Our own dirt

Our decision to build a house was due in large part to our relationship with our friend and builder, Chris Bolio.  Chris had a lot (about 7100 square feet) with an old house that he wanted to tear down and build new on.  The cost was within our budget, we were familiar with Chris' other projects, liked his aesthetic, and knew he'd do a great job so we bought the lot with its old house:

Existing House

Backyard View

By December 2009, it (and 6-month pregnant me) looked like this:

Yay!  We have dirt!  We are so excited to be moving to this neighborhood because it has actual sidewalks! (something our current neighborhood is lacking).  How nice to be able to walk out the front door with the baby in his stroller and go for a walk:)  Also, we have friends in the neighborhood with babies and the vibe is so sweet and homey and fresh.  There are big, mature trees and it just feels right, like a good place to start our family.  What a beautiful thing:)