Just an hour and a half up Highway 2 from our home in Marysville, you’ll come upon the town of Leavenworth. Virtually every store, gas station, hotel, restaurant—-and even Starbucks!—-is decorated in such a way as to make you think you’ve landed in an authentic Bavarian village.

It’s fun any time of the year, but our two favorites months are October and December. We’re taking our family there early in December to see all the tree-festival fun (and I’ll post some pictures of that after), but here’s a peek at our visit last month to Oktoberfest. We really weren’t planning to go for that. We were just driving around on a rare day off together, and before we knew it we’d driven over the mountains. Serendipitous. 🙂

My husband and I refinanced to a 15-year mortgage about 4 years ago, and I have been shocked to see how fast our principle is going down! Of course, initially I was shocked for a different reason … the new payment was obviously higher than before. It took some adjusting, but I'm so glad we did it. We can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. 🙂

Forbes has a great article on the benefits of a 15-year mortgage. You can read it here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2016/08/16/4-reasons-you-should-consider-a-15-year-mortgage-right-now/#4a7e137d45b3

It's always fun when I get calls from friends saying, "Want to look at houses?" In this case, it was the son and daughter-in-law of one of my closest friends, Cathy–and friends in their own right. I knew these two back before they were married, and it has been a joy to watch their family grow. Baby number three is on his/her way soon!

Here are pictures of the day of signing and the day I got to hand them their key.

Siging the papers at escrow. Who knew it could be so funny? 

New key 🙂 

  Because kitchens should never be empty …

Welcome home, Riley!  

Welcome home, Bhritney!  

Scout approves  

  The Taylors! 

Love this family! 

I really, really love this couple. Friends before they both lost their spouses, these widowers found a second chance at love and got married in June of this year. Farlan had just turned 90 and Bobbie was 83. He liked to joke that he had robbed the cradle. 🙂

On this day, they came to my husband's retirement from 20 years of pastoring. I was so thankful for their support … and their friendship. I have the loveliest clients!

Lovely, pristine rambler in wonderfully quiet neighborhood near Jennings Park. Inviting, fully fenced backyard with gorgeous landscaping, covered deck & water-feature is an Eden-like oasis and will be a favorite spot this summer. Seller is amazing woodworker with the shop to prove it (fully insulated; wired 220). Cabinets & 2 closet doors are his handiwork! RV parking w/power, sewer & water hook-up; garden shed; sprinkler system. Over $60k on kitchen addition & custom shop. See it soon!

SOLD! 

We sold this home in one day … and for $10,000 over asking price.

My clients had found their gorgeous new home in Whatcom County and called me with the news: “We need to list our house immediately–and have a pending offer within 12 days!” So we worked quickly and made it happen. We were on the market within 24 hours, and by the end of that day my sellers were delighted to receive multiple offers, and happily selected one that was $10,000 over asking price.

If you’re looking to sell, I can help you position your home in the best light and negotiate the highest price for you. And if you’re a buyer, I have strategies to help you win in this competitive market.

$308,000 MLS: 932979

Just a few of the many great hiking trails in our area. 

http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/washington/5-mile-hikes-in-wa/

We had a nice visit this morning at the new site fo the Farmers Market down on the waterfront near Scuttlebutt's. Here's a quick 2 minute look: