My House Burned Down This Morning...

(the house I grew up in)
And it kind of feels like a friend died. What, over dramatic? Maybe.

But I have years and years of memories there.

I grew up here. And we were best friends with the neighbors. We celebrated my 12th birthday out by the pool.


The YW hung a banner in front of this house for my 16th:



I got ready for dances there,

High School graduation:

and even my wedding.

(front yard of this house)

We opened Christmas presents in the downstairs family room.

and had Family Home Evenings.(check out my dad's gnarly vid cam)

My mom and Mama Ginger helped me hang wall paper in my bedroom when I went through my peach and blue phase at the age of 12.
My dad helped me paint that same room when I was 15. I wish I could remember the colors. Red and something I think. He listened to Les Miserables, Nirvana, and Garth Brooks with me to try and understand me better while we painted.

This is what that bedroom looks like now:





Notice the entire top floor is gone.



The only thing that remains up there is the lonely office window. The office is gone. So is the master bedroom w/ balcony that we used to jump off of into the pool, the bathroom, the library, and the big walk in closet. They are literally toast.


Mostly it is the memories of my older kids there that I miss. Wendell and I lived in Payson the first few years we were married, and we stayed at that house when we came into town.


We celebrated Christmas there with the kids.


And Easter.



We had Rachael and Kindyl's first few birthday parties and swim parties there.

(Rachael's 1st)

(Kindyl's 2nd)



We took family Halloween pictures out front.


And big cousin pictures with the grandparents in the living room.




I truly miss it.


The people we sold it to defaulted a couple of years ago, and it was on the market. Now I kind of wish we would have bought it. Now that we have 5 kids, those seven bedrooms and four baths would surely come in handy. Not to mention the 1/4 acre it sat on.

Hindsight is truly 20/20.

(though Wendell says he still wouldn't want to pay all the extra we would have to pay with the electric bill. Always the realist...)