The Little House That Built Us

It's been a wild few months of putting in offers, multiple home inspections, repair requests, back-outs and finally closing on our home, a little over a month ago! We've been very busy with moving in and getting settled into our new home/life in Riverton, but for those wanting to see what our new place looks like, here you go, below :) It's hard for me to be this vulnerable, but I also feel like I need to honor our old home and that time in our life. I really don't want to take it for granted. 

We sold our home in Provo in February and lived with my parents for a few months while we looked for this home. I really miss that home actually. So much happened there. Marlee was born. Asher, with a tough battle, learned to talk. We bought a car or two. (Not new.... I am not sure if we will be the can-afford-a-new-car people for a while) We had two amazing dogs, and gave them up to wonderful homes. We rented our home for 6 months, because things got so tight we couldn't financially make it during that time (also hence no longer having the dogs and moving in with in-laws). Ike graduated college and became an RN! We grew and changed and made adult decisions and childish decisions, and... looking back now, I really do miss it. I'm so glad we had that house. I'm grateful for the memories. 

We got married with $200. Yes, like two Benjamin's. I laugh now, because I just can't believe that was even possible. Thankfully, when you get married, people are outrageously generous and that allowed us to get into our first apartment, buy groceries, a few more essentials, finish our Vegas honeymoon, and save the rest for an emergency. (My in-laws also loaned us our apartment deposit, which was so thoughtful). We picked up the grossest, most awful, free couches on the side of the road, not having money for furniture. I have to laugh again, thinking that was ever a good idea or that having a bed bug infestation, would be better than possibly just going without, or picking up another job. I don't know...just the things when you are very young, very immature, and have literally no money. We waited and saved for a couple of years and put ourselves into that little home. That little home took every single penny at the time and we put a lot of sweat into making the yard and lot into everything we could. Fencing, sod, seeding, gardening, cement removal, painting, etc. (with a LOT of helping hands...we haven't forgotten who came and helped us).  I was so proud of it all. In the end, it gave us so much. It got us to the place and home and area that we are in now. 

Without further ado, this is our new place! Riverton, just about 1200 W, off of the 123rd exit, if you are familiar with the Draper/Riverton area. 5 bd/3 bth, and a yard for the kiddos.

**Disclaimer**- before anyone thinks I am bitter or trying to toot my own horn. I realize that everyone has their own journey and their own path. This is just OUR story, and OUR journey. I get that people have different jobs, life, inheritance, family help, (make smarter decisions than "college-financial-me"), etc. It's just all about everyone's own journey. This is ours and it is still just barely beginning. Everyone has their own trials, struggles and hardships along the way, and I in no way, want or mean to discredit or overlook those. XOXO

Closeup of Front 

Front of house

Asher's bedroom

The current downstairs situation. It's huge and awkward for now, but we are excited for all of the space :) Set up for a kitchenette down here and two bedrooms/bath off of this large room.

Downstairs Bath 3

Bed 5/Office. Not Pictured: Bed 4: Toy Room!!! Currently looks like a bomb went off. 

Family room. Currently, so sorry for the poor lighting!

Family Room under normal conditions

Living Room

Garden plots 

Hallway-Most of main is maple hardwood

Kitchen 

Laundry

From back corner of lot

Main bathroom-1

Marlee's room (kid does what she wants)

Master shower

Master bath-2

Master bedroom

Patio 

Lawn

These guys

Oh, Canada!

This post is probably pretty boring and lengthy. Actually, no, it is for SURE lengthy. I just need to log everything we did, before my weak mind forgets it all! Pictures at the bottom, so just scrooooooll. 

This is a travelogue of our trip a couple of weeks ago; a road-trip spanning Utah to Vancouver and back, with stops and stays along the way :) We went with my sister and brother-in-law and they were great travel companions. Of course, it is hard to live with anyone in a 200 sq. foot or less area for a few hours, let alone a week, so I thought all in all, it went well. 

Day .5: Drove from SLC through the night to San Francisco. We passed through Tahoe on the way, and it was SNOWING and the roads were icy! It was so strange, when Utah had been so hot, and is really not that far away. We reached SF at 8 AM, EXHAUSTED. We all had trouble sleeping, contrary to our switch-off plan.

Day 1: We tried to get into Alcatraz bright and early for stand-by tickets. They only take the first 50 people and the guys took a super long time parking, so we were too late, by the time we were all together. We started the day at Fisherman's Wharf, spent some time at the old arcade at the farthest end, saw Lombard Street, Painted Ladies, and a lot of cool downtown architecture. We have been to SF before and seen some of the bigger things, so this was a nice little "mop-up" day for us. Golden Gate Park was a huge highlight for me. i didn't even know this was here, and how..it is massive. Around 8 PM, we started driving a little way toward Redwoods Nat'l Park, looking for a stop to camp for the night. 

Eats of the Day: Eagle Cafe (Fisherman's Wharf), Chantal Guillon-BEST MACARONS, Suzu Noodle House(Gross). 

Day 2: Camped the night along a rest stop and weren't bothered by anyone! We got up and drove through the Humboldt Redwoods Preserve and Avenue of the Giants. It was GORGEOUS. It was the one part of the trip that still holds a reverence and a pause with me. I'm very glad we had this day. A day to just reflect and take it all in. I've never seen so many ferns in my life. And I am a nerd and had so much fun learning about the antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-fire properties of Redwood/Sequoia trees. We had so many stops this day; it was a whirlwind. We also saw the Eternal Tree House, World's Largest Totem Pole, Trinidad Lighthouse, hiked Lady Bird Johnson Grove (learned so much about how the Redwoods were basically saved at this dedication), and did another hike at Fern Canyon (some of Jurassic Park was filmed here). Our Fitbit's loved our 24K steps and I haven't been that sore in a while. We camped at the end of this day as well, on Oregon Trail road. Quite fitting, for our first trip to Oregon.

Eats of the Day: Eel River Cafe, Perlita's Mexican restaurant and a LOT of junk food and snacks

Day 3: Portland certainly is weird. A lot of panhandlers, but everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I tried my first cannabis (weed) cream on my always sore shoulder/neck at a dispensary and it worked. Too well. I need some, I think. Let me know the next time one of you folks, is passing through ;) We went to the International Rose Test Garden, where all of your mom/pop's front yard roses probably came from, back in the day. They test all of the roses here for hardiness, viability, scent, color, disease/drought resistance, etc. Next stop was Powell's Books. They have a few locations, but this famous one is an actual block wide. I wished we had half a day to just spend walking that bookstore. I've never seen so many books in my life; I probably never will. Some people come to Portland and spend an entire day there; I get it. Last stop of the day was Multnomah Falls, which was breathtaking and semi-vertigo-inducing, standing from the first falls. We finally spent a night at a hotel (poor hygiene, anyone?) just outside of Seattle and swam/showered and just relaxed.

Eats of the Day: Screen Door Cafe (one of my favorite eats of the trip), Voodoo Donuts, I can't quite remember

Day 4: Seattle was my kind of a city, and I really loved the atmosphere. Probably because there are endless food options, water, and no heat/cold. Seattle was touristy for us, but it was our first time, so....yes. Pike Place, waterfront Puget Sound cruise, Gum Wall, Space Needle, Chihuly Glass Museum, and the EMP Museum. I would have loved to do the zoo, eat at more places, fish, whale watch...but we just simply didn't have enough time. 

Eats of the Day: Etta’s (delicious fish), The Confectional, Beecher's Cheese, Ellenos Greek Custard, Fogon Cocina (great Mexican/horrible Mexican 'server')

Day 5/6: Vancouver was the destination I was most excited for, and a place that we could finally just relax and not have to rush off to the next location from. We stayed downtown. Like, downtown. Beach street, one block from the beach and about 5 minutes walking to the ferry to Granville Island, or 5 minutes driving to Stanley Park, if you've been to Van City, as the locals call it. It was such a nice Air BnB, and I highly recommend the brothers if you ever head that way. 

The first day, we drove over Lion's Gate Bridge to Lighthouse Park and did a little hike. The homes in this area (North Van; a different city then Vancouver), are just SO awesome. They remind me of Eastern US, colonial/Tudor style with really fresh paints/trim. We just bought a house, so I was super into the color schemes and styles. Next we went to Capilano suspension bridge, but didn't end up doing it as it was packed with people and was timewise/$$ it didn't make sense for the day. We went to Grouse Mountain next and rode their Gondola to the top of the mountain. It's the tallest point in Vancouver. We saw a bird show, and orphaned bears that are now native residents to the mountain. We checked out the Lonsdale Quay Market, which tries to be like Pike Place but is like 1/10th as awesome and then drove back into town, hit up the beach and called it a night.

The second day we hit the bus system early. We went out to Van Dusen Gardens first. This was probably my favorite attraction in Vancouver. Keep in mind though, I am nerdy, sometimes enjoy quite/solitude and some of my favorite things to do include plants/animals. I think Ike was ready to leave the moment we got there. Our next stop was the Aquarium, which was great and Ike's favorite part. It was hard to move through, since I swear it was Elementary School Appreciation Day, but we survived the crowds and only were rained on a few times, sporadically. Next stop was Science World. We only had an hour here until close, and we both thought that would be plenty of time to play $30 a person and plunge through the museum in record time. WRONG. I could have definitely used a few hours here. On the mind puzzles in the lobby. It was really unique and they did a really unique and creative job at this science museum though. Then we went to Kitsilano beach, the most famous beach in Vancouver and called it a night.

Eats in Vancouver: Pizza Garden (twice), it was easy and cheap and just too convenient when you are exhausted from walking/driving around all day. Twisted Fork (need the recipe of those asiago cheese biscuits), Tim Horton's (Dunkin Donuts, anyone?), Flying Pig, Taqueria Pinche (craving currently and highly recommend), Halima Garden(meh).

On the way home, we had vouchers to the Seattle Aquarium that we weren't able to use a few days earlier, so we stopped there on the way home. We hit horrible, awful traffic in Tacoma, Washington and were stuck in literally the same half mile of road for 2.5 hours. Definition of insanity. We drove through the night again, (the quicker, less scenic way) and made it home first thing Saturday morning to our kids and families :) Wonderful, whirlwind trip, and now we know exactly which areas to deep-dive into more next time. Thanks to my awesome in-laws for watching my kiddos!

Avenue of the Giants

Chihuly Gardens-handblown glass gardens

Just standing next to a giant

View from Grouse Mountain

Obligatory Gum Wall photo

Multnomah Falls

Kitsilano Beach, Vancouver-the weather was either sunny or like this 7-8 times per day

Lombard Street, SF

Painted Ladies- park was closed though, so no cliche park pics; such a bummer

Can you spot Ike on the World's Largest Paul Bunyon?! 

This was the view in the morning from our "rest area". Not too shabby. 

Nostalgic being in a tree of this size. Then traumatic seeing all of the millions of bugs crawling around me.

Seattle skyline

Just a little Space Needle

World's Largest Totem Pole

Trinidad Lighthouse, CA

Van Dusen Gardens, Vancouver 

Becoming "This" Me

Ike and I are coming up quickly on 5 years this year! We took a little staycation this weekend and I have been in a reminiscing mood the entire time. Mountains, clean air, quiet places....go figure.It also might be due to the fact, I am almost off of a migraine medication I've been on for a year, and can now feel a little more like myself. Either way, I love a little self-reflection and don't mind the opportunity.

I want to get better at clearing my head. I don't even really journal that often, so sometimes its best to just let it go here, instead of milling the thoughts over and over in my brain. 

I think about the past 5 years and so many things have changed. 

I have two babies, who are starting to talk more and more, and are teaching me so much about the mother I want to be; the overall person I want to be. They are so kind and compassionate and non-judgemental. I love the constant reminder every day to look at people and situations as they would. 

Both sides of my family have changed immensely. There have been marriages; there have been divorces. Sometimes change is just thrust upon you and you can choose to fight it or embrace it. I have fought a lot of this change; it is hard for me to let people go. It is hard to let family go. It is hard to let family in. This last year was a lot about realizing what and who matters and what and who really don't. Doing what you think is right can only get you so far, and 99% of the time isn't worth your energy, if you aren't a key player. However....doing what you think is right is SO important and shouldn't be taken away from you either. Everyone has a right to feel; to think; to try. I've become very vulnerable and open with some; and very closed-off and cautious with others. I learned that people that really know and love you do so in any situation and see you for who you really are. I am trying really hard to see everyone for their own intentions and not is what projected upon them. My 5-year-ago family was very different and I can't wait to see how the next 5-year-into-the-future family looks. 

I can FINALLY speak my mind. Let's not get crazy here. There are holes in me that hurt. Holes that I think about and the words my mind wants to speak are not kind. Those things I won't share, because that isn't fair and is due to a healing in me that needs to take place. Time someone really does heal all wounds, doesn't it? I can though, finally stand up for myself as much as I have ever felt able to. 

I can finally voice opinions without becoming terrified and insecure. I've learned it's completely ok for two people to disagree and still get along. I've also, sadly learned, that some opinions create wedges between people. I can only still love and hope to be loved back. 

Let me explain why these two previous points are so important. People are shocked to learn I am an extroverted introvert. You can read some humorous examples of what this nonsense even means here. Let me take you on a whirlwind journey! Brace yourself...this is so fast I know. 

 Growing up....I had extreme separation anxiety from my parents and siblings. My parents laugh that I would get dropped off at kindergarten, and then run a block back to my dad's office every freaking day, because I was so terrified to go into the classroom. I cannot remember any of first grade, second grade, third grade. Only one friend, Steph, and my teachers. Fourth grade I was an absolute teacher's pet; a brown-noser to a fault. Ok, maybe every year, all through school. Maybe this explains friend problems. I always had trouble making girlfriends of any kind. I usually just hung out with boys. I remember friends outside of school, or friends in previous ward groups that I would hang out with every day. But school was always a blur. 

Fifth grade I had my first real "boyfriend", whatever that means in fifth grade. I was called "stuffer girl" and had my period at age 11. I was maturing at an awesome rate!!! Junior High is completely fuzzy. I remember friends changing weekly, SO MUCH CHANGE everywhere. Body changes, teacher changes, locker changes. 

I have to ask.....has this happened to anyone else?! Am I the only one with like, elementary/JHS amnesia?! It kind of makes me sick to think about. Half of my life I don't remember and that is so crazy and hard to believe.

High School. FBLA and HOSA leadership, seminary president 3 years in a row; orchestra concertmaster. I go to almost all the football games, have a great network of close friends, and many more acquaintances. I am not sure how I was viewed in HS. I wasn't popular, but had a lot of friends and was probably "nice". I hope that is what people would say. I had a full time job from 16 on, and chose going to BYU solely based on the guy I was in LOVE with at the time. This guy is now married to my sister. Don't worry, my sister knows ;) 

The first 6 months of our marriage were another massive time of self-reflection, many bouts of tears, many times chasing me down the road in the middle of the night, and many times I wanted the poor guy to just give up on me and move forward. He is a rockstar. Truly. He knew these battles beforehand, but still chose to walk this journey of life with me. I feel like we are now more hand-in-hand, mind-in-mind than ever before. I can't imagine feeling more so as time passes with him. 

Now, backtrack to like 6 paragraphs up. SORRY! We are 4 years past this time now and maybe it makes sense why I am grateful to speak up for myself and to do things not for other people, but because they make sense and feel right to me. 

I have learned tolerance. I have friends who are gay, who are straight, who are many different religions, who are politically very different than me. I just want to be their friend. I don't feel like it's anyone's place to shove politics, religion, really anything down anyone's throat, especially if they are adults and are really free to choose to believe whatever they want. I like people that extend the same freedom to me. I think that's what we are mostly on earth for; to choose and to love. 

I feel like the last 3-4 years I have grown, learned and changed just as much as I did during my whole adolescent timeframe. To any youngsters that might read this or have made it this far. Keep your head up, because you can always make it through. People will tell or say mean things to or about you at times, but it's a choice to believe them. 

To any folks my age and above....can you remember your most changing years? The years where you felt you finally came into your own? That you felt real happiness or felt like you weren't trying to be something that you aren't? 

I look at my sisters and I can totally identify a few years of their lives that were epic or life-changing. I know there are many more times like this for all of us. We aren't stagnant as human beings, hearts and minds are always changing. There will always be people that disagree with "you", with your change, but they aren't you :)