Living in Utah

It’s about time for an update I think. I’ve been in Utah for 4 months (ish) and the kids have been here for two. I should probably write down how we’re doing, how we’re adjusting, how we feel about the whole change.

So here it is in a nutshell.

We have mixed feelings.

Things we like…

Battle Creek Falls hike with the Cub Scouts

• The mountains and the beauty they offer. We love to go for drives and hikes. We even have a “Scenic Drive” playlist on my iPhone with grand sweeping orchestral music and invigorating instrumental solos and duets. It fits well with most things that we see around here.
• Our condo. It’s very nice. I’m in love with the granite counter tops. It’s by no means the 3 story, 5 bedroom, 4 bathroom house we just left, but the rooms are good sized and it’s a lovely home.
• I like my job. I mean I really like it. I’m surprisingly good at it, and I also love the people I work with. I already have some amazing friends that are part of my life because of work. Love it.
• Macey’s has ice cream cones for 49 cents. That’s pretty awesome. We also have a cheap but still fairly nice movie theater near us. And there’s a great park on the other side of town. I also swear that people in this valley are addicted to shaved ice. There are more shaved ice places per capita than there were ice cream/ yogurt places per capita in Perrysburg. And that, my friends, is a lot.
• It cools off at night. Seriously. You can open the windows and it feels cooler. Amazing J
• Close to other family. We’ve seen Dave’s family more in the past few months than almost the entirety of the time since he died. That will be very nice. My aunt Lisa has a few kids close to my kid’s ages and they are becoming good friends, which makes me happy. Lisa is also great at hooking my kids up with people she knows to create friend circles for them.  I love hanging out with my cousin Susan who is also single and a year older than me. Getting to know and love my extended family more.
• People. For me it’s always about people. We already have amazing people in our lives. Good friends and great experiences that Heavenly Father has allowed to be part of our lives for what I am sure will be a good reason. I also got to reconnect with a few old friends; Emily has been my friend for almost 20 years and Brenda and I have been friends since I was 14. I was at her house the other day, and we were marveling how really extraordinary it is that after all this time whenever we get together, it doesn’t feel any different. We’re older are wiser and busier, but we are still friends. That is kind of cool.

Things we don’t like…

• It crowded here. There are half a million people in this valley. It can get a little congested.
• It’s hot. And dry.
• It’s not Ohio. And Ohio is what’s familiar. This part is more about what we miss about Ohio and not about what Utah is lacking. We miss people we love, rainstorms, the color green…
• My kids miss the dog. They talk to my parents and spend the whole time asking about Oogie. Sheesh.
• My kids also sorely miss their friends. It’s a tough transition. Especially for the older two. Paul’s (surprisingly) pretty dang fantastic at finding common ground with others and building on that. Maryn (surprisingly), not so much.  She wants a best friend, and she wants one yesterday. That’s when she grieves most the relationships she left behind.
• I think Paul actually misses early morning seminary. Release time is nice for the sleep factor, but you just don’t build the same kind of relationships with your class as you do in those early morning hours.
• I don’t have a piano. Boo.

Things that the jury is still out on…

• Our ward. There are parts of our ward we enjoy (the people are very nice, Paul’s Young Men’s president is awesome, they have plenty going on) and other parts we struggle with (we don’t fit into the demographic well…lots of young families and retired couples, very small youth program, lots of folks moving in and out very quickly and often ).
• School. But that’s to be expected. My kids have teachers they adore, and teachers they “less-than-adore”. It’s getting better every day I think, but it’s still a change.
• Having mom work full time. This is a new thing for us. And it’s taken some getting used to. And there have been a few meltdowns to work through some emotions. They like that we have more money (in theory) and having our own home again. But it’s a struggle for all of us when I miss things because of work.  Moments mostly, not major events. Moments I’ve always been privy to, but now…I just miss them.