This year, I added The Yellow House, also known as The Kiwanis Park House,
to our Nielson family Christmas Village. It's simply adorable!
We bought this house after moving from the Pioneer house in the summer of 2003.
Built in 1943, The Yellow House was just blocks away from BYU,
where Christian was going to school, and from my
parent's house on Fir Avenue.
It was in the Kiwanis Park area of Provo, near Wasatch Elementary, where
my siblings and I (and Dad!) went to school.
The house faced the Y mountain and trail where I'd hike daily.
We lived there with two-year-old Claire and six-month-old Jane.
Claire called it "the yellow house" since it was painted a sunny yellow.
We painted all the walls inside with fresh paint (bright pink in the nursery),
ripped up carpet, refinished hardwood floors, and added a garage.
Christian rebuilt the back deck all by himself.
Now I think back on those days and wonder when on earth
he had the time to do that?! He was so busy working and going to school!
We also had a hot tub in the back that sat under the apple tree.
That was my favorite part of the house!
We sold the house in the Spring of 2004, and literally within the hour after
Christian's graduation ceremony at BYU, we went to The Yellow House
one last time to change our clothes, hand the keys over
to the very excited new owners (who were parked out front waiting for us),
then I drove our packed to-the-rim car, and Christian drove
our super-packed U-Haul across the country to New Jersey for Christian's new job.
It was so sad to leave The Yellow House and the maple tree
in the front yard, where we hung a little swing for the girls.
To see the front porch empty without our black porch swing
(that Russ made me as a wedding gift...we packed it),
and to see the apple tree disappear out the window as we drove further
away from the neighborhood, knowing my hot tub
was there, remembering all the quiet nights connecting, laughing,
and relaxing with Christian. We had some beautiful times together
as a little growing family.
I was also just barely pregnant with Ollie,
and super, SUPER nauseous.
Good memories, good times!
(I have fantastic photos to add to this entry,
but need to get them digitized).
