Ahoy, Mates!
I wanted to check in and let you know how everything has been going. We had a pretty uneventful trip out until we hit Rock Springs. It was about 5:00 p.m., and we decided to fill up our gas tanks and get some snacks. As we went down the offramp, something flew off of Dave’s car and he lost his brakes! Thankfully, he was able to downshift and coast down, needing little braking. We spent the next 2-½ hours looking for parts & socket wrenches, and he was finally able to fix it. That put us going through the canyons at night, which were icy. So, it was a pretty long haul that last 150 miles. We arrived at about 11 p.m., safely, but with our sanity barely intact!
So, you all know that the house we were supposed to move into fell through the week before we left, right? So, we are bunking with Dave’s mom & dad while we find a new place. (!!!) The next few days (Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) were spent looking at house after house after house after . . . okay, you get the idea. Late on Wednesday, we got the lockbox code to a home that looked really cute and, lo and behold, it was the same floorplan as the one we originally wanted but didn’t get! We called the property manager and told him we were interested, so now we are awaiting our approval to move in. Hopefully that will come tonight or tomorrow.
In the meantime, on Thursday, I started work at my new job as Executive Secretary to the CIO (Chief Information Officer) / Vice President of IT for SelectHealth, the insurance branch of Intermountain Healthcare. They are the second largest healthcare provider in Utah with over ½ million insureds, 28 hospitals throughout Utah and Idaho, and over 21,000 employees. There are 88 people in my department (IT), and 1,200 in the building I work in. The office is really nice, with a huge cafeteria, fitness room, security-guarded entry, and outdoor area with basketball hoops, a little lake, and walking paths. The first day, Thursday, was really easy. The management team that I am a part of went golfing! So I went into the office in golf clothes, got familiar with the area, and then headed out to play 18 holes! Funny, huh? The second day, Friday, though, was a regular work day, which was a good one. I think I’ll like it there.
While I was working, Dave took the kids to the Kennecott Copper Mine to go on a tour, then took Sarah to look at a horse she was considering buying. She totally loved it and we went back again today and bought it for her! Sarah has been riding so long, has tried out so many as potential purchases, and is so knowledgeable, that it was an easy decision for her once she got on. She knew it was a good purchase and a perfect fit. That was a bargaining chip we used to get her to come to Utah (you know, ‘don’t cry little girl and we’ll buy you a pony!’) Brian’s is that there is a community pool in the neighborhood we are (hopefully) moving to! So, they’re both happy campers.
Today, I was able to attend my niece’s baby shower, which was a lot of fun. She is such a cute girl. It is her first baby, and she is having a daughter that she is planning to name Nora. She’s due in January.
So, hopefully we’ll hear about the house tomorrow so that we know whether we need to go looking again, or have Dave fly back to Colorado and get all of our stuff. As soon as we have an update on that, I’ll let you all know. The kids are ready to get back to school and out of Grandma’s basement, and Dave and I are ready to stretch out in our own place again.
Our little house in Colorado is being well cared for by my mom and checked on regularly by my friends. It is listed for sale and has had 5 or 6 families come through it. The kitties are still there, hopefully to move with Dave in the U-haul, provided the house we get allows them. The dogs are with us (ugh!), and will probably go with us too if they don’t drive me completely insane before that!
We still have our Colorado cell phones for now, and will keep this msn email account. I’ll let you know, too, when we switch our phones to Utah numbers.
Take care, and I’m missing you all!
Love,
Sharon