We bought some land

 We are a step closer to making our vacation home dreams come true.  We purchased some land in a lake front community.  It is a quarter Acre on a lot right up against the lakefront trail.  So the kids won’t have to cross any streets to get to the lake.  I have visions in my head of my crew running down the path with me trailing behind, pulling a wagon full of snacks and beach towels.  We are excited to develop it and learn some lessons about building and developing along the way.  

Here is a picture of our lot and the neighborhood trail next to it leading to the lake.

In addition to the lake, there is a pool, sports courts, playgrounds, picnic areas and shower rooms for campers and several miles of trails. 

We have our pre-approval paperwork for cabin hunting!

Photo from thespruce.com

A little over a year ago we sold our home, moved to a new duty station, and started renting a house on base.  In September we finally decided to get more serious about cabin hunting and we got a pre-approval for a mortgage on a vacation home.  Rates are really low right now, but the pickings are slim.  

Some of the cabin locations we have been considering are:

• Mason Lake (Allyn/Grapeview)
• Island lake (Shelton)
• Lake Florence (Anderson Island)
• Lake Tanawax (Eatonville)
• Ohop Lake (Eatonville)
• Lake Kapowsin (Eatonville)
• Silverlake (Eatonville)

We saw a cabin I really liked the layout of but the owners accepted another offer before we could put one in.  So I wanted to document the cabin here in case we end up building something instead of buying an existing cabin.

The pictures don't make it look all that great, but being in the home I felt like there wasn't any wasted space.  and that is what I loved about it.  A lot of floorpans you see today have a lot of square footage potential wasted on vaulted ceilings.  That is not what I want.

This cabin was 1,224 square feet and it utilized every bit of it.

These old curtains in the dining area cover a nice sliding glass door that shows off the back deck and beautiful light that filtered through the trees of the wooded second lot that comes with the property.

Here are some boring notes about the details:

1ST FLOOR:

Entry

• hardwood floor that extends through the kitchen, living room and hallway.

• Area behind the door should be a place with hooks and shelves or baskets for shoes and coats.  

• A table will be between the entry and livingroom (pushed up against the back of the couch) to allow for more shoe storage underneath.  Also, to accommodate space for phones, keys & drinks.

KITCHEN

• GALLEY KITCHEN

• Slider out to large back deck.

• Small 2nd floor overhang in line with cabinet wall

• Stove and refrigerator against interior wall (they take up wall space, and a wall is needed there to divide the space anyway.)

• Sink and dishwasher against exterior wall.  (they don’t require as much wall space, so symmetry around the sink can be achieved and will look great from the rest of the house.

Livingroom

• Fireplace hearth in the corner made of stone or brick with a build in wooden bench seat all around

• 2 couches to be move in.  1 against the bathroom wall and 1 with the arm against the window/wall, in line with the stairs, and the backside facing the entry

• Have a table for keys and phones against the back of the couch, 

Stairs

• turned to the left in the middle and had a storage cabinet accessible from the steps to use the empty space.

Bathroom

• Tile floor that extends into the shower.  A lip should be installed on the floor at shower door entrance to keep water in.  A curtain will be installed at the shower entrance to keep water in the shower.

• Toilet in alcove created by shower enclosure

• Washer and dryer located behind the bathroom door

Bedroom

• Carpet or hardwood flooring

• Alcove created for possible closet location

Front Deck

• Large font deck covered by roof overhang and 2nd floor deck

Back Deck

Large back deck, roof overhang just far enough to cover a BBQ grill outside of the kitchen slider

2nd FLOOR

• Front bedroom should have a door that swings opens to the front deck

• Front bedroom should be wide enough be wide enough that a queen size bed on a bed frame can fit between the porch door and the slope of the ceiling/roof

• In order to create the open space for the vaulted ceiling over the kitchen, any extra space needed for the bathroom should be taken from the front bedroom.

Family Art Projects

Way back when school was still in session, when we thought next week was going to be spring break, my hubby requested the week off so that we could enjoy olympic national park with the kids during the break.  Due to Covid-19 our plans are changing a bit.  We went to enjoy olympic national park the last Saturday before the quarantine, but now that regulations are tightening up and things are closing, we don't want to get stuck in/around the park with no bathrooms or services near by.  So we are planning to turn our vacation into a staycation.  

One of the things my hubby suggested was that we do a family art project during the break.  The kids seem to fight no matter what I do, so I sort of gave up on finding fun projects to do with them a long time ago. But if Dad is home to help and is excited about the idea, I will give it a whirl again.   Here are some of the ideas I thought might be fun and turn out cute/cool

• Segmented creatures by "what do we do all day?" 
• Video at link to walk you through preparing the paper
• Each family member draws a different part of the creature (with the flaps, there are 9 segments to each creature.)

• Pass the Picture by BounceBackParetning.co
• Each member of the family gets a different color and a paper.
• They draw on their paper for 1 minute, then everyone keeps their pen and passes their paper to the right.
• Continue 1 minute draw and pass sessions until you get your paper back.

• class art project from Georgetown Elementary art Blog
• Everyone draws a doodle on the board/paper.  Making sure that they do not touch any other doodles
• Then connect the doodles with a black line
• Each person gets a different color of paint to color in heir doodle/segments between the doodles
• Once dry, go back over the back lines to make it look crisp

• State fingerprint art from kids steam lab
• Each person gets a different color of paint and finger paints the picture
• Once it is dry, cut it out in the shape of your home state. 
• Wouldn't this be cool in greens and blues for our beloved evergreen state with it's many lakes!!!  

good bye Puyallup House, hello cabin?

It's official,

We have accepted an offer on our house on Puyallup house and passed the home inspection, so all we have left to do is wait for the closing date.  It has been rewarding to take something beautiful and make it even more beautiful and functional.

Since we are renting on base next, it leaves me dreaming of ways to invest what we will make on the sale of our home.
Right now I like dreaming of buying some water front property and building up something I've always dreamed of calling "Aunt B's Family Camp"  with so many nieces and nephews near and far and dear friends all over the world that we have moved away from, I've always wanted to create a destination spot that I can take the kids to every summer and let our friends and family come vacation with us.  Then, once it is well established, and we are back home in Washington after Sam retires, we could turn it into a vacation rental.
I've come up with many versions of this dream.  We have spent a lot of time looking at what is available in the current market.  (Both developed and un-developed.)  Right now I am thinking up a property on Lake Cushman or Hood Canal so I can work on it during the day time while the kids are in school for the next 2 or 3 years we are stationed on the peninsula.  These are the plans I've dreamed up today
Build a small "Main house" in the center that has all the conveniences like a kitchen, laundry room & bathroom, and enough room for our family of 6 to sleep in as soon as it is done.

Then, when enough money is saved again, build up bunk houses on either side of the main house with separate rooms for visiting families to bunk in

a dry bunk house

a bunk house with bathroom/shower room

OR...

Instead of building the big house, build a shower/laundry/restroom/kitchen "house" as a support building for tent/trailer camping until we saved enough money to build up as many dry cabins as we would like surrounding it.  The kitchen could have a garage door so it could become an outdoor kitchen, complete with buffet counter, outdoor BBQ, and covered outdoor seating.

Here are some very small dry cabins I like

Plan # 23-2290

• The cabin would have no water or sewer/septic hooked up to it, but electricity could be considered.
• We could put the queen beds on a platform tall enough for suitcases/ duffel bags to fit under neath
• The queen bedrooms would be large enough for a crib and small storage closet.  (Or a large storage closet with night stands.)
• The twin beds would be bunk beds with a storage cabinet between them
• Hooks would line the hallway to keep jackets and things handy yet out of the small bunk rooms
• The patio would be just large enough to fit some seating since there is no seating inside the building.

It's so much fun to dream!