Find the sun!

I love these guys!
Cute kid...too bad his eyes are closed.

Oh, it's been a mighty gloomy winter. That's what made moving to San Diego sound so sweet! No, we aren't regretting our decision to stay here, but sometimes you have to wonder what it would be like to live in a warm place during January! Especially today when it was 0 degrees overnight! Very chilly....

But, luckily we have a place in St. Gorgeous when we need a sun break! We had planned to visit over the MLK jr. holiday, but with all the craziness going on with the job/moving, etc... we never made it.

Mike decided that his truck needed to 'stretch its legs' and so we took a quick trip south. It was so great to feel the warm sun and actually be able to breathe! The truck was really fun to drive. We left on Friday afternoon, made a stop at the dealership, then made a stop at Grandma & Grandpa Arvy's to welcome them home from their 3 week adventure, so by the time we reached St. George, it was 10pm. Saturday, we shopped, played at the park, hiked on the rocks (Brandon's favorite), and enjoyed being together. We left early Sunday morning to make it back for church and Zach's birthday at the Gibsons.

We are probably crazy, but I like that we will spontaneously take-off for a quick weekend trip.

My babe!

And, this little sun break may have helped us all to cope with the freezing...and I mean 0 degree temperatures we are dealing with now! Mike had to be in Denver on Monday and Tuesday. It was just as cold there. The only good thing about this deep freeze is that it has cleared out the air and we have sun and clear skies! I'm hoping the Groundhog was right this morning and that Spring really is on its way!!!

And the fun begins....

If Mike had taken the San Diego job, he would have gotten a company car. Part of the 'deal ' to have him stay here was a nice car allowance. Thanks, Baileys! Today, Mikey picked up his new toy. And yes, it's blue......closet cougar. The kids are teasing him about the color, I just told him it matches his eyes ;) Now, the Caddy is for sale...I told him he's living his second childhood by selling his old man car and getting a fun truck! He does deserve it in my opinion!!!

Just when you think...

What a whirlwind we have been in for the past month! I have to document it because this is my journal....about mid-December, a recruiter called Mike telling him of a CFO job in San Diego/Escondido area for a moving and storage company and asked Mike if he was interested. He thought, 'Sure, couldn't hurt to check it out'. So, first he phone interviewed, they liked him and so they flew him down there on the 7th of January. It was one of those awful inversion days in Salt Lake and in San Diego, beautiful, sunny and 68 degrees at 10am. Seriously...wouldn't be hard to leave Utah in January for that! They liked him enough to offer him a job! Mike liked them enough to accept the job! The kids and I were excited about a new adventure, but sad to leave family and friends. We were also sad that Mike would be living in Escondido for about 4 months without us as we stayed to sell the house and finish the school year.

Once the negotiations were over and he completed the background check, Mike felt like he could tell his bosses at Baileys that he was done. He did that last Friday. The bosses did not like that....at all....they basically told him they didn't want him to leave and they would do whatever they needed to so that he'd stay. Even Kevin flew in from Denver. It took 3 days of negotiations with them and some restructuring to make work life better for Mike.

Yesterday, Mike stayed home for the morning. This 'exercise' of negotiation with both companies was exhausting. So, he rested, we talked, we took the dog for a walk, we went to lunch and then he went back into work to discuss the job one more time. Finally after about 3 hours, he texted me and said that he felt good about staying at Baileys and he called the other company to tell them.

I can't put into words how emotionally exhausting this whole deal was. In our minds, we were already in San Diego/Escondido. We had researched the area, looked at houses on-line, talked with friends/family who live in the area, talked with friends who had lived in the area, talked with the kids about moving, talked with parents, etc. I don't think Mike thought the Baileys guys would put up such a fight to keep him.

We are feeling very blessed to have had two good companies to choose from, especially in this job market. There really wasn't a wrong choice. We are a bit sad at missing a new adventure (even the kids to our surprise), but we are really happy about staying here with family and friends. This time between Mike and I has been awesome. You know those times that just make your marriage stronger as you go through them together. Well worth the craziness of the past month.

Our sweet friends who support us and checked with us often about whether we were staying or going. Some even having their darling 2 year olds tell us "I don't want you to move." (That was a tearjerker, Nat!). Our parents....well, my parents....Mike's have been on a cruise since the beginning of January and don't have a clue what we just went through. They knew he was going to interview and Renae's last comments were, 'Hope you don't get the job!'....there will be a story to tell them when they get back. Anyway, my parents for their concern and support and our family.....to all of you-we appreciate you all so much! We are feeling the love!

Now, bring on spring!!!!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas to me!

For about the last 3 or 4 years, I have been planning to get some curtains up in our family room. That back wall was long and had nothing to break it up. I have been looking at every home magazine and website I could find, trying to decide exactly what I wanted. I even purchased some maroon-colored drapes that I found on clearance last year, but in the end decided that's not what I wanted for the family room.

I did have Mike help me hang those in the piano room since they match a few things in there.

So, anyway, when my Mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her I just really wanted some drapes! Being the excellent seamstress that my Mom is (a talent that skipped me), she was up for the challenge! We met one Tuesday in December and hit the fabric stores. We finally decided on this beautiful green which just happened to be on a really good sale.

We ended up needing to get a little more and that's why we have the cool cream colored stripe/hem at the bottom. But I like it!

Mom finished them up just last week...just in time for my recipe group to meet at my house.

I smile everytime I walk in the room!

It just looks so good to me and makes the room feel cozy and finished!

Thank you Mom! Loves!