What's Goin' On?

For those wanting more details about our move - we don't really have a solid timeframe - we just plan to go when things are wrapped up here with our house, which is now on the market. Anyone wanna buy a house, or know somebody who does? Jared is transferring, so he'll continue working for the same company, and essentially be doing the same job. He feels it's a better opportunity, though, as the engineering headquarters for their company is located in San Diego, so this puts him in a position to learn more, gain more relevant experience, and work more closely with other engineers in the company who have more experience than he does. We took a trip to San Diego a few weeks ago and had a good time. A little bit of sticker shock, but we did find a couple of places that we'd definitely be interested in if we were currently in the market for a place in the San Diego area, so that's promising. Our plan, as it stands, is to rent for the next couple of years. That will allow us to get to know the area a little more before making the commitment of buying, and will also give the market a little more time to settle - Jared's still pretty sure things are overvalued and thinks prices will continue to drop over the next little while. Most importantly, we can't wait to have visitors down there. More often than not, when I tell someone we're moving to San Diego, the response is, "Ooh, we love it down there!" So, don't be shy - come and visit us! I'm not sure yet what kind of accommodations we'll have, but if you don't want to stay with us, at least let us know you'll be in the area, and we can have you over for dinner or something! We haven't even left Utah yet, and I'm already feeling anxious about how much we're going to miss all of our wonderful friends and family here, so, someone, throw me a bone, and tell me you'll come and visit us!

Here's the update I sent to my grandparents, for those who are wondering what we've been up to. I want to do each of these events justice and give them each a blog post, but the way things are going around here, it's looking more and more doubtful. So here's the rest of what's going on with us:

Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

Well, we've had another very busy and oh-so-fun month! It's hard to believe that summer (at least summer vacation) is already over - Audrey starts school on Thursday, and most of the kids around here go back today (she starts a little later because they do individual assessments of the kindergarten students the first few days). As the date draws nearer, I get a little more anxious, but the only thing she mentions by way of complaint is that she still doesn't want to wear collars to school (all of her uniform shirts have collars). We'll see how that goes. Her best friend Alessa is going in to first grade, and a spot just opened up for her at the school over the weekend, so they will be attending the same school, which I think will make a big difference for her, especially as far as wearing the uniform goes. Regardless, though I think she's a bit nervous (and I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous) about school starting, I think we're all a little anxious to get back into our normal routine after a crazy, fun summer!

Things are moving ahead with getting ready to move - slowly, but surely. There's still plenty to do in the house, but Jared went ahead and listed it last Friday. We haven't had any bites yet, but we'll see what this week brings. We had a yard sale where we were able to clear a lot of our stuff out of the basement (though we'll probably need to have another one before we move, depending on how big our new place ends up being), we've had the carpets cleaned, I've been cleaning and organizing like crazy, and I've done a little more decorating (with lots of help from Julie and Michelle) to help 'stage' the house a bit. Now that things are looking good, it's hard to want to leave! Audrey's helping us out, though - the other night, she told me we should probably sell our house for $100 (the biggest amount of money she could conceive of). I chuckled and told her we'd probably sell it for a bit more than that. She went and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and asked me how much the house would cost. I told her, and she asked me how to write it. She wrote it down, and then wrote all of our names - 'Jared, Jenny, Audrey, Adam.' She then asked how to spell 'San Diego,' telling me that people would need to know where we were going and why we were moving. When she finished, she taped her little 'for sale' sign to the front door, went down to the bottom of the driveway to inspect her work, and declared, 'People might need a magnifying glass to see it!' We don't need a real estate agent - we've got Audrey!

In other moving news, we took a trip to San Diego a few weeks ago to check things out there. Jared was already there for some training, so I flew out to meet him. We were a little dismayed at how expensive everything is out there - there is just no way we'll be in a house even close to the one we have here - but we did find some nice areas that we've kind of 'targeted' and will watch once we have a better idea of our timeframe. Life will be different there - everything seems so much more crowded and bustling. We had a great time, though. We were able to leave the kids with Jared's parents, so it was just us, and we took advantage of that, taking a walk on the beach, going to several favorite restaurants, seeing a movie, visiting with Jared's brother and sister-in-law who live out there, and driving all over northern San Diego County, checking out homes and areas. It's still really hard to think of leaving here, but I feel blessed that this opportunity is in a place that we both really love.


Adam had his 3rd birthday last week, and we had lots of fun with that. Mom and Dad came over to celebrate on Saturday, and then Jared's family all came over on Sunday evening. He kept saying he was going to turn 5, just like Audrey, but he's figured out that he's not quite there yet. He still won't say that he's three yet, though - when you ask him how old he is, he just holds up 3 fingers and says, 'I'm this many!' He has been so much fun the last couple of years, that it's hard to imagine he was once such a difficult baby. He has such a sunny little personality now, and is generally pretty easygoing. He still loves trucks and dirt. We got him a sand and water table for his birthday and, though we had to fill it up entirely with sand, because the water was just making it too messy, he still loves it and will spend a good couple of hours outside playing in it, even just on his own. He's been making us laugh lately with the things he comes up with. Recently, I got him a churro after we were done shopping at Costco, and told him to share with Audrey. As we were walking to the table, a piece of it fell onto the floor. He picked it up and said, 'This piece is for Audrey!' A couple of weeks ago, he asked to wear a tie to church and proudly said, 'I'm just like Daddy!' He often proclaims, 'I'm big! I'm big! I'm a big boy!' and the worst way Audrey can insult him is to call him a baby. He still hangs on to a few vestiges of babyhood, but he's growing up fast!

We've had quite a few other fun events and activities this month. Last weekend was our city's 'Lindon Days' celebration and, on Saturday morning, they had a little parade. Our ward participated, and Audrey loved riding on the trailer, waving and throwing candy to the spectators. Jared, Adam and I sat near the front of the parade route and collected lots of candy and chatted with friends and neighbors. It only lasted half an hour and was lots of fun. Audrey kept saying, 'That was my first parade! That was my first time to be in a parade!' There was some work being done on the road between the parade route and where we'd parked our car, so Adam got some up-close-and-personal moments with some of the heavy machinery he's so fond of. That pretty much made his day! Speaking of parades, we had so much fun seeing Mom's float in the Salt Lake Children's Parade. Adam was sick, but Audrey and I got down there just in time to see them walking past. They had a huge turnout with lots of kids, and everything looked great! I really marveled at all of the hard work involved in each entry, knowing a little more about what goes on behind the scenes. We enjoyed the donuts Dad brought and had fun walking around the Children's Festival, though we didn't stay long since it was crowded and hot.

We loved having Julie's family here to visit in July. The kids had so much fun playing with Jacob and doting on baby Eric, and the adults had a great time visiting. We took the kids to BYU and the Life Science Museum, where they got to watch a reptile show and pet a snake! We also went to the Dinosaur Museum, had fun in the wading pool at Grandma's, ate lots of great food, and actually got a good-looking family picture, which was a major feat!



We sure missed you guys this weekend, knowing it was the wedding, and wishing we could have been there. I hope all went well. I saw some photos that Emily posted on her blog, and everything looked beautiful. Grandma, we have been thinking of you, especially, and the challenges you are having with your knee - please know that you are in our prayers, and we hope the doctors are able to find a solution and you're finding relief soon. We love you both so much and appreciate all you do for us.

Love,
Jenny and family