Saturday morning Darin said, “Why don’t we go somewhere this weekend?” We only have a few weekends left in Southern California, so why not make the most of it?
What the hell. Why not?
So we went on down to Carlsbad, home of some caves and the magnificent Legoland. All I can say is: Legoland is great for kids Sophia’s age. Tons of stuff for her to do. If she hadn’t been on the verge of collapse at the end, I have no idea when we would have gotten out of there.
I have a vision of what life will be like in 13 years
Two of the best things at Legoland aren’t rides at all—they’re big ol’ play areas filled with stuff for the kids to climb on and around. There was one multiple-story structure I called “Outward Bound for Kids,” with tunnels to climb through and up and to slide down and vertical climbing structures. I eventually had to tell Fia, “You go on ahead, I’ll take the stairs.”
The place was even great for Simon. He loved watching Fia (obviously), and there was plenty of stuff we could take him on, like boat rides and train rides.
Simon plays it cool, but he’s really excited. Really.
We got home Sunday completely wasted and after we got the kids in bed we hit the hay at 9, just in time for our friend E. to call and say she wants our house after all.
She came over last night and we discussed the details. We ended up telling her where to visit during her vacation up Highway 1. Darin and me: you can’t shut us up.
I called our realtor this morning to say that we were taking it off the market. She called me back and said, “I understand, and if anything goes wrong…” Which I thought was very professional of her and I was glad I’d taken my friend’s recommendation to use her.
The realtor called me back again later this afternoon to tell me that my house had been on the listing service for one hour and she got nine calls about it. So, you know, if it doesn’t work out…
Of course, by selling to E. I don’t have to keep the place clean for lookie-loos. So there are up sides. But sheesh.
Congratulations! Less headaches?
Once again, your kids are absolutely ANGELIC. Gorgeous, gorgeous. 🙂 Thanks for sharing those photos!
Terrific news about the house! So glad that’s going to work out with so much less stress.
And I agree with Ailina — (but of course) they’re gorgeous.
Legoland sounds like the knid of place I would have had to pry my boys away from, and only if they had passed out from exhaustion. (hmmm, my oldest would still probably have to be pried away, and he’s 20, but still a kid at heart)
I’d still show the house. I know you don’t want to clean but maybe hire a cleaning lady once or twice a week or something until it’s REALLY a done deal.
We sold our house to a friend … until about a week before closing. Then it was no longer a done deal, for various reasons, some legit, some stupid, and all we kept thinking (after the initial dithering, just like your friend E), was “We should’ve known better.”.
RMS, if Diane & Darin show the house, they’ll probably get offers quickly. It’s a seller’s market and a great house. What do they do then? Tell the wannabe buyers “probably not but hang on, cuz there’s that slim chance?” That hardly seems ethical, to put it on the market when it’s already tied up. Not that you’re necessarily wrong about friends who buy, but it’s not that simple to have a backup plan.
But that happens all the time when your house is on the market. When someone makes an offer, you don’t stop showing it. You just make sure everyone knows the score and if some other potential buyer wants the house bad enough to make a back-up offer, just in case the first falls through, they are welcome to do so. They should just keep looking in case the first one does goes through.
I hope E. has at least put some earnest money down, so she’s truly committed.