Back HomeOur Year In Summary 2013 – Happy Holidays
December 28th, 2013 by keithandkinsey
Wow, what a year! I thought last year was eventful. This year was even more amazing, with both business and the personal side of life.
In February, we went on our own and started a real estate brokerage, Great Rock Realty! It’s been an incredible year for us in real estate. We far exceeded our goals and expectations with the new brokerage by surpassing last year’s sales with a big name broker by 36%! Although I’m sure the Madison area’s 5% increase in housing prices and 22% increase in home sales had something to do with it.
In April I started renovating one of our duplexes that was getting quite out dated and beat up. Maybe this wasn’t the best timing with a baby coming any day, but I managed to get it 90% done before Kinsey went into labor. 
Also in April, Kayla joined us as an agent at Great Rock Realty! She’s done a fantastic job, and has helped relieve us of some work while we were busy being new parents.
Charlotte (Charley) joined us on this earth on May 4th. She has been the most amazing life change we could have ever asked for. We’ve been extremely blessed with a happy healthy baby! Of course, we went through the stretch of no sleep and stress, but the joy of watching her change, grow, and continuously learn has far outweighed those hard times. We look forward to the many years ahead with her.
In June, we sold the duplex that I rehabbed through April and May. We still have one rental property, and I’m still a believer in investment property. However, it’s been great to have more free time for family, friends, and fun with a lot less work and maintenance to do!
We were a bit more of homebodies this summer than normal with a newborn. However, we did manage to get out and enjoy some camping, boating, car shows, swiming and backyard bonfires with friends and neighbors. It’s been great living in a neighborhood where people meet around the firepit with baby monitors.
In October, it came time to say good bye to our 13 year old Rottweiler, Harley. She lived a long good life, but it was still hard to let her go. You don’t realize how close you can become to an animal, and how much they become part of your family until it’s time for them to go.
Late in the year, we started finishing our basement. It may take us 2 years to complete at the rate it’s going; it all depends on how much free time I can find. We have also been watching Charley’s new developments such as crawling, standing, and feeding herself.
All in all, it’s been an amazing year. We don’t have anything big planned next year like a baby, or a new business. So, I’m not really sure what next year will bring. Maybe it will be a quiet calm year for once? That’s doubtful; I think I’m incapable of that. Charley has definitely slowed me down a bit though, in a good way.
