Home Sweet ... Change

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes ... lots of shifting and adjustments to the abode(s) here in the first quarter of 2024. Keaton's lease was up and he was looking for a new place to live, and Landon decided it was time to try things out on his own. Both boys made moves, and that resulted in room rearranges here at home too ...

Landon found an apartment at ParcView ... 4th (top) floor in Midvale. Close to the freeway with some nice mountain views. Pool and gym. One reserved covered parking spot. Not far from the family home, so he can still easily come to visit. Landon made the move on January 27. Dad brought the big trailer, and Cal, Keaton and Cooper all helped.

Landon added a cute coffee table after this picture was taken.

Here's a little video tour before moving in.

... I thought I had taken a picture of the guys in front of the trailer (like the one from Keaton's move, below), there was the pose and the click, or at least I thought there was. My finger must have missed pressing the button.  I asked Landon if he was lonely at all on his own, but he said it's been rather nice. Of course that was right before he was diagnosed with a torn ACL and Meniscus and would need surgery.  Then, living alone and on the fourth floor wasn't the best plan (there IS an elevator, but he came back home to stay for a week after the surgery). 

Keaton had been checking out a lot of places, not able to find the right fit, right price. He has a couple buddies from high school that he was thinking of getting a place with ... bachelor pad and all that.  Finally, it worked out. A townhome in Daybreak (again, not too far from us, so he can still drop by easily, yeah!) The move was Sunday, March 24. Landon was still stationary after surgery, but Dad, Cal and Coop (and I helped a little, but mainly just wanted to get some pictures) were there to move things, and it went really quickly. You can see his old place here (Keaton's Corner). 

Daybreak is a unique community - lots of walkways, no fences or personal yards. These townhomes are set up in rows, there's a street to access the garages/both sides of the street ... his place has a garage, although he has his car and a work van, so he has to find a spot on the street to park one of them. The entrances are accessible from a walkway on the other side (top right picture below).

This one is almost fully furnished (except for the bedroom) ... living room furniture, barstools, kitchenware, washer/dryer. So most of Keaton's furniture and kitchen supplies are now in storage. Nice shutters on the windows, Nest thermostat, gas stove (his first time with that). Two story, bedrooms upstairs. Keaton got the "master" with the private bath, and the other two bedrooms share a bath. There's a half bath on the bottom level. 

Landon had been in the front bedroom at the Blackham home ... Colton was in the other upstairs bedroom, and Keaton's former room downstairs was where we'd put the old king-size bed when we got a new bed set for the master. With a little wiggle room (the basement room/closet had some storage stuff in it - moved it to the vacated front bedroom) we let Colton move down to the basement bedroom. He gets the king sized bed, because as Grayson moved it down he said "I'm not moving this again" and Colton's old bed/room on the main floor is now a spare bedroom (which came in handy when Landon needed to "move in" for a bit after his surgery ... or when someone snores. I won't say who "someone" is ...)

Colton is pretty pleased with his new setup downstairs.

Larger bed, larger room, a little more secluded than the main level next to the master.

This basement bedroom #2 has had several uses/users ... it was unfinished originally, with shelves and storage. After we finished the basement (bathroom/hall and two bedrooms, the big family room had been finished earlier) we had boys in the corner bedroom (#1) and this was the "lego room" with tables set up for the kids to keep their creations on. It shifted into a few other things ... a scrapbook room for Jen, a den for Grayson. Ultimately, it became "middle earth" where everything/anything "precious" (or that we didn't know where else to put) was stored/stashed. When Landon came home from his mission, it was time to turn it into a bedroom for Callahan. When Cal married and moved out,  Keaton moved in(down) ... now it's Colton's turn. It's interesting to look back on the different posts and pictures and the different arrangements of this room. 2020/2021, 2017, 2014 ...

The main floor has three bedrooms - this one is down the hall next to the master. It's was Landon's room when he was little and we only had a couple kids. Then he shared it with Callahan for a couple years. It had a queen bed, and at one point, it was the bedroom of Keaton, Cooper and Colton! All bundled up on that one bed and stuff crammed into one closet. Then we got a bunk bed to replace the queen ... then moved the bunk downstairs (putting Cal and Keaton downstairs first ... then when Landon left on his mission, Cal moved to the front bedroom, Keaton moved into this bedroom, with a twin bed, and the two littles and the bunk bed moved downstairs to the corner bedroom).  

Check out previous posts/pictures: 2022 ... it was Colton's room, upgraded to a full bed. 2017 ... a slight switch-up (headboard/desk, still Keaton's corner) as we rearranged as Landon came home from his mission and needed a spot.  2016 ... a peek at the room as Keaton's room,  2015 ... when Landon left and this became Keaton's room, when we painted the wall. 2011 (mostly about the front room, but shows the queen bed/sleeping of this bedroom and some history). 

The front room has it's own history ... it was the Noah Nursery to start. Little Landon was a year old when we moved in (and he had the bedroom next to the master, when he wasn't sleeping in with Mom&Dad anyway) but as each baby came along, the front bedroom was the baby's room ... until 2011 when Landon was the first of the five boys to get his own room (then Cal, then Keaton, a school setup, and back to Landon). What to do with the room now? How about a den/library? Keaton's comfy chair from storage, the corner desk (which has made the round of rooms before). A spot for Cooper's computer, a place for anyone to work, new home of the color printer (and storage of an extra television).  The bookcases and books, which had been banished to Cooper's bedroom in the basement (just because there was some room there) are now more front and center ... fitting, with Jen's new Little Free Library and her renewed collection of physical books. 

I'm glad I've documented the changing of the rooms ... who was where, what the decor was, even the changing beds/sizes is interesting to note. The corner basement bedroom (currently Cooper's room) never got many pictures (do I have any of the bunk bed, upstairs or down?) and not many of the master (switched out the bed/bedset March 2023). 

All the posts above and more are labeled with Home Sweet Home ...

I need to create a post about the Courtney Court House, the Midvale House and the Linden Basement apartment ... not sure how many pictures there are of those.  You can go back even further and check out the post about the old Westra home where Jen grew up (The Hermitage House). 

As Landon moved out, he left quite a few clothes ... nothing like moving to make you examine if something is worth packing and lifting and finding a new space for.  I looked through them and had Colton double check a few (he kept some). As Colton moved his closet downstairs, he probably only took half of his stuff ... definitely time for a purge! That empty front bedroom came in handy as I filled it with stuff, and sorted it all into boxes and bags. I had Cooper go through his drawers/closet too, as long as we were doing this! 

Colton had quite a bit of Wolves gear (his basketball team) he'd outgrown. I contacted Coach Phil (who has a younger son, and younger Wolves) to ask if they'd like the clothes/uniforms to pass on to the next pack, and he said yes. There was a lot of West Jordan Jags stuff too ... again, I asked Coach Wouden to see if used but in great condition gear could be of use, and he happily accepted a bag full. I set aside some smaller, but good condition clothes for younger cousins on the Blackham side, and on the Westra side, I asked my brother Chris if any of his crew would be around, and if a detour to West Jordan would be worth it to look over anything. He said Camden and Cayson would be around and willing to come out, so again, I sorted ... things that really just needed to go to goodwill, and what was worth passing on (for them to look though, and then likely send a portion on to DI too!) Totally packed their car, from top to bottom! Camden even had a big box on his lap. And I still had a load for DI that filled up the Durango. But whew ... nice to get that done.

Not really related to the moves/rearrange ... but still home related, Keaton was over and noticed the dust collecting on the ceiling fan blades. He cleaned them all off ... what a great kid!  Next up ... addressing the mold situation in the basement bathroom.