the neighbors are mountains

My mom will be here in three hours! hooray!

Just a little update. Nothing all too exciting has been happening. Not that much else I've written about has been exciting...

Monday was spent doing little things around the house. Ingrid and I took a stroll around the neighborhood. I took a few pictures of all the trees and flowers in bloom. They were simply beautiful. However, every time I compare images to reality, the images fell so short. That is especially true when you take pictures of the mountains.

Alta, Utah. The end of little cottonwood canyon. it's still winter up there.
(the last row you see is clouds not mountains)

I wish pictures could really show the beauty of creation a little better but then we may never get out to see it. Monday after dinner, Davis and I were doing the "whatcha wanna do? I dunno, whatcha you wanna do?" (Buzzards from  Disney's Jungle Book anyone?) We decided to do a little exploring. We grabbed some coffee from Salt Lake Roasting company, a new favorite of ours. They have renewed our love of the plain old cup of coffee. It's really quite good. Then we picked a canyon to drive up in the Wasatch Mountains. Little Cottonwood canyon is about a 20 minute drive from our house and two ski resorts are at the very end: Alta, ski only, and Snowbird. While these places aren't as big and sprawling as the Colorado ski towns we've experienced, they are so stinking close! Plus, for being the end of April, they were still buried under several feet of snow.

Anyways, the drive was lovely in the light of the setting sun.  We spotted several trails coming off the road and plenty of avalanche warnings signs. Thrilled by the fact all of this was so very close to home, we made a mental note to come back this summer to hike. We did the whole drive in a little over an hour with a coffee stop and one U-turn.


Tuesday, I told myself not to antsy over getting all the paperwork done for Utah stuff. But then I sat down to see what I needed to do for my RN license and five hours later, I was back home after a day of doing grown up stuff... oops. I applied to have my multi-state RN license switched to Utah as my primary. I made a trip to their office down town and got finger printed again. Then I spent about two hours at the drivers license office. Truly, that is one of the layers of hell in Dante's Inferno. It actually went mostly smoothly minus getting my name wrong initially and it still took two hours. They make out of state people take another written test. Thankfully it was open book or I would have failed. It wasn't just the usual "what sign is this?...a stop sign"  I only knew about 6 of 25 questions without looking them up. But I got a 100% thanks to the manual. Plus this place was located in the parking lot of the state fair grounds. It was a tad confusing to find. I was about to yell at Googlemaps for taking me to the fair and not the DMV, although the fair would be more fun. My last stop of the day was to get my car emissions tested and VIN officially read by someone "qualified" to read it so I can apply for a license plate in Utah. Adult stuff. booooo

I made French Onion soup for dinner last night. Usually, I avoid chopping multiple onions because my eyes water so bad it's no longer safe to use a knife due to tear induced blindness. One of moving boxes in the kitchen had Davis' ski goggles in it. Ahhhhh! I successfully chopped all the onions and cooked them without one single tear.

Multi-purpose goggles. winter activities and onion chopping.

Today I will make the quick trip to the airport, twenty minutes compared to the hour plus trip one way to Denver. My mom is coming for about a week. We are planning on using this time to explore and maybe paint that red room blue. Also, starting the garden, hopefully. This weekend is supposed to be absolutely lovely, low 70s and sunny. I am so glad to have some company. After my job interview tomorrow, it will be fun times!

I am sending Davis as our ambassador to a community group tonight. We need to get plugged in somewhere to meet people. Or keep working on convincing friends to move here as well...muahh hahah muahh ahaha  ahahaha muah muaahhahahahhaha (that is my best conniving laugh... I just looked up conniving and it is not quite the right word)

adios!

what a friend

Today has been the hardest day for me since the move. Being at church made me miss Fort Collins because our Colorado family was based mostly at church. It's lonely being the newbies. I need to remember this when I see/new meet  people.  The service was encouraging, don't get me wrong. Jesus is the same here as he is anywhere. I am guessing Davis has turned me into more of an extrovert than I realized. Truly, we craved familiar friends and faces. We sang "What a Friend We have in Jesus" this morning.

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful

who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

take it to the Lord in prayer.

What a friend we have indeed. I am searching for familiarity and comfort to fulfill my longings. Who better to know our sorrows? Our Creator,  Great Comforter, and friend. Another line in the song says "what peace we often forfeit, o what needless pain we bear". Story of my life. It is fantastically amazing how light and joyful your soul becomes when you lay your heart at His feet. O, I am such a slower learner and unbeliever. So thankful for a patient God.

View from Symphony

Last night, we checked out the Utah Symphony. There is an effort to get us youngters to attend concerts, so they offer tickets for ten bucks if you are under 30. We attended the Tchaikovsky concert and it was amazing. I usually become bored sitting while listening to music. It was so beautiful though, I was mesmerized. The piano soloist was out of this world, in my very educated opinion. We enjoyed it very much and have purchased a few other cheaper tickets for an opera and another symphony later this spring. There is a John Williams concert as well.  However, the youngster tickets are sold out already, no surprise there. We may splurge and buy tickets  priced for the well seasoned folks just to go.

a chance to polish up.

We like to get gussied up a little every now and then. I even wore lipstick! What what! That was for you, Lauren! 

yellow tulips!

red tulips

Today has been absolutely beautiful. Warm, slight breeze, and sunshine! Perfect spring day. All our windows are open. The flowers are blooming everywhere. It seems tulips grow well here, they are in almost every yard, including ours. We have some purple ones too but they weren't quite ready yet.

old school mowing

While lunch was cooking, we tried out the old school mower. It worked pretty well and Ingrid enjoyed chasing/challenging it as Davis pushed it up and down the small yard. We have big aspirations for planting and growing this year. Unfortunately, living in rentals, it's hard to invest in long term projects. 

Missing Colorado today

Davis and I have been alternating wearing this shirt. It is so comfortable and it reminds us of our great time in Colorado. Today was my turn. We went on a walk to the 9th and 9th area of SLC. It is the closest "neighborhood" to us, except for the University of Utah area. It has it's own downtown feel with several shops, restaurants, hair places, and a yoga studio. Because of the huge Mormon influence in this area, half of the shops in the 9th and 9th were closed for Sunday. 

9th & 9th

It is cleverly named for being at the intersection of 900 S and 900 E, all directions related to the Temple.

Davis and I bought some furniture yesterday. Our guest room is ready for people. We also got a new bed. While we put the bed together last night after the symphony, we listened to the Mormon radio. No worries here, we were just curious. It was a program entitled as "why we believe". Very interesting! Listening to it and critiquing their reasons made us examine our own beliefs and it definitely helped strengthen our own faith. 

We have a couple from our small group stopping here on their drive back to Colorado tonight. I am so excited to see faces we know! And my mom is coming Wednesday. I cannot wait to spend time with her!

Happy Sunday!

grown up things... not as fun as kid things

In general, grown up things are not as fun as kid things. For our life, Davis and I strive to do kid things and/or have fun. However, if you want to make grown up things awesome, apparently all you need is a cape (so says Rob). Since I do not have a cape, I opted for cookies today. And don't worry everyone! Davis and I still do our adult tasks like pay (horrible obscene amounts of) taxes, brush our teeth, and arrive to work on time.

Ingrid's "time to get up" face
and get your adult tasks finished so we can play.

Yesterday, my grown up activities included taking numerous boxes down to the basement. I haven't been in the basement since we came to look at the house in March. It was still creepy. Ingrid and I also went on a super long walk. We found some parks, including The Heritage Park. It looks pretty cool, if you like history, which I do. It is a pioneer village at the base of the mountains. From what I can tell, it focuses on the first Mormon settlers. Most importantly, it is baby animal season on their farm. Baby animal season!

Don't worry, we didn't go that way.

After Davis returned home from work, we started planning our garden. Ingrid helped us rip up the old, bolted, and winter soggy kale. Then she proceed to bolt around the yard with the kale so we would chase her. Finally, she sat down and one by one ripped the leaves off the stalk. She did this at our last house with old broccoli tops. She is weird.

This morning, I had a job interview. That was super adult. I wish I could have worn a cape to that. I suppose it went well, they are interviewing several other people too. I generally do not enjoy interviews, it seems weird to chat with a stranger about how awesome you'd be at a job and why. It wasn't nearly as grueling as my Med/Surg interview, but so glad to have one finished. After the interview, I went to a few antique and consignment shops. We lack furniture for the new house. The first one was quite interesting. I am not sure  if I went antiquing or on a safari...

Met this fella on the way in.

this guy too...

a water buffalo joined in as well...

and this was the last one I took a picture of...
it was getting out of control.

j. smith, leading the safari.

This place was a hoarders warehouse of European (and safari animals) antiques. There were armoires galore, desks to infinity, dressers stacked on dressers, doors leaning upon doors... you get the idea. It was simultaneously overwhelming and pretty awesome.

yes, there is a RV in there.

After looking at furniture, I stopped by a cookie shop, RubySnap. Delicious! The kid in me loves cookies.

The afternoon and evening were spent painting the spare bedroom. The painting was completed around nine. Pictures of that room someday...

After the painting fun, Davis and I checked out the Salt Lake Roasting Company, per recommendation. The coffee was delicious. I usually can't tell whether the coffee is good or great, but I can tell if it is terrible. Well, I tried a bit of Davis' coffee but ordered a chai latte. Unfortunately, it was the spicy kind and not my favorite.  But the coffee was really good, maybe even great! Also, we tried this amazing almond and apricot based french baked good. I failed at eating healthy today... oops.

yum

being kids

being adults

While at the coffee house, we overheard some interesting conversations. Some pre-teen girls couldn't figure out where Russia was on the map behind us because it old and labeled as the  USSR. It was cute, those silly year  2000+ babies. Also, another conversation, the terms "shanked" and "mexican federal prison" were used. Not the typical coffee house conversation topics. Hmmmm....

Oh, while we ate dinner, our neighbor across the street was flossing her teeth and hula hooping on the sidewalk. No joke. Her hula hooping skills were impressive. But I am no dentist, so I can't judge on her flossing abilities. 

Tomorrow is Saturday! Davis will be home to be a kid with me... or an adult... we'll see what we decide to do.

we were born in the valley

I have been listening to "The Oh Hellos" pretty much non stop all day. The parts of the day at home. It is the sound track of my life. Or just this chapter. In years to come, when I hear this music, I will think of the first few days in Salt Lake City.  I especially relate to the song "I have made mistakes". It is an amazing song for someone who consistently struggles with doubts, difficulties, fears, regrets and so on. I am so glad God is bigger than me. Check them out HERE . If you want of course :)

Today I did a little exploring. Also, got a parking ticket. They are serious about getting your city parking permit just to park on the street in front of your house. Too bad I was still in my pajamas, space boots, and without proper attire in general to go outside and fight the bad parking lady. I know I need to go get those permits but people, give me a minute (please). We literally just got here. I intend on trying to appeal it. You have to go in person to appeal it... Or I'll just pay the fine because I am very non-confrontational.

We have some spring here. 

Snow dumped itself on Fort Collins. We just missed it. Instead it has been mostly spring-like here with some random rain/snow showers and very chilly winds. By all appearances, spring has arrived in Utah. So, Ingrid and I went on a little adventure. I'm still learning where things are and in general I am finding we are super close to nearly everything. So, today we walked a few blocks (with a massive hill in it) to the Gilgal Sculpture Gardens.

Not sure if this one was finished...

So, this guy named Thomas Child, made the surreal-like work in his garden. He created about a dozen sculptures and over 70 engraved stones in his later years for a retreat from the world  as well as an expression of his personal/religious beliefs. It is pretty wild. It makes you think, which is what he wanted apparently. I didn't linger too long (it was kinda creepy by oneself) and didn't see the informational pamphlet until I was on my way out. I later learned, Gilgal is from from where Joshua had the Israelites place stones in memory. Also, it's a place in the book of Mormon.

Sphinx with Joseph Smith's head.

I did not realize it was Smith's head until later as well. I had no idea what he looked like and the sphinx portion is an interesting touch. Nearly all of the flat stones were covered with quotes/thoughts/verses of his Mormon beliefs. Quite interesting although I don't share their beliefs.

Depiction of Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Daniel

Ingrid and some pointy art objects..

I like books too.

Brick pants are the best pants.

Anyways, it was a pretty interesting adventure. The garden is tucked behind houses, fairly unnoticeable except for Googlemaps labeling it for me. I can't help but wondering what Mr. Child's was thinking... His final days and finances were spent on this project.

Her face says it all. (???)

I am not really sure Ingrid enjoyed the sculpture gardens. She did enjoy walking and sniffing. We had two different sets of males holler out the window at us. I am assuming it was for Ingrid because she is quite adorable. But boys, do not call to ladies out your car windows. Aint nothing classy about that. Goodness.

After exploring, I ran a few errands. I am trying to navigate without GPS, even if it gets me a little lost. I believe I have a pretty good handle on my immediate surroundings. The grid system with all those numbers were fairly simple once it was explained to me and I drove it a few times. After errands, I made primal granola and dinner for us. Davis came home and talks about his new job. He likes to discuss all the medical terminology and equipment he is learning about because I understand it. He fixes problems on equipment I use(d) on a daily basis as a RN. I am so so so thankful he is enjoying his new job.

I am getting increasingly anxious about interviews and new jobs. Davis remains the most relaxed person I know while I am constantly a ball of nerves. Oh my poor nerves.... Makes me sound like the mom from Pride and Prejudice. Praying the doors will be very tightly locked if the job is not meant to be.

"we were born in the valley of the dead and the wicked
where our father's father fell to the crimes he'd committed
we were young when we heard you call our names in the silence
still you lead me, never leave me
never leave me"

-the oh hellos

good night dearies. 

new beginnings

Well, I have a lot to say but I am not sure where to start and how much to actually go through.

First. Congratulations to my little sister Sarah for landing her first job. AND it's the job she wanted. SUPER proud of her!

Second. I am writing now because bathroom number two has yet to be cleaned and organized. Bathrooms are not my thing. Especially hair in bathrooms.

Third. I already have two interviews for jobs lined up. One in same day surgery this friday and another for a surgery center next thursday. I also turned down two interviews due to timing. I am really freaking out by all the responses and how quickly they have come. I keep asking God to provide the job with the best fit and shut all the superfluous distracting doors. The least amount of choices for me, the better. I have Fort Collins job mentality still too. I nearly gave myself an ulcer during the drive on Friday trying to decide to go to an interview Monday morning. Finally decided to turn it down but I kept having to justify the reasons to myself. So many options now and I am unsure what I'd really like to do in nursing.

Fourth and then some...

I decided to share a few shots of the drive over. Wyoming, especially the southern portion, is lacking in green and variety. The land is wild and not a lot of people call it home. After miles and miles, we hit some slightly varied topography but no green still.

Brown...Brown...Brown... I don't recall the river actually being green

Growing up in the southeast where everything is green and rolling, Wyoming remains a difficult state for me to love. Sure the northwest corner is pretty fabulous but the rest remains mostly stark. From I-80 you can eventually see some mountain ranges off in the distance. That adds a little to the state.

First bit of Utah is much like Wyoming. These shots are lovely... (not)

 It is hard to get the timing right with an iPhone, traffic, gross windshields and the antenna. This is the best I could do for the Utah sign.

Then it starts looking like this... getting better!
(the size isn't depicted well, these were rather large)

I love the west, minus the middle of nowhere Wyoming. It is so rugged and wild. Everything is simultaneously lovely and formidable.  I cannot imagine trying to get through the terrain in a covered wagon. It's insane. If I had been a pioneer, I would have turned around or been run over by a wagon wheel long before hitting this part of the country.

MOUNTAINS! see some ski slopes? this was around Park City
(dirty windshield, due west, glare shot)

Every single picture I've taken so far just doesn't do justice for the views around these parts. This area is more beautiful that we ever thought.


So we arrived, safe and sound, but you know that already. I also tried to take pictures of the inside of the house. Honestly, how realtors take inside pictures of houses and make every room look gigantic is amazing. Mine all looked terrible and probably would have made you more confused. Davis and Eric did all the manly work of unpacking the truck while I attempted photos and setting up the kitchen. Thank you to our dear, dear friend Eric for moving us and keeping us company the first weekend in Salt Lake City. We both are praying you join us out here!

The boys checking out the yard. GARDEN BEDS. YESSSSS.

It was a perfect Friday evening. The sun was shining and the temperature was probably in high 60s/low 70s. It felt like spring. The flowers were blooming around town. Everything was alive. 

Most of the kitchen

 The only decent shot of inside the house is of the kitchen. It's about 100000x bigger than our old cozy cooking nook. We are excited to make delicious meals for people in here. As for the rest of the house, use your imagination. Or better yet, come visit us!

I am excited to say that Ingrid has now mastered the steps fully. The doggie door she can use but sometimes needs reminding that she can let her self in/out now. Way to go Ingrid! We are such proud (ridiculous) pet parents. 

She used to sit here and whine until you moved her past the narrow bend in the stairs.

 
 What else to say? I am trying to catch up to the current minute.

We adventured to Ikea on Saturday. We played and unpacked. Sunday we all went to church. That was the day I really missed the familiarity of Grace in Fort Collins. It always feels weird to be the new people. And there were a ton of kids. TONS. In about four years, the youth group will go from two to thirty it seems. Or from no youth group to a youth group. Either way, lots of young families with kids. We are looking forward to getting involved in a small group as soon as possible.

View from church to the west.

Mountains to the east too.

Sunday afternoon after a large, long, and wonderful lunch with old friends of Eric's, we took a walk up to the University of Utah campus.  Eric showed us some old stomping grounds. All of us, including Ingrid, enjoyed stretching our legs a bit.

Our neighborhood is nice. We can see mountains from our bedroom window by day. At night we can see city lights. It reminds me of living at Covenant on top of Lookout Mountain. We are excited to explore this city and area.

After the weekend, Davis started his job. Eric went back to snowy Fort Collins this morning. It's just Ingrid and I now.  I spent the morning reading news and reports from the Boston Marathon bombing. I cried a bit at how terrible we can treat each other and yet I cried even harder reading all the kind, sacrificial, and gracious responses from others. I cry more often at acts of kindness. It's just one of those weird things about me.


Okay, I must conquer the bathroom now.

final countdown

Of course if you are an Arrest Development fan, you will most likely be singing "the final countdown" by Europe in your head now. I know I am rocking some 80's hairband music in my head.

We've been busy settling into our new everything. Davis actually started work today. So soon. I did really fun things like scrub the downstairs bathroom.  We have two bathrooms. It's pretty awesome but it's two more than I'd like to clean. But before I get into the new SLC life, I need to document our final 24 hours in Fort Collins. It's mostly for my sake of processing. Which, apparently I am terrible at processing. My mom emailed me pictures of our dog from my childhood last night and it made me cry. I got through many goodbyes and driving away and all that jazz without having major waterworks. But then my mom sent me pictures of Coco and I was on the verge of crying about everything sad or hard since I was born. Anyone else ever have those moments?

Thursday. Busy full day.

Breakfast date with my dear Kristin.

It started with caramel latte (large this time) and a delicious baked good from one of my favorite places in all of Fort Collins, Little Bird Bakery. I love breakfast dates, just not too early. This girl has long been a Colorado friend. We started bonding at the hardest first job ever. I worked evenings while she worked nights and now we are friends for life.

The weather was windy and chilly with some spurts of rain as we went to pick up our moving truck. Davis drove the beast home to load it. Thankfully the rain was no more and the truck loading started. First was our couch going to Davis' former co-worker's apartment, up 7 flights of stairs (!!!!). I almost fell down our 4 steps just trying to get the couch out of the house into the truck. I did not participate in the 7 flights of stairs portion. After that incident, I hoped some help would appear. Morgan came to our rescue and in about an hour we had all we didn't need in the truck. So fast!

Just started packing, next to Old George, the giant tree with an orange ribbon.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with friends who stopped by and scarfing down food because we were starving from working. This Thursday happened to be our monthly potluck and prayer night with our small group and church. It was a special but hard night. Davis shared our great appreciation and love for the provision of sweet community for our time in Fort Collins. I couldn't speak because words came out in jumbled tears. If I could have spoken clearly then, I would have like to say something like this (abbreviated and without sobbing):

I love you all so dearly. I have seen and experienced the goodness and love of God so much more deeply through your friendships. The community and sense of family has been so deep, challenging and strong. I felt so safe and cared for yet challenged and made accountable to be increasingly bold and loving in all areas of my life. Thank you for preaching the gospel to me through your lives and words. Thankfully, there are no final goodbyes for those of us in Christ. Such sweet joy exists even in our sadness because of our eternal home. Come visit us!

We were showered in prayer. It was such a peaceful goodbye despite the tears. Afterwards we met with a few close friends at Ace Gilett's, another favorite spot, for the last hurrah. 

At about the last hour of the day, I decided to pack all the final things going in my car. Ingrid was a little distraught that nearly everything comfortable was gone. She made herself a bed out of a pile of clothes on the floor. 

Not very thrilled with all the changes.

Our last night at was spent on an air mattress. Davis and I shared our excitement, plans, fears, and joys for the past and future. Despite being uneasy and anxious, I slept quite well. The morning came quickly. Davis left to pick up our moving and travel friend, Eric. While he was out, I threw our last items into the vehicles and made sure everything was clean. Our sweet downstairs neighbors cooked us breakfast and we had an 818 family meal for the last time.

Oh Charlie.

We said "see you later" because we are planning on going to Dinosaur National Monument with them in May. Plus, it is easier to say than "goodbye".

So many wonderful memories.

Super pumped to get going. We didn't shower until AFTER unpacking in UT.

Next stop, UTAH! Never did we ever imagine we'd be living in Utah. It wasn't quit the next stop, it seems these moving trucks guzzle that gas up. We stopped twice in Wyoming.

Wacky Wyoming weather

Except for a brief but crazy snow storm around Laramie, it wasn't too bad of a trip. We pulled into our new place around 4pm. But more on all that later...






ps. this is  Coco

 

we made it!

We are in Salt Lake City!

We are sleepy and thankful. Just wanted to say hi and share the first photo I took when we arrived.

We just arrived and Ingrid was happy to be out of the car.

Thanks to Eric and Davis, the vehicles were empty in no time. We have a lot of work to do but that is totally understandble. It is weird to think this is our new home. Much to say later about our last day in Fort Collins and the trip over. Good night!

come visit us :)

this and that

Our April blizzard was kind of a dud. I'm thankful for any moisture so hopefully Colorado won't be like Mordor this summer. I'm also thankful the weather was not as blizzardy as originally threatened.  I met up with a couple (former) co-workers for lunch. If it weren't for the lunch date, I'd probably never left the house. Plus, I knew I'd be getting a delicious margarita as an incentive.

 Spring has frequent identity crises in Colorado.

I still got out and about despite my best efforts to stay inside.

No matter how much snow, I still have my southern mentality of everyone stays put and everything shuts down. It is always a let down to me that work never gets canceled for snow. It snowed off and on all day but never really accumulated to much. For this I am glad because Lora came up from Boulder to eat dinner with me. I've known this girl about four hours longer than I've known Davis. Such a blessing!

 

We ate soup because it seems like the right thing to do when it's cold.

 I am so sad we will no longer be just an hour apart. At UGA, she lived across the hall from me. Even at Ridge Haven, we often shared late night bathroom talks and prayers at camp.

Despite being sad to leave good friends behind, I have to remember to count the blessings. Davis returned today from SLC. He has orientation for his new job. HE IS SO EXCITED. I mean, Davis is probably the most enthusiatic, excitable, and optimistic human ever. But he is even MORE excited. He talked about his new job the hour plus car ride from the airport. I am so proud of him. We prayed a long time and pursued many jobs until he was hired at Bard. It is a huge answer to prayer.  We trust and know all we need will be provided. God is good.

Between packing and cleaning, we ate dinner with the Angerts. So kind of them to feed us since our kitchen is in various boxes. I tried to convince baby Lucy to make an appearance before we leave.  Unless she comes tonight, we'll miss it. It is a great excuse to come back for a visit however. We are trying to convince them to come to SLC with us. No luck yet. Returning home, we dismantled and cleaned more things. It's gross how living makes things dirty. Ingrid was very anxious during all this. She follows either Davis or I around nervously.

  Davis giving Ingrid some comfort.

This is my view when I looked up from cleaning the refrigerator. She is a needy adorable fur-child. 

At this point, our house is no longer livable. I'm just ready to get this move finished. Tomorrow we pick up our moving truck. I can't believe that is happening already. But I am very ready and at peace. Doesn't mean I won't cry but hey, that is okay.

 

ps. davis feel asleep and the computer is about to die. minimal proofreading ;)