Return to Utah

A couple months ago Husband and I decided to switch from doing full-time independent work from home to finding a position with a small company, and continuing doing some independent web design on the side. He was offered a position with a company that is just beginning its own in-house design team, so he's able to help build the team, website, and marketing strategies from the ground up to help produce and market products that can really make a difference.

We're also excited because we're close to family again. Little Miss V even got to celebrate her first birthday surrounded by Grandparents, aunts, and uncles. We miss our Idaho Falls church congregation and the friends we made there, but it's good to be home.

Because of packing, storing our things while we're in a temporary home with family, a the near move to our permanent address, I've gotten behind with my photos and posts. Miss V and I are excited to bring our activities from the past few months to light in the coming weeks. Thanks for your patience.

Ammon's Visit

My brother, Ammon, came up for a visit between our little vacations. He was so helpful with Miss V, especially when we rode in the car. Zak and I aren't that exciting, but we had fun with Ammon, playing some games, going for walks, and driving past the turbines.

Feet make the best toys.

Weekend Drive

 Last weekend we packed up half the house and drove to Swan Valley to try the square ice cream (Zak had to settle a conversation at work about which shape of ice cream cones has the greatest mass.  We didn't mind.) Baby V slept most of the way, after she cried/screamed herself to sleep at the intersection a block from our apartment. I felt pretty helpless, just waiting for the light to change so we could pull over and I could do something to help her, but fortunately she fell asleep. Zak and I were both pretty excited to go for a drive, so we ended up continuing on to Lower Palisades Lake. My hero held up the umbrella during a diaper change so the baby would stay dry. She is growing so fast. Last night during the second pajama change we realized the newborn-sized pajamas don't allow her to straighten her legs. She has officially outgrown some of her outfits.

Moving to Idaho

Zak graduated in December with is Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, so it was time to look for another job.  He sent out his portfolio and resume to a few places (http://zporter.com/), and got a call back from Melaleuca, Inc. We drove up to Idaho together, and I canvased the town while he had a full day of interviews with various people in the Web Design Department and corporate. We heard back a short time later that they intended to make an offer, and when it finally came, we accepted. Husband is officially a Jr. Web Designer. The company booked and covered a hotel stay and cost of meals so we could go a-house-hunting.  I'd been browsing Craigslist, and found a few in our price range to see. Most were pretty small, in areas we didn't like as much, or lacked some of the amenities we wanted. We eventually met with Steve, who showed us some 4-plex housing. The street was pretty busy, but he showed us some others with the same floor plan in another neighborhood.  I liked the washer/dryer hookups, room in the kitchen for a table, and dishwasher, and Zak liked the garage and larger rooms. That week we packed, scrubbed walls, and shampooed our carpet.  My wonderful home teaching companion brought us a meal, our home teacher and my parents and siblings helped us haul our ample boxes of stuff into the 14-foot U-haul Zak was so excited to drive, and we said good-bye to our friends and family. Lots of friends offered help and love. Thank you. A week after our hotel stay and house-hunt, we moved to Idaho. Sort of. My parents did drive us back to Utah to visit with family when cousin Troy spoke in church after coming home from his mission, and when the Johnson side celebrated Daxin's birthday.  It was a great opportunity to see most of the Hoopers and Johnsons.  I'm still adjusting to living in a place where neighbors walk right past my windows, but I  crave the light and can't seem to shut my curtains when the sun is shining. Also "I have a [dishwasher], I have a [dishwasher], I have a [dishwasher], hey hey hey hey!" What a month.