Dig the Digs

Three whole years in one house must mean SOMETHING.

For us, it means these years...

are over.

We're stayin' put, rooted, firmly planted, homesteaded...settled.

But it wasn't always

like that.

Take a stroll with me to

The Vacant Homes of Memory Lane

Memory Lane, Cedar City, Utah

Home #1 and 2*: Camino Royale

Okay, okay...Camino Manor. But LOOK at this beauty, this manifestation of architectural majesty...)

*We actually lived in TWO different units in this complex. Crazy...but good times.

GOOD TIMES: Free rent (we were the managers. So proud...); surrounded, literally, by good friends and great weekend outings; campus mere steps from our front door; fireworks from the stadium in the summer; Shakespearean Festival musician next door=free play tickets; charming white wood paneling (after I attacked the 70s paneling with a paint brush wielding white paint)

BAD TIMES: Coin-op laundry; 3-inch gap at bottom of front door (think bitter wind seeping into apartment in winter); elementary school-style toilet (complete with ferocious sounding flush),; built-in couches (no joke)

Home #3: Cedars West Apartments

A temporary stop-over until Christopher's impending Hall Director position was vacated--stay tuned for that move...I know you want to.

GOOD TIMES: 3 bedrooms!! (i.e. more places to stack the boxes); a family of cats that lived across the parking lot and came to visit me (They sensed the animal-loving vibes...and maybe enjoyed the food.); great view from back upstairs window, air conditioner and no gap under front door

BAD TIMES: Coin-op laundry AGAIN!; strange smell

Home #4: Juniper Residence Hall, SUU Campus

GOOD TIMES: A quaint, private little apartment in the bottom floor of a dorm while the rest of the poor college students resided around and above is in their cramped rooms and shared, communal bathrooms; free rent, no utilities, plus 2 paychecks (Christopher got paid for being Hall Director and I had a full-time job elsewhere); constant flow of residents in and out of our open door ( I LOVED it!); free play tickets (Love the Shakespearean Festival); the birth of Ultimate Croquet, Water Bottle competitions and FREE LAUNDRY!! (albeit in the dark dungeon of the basement); chaperoning group dates as the only married couple amidst a crowd of singles in hot pursuit; unending supply of heat that we didn't have to pay for!; VIP parking spot (never had to search for a place to park...and that was a big deal)

BAD TIMES: Cinder block walls; rude awakenings at 2 a.m. when fire alarm sounded due to burnt microwave popcorn 3 floors up


Memory Lane, Las Vegas, Nevada

Home #5: Mesa Club Apartments

GOOD TIMES: Great friends; great ward; 3 blocks from Christopher's school, 2 from mine; surrounded by actual drywall, lots and lots and lots of windows; 10 minutes to airport, 10 minutes from Strip, but far enough to avoid having to smell it; pool; great shopping

BAD TIMES: black widows and cockroaches on our deck; knuckle marks in front door from previous owner; low-flying airplanes

(Temporary) Home #6--House sitting

GOOD TIMES: Huge pool with slide, waterfall and hot tub; HUGE kitchen; use of car (see above); sprawling back deck to hang out on at night when it cooled down to 105 degrees; not having to clean a house for a month; a bathroom bigger than our apartment

BAD TIMES: getting lost in the house, leaving our cat a lone man at home for a month

(Temporary) Home #7--Basement of my parent's house until we found our current home

ALL good times! ;) Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Memory Lane, Home Sweet Home

Home #8

GOOD TIMES; Fabulous friends, great neighbors, fantastic ward, incredible view, home projects galore and no packing in sight!!

Here's to 3 years in one place!