Odyssey, Part 2

Carren had the forethought to get pre-approved for a mortgage before we left Kansas.
Recently, whilst buying my truck, I was pre-approved for a loan. They sent me a check to fill out when I found the vehicle I wanted, and that was about it. I figured it'd be prettymuch the same thing with buying a house, right?
Of course not, silly!
Our first plan was to find a rental house, sign a lease, and move in quick fast and in a hurry. Unfortunately, there's absolutely no houses available until 1 June, and no, you can't see them until they are vacant, and no, you can't even drive by and look. You can purchase a house, but it takes at least 30 days to close, there aaren't that many houses that suit your needs/price range, and most are either occupied and will take 45-60 days for the occupants to move, or, if'n they's gone, you can't move in until you close, even if you offer to pay rent until closing.
Faced with the prospects of living in a hotel room with the rugrats and felines, here's what we did:
Cats go to the kennel. Too easy. $22.50 a day (total) but one less thing to worry about.
Find a place to buy. Given our needs, the list was short, about a dozen homes. If we didn't find anything, we'd just widen the search area. The rugrats would come with us.
Did I mention that it has rained, every day, in every place we've been, since leaving KS? "Clouds in your head suicide weather," as a singer once called it. The chidrens were either cooped up in the truck, or in the hotel room, with nothing to do for a week. Carren and I were constantly bickering, as were they, and they had no means to vent their energy, other than bouncing off the walls like a pair of chinchillas who've eaten a pawful of crystal meth.
Recipe for disaster, just add a pinch of salt.

--Chuck