The Millers Experience Big Changes

The month of May brought so many new and exciting changes for the Millers.  On May 1st, we adopted an almost 4 month old Beagador (Beagle/Lab mix).  He is the cutest thing and has brought us so much joy!  From the photo, you can see that he looks like a black lab, but he's howls like a beagle once in awhile.  Some people have said his face resembles a Pitbull when he smiles and is panting.  Colin and I would agree.  His name is "Sir" Charles Darwin, named after the famous naturalist because of his preference for chewing sticks and pine cones over dog-approved toys.  We also thought it was appropriate since Charles Darwin did his research on the USS Beagle.  While the naturalist is not knighted, we expect our Darwin to do great things!

 

"Sir" Charles DARWIN at 4 months

Darwin was a good luck charm from the get-go.  After having him for just 4 days, the offer we made on the house we loved was accepted!  And just a few short days later, our roommate was offered a really amazing job.  We credit the new puppy, but I think it was also a matter of perseverance.  We had made an offer on this same house back in April, but it was rejected.  After a month on the market, the seller's agent was more willing to negotiate.

We spent the month of May taking care of the things that needed to get done.  Our first few weeks as parents were exhausting.  Darwin slept in a crate in our room and every time he would whine or paw at the crate, we'd wake up to take him out to the bathroom.  Needless to say we were exhausted for most of the month.

With a new puppy and working out what we needed to do to close on our house, we didn't spend much time traveling.  It didn't matter though because we had fun exploring all the Triangle had to offer with Darwin.  The first day we had him, we enjoyed a day at Falls Lake Recreation Area, and subsequently took a few hikes in Eno River and Umstead State Parks.  While none of these areas can compare to the Appalachian, Catskill, or Green Mountains, they are all nice and convenient spots to hike.

Thankfully, our puppy has been excellent in the car, the house, and on trails.  He learned a bunch from his roommate Phoenix (the Golden Doodle), and has learned that not all dogs want to play from his other roommate Gadget (the Lhasa Apso).  There were a fair amount of peeing accidents in the apartment the first few weeks, but thankfully he seems to have learned to communicate his need to go with us.

Darwin's favorite spot in the car - resting his head on the center console

Learning valuable lessons from his roommates

 

 Hiking with his best bud, Phoenix

Darwin's stash of his favorite toys - sticks and pine cones

Neither Colin nor I knew much about home buying, so we depended on our real estate agent for most of the process.  Thankfully, she did not lead us astray.  With 5 weeks scheduled from accepting the offer to closing, we were able to do everything necessary to close on time.  We had to get a mortgage (which we had already been discussing with various lenders) and homeowners insurance, and schedule and pay for an appraisal and all the inspections.  We also decided to do a survey.  Surprisingly, the most stressful piece was trying to get our down payment transferred to a local bank so we could get a bank check for closing.

Our new house

 

Colin and Darwin relishing in the moment of buying our first home!

The Millers do not plan to stop traveling now that we have a puppy and a house.  There will likely be challenges to taking Darwin with us, but that will not stop us from going where we want to go.  In addition, while a house affords us an opportunity to enjoy the space where we live, we still very much enjoy "being on the road."  It is certainly true that apartment living, no pets, and no children allowed us to live more spontaneously, but we will continue to seek opportunities to travel with our new situation.  I'm looking forward to some day and weekend trips to local areas and possibly some bigger trips in the late summer and fall!