It's been a while, I know. Somehow taking on a journal, scrapbook, and a blog seems to overwhelm me. So I take a sabbatical every once in a while. Maybe I shouldn't do all three. Or maybe I love doing all of them. I guess I will take hit and miss entries.
Let's see. Summer. I began my Master's of Taxation program at Weber State University. I took 2 classes first quarter (12 hours) and three classes second quarter (18 hours). Let's be honest. I loved it. I ate it all up. I am really glad I started in summer. Summer quarters are so much better than semesters. I really wanted to get a 4.0, but hey life is hard. I got one measly -A. I am actually really excited about it. And I might be bragging a little. *high fives self* I also work part time at El Matador. That's all I will say on that matter in order to maintain my badge as a good employee. *palm to face*
Chase was also full time in school, and he started a new job! He worked at Target for about 3-4 months. Our friend Riley works in HR there and Chase had been thinking about a job at a bigger company for a while for various reasons. When the opportunity arose, he took it! He started work everyday at 4 am. Yep, AM. He worked anywhere from 4-9 hours a day, and then school. He took it like a champ too. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out as far as what Chase was looking for (like, um, sleeping at all), so he ended up leaving about a week ago.
Chase also left Sonora Grill. He worked there for over two years and he really did love it. Good food, good people, and good money. He began phasing out of Sonora a couple months ago by taking fewer shifts, and finally pulled the trigger a few weeks ago (that's right, he was working weekend nights AND 4 AM shifts at target and full time school). This kids is like a 6 ringed circus when it comes to how much he can handle at once. He makes me look bad! Did I mention he taught a spanish class once a week during all of this too? As of 3 days ago, Chase started at Utah Broadband as a technician. Our friend Lee who works at UBB recommended Chase. When the big guys saw his resume, they were surprised. Chase has no experience in this field. But Lee paid Chase the ultimate compliment, "We can teach a tech how to do the work, but we can't teach them work ethic. Chase has work ethic." Lee is a great friend, and he is spot on about Chase. It has been really fun to see Chase get so excited about this new opportunity, and I am really proud of him. Annnnd to top it all off, Chase has a golfing buddy whom he has been working with on the side. Since we have been married, Chase has been full time in school and juggling two-three jobs. And he does so beautifully.
I cannot write about summer without including our anniversary. What a day. What a weekend. It began Friday night at USANA Amphitheater at the Tim McGraw concert. Us kiddos bought tickets for Mom for her birthday in April, and we were finally celebrating. We also happened to pick up a gorgeous dresser in Salt Lake that night. After the concert we went straight up to Park City. Then next morning, June 15th, we found an adorable bagel shop for breakfast. A sweet lady was flustered behind the counter until Chase spoke to her in her native language, Spanish. The relief on her face and my husbands sweet smile was the perfect beginning to the day. Then we went on a shopping spree at the outlets. Chase and I are not huge shoppers, until we spend a weekend in Park City. I pretty much go weak in the knees when I walk into the Banana Republic outlet, and I think Chase experiences the same thing when he goes in the Nike outlet. My favorite part of the day was likely the bike ride that followed. Chase, who has done a lot of road biking, was very patient with me. I hadn't been on a road bike for a long time. I spent 10 minutes leaning against Chase, on my bike, practicing clipping in and out. But the next hour was complete bliss. We road and road. We ended up on the top of a hill that over looks the city. I specifically remember thinking, "This is the best days of my life so far." And it was. There are just some days that stick out in my mind that are overflowing with emotion for how much I love Chase and how happy I am with our life. This was definitely one of those days. We then had dinner at a gorgeous steak and sushi house, Lespri, and ended the day buying a bunch of treats and getting a red box. What a day. I love my husband and, maybe more importantly, my husband makes me feel loved.
More exciting news--we moved! I am so in love with our new place, I can't stand it. It's fabulous. I was able to buy a real dining table, real sofa and love seat set, and a KING bed. I was twitter-pated during the whole process. KSL and I became really close, and I got some steals of deals. Aside from the shopping spree, the apartment itself is perfect for Chase and I. It has two bedrooms rather than one. The master is twice as big as our old room. Seriously, twice. With a king bed in there, I can still do aerobics without any issues... but I haven't yet. The second bedroom serves as our office/ Chase's closet/ man cave. I have room to do scrapbooking (it takes up more room than one might think) and Chase has room to keep his golf clubs, road bike, and a manly leather recliner all situated on his side of the room. We also keep Chase's clothes in the second bedroom. That's right, we each get our own closets. That may not be novel to some, but I just came from an apartment with, literally, an 18 inch by 24 inch closet. Total. No bueno. I now have two full sized closets and three smaller closets (three!) at my disposal. And my do I dispose them. We call one of the small ones "the garage." There is enough room in there to keep all four pairs of our skies, boots, poles, our vacuum, broom, mop, and my yoga mat. And it doesn't even look like a game of tetris/janga either. My favorite part about the apartment is that everything I own can fit in it. I don't have to make trips to a storage unit anymore; priceless. My other favorite part is I have a double wide vanity and a full sized shower and a tub... and a sixth closet (essentially) in the bathroom. I never appreciated the value of a drawer or cupboard until I had a million of them to chose from. I guess I need to throw in how ridiculously grateful I am for a disposal, dishwasher, covered parking, and my own laundry machines. Did I mention we pay the same rent we did at our last place?? The list just goes on. Full sized windows, no stair well, soft carpet, a full sized oven, and linoleum. You know why I love linoleum? Because it isn't tile. Tile has grout. I hate grout. I am sure I will grow tired of my 30 year old, peeling linoleum at some point, but for now I love it. I love the bench that is outside under the tree. I love the orange-y brick and the pergola out front. I love having neighbors that you see only often enough. I love that Grandpa Earl is our landlord! I love that everyone around here calls our building "The Fortress" because it's hard to get into (I feel safe already). I also love where our precious home is settled.
Bountiful. This place is of divine nature. In no particular order, here is why Bountiful is the only place to live; I am minutes from the freeway. To all of my Ogdenites- you wish the freeway wasn't quite so far from the east bench, I promise. I am minutes from a Costco, Target, and Smiths Market Place (a classier version of Walmart). However, I don't feel like I am nestled right in the middle of Riverdale Road either. Our place is in a quiet little neighborhood near schools and a park. I am less than a mile from my best bud, Hudson, and Lauren and Sean. I really can't believe how great it is to be so close to those four (Tank of course). I love being close to Salt Lake. Suddenly we can go there whenever we need to and it's just so much faster. We are minutes from most of Chase's family and some of mine. And we are still only 25 minutes from Ogden on a slow drive. I have felt at home here since July 3rd, and we moved in July 1st.
Now, this is not a minor shout out. This is a very sincere "Thank You" to the folks of the Bountiful 5th Ward. Thank you. I have never felt so welcomed anywhere in my entire life. I mean that. The first Sunday Chase and I attended our new ward, we were a couple minutes late and we sat on the back row. I leaned over to Chase and said something to the effect of, "I don't want to have to learn to love a new ward." I was having a little homesickness for the Highland ward. It took me about a year to feel at home there. As we stood up at the end of the meeting, we were greeted by a hand full of strangers that wanted to know who we were. Sweet Bishop Petersen then snagged us both and showed us where all the Sunday school classes were. I had a surprised look on my face I am sure. We sat down in gospel doctrine and people stood from their seats to come greet us. I was astounded. It didn't seem fake either. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to see us. We were asked to introduce ourselves. It was like saying, "Hey old friends, we're back" though I had never met one of these people before. Essentially the same thing happened in Relief Society and Chase reported that same thing for Elders Quorum. One week later, I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the primary presidency. That day they announced my new calling and then read our membership into the ward. Everyone laughed. My RS president, Janice, who I learned was my father-in-laws babysitter waaaaaay back in the day, came to visit me that week. What a lady. I was assigned a visiting teaching partner and teachees immediately too. My sweet partner, Bonnie Leavitt, has been in the ward a long long time and she is showing me the ropes. A couple weeks later Chase was called to be an EQ instructor, and of course a home teacher. I love this ward. I love what it is doing for Chase and I. And I love feeling at home.
