the move: the story

I am a firm believer that God is in control; that he will direct us and guide us if we let Him.  There are several happenings that lead us to where we are now, and for the sake of record keeping I want to share them here.  Come along with me if you're interested, and let's rewind back to 2007.  

Cody and I were a newly engaged couple looking for a little place to call home once we were married.  We had looked into a few options and set up an appointment to check out a little old house near USU's campus that was up for rent.  We showed up for the appointment, but the owner/landlord did not.  We called them, no answer.  So we waited a few minutes and then went on our way.  A couple doors up the road, we saw a sign hung on a front door of a charming little house, "basement apartment for rent."  So we thought, "why not?"  We knocked on the door, and met Doug, our future landlord.  He said he had just hung the sign an hour earlier.  Well we lived there for two years while we finished our undergrads.  Doug was great.  Strict, firm, a little rough around the edges, but we liked him.  He was a fabulous landlord and became a friend of ours (kinda happens when someone lives right above you through the ups and downs of newlywed life).  Then we said our goodbyes and were off for our next big adventure in Indiana.

Fast forward 4 years.  Cody was graduating dental school.  We had a fabulous job lined up in Green River, Wyoming.  We sold our home and had started making arrangements for our move out West.  We were so excited to live near family!  Well after a complication with the postal office, our application for a WY dental license arrived one day late.  One day!  Our application was not accepted and we would have to wait until February to re-apply.  NO WAY!!!  Our life was in complete limbo!  We quickly found a rental home, a new job in Indiana, easily acquired an Indiana dental license (come on WY!), and moved 2 miles away.  We love Indiana so much, and are so glad we got an extra year!:)

We continued to make plans for a move to Wyoming.  Our job was put on hold and we took all the necessary steps to file for licensing once again.  As time went on we started to have our doubts.  As much as we wanted to live near our families and have the opportunity to own a practice in just a couple years, something just wasn't settling right.  We had a hard time really picturing our lives there.  We just didn't see it.

Well Christmas rolled around and we were sending cards and thought we might send one to Doug.  We had sent him one a few years before, but didn't always include him on the address list. Well this year we did, and Doug sent us a sweet note back.  He mentioned briefly that he might have a lead for us in sunny Gilbert, Arizona if we wanted to escape the cold Indiana winter.  Ummm yeah!  So we gave him a call and he directed us to his son-in-law who owns a practice in Gilbert and was looking for an associate to hire on so he could expand his practice and eventually sell his practice.  After just one phone call, we knew this was it.  Everything felt right.  Cody flew out to Arizona in February (the same week he would have been sitting for the WY licensing exam) to meet the doc and see his practice.  Everything was great, all that we had hoped for really:)

It may look like a lot of coincidences that lead us to AZ, but I like to think that each of these events was Heavenly Father's way of getting us to a place we could settle down and raise our family.  A place that felt like home.  A place where we could learn, grow, serve, and live the life we had envisioned for ourselves. 

So we made our plans for a cross-country move.  Landon was due to arrive in May so we decided to move in June.  Packing while extremely pregnant and then with a newborn and two other littles is no fun.  Cody was a total rock star and packed a lot of the house.  I focused mainly on organizing, planning, moving/travel arrangements, etc.  Oh it was a crazy time in our life.

We managed to have a few last outings with our dear friends.  The Hammers hosted a little goodbye party for us for one last hurrah with our ward family.  So hard to say goodbye to people we have grown to love dearly and learned so much from along the way.

a few last minute pictures

The dental office was really sad to see Cody go.  They had a great year together and learned a lot along the way. 

Going out to lunch one last time

Cody did his best to keep things light and fun (work can be draining at times).  The office had tons of inside jokes/memories and filled this box with all sorts of things to remember them by.

Things started to hit me when I saw this massive beast parked in our driveway.  So hard to leave a place you've called home for 5 out of your 7 years of marriage!

she's ready to hit the road!

packing up

Cody and his Dad took the road towards Arizona... split up over 3 days.

The kids, myself, and my dear parents loaded up in the van and took the road towards Utah... also split into 3 days.

The kids did great!  We kept things fun with an hourly grab bag... with a surprise snack/activity/treat hidden indside.  They loved it!!

 Day two of our excursion.  Family selfie!  (definitely a tight squeeze with 3 littles)

While I did a load of laundry in the hotel laundry room (ya know.. from the side effects of motion sickness, accidents, spit up, etc. that happen on the road), the grandparents took Jaden and Brielle swimming.

They had the entire pool to themselves and were in heaven!  So nice to get out of the van and stretch and play for awhile!:)

There was one glorious hour of this:)

We made a couple stops along the way to say hi to Kimber/Max in NE as well as Mom Cutler in WY.
Kimber spoiled us with fresh fruit and tons of snacks for the road.  The kids loved a little cousin play time before hitting the road again.

Cody stopped in Albuquerque, NM to say hi to my SIL Sarah and the kiddos!
We loved seeing family along the way!!

We arrived in Utah the same night as my sister, Marianne, and her family.  So fun to have lots of cousin time.  Jordynn was Landon's little mommy.  She held him, made sure he had his paci, etc.  So cute to watch:)


I visited with a of couple friends (Lacey and Lindsey) while in town.  Loves these gals so much!

friends reunited!

It had been over 2 years since I saw this amazing friend of mine!

gotta meet the babes (blowing spit bubbles of course)

My sis and I had to visit a classic park from our childhood days... Bigfoot Park.  Although it looked totally different!
The kiddos had a great time!

Bri had so much fun with Jordynn.  She was so sweet to look out for her:)

on the go!

hangin' with Jordynn (and struttin' Bri's headband;)

My kiddos call this guy Grandpa Star (only obvious choice with a Grandma Moon too:)

He never misses an opportunity to spend more time with his grandkids... love him so much.

many memories exploring these woods as a kid :)

Jordynn . Logan.  Jaden

these 3 had a lot of fun playing all week

Meanwhile, Cody was busy in Arizona with Dad C unpacking and getting us as settled in as possible:)

Thanks for the park pics, Mar!

More to come: 4th of July in Utah and Mom Moon's 60th Birthday Celebration!