Reference   2648
 

Perfect for Big Families or Big Dogs! 2000+sq. ft. Kid-Friendly & Huge Yard

North America / United States / Iowa / Jefferson


Close To   Des Moines (60 Miles)
Click above to view more photos.

 

Description

Our charming home was built in 1912 and is lovingly being remodeled including the addition of a 20x20 cedar deck, a 20x25 kitchen with bar, and a large stone fireplace. We also enjoy the large, half-acre lot with flower gardens; the three-car garage with a fully carpeted, heated & air conditioned music room(drumset on which my husband practices for the church band)/office which could also be used as a super-private 5th bedroom; and swinging on the victorian front porch, original to the house. We spend a lot of time in the "TV Room", (no cable, sorry!)on the comfortable dark leather couches; at the dining room table (seats 6-8) with dark shiny hardwood floors and a unique oval coffered ceiling. We watch the large fishes in the 75-gallon aquarium in front of the fireplace in our large livingroom. Our large staircase with pillars is a focal point in the livingroom, as well as a cozy window seat surrounded by built-in bookshelves. The bedrooms upstairs are small but accommodating; right now we have a king bed in the master, 2 twins in the "princess" room, a toddler bed in the "Blue's Clues" room, and a crib in the as-yet-unremodeled baby/storage room. The bathrooms are scheduled for remodel in winter 2007/2008.

Neighborhood

We live in a quiet, upper-middle-class neighborhood with friendly neighbors, some with kids, all with dogs! We enjoy strolling to the park(s) and library along tree-lined sidewalks. In the summer time there's a terrific little walk-up ice cream parlor we walk or bike to just 6 blocks away; just beyond that there's a Tropical Sno stand, awesome Chinese restaurant, pizza places and Dairy Queen; the pool is about 2 blocks west of us, and my kids enjoy the slide and kiddie pool there; there's a top notch bike trail 5 blocks east that Lance Armstrong has recently ridden (RAGBRAI 2006). There are many historic points of interest nearby; we make many daytrips to Des Moines throughout the year for attractions such as Adventureland, the Science Center, the Blank Park Zoo, etc. Thomas the Tank engine visits nearby Boone every mid-September. Looking for a white Christmas or a snowy winter trip? Iowa is the perfect place for snow. There's also great fishing in the Raccoon River 1/2 mile away. Camping and swimming is fun at Spring Lake, which lies just 6 miles east, and Ames (home of ISU) is a 45 minute drive if you want big-city nightlife. We have a Pamida, Ben Franklin, Ace, and lots of little gift shops. I almost forgot!! Jefferson's claim-to-fame is the Mahanay Carrillon Bell Tower (see picture), which chimes every quarter hour and plays songs every couple of hours, and you can take a ride up or walk up the stairs to view the entire county. We also boast a terrific small-town museum. We are surrounded by corn fields and soybean fields, if you have never seen the farm fields of Iowa, you will be utterly amazed (as I was) at how they just go on as far as the eye can see.

About Us

We are interested in family travel anywhere there is fun! I (Emily)work with severely mentally and physically handicapped people, and I do some day-care, and I homeschool our girls, a 5th grader and a kindergartener. We also have two sweet wittle boys, Levi 3 and Zion 1. My husband Chad owns a drywall business and is a pastor (one of seven) at our church. We are non-smokers, clean-but-comfy-type people. We would only use someone's home to sleep in, as we plan to be out seeing the sights and making the most of the trip!
We would need to plan well ahead of time to ensure finances are available. We would need you to feed our fish, bunny and cat Frodo. (Our Saint Bernard could go to Grandma's!)
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS and driving times:
3 small but nice golf courses within 5 minutes. Big ritzy ones within an hour.
Bridges of Madison County (Winterset) and birthplace of John Wayne about 1.75 hours south.
Religious Arts large museum 1.25 hours west.
Omaha, NE 2.75 hours west. (Henry Doorly Zoo is nice)
Mall of America (Bloomington, MN) 3 hours north.
Fishing within minutes. Larger boating lakes within an hour.
ISU Cyclones football games 45 min. east. Hawkeyes game 3 hours east.
Wisconsin Dells 6 hours NE.
Mount Rushmore 9 hours NW.
Kansas City 3 hours SW.
Adventureland Theme Park in Des Moines 1 hour. Our favorite place! See www.adventurelandpark.com
Living History Farms in Des Moines. see www.lhf.org
Casinos in Des Moines and outside Omaha.
Cabela's 2 hours north.
And much more! This is really a great place unlike any other. I could even refer you to a fabulous sweet granny-type babysitter.

Destination

Just so there's plenty of room for 4 kids! I would love Florida, Wisconsin or the Black Hills or Yellowstone areas. Mountains or beaches are a big plus! But there are a million places we want to see! We have a minivan to swap too!


 

Details

Type   House
Sleeps   10
Bathrooms   2
Swimming Pool   No
Surroundings   Town/Village
Bedrooms   4
    
Air Conditioning   Yes

 
Children Welcome   Yes
Smoking Inside   No
Exchange Cars   Yes
Pets Welcome   Yes
Disabled Access   No
    

 
Updated   2007-05-27 (yyyy-mm-dd)

 

Destination

American Samoa, Antigua Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (UK), Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Federated States of, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, St. Barts, St. Helena, St. Kitts Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten (NL), St. Martin (FR), Switzerland, Taiwan, Tonga, Trinidad Tobago, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S., Open
2007-09-07  to  2018-05-24
7 - 15 days
United States
2007-09-28  to  2007-12-08
7 - 14 days

 
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