This Is The Place

We are now residing in Utah! Matt got the job at IM-Flash in Lehi, Utah, and has been working there now for two weeks. We are also going to be moving into our condo sometime in the next week or so. Our household items are on a truck, heading to UT from VA, and are guaranteed a delivery date before November 9th. Our new address is: ask me if you'd like it.  Here is an outside shot of our new place that we are renting for a time.

Matt and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary by going to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, which is just a 5 minute drive from our new residence! We are so excited to have a temple so close! In almost 16 years, we haven't lived less than 2 hours away from a temple. We will attend often! We must not take it for granted how easy it is to go do temple work.



The cousins hanging out on Grandma's bed. Cameron, Nathan, and Sarah get along perfectly. Sarah has been waiting for the time when she could be closer to her cousins. Our biggest advantage and blessing in living in UT, is that Sarah will get to see her cousins more often. She may even get a trip down to Las Vegas, NV, in the near future, to go visit her cousins on Matt's side. She has yet to meet the three cousins there. We only live an 8 hour drive from Matt's sister and family. We are close, relatively speaking! No pun intended!





Playing in the Autumn Leaves!


Sarah and I met up with an old friend who lives closer to Salt Lake City. She and I knew each other and become close friends while in Junior High. We have kept in touch since our graduation from High School. I saw her again, after 15 years of not living anywhere near her, last year. We made a trip out to Utah for my nephew's baptism, so made time to see each other and have our kids meet. Kim Swensen has a son, named Cody, who is now 6 years old. We met up a couple of weeks ago at an amazing old park (thank you for introducing us to Discovery Park, Lindsay!), chatted, ate a picnic lunch, and watched the kids play for 2 hours while we chatted some more. It was a great outing for the moms and for the kids, who get along great!

The Trek To Utah

I must update you on the turn of events for our family! I have not been updating this blog, but feel I should mention our whereabouts and major life changes that are happening at this time.

Matt retired from the USAF, officially, on August 28th. He was on terminal leave until then (since the end of May), so we were still seeing a paycheck and living as we have normally done. During the summer, Matt sent resumes to hundreds of prospective employers, but nothing turned up. So, we are now officially in the unemployed catergory that many other Americans face at this time in this bad economy. We moved from Virginia and are now trekking west to be where we have family and a good support network during this stressful time.

We are actually in New Mexico at this time, visiting Matt's parents and living in limbo while Matt continues trying to land a job. Matt's parents have been kind and generous in having us stay with them. We thought it would be a good thing to come this way to visit to let them see Sarah and to let Sarah have a good, month long visit with her grandparents and Heidi, their dog, who Sarah absolutely loves and adores! (I think we may have to get a dog sometime when we are settled somewhere!) We have had a nice visit and have seen some sights around the Las Cruces area, as well as hanging around and living the everyday life in someone elses home. Here are a just a few of the pictures we have taken during our stay here with The Turnbaughs:

Grandpa, Grandma, and Sarah at the White Sands National Park


The three of us at the top of a sand dune at the White Sands National Park


Sarah on top of a sand dune


The sand dunes. It looks so much like snow! It feels like the sands of a untouched beach on the bare feet, however! Amazing!!!


Here is a photo of Sarah at the Farm and Ranch Museum in Las Cruces. This photo took place in a big play room they had for the kids in the museum. Sarah is on a see-saw. (More photos will have to come as we download from our other camera. These photos are from our cell phones, so were quick to post here.)


We are actually heading to Utah on the 29th of September, in order for Matt to get to an interview he has in Lehi, UT, with a company called IM-Flash. They are paying for our travels there, so that is a nice "gesture". We were going to be driving our two cars that way anyway, so our stay in NM is only cut short by a week. We are trying to stay neutral about the possibility of getting the job there in UT. We will live with my parents in American Fork, UT, for as long as is needed, until we can get situated and can afford to get our own place. My parents are also wonderful and generous in having us "live" with them, temporarily. We will stay in their finished basement, which is in the process of being finished, even as I write this. They are bending over backwards to get it ready before our arrival. Thank you, Mom and Dad!!!! So, next time I post here, it will be from Utah and from our temporary address, which I'll post here: 111 South 930 East, American Fork, UT, 84003

Matt and Sarah went on a daddy-daughter date while I was busy with some errands and appointments. Matt took her to a park nearby that Sarah hadn't been to and then took her to lunch to a restaurant Matt had not tried yet. It had a NASCAR theme, thus, Sarah standing in front of a car out front. Look at that funny little smile! Daddy says the company was great, but the food and service were not worth mentioning or ever trying out again.

Sarah was actually scared of this little water boat ride! She is quite nervous about getting wet. She was mad and upset when she realized, at the head of the line, that she was going to need to ride this alone while Daddy helped her in and out and was right next to her waiting. Daddy was not thrilled that he would have to get in with her to even get her on. Matt had a heck of a time trying to get in and out of that tiny little kiddie boat. It was quite amusing seeing this big, burly guy on this little boat meant for small people. Sarah is clinging to him with all her might with her head down in this photo.

Oscar's Whirly Worms with Daddy

The Prince Elmo Spire tickles the tummy!! Do you see how little she looks in that seat?!

A couple of these photos from Busch Gardens have a friend of ours, Kelcie Carlson, riding the rides with Sarah. Kelcie and Adam have become friends of ours here in Virginia, and Sarah adores them both. We were all together at the park, taking turns riding with Sarah while a couple of us were off getting a ride on the adult roller coasters. Sarah, Kelcie, and I were in the Sesame Street Forest (kids' section of the park) for awhile while the boys rode a few "big kid" rides. Sarah was excited to ride the rides with Kelcie and one time with Adam on the Grover coaster (as we call it - I can't remember the actual name). As you can see by the fearless smiles, she had fun and has become our little thrill seeker. She rode the roller coaster 7 times that day (not all in a row)! She kept begging for more!