We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with some of our dearest friends in Denver. The last Thanksgiving in our Denver home. A smidge bitter, but mostly sweet as we're anticipating that we'll have plenty of visitors once we move to the mountains. We've talked about doing a Sunday afternoon "Avoid I-70 Happy Hour" at our place. For those of you who live in Colorado, you get it.

So, of course, we're feeling super grateful to be on this journey and wanted to help answer the "how are you doing this" question we've been getting the last couple of weeks.

View from the property on Thanksgiving weekend (11-25-17)

Awhile back, I read the book You are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living the Life an Awesome Life. After gushing about its relevance to Kelsey, he read it too. The main premise is that everything you dream or desire is available to you. You just have to really believe that it will happen. Then, do everything in your power to make it happen. It's not passive goal setting, it is dogged determination to reach your dreams. So, our first step (as corny as it sounds) was to believe that living in the mountains is possible and available for our family. Ok, enough of this....but really, just go read the book, then make it (whatever IT is, for you) happen!

Before our youngest son was born, we decided that we wanted a house that had a slightly better layout for our expanding family. After running the numbers, we determined that we could keep our 1st home as a rental property (purchased in April 2006, just before we got married) and still purchase a new house that has a better layout. Hello all bedrooms on the same floor + upstairs laundry! (yes!) So, we moved to our current place in December 2015 and have had great renters in our 1st home for nearly 2 years. Thankfully, our rental has been cash positive and our current home value is increasing. We've often referred to our two-property setup as our "ticket to the mountains." That being said, the goal is to not sell the rental property, but it's our "ace in the sleeve" should we meet unexpected costs that overrun the construction budget.

Why build instead of buy? Our overall budget is about $425,000. You simply can't buy a home on a larger piece of land in Summit County for that budget. We're aiming for a smaller, open-concept home with big windows, energy efficiency (connected off-the-grid), and a super-smart layout. You can't buy all that and remain in our budget. And, there is something really amazing about creating something for our family from the ground up. Kelsey talks about how rewarding building a home, not just a house, for our family, with the help of our friends and family will be.

One of our biggest hurdles was overcome last September when I was fortunate enough to get a remote job with Snavely Associates. I had worked at the University or Denver for a number of years, and was a client of Snavely's, so they knew me and I knew them. The timing was right for everyone and I've been on the team for a little more than a year. All I need is reliable internet and a quiet place to chat with clients, and I'm good! Finding a well-paying professional type job can be kind of challenging in Summit County, so this was a huge step in the right direction.

We started looking for our property shortly after I got the new job, but didn't get real serious about it until last summer, after I knew that I loved my position and could see myself there for a long, long time.

My parents have a great condo in Frisco, Colorado, that we visit nearly every weekend. We're beyond fortunate that they have offered us the opportunity to live there during construction (rent free!). So, the plan is to put our current home on the market in spring 2018, then move up full time in June-ish. This obviously is a huge blessing to eliminate a mortgage payment and only have cost for storing some of our big furniture. Thanks Mom and Dad! We can't do it without you!!

Kelsey is currently a teacher and will be leaving his position at the end of the school year. Then, he'll play the important role of our general contractor, builder, and laborer. We're going to do as much of the work ourselves as possible. We'll work with subcontractors on our geothermal, solar, framing, concrete, rough plumbing, and rough electrical. Then, we'll do all the finish work. Yes, this is a bit daunting...but we've renovated both of our homes and with the help of our families who are all very handy (Dad, I'm looking at you!), we know we can do it. And, once we get started, if anyone else wants to come volunteer an afternoon, babysit, or bring us food, we won't turn you away!

The construction process will be Kelsey's full time job, but if things get tight, he's willing to do whatever we need to do to keep food on the table - uber driver, REI, substitute teacher, shuttle bus driver..doesn't matter. While there are sometimes a shortage of professional jobs, there is ALWAYS a job. The end goal, is for him to work in education here in Summit County after the house is built, but if that doesn't happen right away, he's willing to work just about anywhere.

Thanks for all of the love and support so far. Keep the questions, ideas and comments coming!

Exploring the trails that are less than a mile from the property.