Good Finds of Late. Utah style.

As I drove and drove as far north as my vehicle as ever ventured last Tuesday night, the temps outside hovered around below freezing, my three kids slept spread out in the back, and I cried. I know Jace told me Vernal was a good 9 hour drive from Snowflake but do you know how far that really is? It is miles and miles and hours and hours far. When I was finally able to crawl into bed with my friend Jace Baum at 1 that morning here:

Jace's new townhome he shares with the Mosley family. Boy am I glad to have them along for the ride.

I was still crying. I didn't like my first middle of the night viewing of main street and the valley where my husband now resides. He said, "It's OK, everything will look and be better in the morning." I wish I could tell you that it did. But it didn't.  Not the 1st couples of days anyway.

Vernal is a lot Arizona (except for that whole recession bit).  Arid desert with irrigated parts. Beautiful homes with a double wide trailer next door that does not look like its going anywhere, anytime soon. Lots of mormons (You know I love a good mormon. It was just bizarre not knowing a single one). The local streets are filled with camouflage jacket wearing, jacked up truck driving individuals. And I swear the female population all had the same hair do. Spiky.

It looks like Arizona, with the exception of the mountains surrounding the entire valley.

Good finds you wonder? OK, I tried. I really did (I don't think I cried the last two days I was there, right Jace? Just when I had to kiss you farewell?). By the end of the week, I was imagining my life there. We looked at hundreds of houses. Put an offer in on one. Loved another (not the house so much as the lovely tree lined street it sat on).  Jace feels good about his new employment and I found a perfectly lovely clothing boutique, a dinosaur museum, a brand new rec center, a beautiful temple, beautiful parks, 4 new brick elementary schools, and a restaurant opened on Thanksgiving day:

Senior citizens ate for free Thanksgiving day. Lucky for the senior citizens, the party room was vacant and way in the back for the young, rowdy, and eat with their hands -Baum party of 5.

Noah told me he prayed to Heavenly Father the 1st day we were there to "make it night time, so I could go to sleep and wake up and walk to the dinosaur museum." He has talked of nothing else since.

Ezra and Manny from Ice Age meet.

Who needs a plastic dinosaur or a bouncing dino egg, when the gift shop offered these fine and rare stones?

The sun showed its self the 3rd day we were there and did wonders for our outlook and attitudes.

The bank owned, newly constructed, not finished, funky house, in need of my tender guidance and Jace's willing and capable hands. We still have yet to hear what they thought of our generous offer. Of course, Jace and I managed to find the house at the end of the only dirt road in Unitah county (do you know they pave their roads in other parts of the world? Me either.) The 2.42 acres hasn't been irrigated in years and grows mountains of stickers. It's sure to feel like home.

Here is what the above mentioned house COULD look like. Are you catching the vision now?

I am thrilled to be home and back at my life that I love. Minus Jace. I was missing him the first exit I missed at Green river, the second time Noah needed a potty break at the side of the road, and every moment since. That empty spot in my bed, the empty chair at meal times, and the fireplace without a fire may very well be my biggest motivation to start packing my boxes again. Heaven knows I need one.