A little over a month ago my dad sent an email to Dallin and I, his Dallas area kids, with the subject line "Don't Panic Yet." Of course, I immediately panicked. Turns out, he was in Las Vegas for an airplane convention and had finished up with a day to spare before his flight back to Dallas. He stopped in at a real estate office and browsed some listings, then looked at a property.
It's a beautiful 4500 square foot 6 bedroom 5 bathroom home on the edge of the mountains. It's 200 yards from a Stake Center, and just 1 stoplight away from the Las Vegas LDS Temple. The real estate market in Las Vegas has been suffering for a while, and the asking price for the house was hundreds of thousands of dollars below its appraised value. They couldn't have asked for a better deal, and the location is simply perfect for them. He called my mom, who was in Boston helping Clark and Guinevere with Benjamin and their new baby Cassius. Together, they made the decision to make an offer for the home. Theirs was the first of several offers on the home submitted that day and the next day, and since they were first, they were accepted!
They closed on their new home the first week of October, just 3 short weeks after their offer was accepted. It's a done deal! They've listed their home in Plano for sale by owner on MLS and Craigslist, and they plan to move to Las Vegas on November 30, whether the Plano home is sold or not.
I'm still reverberating with shock!
We moved to Plano from Provo, UT in 1980 when I was 7 years old. I grew up in that house, only moving away for 3 years to go to college. When I married Chris, we moved to an apartment just 7 minutes away, and when we bought our home in Allen we were glad that it was still just a 20 minute drive from them. We've always had them nearby! I feel like a native Texan, but they never really have. They've always wanted to move back west to be closer to both sides of their family, who almost all live in Idaho, Utah, and Oregon.
They're thrilled, I can tell. They are going to be a 5 hour drive from Staci and Eric AND Lana and Porter, and they're going to love having so much room for people to come and visit. We'll have wonderful family reunions there and there's so much to do in Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. It's a fantastic financial move for them, because their home value is only going to go up, and that provides great stability.
Though I'm really happy for them, I can't put into words exactly how I feel about their move. We've celebrated together for nearly every holiday, big or small. They have been right there for every joy and every sorrow, and their support, love and presence is of immeasurable value in our lives. They are part of the heartbeat of our family, and we will miss them so much!!!. I know we will be warmly enveloped in love and hospitality when we get the chance to fly to Las Vegas every once in a while, but I will always be wistful of "the old days" when I could just drive a few minutes, pull up to my childhood home, run up the walk, and see them anytime.
I love you, Mom & Dad!
