finally thinking outside the box

As you probably know by now, we have been fantasizing about moving to the mountains ever since we came to Colorado and we've weighed the pros and cons over and over. And over. But we had an epiphany this week after our recent trip to Evergreen.

We went out there last weekend and to an open house. And it was a virtual deathtrap for young boys. They actually had a cliff in their back yard. All I could see was me driving down the mountain, navigating the treacherous switchbacks on the icy roads, a screaming boy in my backseat with a bone sticking out. And the hospital an hour away. So. We are not moving to Evergreen.

But, until this week we had never even considered other options. There are many small towns just south of us where we could buy a home on some acreage and not have to deal with the mountain issues. The mountains would be visible from our backyard, but we wouldn't need two four-wheel drive vehicles to enjoy them.

Our realtor is out of town this weekend (how convenient) but we're meeting with him next week to talk logistics and numbers. I have mixed emotions. The thought of packing, unpacking, utility hook-ups, new schools...all makes me very tense. But at least it wouldn't be an out-of-state move this time.

But the thought of staying in this neighborhood with three young boys and no climbing trees makes me even tenser. When we bought this house less than a year ago, it was pristine. The people who owned it before had no kids. Since then, here is a list of the damage that has been done:

1. Our hot tub cover is completely ruined. It started with boy #2 poking holes in it with a pen we had mistakenly left out. Then, the cat actually started picking at the loose pieces and tore large sheets of vinyl off. Then, the inner Styrofoam came out and was used to create "snow" in the backyard.
2. The hot tub itself, which we drained last winter and have not refilled per lack of time and interest, is filled with puddles of brown paste of which the ingredients are: rainwater (per broken cover), melted animal crackers, birdseed. Don't ask.
3. The yard, once lush and green, is now matted and brown. Compressed by small boy bodies that are constantly rolling, jumping, and tearing at it. And that's what yards are for! But it looks like crap.
4. The screen on the front door has been torn by the cat and the upstairs window screen (in boy #2's room..hmmm) has a match-box car sized hole in it. Perfect for launching them down to the driveway, but still, annoying.
4. Our banister has etchings in the wood created by boy #2 (of course). It only took a few moments, but it now needs to be sanded down and refinished.
5. The carpet really just needs to be torn out and replaced with concrete.

So, you can see, we are not civilized enough to live in a place like this. We basically need just a two-bedroom house. One for us and one for them to bunk up in. Because once they wake up, they need to be outside. Climbing, digging, building and destroying.

My husband's best childhood memories are of wandering in the woods around his home, shooting birds with his BB gun (we don't condone this, of course), planting booby traps and just plain being a boy.

So we're getting started on the repairs today and driving out to find us a new town to live in.

Of course, we're also doing this just to drive my parents crazy. They've been in the same home for 30 years and think we are nuts. It's so much fun to prove them right!