We have been here in Santa Fe for 2 weeks now, and don't know whether we will be here for a few more days or a few more weeks. It has been really nice to be here. We've done things we don't normally have time to do. Matt helped his dad repair a leaky pipe buried in a corner of a bathroom. He also repaired a washed out driveway. Lindsay has been indexing names for family history, going to a class on world religions with Matt's mom, playing the piano, learning Arabic, running, baking, and just enjoying getting to know Matt's parents better. She tried getting a job subbing in the local schools, but found out it would be at least a 2 week process, and an expensive one (it included getting a New Mexico teaching license)! We have weeded, played with our kitties, gone to two movies, and read a lot of Facebook, e-mails, and blog posts about Abu Dhabi. We even celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on 13 August 2013!
We don't know yet what the future brings, but we are at peace and know that we are where we need to be right now. We are patiently waiting for tickets to arrive and the next chapter to begin.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Road Trip!
On 2 August 2013, we had a potluck at the same park and even the same pavilion that we had our wedding reception at. It was so good to see so many of our friends, and so hard to say goodbye! Lindsay shed quite a few tears.
On 3 August 2013, we said our tearful goodbyes to the Anderson family and went to Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo with our friends the Hunts. It was really fun to spend time in the sun. We felt like our summer vacation was finally beginning! That night we drove to St. George, where we had dinner with Brent and Kathleen Kap, Lindsay's friends from her mission. After a wonderful chat, we got on the road again and finished our trek to Las Vegas.
We were in Vegas for a week with Lindsay's whole family. It was so much fun. Lindsay's dad was working at the ASD trade show, and we helped a bit with that. It was so crazy how much stuff was there. Visual overload.
Some highlights of our time in Vegas include: The Las Vegas temple, Hoover Dam, Lake Meade, family photos, the Strip, the Stratosphere and its crazy ride, Insanity, a light show, deep fried oreos and shrimp cocktail on Freemont Street, Capo's Itallian restaurant, Los Tacos, L&L Hawaiian, Komex (Korean-Mexican fusion restaurant), swimming at the condo, Jordan riding a wheelchair at Smith's (his femur is still healing) and chasing us around in it, and just being with our family.
On 10 August 2013 we resumed our road trip and saw the Grand Canyon at the South Rim. Matt hadn't been since he was super young, and Lindsay was only there for 30 minutes when she was 12. We took a few pictures, but mostly just soaked the beauty in. There was a man who started singing "How Great Thou Art" and some others joined in. It was really special. It was fun to hear how many different languages were represented. Lindsay was really excited to find some people speaking Cantonese and asked them (in English at first) if they were together, because they were trying to take a group photo. When she broke out in Cantonese, they were all in shock and amazement. It made everyone smile. They thanked us for our help, and then we went on our way. We ended up at Four Corners at about 11:30, only to find the gate was locked and the hours were from 8 AM-8 PM. Since no place within 100 miles had any vacancy, we parked right in front of the gate and slept (not so soundly) in the car.
11 August 2013 we awoke to find quite the line of cars behind us. We were the first ones into the monument, and enjoyed standing in 4 states at once, eating cereal in 4 states at once, and kissing in 4 states at once! We then drove to Ship Rock in New Mexico, had lunch in Farmington, and arrived in Santa Fe in the late afternoon.
On 3 August 2013, we said our tearful goodbyes to the Anderson family and went to Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo with our friends the Hunts. It was really fun to spend time in the sun. We felt like our summer vacation was finally beginning! That night we drove to St. George, where we had dinner with Brent and Kathleen Kap, Lindsay's friends from her mission. After a wonderful chat, we got on the road again and finished our trek to Las Vegas.
We were in Vegas for a week with Lindsay's whole family. It was so much fun. Lindsay's dad was working at the ASD trade show, and we helped a bit with that. It was so crazy how much stuff was there. Visual overload.
Some highlights of our time in Vegas include: The Las Vegas temple, Hoover Dam, Lake Meade, family photos, the Strip, the Stratosphere and its crazy ride, Insanity, a light show, deep fried oreos and shrimp cocktail on Freemont Street, Capo's Itallian restaurant, Los Tacos, L&L Hawaiian, Komex (Korean-Mexican fusion restaurant), swimming at the condo, Jordan riding a wheelchair at Smith's (his femur is still healing) and chasing us around in it, and just being with our family.
On 10 August 2013 we resumed our road trip and saw the Grand Canyon at the South Rim. Matt hadn't been since he was super young, and Lindsay was only there for 30 minutes when she was 12. We took a few pictures, but mostly just soaked the beauty in. There was a man who started singing "How Great Thou Art" and some others joined in. It was really special. It was fun to hear how many different languages were represented. Lindsay was really excited to find some people speaking Cantonese and asked them (in English at first) if they were together, because they were trying to take a group photo. When she broke out in Cantonese, they were all in shock and amazement. It made everyone smile. They thanked us for our help, and then we went on our way. We ended up at Four Corners at about 11:30, only to find the gate was locked and the hours were from 8 AM-8 PM. Since no place within 100 miles had any vacancy, we parked right in front of the gate and slept (not so soundly) in the car.
11 August 2013 we awoke to find quite the line of cars behind us. We were the first ones into the monument, and enjoyed standing in 4 states at once, eating cereal in 4 states at once, and kissing in 4 states at once! We then drove to Ship Rock in New Mexico, had lunch in Farmington, and arrived in Santa Fe in the late afternoon.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Downsizing
Since that official offer came in on 18 June 2013, we spent nearly every waking moment selling, loaning, storing, or packing ALL of our possessions. Two people in their upper-20's and early-30's can acquire a LOT of stuff! We hope to keep it simple in the future. Our deadline was 31 July 2013, and it was barely enough time. We posted many items on KSL Classifieds. We held 3 yard sales. We found homes to store our children's library, heirloom furniture, sentimental items, and some of our other possessions we want again some day. We packed what we were taking to Abu Dhabi (only the essentials) in two 50 lb. checked luggage, one 15 lb. carry-on bag, and one personal item (purse for Lindsay, laptop bag for Matt) each. Pictures, old school work, letters, souvenirs, pots and pans, some kitchen utensils, tools, sports equipment, and things we just couldn't part with (mainly because they were irreplaceable or we didn't want to have to buy them when we come back) went into plastic storage bins. We are so grateful that Lindsay's parents came down from Idaho with a trailer and are storing those things for us. That saves us a storage unit rental of $50/month at least!
On 15 July 2013 Matt's parents drove off with our 2 cats, Jane and Dot. This was really hard on both of us. We really wanted to take them with us to Abu Dhabi, but after finding out the costs involved and other discouraging variables, we decided it was best to find a new home for them. Thank goodness we get to see them and be with them again.
On 27 July 2013 we had the last of our 3 yard sales. We packed up everything that didn't sell and hauled it off to Deseret Industries. It felt so good to close that chapter of our journey.
On 30 July 2013, Lindsay's parents arrived with their trailer and we loaded up! Our house was getting so empty. It felt so good!
On 31 July 2013 the four of us (Matt, Lindsay, Lisa, and Doug) cleaned for about 6 hours straight. That house never looked so good! We were pretty nervous about not getting a full refund of our security deposit ($1000), but our landlady was so happy with the work we did. Actually, we had never seen her that happy! She even said she wanted to move in there. She asked us to write to her and let her know how things are. Unheard of from her!
We moved in with our friends who are more like family, Cory and Robyn Anderson, until 3 August 2013.
On 15 July 2013 Matt's parents drove off with our 2 cats, Jane and Dot. This was really hard on both of us. We really wanted to take them with us to Abu Dhabi, but after finding out the costs involved and other discouraging variables, we decided it was best to find a new home for them. Thank goodness we get to see them and be with them again.
On 27 July 2013 we had the last of our 3 yard sales. We packed up everything that didn't sell and hauled it off to Deseret Industries. It felt so good to close that chapter of our journey.
On 30 July 2013, Lindsay's parents arrived with their trailer and we loaded up! Our house was getting so empty. It felt so good!
On 31 July 2013 the four of us (Matt, Lindsay, Lisa, and Doug) cleaned for about 6 hours straight. That house never looked so good! We were pretty nervous about not getting a full refund of our security deposit ($1000), but our landlady was so happy with the work we did. Actually, we had never seen her that happy! She even said she wanted to move in there. She asked us to write to her and let her know how things are. Unheard of from her!
We moved in with our friends who are more like family, Cory and Robyn Anderson, until 3 August 2013.
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