Now We Live in UTAH...Info Overload

If I said this week had been easy, that’d be a complete lie. My stress level was probably comparable to my first week home with 2 kids. That’s all better now, but let me explain the goings-on for the last week and a half…

Mom and Mara arrived last Tuesday. We’d just returned from vacation the previous Saturday, so there wasn’t a lot of time to rest up. Since our car only seats 5, we didn’t drive anywhere all together. We took 2 trips to get everyone to church! We did go on some walks together and to the pool a couple of times. Even in the hottest weather of the summer, the water in Idaho never quite gets to the “bathwater” warm that I’m used to!

We started packing on Friday and worked Saturday and Monday to get it all done. Lots of people came to help load, so it went very quickly. We’re really going to miss our Nampa ward. It’s been the absolute best. I even got to go visiting teaching on Sunday, which was bittersweet.

We left on Tuesday, the 14th, to make our epic journey to Vernal. It couldn’t have been better. Mom and Mara were able to help with the kids, so we only had to stop twice, a miracle, considering that the drive took us 9 ½ hours. The evening was rough, mainly because the kids hadn’t slept well in the car and nobody could find anything. Once Kenny started screaming and refused to eat, I retreated to my (empty) room, sat in the corner, and cried. I felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. Thankfully, he was just overtired, and he went to sleep soon after I got in the room. I wish I could say that I slept well, but that never happens on my first night in a strange place.

Wednesday was a rough day. We had to drive 2 ½ hours (so 5 round trip) to return our truck in Green River, WY. The drive was gorgeous, but the kids were whiny. I don’t blame them. I felt the same about making another trip! However, the trip to WY saved us about 400 bucks. Thank you, Budget! I wish that Mom and Mara had been around still, but I dropped them off before we left at the Vernal airport (now officially the smallest airport I’ve ever seen). Once we returned and unpacked some more, I went on the most depressing shopping trip ever. I have discovered that living in a small town in another state means that everything costs more. So lame. I didn’t get everything on my list, and I’m really missing Winco right now because of its huge selection, especially in produce. Thank goodness for Bountiful Baskets. I’m signing up for one as soon as we have internet. I’m going to have to shop at 2 stores and pay attention to sales to pay what I paid in Idaho.

Thursday and Friday were teacher work days for James. I finished unpacking and even did some cooking. It’s great to have fresh bread in the house again.

We got library cards at the brand new library! It’s only been open for 2 weeks! I have to brag: they let you check out movies for 3 weeks, and the fees are only 10 cents a day. Heaven.

It’s been nice and cool so far. I don’t need AC, which is great, because we don’t have one. The climate here is right between Nampa and Rexburg, so I think it will be pretty nice. I’m getting used to washing dishes by hand. I’ll miss my dishwasher every single day, though. We did manage to get a washer and dryer in Nampa before moving, thanks to Dad checking craigslist. 125 bucks! I love good deals. James got it all hooked up with Dad’s help.

There’s still a lot left to do paper-wise, but we’re enjoying our small town so far. We are most definitely in the middle of nowhere, but the view is really nice.

Saturday was another low point for me. I’d reached a point of exhaustion by afternoon after such a hard week (and a bunch of laundry that I finally got to!), so I tried to read. I ended up falling asleep instead, so I missed out on a good opportunity to go to the library and use the internet before it closed. I tried going to McDonald’s instead, but I ended up leaving because of a creepy guy who wouldn’t leave me alone. If I’d been thinking straight, I would have realized that he was a little challenged, but he was asking me where I lived and if I would “be his”. (So glad I’m married!) Anyway, I left because he was being really distracting, and I was really hungry since it was so late. I got absolutely nothing done, which is why this blog post happened now instead of on Saturday!

Our ward seems pretty nice. The building is really close by, of course. There are a few other families that live in our complex, which is nice. Joseph already has a new friend to play with. She’s 3 ½, which is perfect, because his last “best friend” was also an older girl. He still misses her and asks about her almost every day. It’s cute. We will be going to the park tomorrow with the other young moms in the ward.

Vernal definitely lives up to its name for being “Utah’s Dinosaur Land”. There are dinosaurs everywhere, even on the street signs! I think it’s kind of cool. One of these days, I will take a pic of all the dinos I can find, especially the big pink one with long eyelashes.

the Uintah Basin, as it's called

temple

more scenery

makeshift entertainment center

and recliner...which fell apart soon after

new kitchen (which is actually ancient, esp. the floor. yuck)

dining

bath w/ a new shower curtain. (finally replaced after 3 yrs!)

bath. closet

my bedroom

boys' room

shoe organizer, version 2.0

office/ man cave

linen closet

living room from the front door

living room from the hallway

first ever coat closet

Thanks for reading! If you didn't, I don't blame you. :)