Monday, December 29, 2014

Moving

We've been in Utah for three months now, and I'm finally getting to our move on the blog. Better later than never, I guess.

Rich and I felt all summer long that we'd be leaving Spokane. We just didn't know the circumstances of the move (kind of important, huh?). Things worked out amazingly for us in the end, with the job at Fanzz, but I think news of the move caught a lot of people off guard, especially our Spokane friends.

Moving from Spokane was perhaps the hardest move of my life. For the first time in our marriage, Rich and I felt established as our own little family unit, and a lot of that had to do with all of the friends we'd be leaving behind. We'd never been so needed in a ward before, and I absolutely loved it. We learned a lot about ourselves in Spokane and about how great it is to really throw yourself into your calling and friendships. I know we needed our time there to help us grow.

Moving from Spokane was really hard. So many people to say goodbye, too. And not just us. Norah had to say goodbye to her friends, too.

Also, I had just found out I was pregnant (on Willie Day, actually), and morning all-day sickness kicked in full blast a couple days later. Luckily a prescription for Zofran kept me from throwing up, but it did not take away the nausea.

Rich flew to Utah about a week before the move to officially interview at Fanzz (we really did this move on faith). We basically never eat fast food, so we felt we needed to document our trip to Burger King before dropping him off at the airport. And Norah was less than impressed to be without Daddy.

We spent a lot time with friends, those last few days in Spokane, Had to get our playtime in with friends while we could. Parks, visits, football games - anything we could get.


These two. Cutest best friends I've ever seen.

And then there are these two. The betrothed. Church still isn't the same without being able to sit next to Evan.

Alivia gave Norah this Anna dress as a going away present. Yeah, she loves it.

Officially saying goodbye to the Colvers. Norah was able to sneak in her first kiss.


The moving truck, all packed up. We were pretty close to leaving at least one of our couches behind, but the menfolk figured out how to get everything in.

Packing day also happened to be Edie's birthday (sorry, Edie). We celebrated the last birthday together at Tomato Street.

Moving day. Norah did really well for being stuck in the car with just me for 12 hours. I'm sure we had our freak out moments, but I don't even remember them now. (Oh wait, I do remember one. I told her we could listen to "Shake It Off," but I foolishly forgot to make sure I had decent cell service. We had several tears while it was buffering.) I don't really even remember my nausea being too bad, as long as I kept eating. I think I snacked on something about 86% of that drive.

We drove from Spokane to my parents' house in Ogden, since we still technically needed to find somewhere to live. And Rich started work literally less than 12 hours after we pulled in. The task of finding a place to live was left up to me (and I hate making even little decisions on my own), since it's not exactly kosher to ask for time off your first week.

Ogden was about an hour drive from Fanzz in Salt Lake for Rich (with traffic), so we were getting a lot less Daddy time than usual. Seeing Norah give Rich giant hugs when he got home really made me want to find a place to live fast, to cut down on his commute time and increase the family time.

Unfortunately, I didn't find a place before we had to have our moving truck returned, so Rich and my brother Tyson had to transfer everything to my uncle's trailer. (Tyson, you rock.)

I did finally find a place in Bountiful (basically right behind my dad's office). It's not exactly ideal, a little less space than our last place and definitely not fancy. But I was so pressured to find a place to live, that I jumped when this one came up. And, as far was location goes, Bountiful is just about perfect.

We moved in on the Friday after we got to Utah. Since Rich still needed to be at work, my other brother Skyler volunteered to help unload the moving truck with me during the day. (Skyler, you also rock.) We were going to try our best to get as much as we could in, although we expected that the big things would have to wait until Rich got home. We received an unexpected surprise when Sarah, who works for my dad, called her husband and their friend to come help us. With them and their dolly, we got everything in the apartment in amazing time.

I am so grateful for all of the help we had with moving, both in Spokane and in Utah.


 We got everything in, but it took forever to get it all organized. I was very little help with unpacking because I was so sick. Rich did basically all of the work, and I slept on the couch. Pregnancy sickness is the worst.

Oh man, I am so glad that the moving is done. Looking at all those boxes all over the place is giving me an anxiety attack. We're still adjusting to life in Bountiful, but we're getting there. And, of course, it has been a ton of fun being so close to so much family.

Riverside Labor Day

One Spokane tradition I'm going to miss a lot is "cheap chicken" at Riverside State Park. A couple times a year, Doug and Edie would get some fried chicken from Albertson's (which is on sale on Monday nights, hence the nickname "cheap chicken"), and we'd pack up our picnic supplies for a meal at Riverside. It was a great chance to enjoy some of Spokane's beauty and each other's company (not to mention that I absolutely love fried chicken). Our last cheap chicken in the park night was on Labor Day before we moved.


Why is it that as soon as you cut corn off the cob it is no longer delicious? At least in a two-year-old's mind.




I know that this is a sturdy bridge and all, but part of me still freaks out when she leans against the railing like this.



Throwing rocks into the water




Rich kind of had me freaking out, too. He decided to walk out as far into the river as he could on rocks. I just kept waiting for him and hundreds of dollars of camera to fall in. But I forgot that he isn't the clumsy one of the family.

I absolutely love this picture of us.



Utah has lots of great outdoor spots perfect for picnics, too. We'll need to scout them out around Bountiful when things warm up. But what I'm really going to miss is the company we had for our cheap chicken picnics.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Green Bluff Peaches

I feel like peach season in Spokane started a little earlier this year and lasted a little longer than usual, which was perfectly fine with me. Freshly picked peaches are my favorite fruit, probably because you can really only get them for such a short amount of time each year, making them all that more special.

We decided to hit up Green Bluff in late August to take advantage of pick-them-yourselves peaches. I hope you're prepared for a serious Norah overload here because I could not pick favorites.


I love Norah's face here. "Mom, why aren't you picking?"

We had to give this one some lessons on how to be gentle with the peaches. "You can't just throw them in the bucket!"

This daddy is making sure his little girl has an appropriate love of peaches and all things Willie Day (for a little more info about this wonderful holiday, visit this link).

Muscles, obviously
 
 We took over the peach carrying soon after this to protect our precious peaches.


Be still, my heart.

Told you, Norah overload. But these pictures are just way too cute!