Moving days

Right before we moved almost exactly a year ago I started a blog post about my current living conditions...to help me appreciate them more. Now I've returned to this post to finish it. The current home list is below. As of right now, our plans are stay in Utah! Not exactly something we had "planned" on but the wiser decision for us at this point in life (ie, job availability). It feels so good knowing where we will be for the next few years. We don't know the city, or the school district or even the job yet but it gives me peace knowing our target is to stay in the SL valley. Wahoo!

The added bonus of Tyler receiving his real estate license a year ago (please, send clients his way.....our way, I work for him too) we've been talking about the real possibility of us finally owning our first home......after 10  years of marriage! Whoa! Something I have dreamed about for years and years. Sometimes, it completely terrifies me. But other times, I just want to be on our own already! To be able to paint, have more space, and just have that responsibility of being homeowners. But because I am sure I will grumble about fixing this and saving money up for that, I wanted to make a list so I can look back and laugh, and say, "hahaha, I was so naive. We should go back to renting."

 Blast from the past.....unpacking in 2010.

Things I will not miss about our last Provo house:
**The reverse sliding doors....that do not slide
**The cold faucet which was installed backwards
**the lack of central A/C
**going outside and downstairs to do laundry
**the spiders
**the trees and all the "shedding" they do
**small doorways, can't even fit myself and laundry basket through safely
**The Provo bubble

What I will miss:
**The Provo bubble
**My friends/this ward
**the trees
**being close to grandma
**lovely wild yard
**student living
**character of this older home
**large windows
**lots of sunlight
**Apricot tree :(


Since we moved to SLC.......
Things to miss:
**Landlord who makes/pays for repairs
**Lush large backyard
**Quiet neighborhood
**Park right across the street
**Church right across the street
**Central location in downtown SLC but not feeling like we live in a city (location, location, location)
**our next door neighbors who have two young boys
**Great hiking trail....right across the street
**Great landlords who are like a second family to us
**Safe neighborhood (except for some homes that have been burglarized)
**the nice big office with tons of shelving
**Zoey has a playmate with landlords dog
**Rent is still cheaper than a mortgage (with utilities)
**Children forced to take "baths" in a shower = less water mess on floor!

Lindsay, our landlords daughter; ie babysitter, sister friend, upstairs neighbor, comedian and opera singer

And we live in the original Salt Lake stake so we get to have conference in this historic building (Assembly Hall). The kids sang in the choir today as part of the program. 

Things I will NOT miss, or that Tyler is tired of me complaining about:
**Basement living
**The hallway, er KITCHEN
**Living with someone else, essentially
**no garage
**Hot summer with no cooling system
**ants and other pests
**lack of friends
**feeling like we have to keep up with the "Jone's" a bit
**the carpet that clogs up my vacuum
**The hills, especially in winter. Ahhhhhh
**lack of enough storage
**Carpeted dining room
**1 bathroom, with no bathtub
**Washer/Dryer in that 1 bathroom which makes it very steamy in winter months

And I'm a pretty picky "buyer". Ideally, I'd want to find a home that fits within our budget AND include...... an updated and open kitchen with window facing the backyard so I can see children playing; 5-6 bedrooms (for sleeping, guests, office and craft), 3 living areas, a master bath (average size is fine with me), several bathrooms, a big level grassy yard, 2 car garage that can fit both cars easily, short commute to work/choir, great schools nearby and safe neighborhood and a bonus would be a mud room You probably think I'm crazy! But Tyler just sold one with almost everything on this list to a friend/client so it gives me HOPE that it is possible. Are any of you moving soon? Buying? Renting? Wishing to rent again?

Sometimes it can be fun!

Okay, so unpacking is not really fun especially with a newborn (albeit, a cute one!).


But when you take pictures of it it seems to be easier.

And then you have to fit in the sleeping, playing and eating.

Early Summer Fun

Now that it is Autumn I thought I should finally post some more things that happened this summer.

Moving from Murray

Help from Aunt Hannah. She and Grandma helped a TON with packing.

At Gourmandise with our favorite friends we met while in Paris, Julia and Chet and their two boys. Chet is a professional chef, studied with one of the best chefs in Paris!

Unpacking in Denver. When Jocelyn "reads" books she puts the book up really close to her face, speaks jibberish, twitters her feet and shakes a little bit with zeal. It's really fun to watch for us but most people probably wonder what she is doing.

"Helping" carry things in while wearing my shoes.

Some of the boys at my nephew Warren's blessing over Memorial Day weekend. (my eldest brother Alex and Dad). Notice Jocelyn wearing someone else's shoes.

And yet another pair of shoes....

Most of the grand kids.

Dinner at White Fence Farm.

Me at the Molly Brown house tour in downtown Denver. She was a neat lady. And her house is gorgeous.

Um, ya. Jocelyn didn't want to change out of her birthday suit after swimming at Grandma Furber's.

Goodbye Murray

Brevity is not in my vocabulary. I tried to keep this short and not too detailed info about my personal life but I hate repeating myself the story of our summer over and over again so here goes.....

Our life is a whirlwind. I tell myself I am pretty adaptable to change but lately I wonder. I just go along with what Tyler has in mind. So far, it's turned out okay. The first time he had a crazy idea we ended up in Paris for a year. Then we moved from Provo to Arvada to Murray all within 4 months. He received an offer to teach at SLCC, Salt Lake Community College, and while we we were on vacation in Utah we looked for a place to live and the next weekend we moved back out here. We lived in Murray for 20 months. It was a wonderful experience. I met some of my closest friends here. The kids grew up a lot here and I'll miss it. And now, the time has come, to be uprooted again.

We've left our apartment contract early to come back to Arvada for a short summer of work. And then back down to Provo again for schooling. Just in case you care here is our time line:

This week: Packed up moving van, cleaned apartment, unloaded belongings in Uncle's basement to store for the summer, stayed with great Aunt in Provo, attended Samuel's pre-school end of year party and drove for 9+hours to Colorado (luckily, I had help this time).

Tomorrow: Tyler's sister graduates from High School.

Sunday: My nephew, Warren, is blessed.

Next week: Re-open shop, adjust to living at the in-law's (not that they are hard to live with at all, it's just not our space....you know what I mean?). Remind children, particularly Jocelyn, that we are not going back to "our home" and that we are not in Colorado on vacation but to live.

Around July 1st: My sister Rose gets married, so we'll pack up and head back out to Utah. I'll stay w/my folks, Tyler will do some work for my dad for about 2 weeks before he heads off to Alaska with his father and grandfather to fish for salmon and halibut. I'll stay w/my folks still and periodically find reasons (like visiting friends and using zoo pass) to drive up to SLC.

Early August: Go to Lake Powell with Tyler's family for a week. Wahoo!

August 19th: Tyler starts Law School.

Sometime in July/August, we'll fix up my grandma's basement so it's livable with two children and my sanity level.

Hopefully our contract, which ends at the end of August will be over so that we don't have to break our lease (which is super expensive).

So that is our whirlwind of a summer. You may ask, "Why are they moving so much especially when their contract is not yet up? " Yes, I ask myself this sometimes too. But we felt we should come to Colorado. Tyler can work for his dad (a realtor) and his grandfather (also a realtor) doing odd jobs like digging ditches for water lines, pouring cement, staining decks, mowing lawns on his dad's properties, etc.....physical labor kind of stuff that will allow his farmer's tan to improve and he'll make more than working at Best Buy or somewhere like that, if he could even find someone who would hire him at high enough pay and only for 2 1/2 months plus 3 weeks vacation!

So we're in Colorado. I grew up here. It feels like home still. I love my in-laws and so do my kids. I have two young sister-in-laws and great parents who help out immensely with the kids so it'll be good. Plus my sister lives 2o minutes in downtown Denver so we'll see each other often. I only hope to set up my etsy shop comfortably enough to keep it up and find the balance with that in my life w/children, husband and self :)

It'll be interesting. It'll be fast. It'll be an adjustment. I hope I can handle the stress of all the moves. And I hope the kids can too :) As they get older I notice change is harder, in moving type situations. They can't see the whole picture and timetable and they act out more.

But we'll live and move onto meeting more special friends (though, how can I beat awesome neighbors who'll watch my kids while I take Samuel to pre-school, or bring me goodies in time of need, or stay up at ladies nights till 1am?...I am sure I can find someone....I just don't know if I want to....sad)

Au revoir, Murray! Bonjour....uh, Provo?