Overdue for an update!

I figured it's time for an update. I was getting kind of tired of posting about houses and then not getting them, it was getting a little discouraging. The house in Howell that was on 2 acres never called me back.....they showed it to us, we told them we were interested and wanted to proceed, etc then they seemed to drop off the face of the earth. Well, lo and behold I saw it listed in the paper again yesterday and they raised the rent by $500 per month. Dirty rascals! I hope they can't rent it! We then found a house in Brick (about 15 miles South of Nick's work) that we liked
and we called the owner that evening to say we were interested and wanted to give him a deposit. He didn't return my call so I called a second time about 24 hours later. He told me that the air conditioning in the house crapped out so until they get it fixed they aren't renting it out. His story seemed a little bizarre to me and I offered to go ahead and give him a deposit and we could move in when the AC has been repaired, no big deal. He said he'd talk it over with his wife and get back to me. 2 more days go by and he calls to apologize....the AC is fine, there was never a problem. Apparently he has family drama and his relatives are living in the home and don't want to leave but now they're leaving so do we want the house.....ugh, no. Thanks but no thanks. What's up with the flaky people here? So.... on a positive note, I think we did find a place right here in Tinton Falls. I've been checking the classifieds daily and I have gotten to recognize anything new. When I saw the Tinton Falls house I called immediately. It would be most ideal to live in Tinton Falls because that is right where Nick works and where are hotel is as well so we've really gotten to know this area well. I spoke with the homeowner and he said to come on over as he'd be there painting for awhile. I went over to see it and the whole house has been rebuilt, it's brand new. It has 3 bedrooms upstairs and a finished basement. Front yard & backyard, brand new bathroom, brand new kitchen. In fact the kitchen appliances aren't even in yet. I told him right then that I wanted it and I could give him a deposit and sign paperwork although Nick won't be able to see it until Saturday. (Nick is in Michigan until Friday Night) He said he will wait until Saturday and if we want it its ours! He told me he would take the listing out of the classifieds. He also asked if I'd go to Home Depot and choose my first, second, & third choice for laminate for the countertops in the kitchen. I did that right away and brought back the color samples for him, that was a lot of fun. I was hoping he'd ask me to pick out the appliances that I want, too! So, I guess we found a house. Nick still hasn't seen it and won't see it until he's signing paperwork for it and I'm not going to officially acknowledge that we have a place until I sign something. It won't be ready until the first week in July. As for news OTHER than housing. My mom and I took the kids to NYC on Thursday. We drove into Staten Island and then took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. Andrew loved getting on the boat and was enthralled with all the people watching. Lauren was also enjoying the view and the fresh sea air from the stroller. We walked into Battery Park and bought hot dogs from a stand and ate lunch on a shady bench. The weather great and we enjoyed watching a little of the hustle and bustle of the big city. We got back on the ferry and made our way back. It took about an hour each way (Tinton Falls to Staten Island Ferry)