Seattle

One of the things we had been wanting to do was take a trip to Seattle before we moved. We planned to go sometime this summer, but when Chris accepted the job in Utah, we didn't think we would get to. We ended up making a spur of the moment decision to go. Chris accepted the job on Thursday, and we left Saturday afternoon. I got done with work early so we packed our stuff in the car and went. We got there Saturday afternoon/evening and did some shopping, we rode the monorail from the mall to the Space Needle and back. We decided not to go up in the Space Needle because of the cost, so instead we went to the Skyview Observatory, which was way cheaper, and is much higher than the Space Needle. The only thing is that it's in an office building, so you ride the elevator up and don't get to see outside until you are at the top. We ate at a pizza place that night and then went to our hotel.

We found a church to go to the next day. It is so nice that we can be anywhere and there is an LDS church to go to and we can take the sacrament and have the same Sunday School lesson we would have had at home. While we were there we met a guy who gave us two free tickets to the Museum of Flight and a buy one get one free ticket to the zoo. We had been debating about what to go do on Monday and we didn't want to pay for everything, so it was really nice that we got to do both! We didn't have time to go to the Aquarium.

Sunday afternoon we walked around Pike's Place Market and saw some fun stuff. We walked down the pier by the ocean. It was raining all day but we survived. After that we went to the Ballard Locks.
The Locks are basically a "boat elevator" where boats come in to pass between salt water and fresh water. You can go for free and watch as the boats come in, and on one side the water is very low and they raise or lower the water level till it is level with the other side, and then they open the gates and let the boats go through. It was kind of cool. Because we were there in the evening the Visitor's Center was closed but it was still pretty cool. At the same place is the fish ladder, which was built to help the fish get from salt water to fresh water, and up to the higher water level. You can go down below the water and watch the fish as they pass through, but we didn't really see any because not a lot of fish come in May/June.

It was fun watching as they threw the fish at the fish market.

                                    

Monday we went to the zoo first. It was a pretty big zoo and we had fun. Our favorites were probably the penguins and the gorillas. I had never been to a zoo where I saw so many gorillas actually doing stuff. There were 4 and they were so cute. It is so funny how they can bite off the end of some broccoli or cucumber and chomp on it. They way they use their hands is so humanlike. The penguins were just too cute. Some little kids were putting their hands on the glass and running back and forth, and a penguin would follow them back and forth by swimming really fast. We also watched them waddle around while they got fed. We enjoyed the bears as well because two bears came up close and one leaned up against a tree to scratch his back, and the other jumped into the water and swam around and came right up to the glass. There were tons of people though so it was hard to see everything and get a good picture.

After the zoo we went to the Museum of Flight. It was actually much cooler than I thought it would be. There were SO MANY planes there, new and old, big and small. We even got to go inside the first Air Force One that President Reagan used. We also saw a lot of space things. It was really cool.

During this trip I also got 9 more pennies (I know, I am kind of addicted). Now I have 43 smashed pennies and 2 smashed quarters, from lots of different places. :)

After the museum we headed home. We were glad we got to go to Seattle before we moved!

We got a job!

The job search really got intense after graduation. Chris worked hard everyday and applied to several jobs. He looked in Spokane because it was really growing on us. But surprisingly he was offered a job in little 'ole Roosevelt, Ut, population 6,000-home to not one, but 2 Family Dollars, and no Walmart. :) We were excited to be offered a job, and so soon after graduation. Even though he was still waiting to hear about a job in Spokane, we decided we couldn't turn this one down. Most of all, we would be closer to home and family, yay! The position is the DME Manager at the hospital (Durable Medical Equipment), and he will be overseeing this department and supervising about 5-6 employees. They wanted him there by June 16th, which was 3 weeks from when we found out. We certainly didn't expect to have to leave Spokane so soon. We had plans to do a lot of things over the summer that we haven't been able to do since I worked every Saturday. I had just gotten my schedule changed so that we would all rotate Saturdays and I was really excited. But we got right to work and we started packing pretty much right away. Chris went down to Roosevelt to sign papers, do a drug test, background check, etc for his job and looked for places to live. Surprisingly, it was really hard to find a place. Housing is more expensive down there because of the oil fields. All the workers come, and there is not enough housing, so prices go up. We wanted to rent a house, but quickly found we could not afford that. We don't want to buy until we get a feel for the area, so we ended up renting another apartment, only this time, it is 3 bedrooms. When Chris came down to look, he could not find anything in Roosevelt, so he put a deposit down on a place in Vernal, 30 minutes away. Vernal is bigger and has a temple (yay), Walmart, Kmart, Lowe's, Cafe Rio (yum!), Jimmy John's, JoAnn's (so excited when I found that out), Downeast, Rue 21(my favorite), and a Maurices. They are also getting a Ross and a TJ Maxx. Not the 3 big malls, 2 Hobby Lobby's, Fred Meyers, Targets and Costcos and tons of places to eat that we came from, but it will do. :) The next day we got a call about a place in Roosevelt and decided to take it instead. It is closer to home and makes sense to live where Chris works. It is nice having a little more space, with an upstairs and a downstairs, and room for a baby! (When the time comes, which is hopefully soon!)

            
As always, change is really hard and I was sad to leave my job. I am excited to not have to work full time, but I made some very good friends who I will miss dearly. We also really loved our ward and said goodbye to lots of friends the last week we were in Spokane. Isn't it so pretty! The Utah desert is a big change from this.

 So here we are, in Roosevelt. We have been here a little over a week. Chris is really liking his job and learning a lot. I have more time to read, craft, practice the piano, cook and plan meals, etc. We just found out that the hospital might looking for a part time or prn dietitian, so once I get more details that might be a possibility.

And to give you more of an idea of what Roosevelt is like, someone drove their tractor to the Roosevelt Library. Yes, this is where we live.