January: surviving, moving, and settling!

Our 2009 New Year really started out with a BANG...literally. After our awesome traditional New Year's Eve party with the Balls, Denzers, and Bristows, we were driving home at about 12:30 and BANG!....we totaled our car. You can read the details of that incident in the last blog. A blessing in disguise, I'm sure, we tried to have a good attitude about it (it was difficult though, knowing that we had sold our Subaru 1 week earlier, after much lowering of the price to get it sold, since we would only be able to afford one car after we MOVED to South Dakota on Jan. 6th). These circumstances didn't really foster a good attitude, but we did our best and made it through.





Family was SOOO nice and helpful and accomodating in loaning us cars and helping us get things done before we moved. We were still able to enjoy our last week of living in Salt Lake City, complete with visiting in-town-for-the-holiday relatives, early family birthday parties for Sam, Sugar Bowl Game parties, friend get-togethers, wedding receptions, and as much family time as we were able to pack in. And to top it all off, we found a car that we would be able to buy once we got the check from insurance for out totaled Rodeo....an AWESOME car for our family right now...thanks to Adam and Annie Ashton (Sam's good friends from high school). It's a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe!




So, we picked up and packed up the moving truck on Jan. 5th...and were able to get it basically done thanks to the help of all our siblings...THANKS GUYS!!! We coudln't have done it without them. And the kitchen never would have gotten boxed up if it weren't for Sam's cute mom, Clair, my cute landlady, Joyce, and my cute sister, Aubrey! They were AWESOME!!! Only ONE single dish broke! It was certainly a long week and day of packing and loading, but we got it done...in the snow...and then on the 6th, Sam and Andy finally headed out at about 2:00ish (after waiting for the weather to clear, and for the truck-rental company to come fix their stupid truck so it would start....we were NOT about to unload and reload another truck!). They drove through the awesome snow-storm until Casper, Wyoming, stayed a night in a motel, and drove the rest of the way to Rapid City on the 7th - Sam's birthday, arriving just in time to pick up our rental car (while we waited for the money from insurance) and pick me and LucyMae up at the airport.

In the meantime...while Sam and Andy were driving across 3 states, I was able to wrap up the final details of our lives in SLC, spend a bit more quality time with my sister, Serenity, and hop on a plane to Rapid City so that I could at least get to see my husband on his birthday! We had called in advance to ask the Elders' Quorum here for help unloading the truck, so they got here about the same time we did, and had the entire truck unloaded, into the garage and house, in an hour. They were amazing! And we celebrated Sam's birthday that night with a dinner at the Olive Garden. It was SOOOO nice to have Andy here to help for the next couple days as we moved furniture into the right places and set things up....THANK YOU ANDY!!! We really couldn't have done any of this without you.





Friday morning Sam took Andy to the airport to fly home, and when he got home I saw, for the first time in my life, Sam CRYING...I mean really bawling. It was sad, but SOOOO great! It is good to know that he is capable of crying like that. Let me just say that Sam really loves his brother, Andy. They are only 20 months apart and have always been super close. We have really enjoyed living near Andy and Amy for the past 2 1/2 years, and being able to hang out with them on a regular basis. We do miss that!

So, we've basically just spent the last month getting all settled into our new home here in Rapid City. We are really liking it here...it's beautiful for one. And although it does get pretty dang cold sometimes, it doesn't last. Weeks basically alternate between being in the teens or colder, and being in the 50's or 60's. It's actually quite nice. We are loving our little house (2 bdrm., 2 bth., wood floors upstairs, nice garage, backyard, and it's CUTE!!!) We had everything unpacked and set up within 3 days of arriving here....let's just say I can't stand living out of boxes. And then we spent the next week deep cleaning this place because it was FILTHY in a lot of ways. I'm still gradually working on getting all the blinds and the walls cleaned...yes, I am a little bit of a clean-freak, but you should have seen how bad it was...just look at this...behind the stove and fridge. I can't stand that kind of filth....spiders and bugs hang out there!



We are loving our ward too. Sam and I both got called to the youth program, which is surprisingly strong out here. Sam is the Teacher's Quorum Advisor and I am the Laurel Advisor. We live 5 minutes from the church, so in many ways it still feels like we are in Utah.

I have also had more time to cook and try new recipes. I'm having a lot of fun trying new things and I think Sam is really enjoying my new cooking kick! Here's one example:



Sam started school and is really enjoying his classes. He has to spend a lot of time reading and doing research so that he can decide by the end of this semester what he wants his thesis project to be. He is also going to be doing substitute teaching for his job, which will be nice because he can do it when he wants and is able, and even if he only substitutes 2-3 days/wk. he will be earning enough money in addition to what I am earning from teaching to cover our living costs. I already have 7 students and have a couple more almost lined up. I have also joined the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra and rehearse with them on Monday nights. That pays about $90/concert. My schedule is filling up much faster than I anticipated it would. But I am enjoying everything so far. I try to take LucyMae to story-time at the Library on Thursday mornings. We also joined the YMCA for a nicely discounted price since we are poor students right now. I will be doing swim lessons with LucyMae starting in March there, and it is so nice to be able to go work-out there and put LucyMae in their free child-watch.

We especially enjoyed a visit from my sister, Serenity, toward the end of January. She was the sweetheart that drove our new car out to us, and we flew her home. After much ridiculous negotiating with the stupid insurance companies, we finally settled on a price and got our money and bought our new car. Serenity was on the road for 12 hours in not such great weather, but she made it here safely and we are SOOO grateful to her for doing us this favor. We had a great time hanging out with her while she was here: driving to Silver City (hopefully a lot cooler in the summer), checking out Mt. Rushmore, eating dinner at Applebee's, and watching old episodes of 24. THANKS REN!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!



The beginning of February brought some wonderful weather...so we spent some quality time at the park, exploring some more of Rapid City's random attractions....like this dinosaur park on top of the hill....and we went the Rapid City Stock Show & Rodeo! It was a PRCA rodeo with all the events. There were more contestants in each event than I remember the Oakley Rodeo ever having. AND they had the coolest event I've ever seen - Wild Horse Riding. A bunch of teams of 3-4 guys each get a wild horse and they have 2 minutes to try to get it saddled and have one of them ride it around a barrel at one end of the arena and back. It was HILARIOUS. Definitely the best organized chaos I've ever seen!




So, all in all we are loving it here in Rapid City. And although we do miss our family and friends back in Utah A LOT, we are truly enjoying this little adventure out on our own. It is nice to know that I can be with no one but Sam and LucyMae for days/weeks and not get sick of them. I guess I really do love them....I already knew that, but it just proves that Sam really is my best friend. I love figuring out life with him, going running with him, planning and setting goals with him, just chillin' on a Saturday with him, and of course laughing with him. This is great bonding time and we are making the most of it.

Can you believe how BIG this little cutie is getting? I just love those bare baby bums.



Another BIG THANKS to all who helped us in our big move. We love you all and do miss you. PLEASE feel free to come visit ANYTIME! We have a pretty big basement room and a bathroom down there, so you can have your own private quarters. And if you don't want to stay with us, you can get a great hotel room where they have a pool with a waterslide for only $39.99. We welcome visitors anytime!