The Move

The Move

• 8.06.2011

These last two weeks have been a crazy blur of events. I left our home in New York with Jed on July 21st.  We landed in Salt Lake and immediately set our sights on Zion's National Park for a family reunion. It was a blast! Then we hitched a ride with my mom and brothers to Meridian, ID where we spent a week playing at the parks and eating delicious food. I also had the awful task of rental shopping.

My number one priority upon arrival in Idaho was to find our little family of three a place to live. I hit the freeway at 80 mph towards Twin Falls; a two hour drive from my mother's house. Speeding along, it felt so good to be home! Idaho may look dry and desolate to folks out east, but it's beautiful to me. Idaho is wide open spaces. It's gold and green fields as far as the eye can see with tall mountains standing guard in the distance. It's irrigation ditches, pivots, and sprinklers. It's giant blue skies and puffy white clouds. It's trucks and cowboys and everything simple and everything new. Idaho is home and it feels really great to be back!

Because Bron will officially begin his dairy consulting job August 15th, we will be living where the cows are: pretty much in the middle of the state in the middle of nowhere. I explored lots of dead towns that looked like nobody would notice if they burned to the ground. I also explored Twin Falls. As soon as I crossed the bridge over the deep gorge I was hooked. This town is known as the heart of the magic valley. It's small, but it's growing and has everything a person could ever need. The town boasts a brand new hospital, a four year college, a mall, an LDS temple, and many restaurants and things to do on the weekends. I ran around town like a chicken with my head cut off.  (It was the worst day of Jed's life, I'm sure of it.  He screamed at me.)  I saw the scary, run-down parts of town with the cheap deals on rental homes. I also saw the ritzy parts of town and drove past the rentals that were well out of our price range. I finally settled on a cute two bedroom two bathroom upstairs apartment in a quiet neighborhood across from an elementary school. It just felt right, and more importantly, for the right price. The apartment has big windows that let in the sunlight. It also comes with all the amenities, including a washer, dryer, and dishwasher. As I opened the door to the dishwasher and slid a knife into its spot, I exclaimed to Bron, "Having a dishwasher is like, MAGICAL! I am sooo excited!"

So while I shopped and stressed over a place to live, Bron and his brother, Talon, embarked on their trek out west in a gutless Budget truck packed to the brim. Bron is a driving maniac. He drove every mile. I'm glad he had his brother there to help him though. That drive definitely can't be done alone and I'm grateful Amber lent her husband to us for a week. The two brothers stopped in Palmyra. They also saw beautiful horse farms in Kentucky. But the crowning moment of the trip was when two tires blew out on the truck in the middle of Kansas. They waited and waited on the side of the road for help. It grew dark. They turned on the emergency lights to the truck and used them until the battery ran dry. Then they turned on the lights to the car on the trailer and used them until the battery went dead again. Finally, help arrived hours later and they were on their way. I'm glad I wasn't there. Amazingly, Bron and Talon still made it to Twin Falls exactly when they planned.

The entire Nelson family was there to help unpack the truck last Wednesday. It's awesome to have a family chuck full of boys! Thankfully, nothing seems to be broken or ruined from the move except for Bron's throne, the recliner, but with the right help, I think it's fixable. We spent two days without hot water until the gas was turned on. Jed got a bath via boiling pots of water. Bron and I just suffered through quick cold rinses in the shower. I put the entire kitchen together during one of Jed's naps and we've spent the last two days exploring our new town. The mess seemed overwhelming at first, but I see the potential. This is going to be our new home for a while. I think it's going to feel good.

We left our apartment in shambles to spend this weekend with Bron's family in Ririe, ID. It is so amazing to think that they are just a three hours' drive away! We are far enough from family to be on our own, but close enough to enjoy time with them.

THIS MOVE IS THE BEST THING EVER! I feel it in my bones.

Next: A sweetheart's vacation to HAWAII!!! I am busting at the seems!