We Have Moooooooved!!!

(Editor's Note: I sincerely apologize that it has taken me SO long to blog about our move away from Oklahoma. I haven't really felt the pressure to blog, just because most of you heard the news on Facebook and what not, but still... I am a tad ashamed that it's been three weeks since my last blog post. If anything could be described as a "whirlwind of a move," then this would be it!)

Anyway... WE HAVE MOVED! As of last Saturday Tim and Jean became official, full-time residents of Salt Lake City/Murray, Utah. That's right, we're back in Utah! I guess this could be considered Chapter 4 of the forthcoming book, Tim and Jean's Bizarre Habit of Randomly Hopping around These United States. If you recall, the book's table of contents already looks something like this:

Chapter 1 - From Pennsylvania to Utah: Three Years at BYU
Chapter 2 - From Utah to California: Three and a Half Years at Art Center
Chapter 3 - From California to Oklahoma: Ten Short Months at the 2015 Studio

Yep... we were in Tulsa for only TEN MONTHS. I could go into an extensive amount of detail, but that would be extremely undiplomatic of me. So, let's just say that Tim's job was... um... "not an optimal experience." We'd actually been in search of a new job for quite a while when Tim's old Art Director from the California internship suddenly contacted him about an opening at his current workplace, Electronic Arts in Salt Lake. (Right there is a perfect reason to NEVER burn bridges with former employers!)

Anyway, the timing could not have been more stressful and, ultimately, more perfect. We were JUST about to move into another apartment in Tulsa (and sign a new lease) when one Tuesday evening this fellow got in touch with Tim. Over the course of the next four days, Tim spoke with other Art Directors and recruiters at the company, completed an art test, and made arrangements to fly out for a block of rapid-fire onsite interviews. Those interviews took place on March 16th; on March 18th we got an official job offer, on March 19th we scheduled our move, on March 20th we said goodbye to everyone at church, on March 21st we secured a place to live and packed last-minute items, on March 22nd we loaded the moving truck and cleaned the apartment, and on March 23rd we said goodbye to Tulsa and began our three-day roadtrip. PHEW!!!

(Oh, and the best move-related decision we made during this whole process? Hiring moving helpers to load the truck. So worth it. The worst decision? NOT hiring cleaners to clean our apartment. We spent EIGHT HOURS that Tuesday cleaning, cleaning, and cleaning some more.)

So, it was pretty nuts. The drive from Oklahoma to Utah was tiring but fortunately uneventful; rather than making it into a fun, sightseeing roadtrip like our previous move, we just wanted to GET HERE, so we didn't make many stops besides bathroom breaks and meals. And I didn't take any pictures at all!! What is wrong with me? Well, here are a couple that I found from our last days in Tulsa:

This is Weston displaying his "big belly" just like Mommy's: And this is the very last photograph that we took in Tulsa... Weston lying on me, having a milk break while watching a movie on Tim's laptop in what used to be our master bedroom. (WOW! LOOK AT THAT BIG BELLY!!!)
Anyway, the roadtrip was fast and furious (minus Vin Diesel). However, there was one HUGE highlight of the whole thing: seeing my good good friend Lisa in Denver, whom I haven't seen in almost FIVE YEARS!!! AHHH!!! I also got to meet her two beautiful little boys, whom I've only ever seen on her blog!!! AHHH!!! Lisa and I originally met when we were both living in the married student housing complex at BYU, and we've kept in touch ever since, thanks to blogs. (By the way, she is a blogger extraordinaire. Click HERE to see her blog post about our get-together!) We met up at a Costco just off the freeway for lunch (best idea ever), and it was so wonderful to see her IN PERSON and catch up a bit. And I got to cuddle Aaron!! And I got to see Jonathan demonstrate his mad signing skills!! And even though Weston was terrifically exhausted and had a major crying meltdown, Lisa was totally blase about it and did not mind AT ALL!! Seriously, this girl is awesome. Must... hang out... AGAIN!!!

Okay... I will try to calm down a bit. But seriously, I get so excited when I get to see distant friends again. It is the greatest thing ever. :-) Moving on...

We finally arrived in Utah on March 25th and stayed with Tim's aunt and uncle for the night. (YAY!!! So good to see them, too!!!) Then we moved into our new place the next day, which was just about a week ago now. And guess what... Tim's younger brother Chris helped us!!! And our good, formerly-Oklahoma friend Cole helped us!!! Squee!!! I don't need to go into too much detail about how awesome these people are, since we are determined to spend as much time with them as possible, and they will certainly be discussed on this blog again.

Anyway, we've spent the past week unpacking, arranging, collapsing boxes, eating at Cafe Rio, buying a washer/dryer, buying new curtains, setting up internet, and all that fun move-in stuff. Tim started his new job a week ago, and so far, SO GREAT (thank you God). I, on the other hand, have been a bit of a hermit, staying indoors with Weston and generally attempting to get settled in. This upcoming week, though, I think it's time to put on makeup again and see some of my fabulous friends whom we are so lucky to now live near. What a huge, huge blessing from God that we have this new, wonderful opportunity in our lives. Our gratitude is boundless.

Although this move has been 100% welcome, and although there are numerous things that make living in Utah again really, really great, I have to admit that there are parts of me that were reluctant to say goodbye to Oklahoma. So, here's a brief recap of our time there:

# months: 10

# apartments: 1

# jobs: Tim=1, Jean=2

# church callings: 1 each

# times invited to another church: 3 (I thought the "buckle of the Bible belt" would be a little more intense)

# new student loans: 0

# student loans entering repayment: 15

# new cars: 1

# dead cars: 1

# new teeth: 1 (Jean)

# babies: 0

# pregnancies: 1

# tornadoes: 0 (whaaat?)

# tornado warnings: 1

# ma'ams: too many to count

# months potty-training: 6-ish

# friend/family visitors: 0 (okay, we get that Tulsa is NOT Los Angeles)

# trips to nearby Bartlesville: 1

# trips to Oklahoma City, Branson, and other tourist destinations: 0 (whoops)

# fave restaurants: 7

Things I'm going to miss:

-Braum's. This fast-food restaurant/market has the BEST milk that I've ever tasted. Even the skim is delightfully creamy. Plus, Weston is obsessed with the "blue ice cream" (birthday cake flavor), which he always tops with M&Ms. All three of us have loved our frequent visits to Braum's.

-Other favorite restaurants: Chopsticks (really excellent Chinese), Brewburger (really excellent burgers, including buffalo), and Chick-Fil-A. Yes, I know that Salt Lake City has Chick-Fil-A restaurants also, but this one was about five minutes from our apartment. I'm pretty sure that I went every other week, if not every week sometimes. I heart Chick-Fil-A.

-The Oklahoma Aquarium. It's no Monterey Bay or Aquarium of the Pacific, but we bought memberships and it became a really fun place to explore with Weston. I think he has a strong appreciation for ocean life (especially sharks and eels) thanks to this facility.

-Clouds. Tim and I have witnessed some truly spectacular clouds across the Oklahoma skies, the likes of which I've rarely seen before. I'm going to miss running out onto our balcony to marvel at that beauty.

-Ma'am. EVERYONE says ma'am in Oklahoma (and throughout the South, I guess). It is so polite and respectful, and it's spectacular to me that even boys and young men say it. (One time, a ten-year-old at the pool called me "ma'am," which left me flabbergasted.) It's a lovely custom that was really nice to experience for a little while.

Things I'm REALLY going to miss:

-Splash pads. Splash pads (outdoor water play areas) abound in the Tulsa area, probably because temperatures reach above 100 degrees in the summertime. It has been so wonderful to sit in the shade and watch Weston run around with other kids and get soaked. Last summer he was so adorable in his little Buzz Lightyear bathing suit, and I'm just hoping that we can find some good splash pads here to fill in the void left by all the great ones there.

-Pool. Our apartment was just a hop-and-a-skip away from the apartment complex pool, and I was always astounded that we could just don our bathing suits, walk down some steps, and arrive at a swimming pool. We went ALL the time last summer, and I'm really going to miss that easy access.

-Childcare options. Mornings Out for Moms at Kirk of the Hills ($10 for 2.5 hours of what was basically pre-preschool); MOPS (twice a month childcare for Weston and socializing/crafting with other awesome mommas for me); Playtime+ (drop-in daycare at any time)... I was lucky to discover so many awesome "mom" amenities in Tulsa.

-Farrell Family Bread. This might sound blasphemous to my L.A. friends, but I think I found a better bread bakery in Tulsa than I ever found in Pasadena. Farrell Family Bread is SPECTACULAR. I would always buy the crusty Tuscan loaf, but sometimes I would arrive just as hot croissants were coming out of the oven, and of course would throw in a couple of those with my order. Fresh, delicious, masterful, organic breads... I will really miss that place.

Things that I am absolutely HEARTBROKEN about losing:

-Bounce U. This may sound silly, but Weston and I had some of our happiest bonding moments at this inflatable bouncy place. There were the occasional tantrums and meltdowns, but he and I had so much fun bouncing, chasing, climbing, and sliding together. He LOVED going to Bounce U, and I loved telling him that we were going to go. Their twice-weekly preschool playtime was perfect for his schedule, and I also have to give a shout-out to the employees, who actually (and happily) play with the kids. It's a great, great place!!!

-Dr. Williamson. I'm really, really going to miss my obstetrician. He is not only the best OB that I've ever had, but he's also the best doctor that I've ever interacted with... period. I don't know how to describe him, except to say that he was always warm, friendly, and interested. He never seemed rushed (even though I know he had scores of patients to see each day), and he always wanted to hear any questions or concerns that I had. He was just really loving and laid-back, and I'm truly disappointed that he won't be delivering our little nugget. (P.S. I took him a Tuscan loaf from Farrell Family Bread on my last appointment, and he and I discussed our mutual love of their bread.)

-Friends. I found a lot of amazing people in Tulsa, and I'm really going to miss them. Fortunately for me, a lot of them visit Utah, so it's not completely hopeless! However, it's hard to say goodbye to friends again and again when you move all the time. I wish I could just put everyone in my pocket and bring them with me wherever I go. (Thank goodness for blogs and Facebook, at least.)

-The young women in my ward. Having a church calling with the youth is challenging, but being able to befriend young women at the time in their lives when they're figuring out who they are is priceless. Thinking about how much they inspire me and how much I'm going to miss them makes me want to cry sometimes. They are such good people in a tough, critical world. I cherish them all very much. (And hopefully some of them will come to Utah, too!)

Okay... in order to not become TOO depressed, I thought I'd also throw in a list of a few things about Utah that I'm really excited for:

-Cafe Rio (gone three times already)

-Mountains!! Glorious, snow-capped mountains!!

-Hikes, campgrounds, lakes, and all that lovely outdoorsy stuff

-Family members nearby!

-Friends nearby! (Friends who I actually ALREADY know!)

-Banbury Cross doughnuts

-Cafe Rio

-Ikea (gone twice already)

-In N Out chocolate milkshakes

-Temple Square

-Chick-Fil-A, which I will continue to frequent

-Pier 49's Nob Hill pizza

-Costco (getting a membership tomorrow)

-Cafe Rio

-Being within a one-day drive of Southern California (Diiiiisneeeeeylaaaaand......)

-Being within a one-minute drive of church (...Utah...)

-Having a yard! (Yes, our little duplex has a backyard. It's the size of a ping-pong table, but it's an actual enclosed yard. I can't believe it.)

-Cafe Rio

-Cafe Rio

Anyway, that's the story. We're here, we're settled, and we're ready to have lots of fun. Oh, and that new baby is supposedly coming in just a few weeks. :-)

Finally, here are a couple photos of the snow play today. (Tim and Weston are standing in our "driveway" in front of the carport. This is the first time ever that we've had a driveway instead of a parking spot.)

Tim getting ready to wallop Weston:

Weston preparing his counter-attack: