Never a dull moment

We certainly have been keeping busy since we arrived here in Utah. We spent the first couple of days getting settled into the house: unpacking, getting cable and internet set up, making sure the mail is being forwarded, figuring out when garbage day is, setting up bank accounts, etc. Lots of fun, all of it!

In addition to all that mundane stuff, we've been meeting with contractors, painters, engineers, electricians, and city council members about getting our little commercial property up and going. That has taken a surprising amount of time! In addition, we've been doing what we can ourselves to fix up the little store I'll be running on Main Street in Heber. Here's a picture of what it looks like today:



It's a cute little building in desperate need of a paint job! (Hence the meetings with painters - none of whom must be very excited about doing it either, since we haven't heard back from any of them.) We would think about doing it ourselves, but it has incredibly ornate millwork which we are not too thrilled about scraping, puttying and painting ourselves. But we have been painting some of the rooms inside, working on the yard, etc.



In other news, we made a quick trip up to the Billings Montana temple last weekend for Rachell Robert's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, and it was lots of fun to visit with family.

Westward Ho!

Okay, I know we're not really pioneers, but driving over 2,000 miles in a pickup truck makes you kind of feel like one. You feel every bump and pothole - and after about 100 miles, you start to appreciate the joys of airplane travel, or even passenger car travel! But we persevered, and after only five delightful days of driving, we made it to the beautiful Heber valley. Bekah especially had to grin and bear it, as she was relegated to the miniature back seat of the truck as her home for the five-day trek. But she was a trouper, and we made it all the way across country with nary a complaint from her.


We made a quick stop at Niagra Falls because Bekah had never been there, and it seemed a shame to pass up the opportunity when we were so close.



Our trip was made much more enjoyable by a day and a half stop in Davenport, Iowa to visit Jeff and Rachel, who had arrived there just about a week before we got there. We had brought some of our old furniture to help populate their apartment, so after a short time unloading, and another bit of time setting things up, we were free to enjoy some quality visiting time with them. They showed us around Davenport, including Palmer. Here is a picture of Rachel and Rebekah in a little courtyard on the Palmer campus.


Checking out the flooding of the Mississippi River in Davenport - it had pretty much all receded by the time we got there.


Trying out the ice cream at Whitey's in Davenport.




And this is our new "Home Sweet Home" in Heber.


We've had fun seeing Rob, Mindy and Abby; Matt, Amy and Preston; and Jake and Nicole. We look forward to seeing the rest of you when you come to visit us here in Utah!