New Home, New Job, New Place

May and June 2010


May 2010

Packin' Up, Spazzin' Out, Movin' On.

Busy freakin’ month. Brad got tired of my “lists” (especially the ones for him of things to do). Owen would unpack the boxes of toys – it was cute because I’d pack up a box of books that were his less favorite ones and then, sure enough, that night he’d specifically request one and we had to dig through the box. We finally found a house to rent, which was no small feat, considering the fact that we had a 140 pound dog (aka the deal breaker).

Okay, so we’re making great progress, living out of boxes, exhausted, but happy and less than a week away from the move. May 26^th, 2010 (my mom and baby Reed’s birthdays) a freak tornado hail storm hits our home and wreaks havoc. Brad was home with Owen at the time and he ran around recording the progress like a “storm chaser”. Since our house had a basement, Brad was also the shelter for some of the neighborhood kids and he built a fort of pillows to wait out the storm.  I cannot even capture the damage, but let’s just say that I got home from work and stopped dead in the middle of the road in front of our house. Brad had to coax me into the driveway, where my car slid back into the road because of the 3 inch layer of icy hail.

We had shattered windows, shattered roof tiles, our trees and bushes were bare and “shredded”, and Owen’s backyard toys were annihilated.  There were pieces of colorful plastic that were literally unidentifiable littered across the back yard. We had news crews parked in front of our house (Alicia ran over their cords pulling into our drive way…so funny). As I took things out to the trash, they asked me questions and they had our neighbors on camera.

We forged ahead and on May 30^th, the calvary arrived. My parents drove out and Ashley, Cade and Violet flew out to help pack up and drive to our new home in Lehi, Utah (yes, quite a difference in culture). It was hard to say goodbye - Isaak, Elle, and Maryn came to send us off. We were so lucky to have such support from my family for the move. I think my dad was the biggest help and he just kept going and going....I was worried about him wearing out, but he's a gladiator. When we finally got to Lehi, even more help arrived to unpack – Grammy, Mitch, Bryson, Jeff and Addy joined the brigade to unload our kabillion boxes.

June 2010

New job... 

After all the drama at Jeffco Head Start, SLCAP Head Start has been a refreshing change. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fast-paced and demanding, but it’s just different and I'm not working 60 hour weeks. SLCAP Head Start is an organization that runs smoothly and has the highest standards possible. 

http://www.headstart-slcap.org/

New home...circa 1989.

In addition to starting a new job, we spent a lot of time getting our new rental home in working order. For me, this meant that the 1980’s paint colors and curtains had to go. Owen’s room was a nice shade of lavender, so we had to right that atrocity and he thinks the new green color is “beautiful”.

New place...

So, I just want to say that I grew up in Utah and I love it, but it has been an adjustment to come back. 

Top 3 Things we LOVE about Utah 

1. Family, Family, Family - We are so lucky to have a family that is fun, real, and will do anything for us.  Owen has had so much fun with Nana and Gramps. Every red truck we see, Owen has to check and see if it is Gramp's truck or not. It's been wonderful to live so close to Ashley and Cade - Ashley and I go running (ok, slow jogging) in the mornings, we get together for dinner and ping pong, and we are backup. I love backup. 

Not only is my family around, but this state is very child-oriented. You don't have to feel bad for hauling your kid with you (I always felt so hated for doing so in Denver). Brad even pointed out how many children are around and how involved the parents are - dads playing catch, families riding bikes, etc.

2. Mountains - Yes, Colorado has the Rockies, but you have to drive 3 hours to get there and the view is just not the same. The Salt Lake Valley is surrounded by these gorgeous mountains. When we first got here, Owen kept exclaiming, "Woah, a volcano!" The mountains are something that you just get used to looking at, but coming back has been inspiring. We have gone for drives and mini-trips just to enjoy the views. Brad, who's an Indiana kid gets almost as excited as Owen does over the huge cliffs, waterfalls, etc. 


3. Our Backyard - Having a great backyard has changed our life. We had a yard in Denver, but it was small, and we landscaped it ourselves (which means that it was less than professionally done). Our backyard in Lehi is lovely. We've had to work on the weeds and bringing the grass back to life, but it's just nice to have SPACE. Hurley gallops laps, Owen has been able to have a big pool, and we planted our first garden. I would have never guessed that I'd love a garden as much as I do....I'm so proud of each green bean and tomato. Plus, it's saved us so much money on vegetables and herbs. If anyone wants some great Thai Basil, just ask because we have an abundance!

Top 3 Things we HATE about Utah

1. Drivers - The drivers here are awful! No one obeys the speed limits on any road. No one lets you merge when you need to. No one signals appropriately, or yields appropriately, or slows at yellow lights. It is SCARY! Brad was even backed into by a woman in a Wal-Mart parking lot because she just didn't look behind her. My commute every morning is a test of my patience.

2. Competition - Please keep in mind that I am not competing in this competition, but it's been so overwhelmingly apparent that it does have an effect on me. The women here are crazy competitive. I watch beautiful girls check one another out in grocery store lines...they even check out and compare their children. There's this impossible standard to be the perfect wife and mother and as a result, some of the women here are going crazy! I have never seen so many billboards for plastic surgery, or even known so many people with fake boobs. I don't know what to do about this, but it's sad and I feel the pressure. 
3. Missing Colorado - As wonderful as it has been to be nice to my family, we did leave friends, family and a beautiful home in Colorado. Owen misses Isaak. I miss friends from work and I miss living close to Alicia. Brad is terrible about staying in touch, so he may never see some of his friends again and Brad really misses his bathtub. :) Besides the people there, the general mood of Colorado is much more laid back and I miss the "live and let live" mentality.