The keys.....

So two months ago I had a crazy, crazy day and it's finally time to share.  

For about 2 years John and I have been looking for a cottage/cabin/camper/land/water..... someplace we can go to for relaxing and making memories with our family.  I remember when I was quite little going to grandma and grandpa's cottage on the lake.  The drive was really long and the hills were really steep to get there.  Mom and Dad would tease about having to get out and push the station wagon up the hills or we wouldn't be able to get there.  When we got older we stopped going to the cottage, I'm not sure why I think it was because there were too many of us and grandma and grandpa didn't really want the responsibility of us wild children up there.   Those memories along with the new memories of going up to Dad and Joann's were in my head and I wanted them for my children and grandchildren.  So we looked and looked and drove and drove every summer just trying to find a cute little get away on the water.  

Well it was a Wednesday night and I got an e-mail about a place up north going up for auction the next day on the river.  I said to John.... we should go check it out.  Well it's 10:00 and we didn't talk about it much more than that.  So the next day I send John an e-mail.... 

me - I think we should go to the auction it's at 2:00 today

John - Really

Me - Seriously

John - I can't get off work today

Me - What if I go?

John - Okay, if you want

{he knows I won't go, I don't do anything without him}

Me - And what if I buy it?

John - Go get us a deal..... Love you

Well that to me was a yes so I talk my sister Gayle, my General Manager and Owner of the company I work for into going with me.  I have no idea what I'm doing, I've never been to an auction let alone bid on anything but I got people with me!!!

So we look at the place, it needs quite a bit of work so if I can get it cheap I will bid.  So the bidding is a silent 5 round bid with everyone having to bid all 5 times.  The highest bid from each round goes on a board and we bid from there.  The 1st round Gayle and I discuss and place my bid, I am high...... what????  Seriously so now it's round 2.... I have no idea what to do so I bid from my highest bid with an increase of my dad's age.  That's logical right?  

Round 2 someone else is high.... I bid from there the age of my dad.... Round 3 someone else is high.... I bid from there..... yep, the age of my dad.  Round 4 I am high......... Panic sets in, I stutter, face turns red, heart beats a hundred miles an hour, I don't do anything without John at my side, what am I doing, I quickly write PASS on Round 5, the final round...... I don't think my heart slows the entire time the auctioneer slowly collects the last round of tickets and says

"That ended well................................everyone passed"

What?  Holy Crap?  Who?  What?  OH NO!!   I stopped speaking because I was now hyperventilating and didn't hear a thing that happened after that.  I didn't think my legs were going to hold me up nor did I think I could sign my name to seal the deal.  

I have a place Up North!!!    NO wait...... John and I have a place Up North.  

Here I am just after the bidding, not sure how long I hid behind my hands and chatted OMG!!

Here I am down by the water a bit more relaxed.

Here is the view from the water of the cottage.  We're calling it a cottage just because the auctioneer guy called it that from the beginning and Shan says we need to pick a cabin or cottage and stick with it.... So cottage it is.  Or Up North Riverfront...... Cottage.

It was in pretty poor shape with the long grass but all that is fixable really quick.

So fast forward 2 months and we are officially cottage owners tonight.  After 2 months of waiting for all the nasty paperwork to be settled with the 3 or is it 4 or maybe 5 owners it took us 13 minutes and we have the keys.  John and I opened the door together, no more doing things alone.

I placed the camera on the front porch post and got a photo of John and I inside the cottage..... pretty cool 60's decor huh?  Next time you see the inside it won't look anything like this.  There is lots of work, cleaning and upkeep that needs to be done but if I heard it 1 time I heard it 1,000 times  "YOU STOLE THAT PLACE".  We heard it again tonight from the neighbors we meet, there have been numerous people asking about it and she told them what we bought it for and they can't believe it.  She talked with one of the multiple owners and they are mad what they sold it for....   I just smile, cuz I had no idea what I was doing.

Here is Adam's girlfriend Monica wading in the water, we will never tire of that.

We did go up about a month ago and mow lawn so the view from the river is looking better.

 And tonight since it's ours we drove the Jeep down to the water.  Look at how different it looks already with the long grass being cut.

It'a bit of a hill down to the river, even the Jeep has to crawl up that hill.  I'll stay in shape going up and down that hill.

The Jeep on the 2nd hill, there is still one more that the house is on.  There are 3 levels and I think we might have to have a firepitt on all three :)  My thought was sledding for the grandkids... and grandma :)

 It's time to start making memories.....  time to relax and enjoy UP NORTH.