we're moving!

all signs pointed to us having to find a new place to live closer in the city to BSU as david will be starting next wednesday more than full time. it was time to renew our lease on the place we are currently at and the management company came at us with a ludicrous rent increase and a minimum 12 month lease. we started looking for places but they were all so expensive in the city around Boise State area and we kind of wanted to avoid renting an apartment again if we could - lochie is getting so he needs space to run around and we have never had a backyard for him.
we have been blessed that we applied for and were accepted to rent a 3 bd 1 ba bench house about 8 blocks from the main university buildings for a great price! the landlords are really nice - nice couple (early 40s) with a 6yo and a 2yo we met today - his wife is a veterenarian and he is an insurance agent and they purchase and renovate older houses to lease out. our place has recently been renovated into a duplex - we share about a meter space of wall with the front unit which has 2 small bedrooms and one general living space area.
Our place is huge! It has 2 bedrooms downstairs with a massive room upstairs which runs the entire length of the apartment - but so far only has a ladder to get up there! for now it will just be david's study area but before signing the lease today we talked with him and he agreed to put in stairs (we suggested pull-down attic stairs but he thinks he'd prefer installing permanent stairs). Compared to where we are now it has lots of living space and lochie was loving running around looking in all the cupboards etc! it has a really big fenced front yard and a patio which he is going to install an awning over before the summer.
we drove past david's main school buildings and pressed the tripometer and it's only 1.2mi from there to the new house - he can bicycle it in about 5-10 minutes. we're really stoked and i am excited about getting lochie a little sandbox and inflatable pool for the summer and maybe a BBQ and patio table in summer as well! we really felt the time and circumstances all pointed towards making a move and to be honest i won't really be sorry to leave where we are at - just today the management company put a note in our door jam telling us that during their recent inspection they noticed a box on our water heater and for us to please remove it so they can inspect the water heater again (?) - it's a SHOE BOX with a few screwdrivers, a wrench, a hammer and a pair of pliers in it! They could have taken it off themselves, looked, and put it back but for all that we have to have ANOTHER inspection - so legalistic and annoying so glad to be dealing with a landlord not a management company anymore.
we're so excited but now the packing starts! He has kindly given us the key already and though he will be in and out before the 1st Feb finishing his restorations and repair work, he has invited us to start bringing our stuff over if we wanted to so the next few weeks we will be packing and spiriting our stuff over so it won't be one big move. will keep my mind off waiting for my last written boards results which is the last thing now i'm waiting on to be licensed! ah well i have a distraction now...