Local Legends and Outdoor Fun

It’s another beautiful day in sunny Arizona. My grandkids may be coming for a visit in the upcoming holiday season.  It made me start thinking about what I could do to keep them busy. They have all kinds of electronic devices at their disposal which is nice is for a little while but I’d rather they disconnect from the virtual world and take in some of the real world. One of the places we used to go when my boys were still young was the Superstition Mountains; a range of mountains just east of Phoenix where local legend has it that an old Dutchman buried his gold.

There they have rock climbing, nature trails, picnic areas and a whole slew of outdoor activities designed to keep any young mind busy. Throw in the fact that the kids may think they can find a horde of gold buried beneath them and you’ll have imaginations running wild for days!

Just be sure that if you go, like we plan to, you bring a lot of water, maybe a lunch and an active imagination.  Maybe we’ll get lucky and stumble across the Lost Dutchman’s Mine.  

As always if you’re looking for a home to call your own please contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/

Homecoming

            It’s another beautiful day in sunny Arizona.  It’s been a long nine months. This weekend my husband and I took a road trip to Ft. Bliss to see our son back from Afghanistan.   I was happy to see him home and  no small amount of stress relief.   I have to admit, I cried.

            It was a joyous if bittersweet occasion. He left right before Christmas.  I know that Bre and Kiera missed him.   He missed them as well.  There are some moments in a child’s life that happen but once.  Baby’s first steps, first words, first hugs and yes, first tantrum; things that every father wants to see and he missed all of those.  When he left she was 3 months old.  He told us that to him she’s still 3 months old.  He has a lot of catching up to do.

            My husband and I are proud of our son.  He’s become a strong man, far removed from the boy we knew and sometimes try to keep. We have photos of him and the rest of our boys around the house.  We would catch ourselves staring at these photographs while he was overseas and praying that he got home safely. Our prayers were answered.

            We had an interesting trip along the way.   We had a flat.   I’m not exactly sure how long we were driving on it.  My husband said he couldn’t tell we had a problem.  If he hadn’t pulled off for gas in Wilcox we might have been stuck for hours out on the freeway.  Luckily we had no other problems getting there. We got to hug our youngest son and watch the happy reunion with his wife and daughter.   

Reunions are what happy families are all about.        

            As always if you’re looking for a home to call your own please contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/

Cooking and Bonding

            It's another beautiful day in sunny Arizona. My husband loves to cook, which is great because I don’t. This is normal nowadays where gender roles aren’t as “Leave it to Beaver” as everyone wanted you to believe back when we first got married. It’s not that I’m a bad cook, it’s just that my husband seems to enjoy coming up with more delicious new meals, and putting a new spin on some of our old favorites. I swear he could probably be on a cooking show; it’s not just me either. When my sons come over for a visit they often ask him to make their favorite meals from their childhood.  When he does it gets the house smelling like it did when I had four pairs of feet running around.  It gets me thinking about my kids. It is a vicious yet wonderful circle.

            I believe it rubbed off on my kids as well.  My sons know how to cook, and they seem to enjoy doing it.  Some of them have even brought a few recipes back from their overseas trips to add to the family recipe box. Paella from my son who was in the Navy, it’s his wife’s favorite dish.  He’s also pretty adept at most Hispanic foods. My son that was stationed in Germany has brought over a large collection of European cuisine that I had never heard of but enjoy trying.

            I bring this up because cooking, and sharing meals is a way to bring the family closer. Eating something your parents have cooked all your life is a small trip back in time, to days when you could be carefree, or to memories of the perfect date with your soon to be husband.

Regardless these meals we share are important, it creates a bond in the family that will last a lifetime.

As always if you’re looking for a place to cook your masterpieces contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/

Murals and Personalization

            It's another beautiful day in sunny Arizona. I was going through a house the other day making a “to do” list for the homeowner before I put it on the market.  It was hot and the homeowner had left the AC blasting in the house, I was actually shivering.

            You could tell there were children in this home:  a slight patch in the wall badly hidden by a fresh coat of paint on only one spot; a few hand prints on the glass that led to a sandbox out back; and the Pièce de résistance, a playroom with a mural that would delight any young kid and possibly embarrass anyone over the age of nine. The mural was well done and it was something that made the house standout, but not necessarily in a good way. 

            As a parent I can see the value of painting a room to entice your kids.  A playroom for my boys while in grade school would have looked like a cross between GI Joe and Transformers with some assorted superheroes thrown into the mix. The same room years later would have had a different look with cars, posters, gaming consoles and computers. I couldn't help but think while looking at this mural, that while it did add a sense of uniqueness to the home, it would probably limit the salability.  I recommended Kilz and fresh paint.  It broke my heart, but they needed top dollar to move to a larger home for the new baby on the way.

As always if you’re looking for a unique place to call your own contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/

Getting Away.

            It's another beautiful day in sunny Arizona. I was visiting with a young couple who were thinking about selling their home and buying another more suited to their lifestyle.  They didn’t have any children and didn’t want any.  They had a four bedroom house.   There was a den/game room for the husband and an exercise room for his wife.  It seems more couples each year are buying larger homes and using the extra rooms to have their own private hideaway.   My husband and I have a den and exercise room that we share.  (That is until the kids come home for a visit, then they’re guest rooms.)  I have my private space where I can go and be me.  I pray or read or sometimes just day dream.  My husband has his garage.  Often when he’s having a rough day or needs to get out and think, he’ll go into the garage and work on projects.

            These are things that I think are important when buying a home.  You need to ensure you have a place to call your own, a zen garden so to speak.

As always if you’re looking for a place to relax and unwind contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/

VA Loans

It's another beautiful day in sunny Arizona. I love helping veterans.  I am proud of the time I spent in the military. I loved the feeling of camaraderie and accomplishment I got every day I wore the uniform, and I’m not alone.

Each day hundreds of thousands of people don the uniform and do their duty for our country.  When a service member gets out of the military they are eligible for a home loan through the VA.  It’s a guarantee that is not based on credit.  The loans are offered by most lenders, who have their own specifications that they follow, and closing costs are generally removed paid for by the seller.  The house has to be approved by a VA appraiser in order for the service member to purchase it with their VA guarantee, so some homes may not qualify for a variety of reasons usually condition issues.

Many service members, lenders and the general public have a lot of misconceptions about these loans.  I frequently have to educate people about what is and isn’t true when it comes to these loans.  For example, many veterans don’t know that the amount of qualification on their VA is NOT the same as the amount they can actually borrow under this program. If you, or someone you know is a veteran who hasn’t used their GI Bill, and is wondering if they could qualify to buy a home, call me.  I will explain how it works, and put you in touch with a lender who knows the system. It’s an honor to help a veteran get into a new home.

As always if you’re looking for a place to put down roots contact Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/

A Horse of Course

            It's another beautiful day in sunny Arizona. While driving down a seemingly desolate strip of land this afternoon, I saw something you wouldn’t normally see in a major metro area. There was a couple on horseback:  a father and daughter, who was probably eight or nine.  The girl was talking to her horse, telling it how much fun they were going to be having today.  The horse seemed to be enjoying the conversation; it was prancing around carefully, fully aware of the fragile cargo on its back. It was lightly kicking up dust and a lopsided pink cowboy hat was just bouncing around on top of the girls head as she rode.  She had to be the envy of every other little horsewoman in the area. 

           

 If you’re from out of town seeing people riding on horses may seem a little odd outside of the ranch or country club.  There are plenty of homes that allow horses to be raised on the property in our area, some even in Scottsdale and the Central Corridor in Phoenix.

My husband and I had a home in Texas where we had a fairly large amount of farm animals.  My sons seemed to always bring something new to the house: ducks and chickens, mules, and even a pair donkeys. (The mules were not something you would expect to follow a teenage boy home, but there they were in our backyard.).  We just added them to the menagerie. 

            In many of my blogs I mention I have a small community of animals.  They are nothing compared to the ones we used to have, but I don’t want to leave these important parts of the family out either. To many people their horses and ducks are as much pets and loved ones as a dog or a cat.  Animals can be costly to maintain, but are worth every penny, especially when they put a smile on a child’s face.  I’m happy I can help clients find homes that allow these kinds of relationships.

As always if you’re looking for a place for your whole family, four legged or otherwise contact

Tim or Gayle Kendrick at 602-819-6300, look us up at www.AZWestre.com on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/AZHomes or stop by and see our blog at http://azwestre.blogspot.com/