Family and Friends

Some of us went golfing last month and we decided to take our floating, off road, out of bounds, findable and expendable golf balls with us.  It did not help!  Great course, great fun, and great friends.

TRAVELS

Barb and I made a Road Trip with 11 best friends to Eastern Iowa to surprise and watch another of our common friends play in a Rock and Roll reunion band.  Lots of ice cream and bathroom stops.  The music and energy of this 60’s band really brought back memories.  The next week we went to Barb’s 50^th class reunion.  Mine had occurred 30 days before.  Bunch of older people – than us.

ON THE MOVE

Since our last newsletter it has been moving madness:  Son Andy sold, moved and bought a new home, Jim moved states with his family (to Kansas), John sold, lived with Sarah, bought and moved (to KS) this weekend.  Oh, Rachel married and is now in their home in Independence, Tony moved in and out, Chris moved out and into an apartment, and Nick and Angie are eyeing a new loft. Barb and I are settled in our townhouse and love maintenance free living. We took over the family condo in Iowa from Barb’s mom’s estate this summer.  A gracious and thankful family gesture to Barb for caring for her mom the last 4 years.

ROMANCE

Rachel’s wedding was in June and our new son-in-law Zach is a great guy for Rachel.  Son Chris announced his engagement (June 15, 2013). Chris’s finance’ Tempest has been like another family member and comes from a strong multi-generational family in central KS via Platte City.

BLESSINGS

Team Snyder grew by one grandchild – Julia – number 17.  She is acting totally bored next to me as I write this (and sleepy) – beautiful!

On top these events, our Real Estate year has been very busy and rewarding.  We love serving both the new generation of homeowners and our many friends and associates as you participate in the American Dream.

It is clear to me that more newsletters with less history are in order.

If you remember our grandson Michael who had the cancer challenge over a yr. ago – God has blessed him.  He signed a Division I letter of intent to play soccer for Creighton when he graduates next year. 

Thanks for your prayers and support.

Real Estate – The Best of both in the Real World

Still a historically unprecedented great time for buyers – good interest rates, large inventory and the base sales prices are remarkable.

 Sellers with nicely prepared properties are getting multiple offers and much shorter days on the market.  Yes, prices have not started back up and extensive numbers of distressed properties are entering the market.  Many buyers exist and a positive attitude prevails. 

 If I were a new home buyer or homeowner wanting to change homes, taking action in the next 12 months would be my goal.  Two years from now we may look back and see today’s market as the real “Good Ol’ Days”.

Self Esteem Intact

These days it seems like there is a lot of emphasis on preserving a child's self esteem and self worth.  Sometimes I think we worry a little too much about how our children are dealing with the challenges of growing up.Recently our son over heard his 7 year old daughter improvising a song in her bedroom as she got ready for her first grade class.  It started out rather mournfully, "I am different, I am not like the other kids".  My son was alarmed about how she was viewing her first year in school until she loudly burst out with the refrain to her song, "I AM SPECIAL!  I AM SPECIAL!  No need for him to worry about her self esteem!

New Family Stuff – April 2012

We are new grandparents again!  Matthew, Tricia, and Stella Kate announced the arrival of Viggo Matthew on March 19.  They live in Brooklyn, NY.  Our daughter Laura is expecting grandchild number 17 this summer.  Daughter Rachel is getting married June 23. 

 As many of you know, our home situation became a whirlwind the last 60 days.  We sold our home of 27 years and moved March 5 into our new home, a townhome; always wanted a screened porch.  We think we are way too young for maintenance provided living, but our work and family time are beneficiaries.

 At Easter we had our traditional meal, tablecloths, flowers and all in the garage.  Bigger family events will be in the nice clubhouse available to us and it is located nearby. 

 The acts of parting with Wayne’s chainsaw and Barb’s huge kitchen and dining table were bittersweet; a passage of happy memories, concerns, and obligations.  Kind of like losing a pet; all our pictures of family events seemed to center around that table, that space, yet we have never felt more blessed to have what we have.  New memories await. 

Real Estate- Home Maintenance Tips

Dishwashers Tips

·         Check the manual that came with your dishwasher for the manufacture’s recommendations on water temperature; many have internal heating elements that allow you to set the water heater in your home to a lower temperature (120 F)

·         Scrape, don’t rinse, large food pieces and bones from dishes.  Soaking or prewashing is generally only recommended in cases of burned-on or dried-on food.

·         Be sure your dishwasher is full, but not overloaded, when you run it.

·         Avoid using the “rinse & hold” on your machine for just a few soiled dishes.  It uses 3 to 7 gallons of hot water for each load.

·         Let your dishes air dry; if you don’t have any automatic air-dry switch, turn the control knob to off after the final rinse and prop open the door slightly so the dishes will dry faster.

Long Term Savings Tip

·         When shopping for a new dishwasher, look for the Energy Star label to find a dishwasher that uses less water and 41% less energy than required by the federal standards.

What’s on Your “Bucket List”?

For some time now, one of the items on my “bucket list” has been to learn how to kayak. Not down the river rapids, mind you, but paddling around on a serene lake appealed to me.

 As luck would have it, our daughter is dating a young man who teaches kayaking in his spare time so I thought he would be a good resource in getting this goal crossed off my list.

 However, one of our sons decided to take the training recently and found that the first order of business was to learn what to do in case you and the kayak  tip over………….evidently, kayaks are not as stable as I assumed! This strapping young man of ours said it was very difficult to get right-side-up once you tip over.

 With that bit of information in mind, I decided this item on my bucket list is more than I bargained for. Call me “chicken”, but my plan is to scratch it off the list and go on to other pursuits.

 Care to share what’s on your bucket list?

Isn't it amazing how adding just a single word to a sentence can completely change it meaning? I was reminding of fact recently through an encounter with our 3 year old granddaughter.

Our 3 year old granddaughter was visiting when we were just a hour away from dinner. She asked if she could have some ice cream so I sent her into the living room to ask her father knowing full well what the answer would be.

Sure enough- from the living room I could hear him respond firmly "Tell Grandma I said, NO"- She cheerfully skipped back into the kitchen, smiled broadly and said "Daddy says 'No....problem'!"

See, I told you one word can make all the difference!