July, and we were working on the roof! Jason was only wearing a shirt to protect his baby white skin.)

Erin hauling 4x8 sheets of plywood to the roof to install. Somehow I got the job of hauling, while Jason and my Dad waited on the roof for me to bring the pieces- how did that happen?

And then there are the funny memories of how we began, like the first 4 years when we had barely any window treatments in our Living Room and lived like we were in a fish bowl. Or our basement when we didn't have a lot of furniture yet, or sense of style... It may have looked like this for the first year we lived there. I can't believe I just admitted that.

And our amazing tree that perfectly bent over the back deck to provide privacy and shade. Although cleaning up after it was a chore, there is no denying the beauty of it's changing throughout the seasons:

My heart is breaking a little as I write this post, but I know we have years of memories ahead of us in our new forever home. Even though we'll always remember The Bungalow as our first place, to our kids, The Lodge will be the only home they'll really ever know. Hopefully it will provide years of great memories and family gatherings as they grow, and be the quiet retreat they like to come back to as college students and adults. But before we take this next big step, we'll take one last moment to say,

Goodbye Bungalow.