Greetings from Cincinnati! Wow...we just barely got our internet hooked up on Thursday. I finally feel like I am reconnected with the world. It has been a while since I posted a blog...but I really do have a good excuse. At the end of February BJ was offerred a great job opportunity with his same company (Procter and Gamble) in Cincinnati (P&G's "hub"). Everything happened so fast. BJ only had a phone interview and was offerred the position...they wanted him to start work in 3 wks (end of March). He switched from pharmaceuticals to being on the febreeze team in the general offices downtown. He has a lot to learn but is really enjoying his job so far. He is excited for the challenge and was ready for a change. Speaking of change.....we are out of the basement in Utah! We loved being in Utah but knew that change was coming. We outgrew the little basement we were living in and are now in a beautiful new home that we are really excited about.
About a week and a half after we found out we were moving we flew out to Cincinnati to look for places to live. We were open to renting or buying. We just had a prayer in our hearts and looked for the place that we felt we were supposed to move. We only had 4 days to find a place to live. Poor Drake ate, slept, and played in the car 4 days straight. After we spent all day (12-13 hours) looking at areas and homes BJ and I would stay up most of the night in the hotel and search the internet for housing options. We literally overturned every rock...nothing was left unseen. The night before we had to fly back to Utah we still had no place to live. Our real estate agent was wonderful and helped us in every way possible. He took us all over the Cincinnati area looking for the perfect place. At 8pm the night before we were supposed to fly home we found a newly built subdivision in a great location. The lady that worked for the "Drees" homes gave us a key to look over 4 "immediate move-in" homes. We narrowed it down to 2 houses that we liked. We went back and forth for a couple hours trying to pick the floor plan that we liked. The next day as we were walking on to the plane we put in an offer. They counter offered too high and we didn't feel good about it. We told them that we couldn't afford it and got on the plane. I knew that something would work out for us...whether we would buy the home or find a rental online. When we got off the plane the realtor called us and said the builder was willing to work with us. After some deal-making we finalized the offer. We were soooo excited! I knew this was the home we were supposed to buy even though I had only been in it twice! The neighborhood was beautiful and the floor plan is awesome!
When we got back to Utah we only had about 2 weeks until we had to be in Cincinnati. Procter and Gamble was awesome with the move. They did everything for us and even gave us our own personal "relocation" lady to help us. The movers - Ryan and Josh were the best! I trusted them with our stuff. Of course we bribed them with good food. When they showed up to move us they were extremely surprised at how much stuff we were able to fit in the little basement. It took 4 times the amount of time they thought it would take to move us. I felt bad...but then BJ reminded me that they will get paid more than they thought...so I didn't feel so bad anymore.
It was really easy to leave the basement...but really hard to leave family and friends. We loved our ward, friends, being close to BJ's family and my brothers at BYU. What a wonderful chapter in my life that has been closed. Julie & Rod Rivers gave us a "goodbye open house." We will always love our wonderful friends in Lindon! I hated to say goodbye to my brothers and Kate (Tanner's girlfriend). I always enjoyed having them over for dinner and being a part of their lives while they were at BYU. I felt privileged to be their 2nd "mommy." I was able to be there for Tanner's whole BYU experience! He graduates this month. I helped send both Tanner and Dallin off on their missions and Dallin and I became surgery buddies the year before he left on his mission. When Tanner got home off of his mission we became TMJ buddies! I know that I was supposed to be their for my brothers...especially while my parents were mission presidents in New Jersey. I felt like I was able to take care of them like mom and dad wanted.
The movers took both of our cars on the truck...Drake loved the truck! We stayed with BJ's parents for a couple days before we flew to Cincinnati. I loved being close to his parents. I feel like Drake got to know Grandpa and Grandma Stanley really well. It made me so sad to leave them! We have loved spending time with BJ's family and being around them. We want to come back to the West as soon as the opportunity arises.
Our flight was really early in the morning on March 24th. Within an hour of getting off the plane we signed the papers for the house and they gave us a key. Ryan and Josh were nice and pulled up to our house to let us get our cars off the truck. They weren't unloading the rest of the stuff until the next morning. We put blankets, Drake's playard, towels, and toilet paper in the back of my car so we could just stay at our house that night and not a hotel. We were so excited to be in the house. It was prettier than I had even remembered it. I couldn't even sleep the first night. I had so much on my mind...and the floor was hard. BJ went into work that morning. We thought he wasn't going to start work until April 1st, but he had so much to learn he ended up starting Wed morning. I felt somewhat overwhelmed. BJ helped with what he could...but for the most part I was alone with Drake trying to unpack all of our stuff with the movers. It was quite a whirlwind for the first week or so. For the first 2-3 days I had 4-6 guys in my house at all times. People were fixing things, moving things...etc. Drees is a great company...the builders are on top of things! I tried to put Drake in his playard but he was way too excited to sit still. He was a maniac for about a week. I knew that he was trying to adjust. He was a little off his schedule and was in a totally different environment. He seemed confused when he walked into his room in the basement and the movers were taking down his bed. He was really excited when we started unpacking things in the new house that he recognized...especially the vacuum! Our new house has a lot of windows that Drake can see out of and so he runs back and forth telling me when there is a lawn mower, dog, bus, or truck. He loves the space and it took him about a week before he stopped running back and forth and rolling around on the ground. Drake loves the stairs. It took us a few days to get him somewhat "stair safe." He likes to hold onto the side railing and walk down like a big person. Drake has his own bathroom upstairs and has a mirror cabinet that holds his toothpaste and his "Elmo" toothbrush. He loves to brush his teeth with "Melmo." There are 16 kids under the age of 8 on our street....no we aren't in Utah! I have only had a chance to meet a few of our neighbors and they seem really nice. I am excited to get to know more of them. The Drees community that we live in is beautiful and we love to walk around it at night. Once the weather is a little warmer I am sure we will get to know more of our neighbors. BJ and I are enjoying our workout room/corner in the basement. It is so fun to have so much space. I have had a lot of fun organizing things and getting things for the house. We have waited a long time to have a home and really appreciate the chance to make it a safe haven for our small family. We feel extremely blessed.
So far we love our ward! We are barely in the ward boundaries. The ward is actually about twice the size of our Lindon ward. People have been wonderful in helping us feel welcome. The ward is a good mix of age etc. A lot of members work for Procter and Gamble and work downtown where BJ is. We are excited to get to know more of our ward family. They are going to be our family out here.
We live exactly 5 minutes away from a new 52,000 sq ft L.A. Fitness that is opening on Wed. In the same parking lot is a brand new Medical Center that just opened this week. We joined LA Fitness and I even auditioned to be a Pilates teacher. The lady said she really wants to hire me so we'll see how that goes. If I teach two classes a week I get a free membership...that would be nice. I would also love to get a nursing job at the new medical center. I am currently working with a couple nurse recruiters from different hospitals. I was offered a job in Cincinnati Children's NICU. I was quite flattered b/c their NICU is rated 2nd or 3rd in the country. Babies fly there from all over...even California. I had to turn it down for now b/c I couldn't work as much as they wanted me to. I am hoping to find a 3-11pm shift once a week so Drake will only be babysat for a couple hours a week. There is a lady in the ward (her kids are about my age) who is looking for daycare opportunities. I am going to check that out. I know that I will figure something out that I will feel good about.
Just the last few days I have finally felt a little more settled in our home. We finally get blinds tomorrow morning...yeah! We are really enjoying the blessings a home brings.
There were a few birthdays in April in the West Chester Relief Society so we decided to celebrate "big!" This was really fun for me because it gave me a chance to get to know some of the other ladies in the ward. There are wonderful people in our ward. I have enjoyed getting to know them! It was Rachel Chalk's idea to pull everything together. We rented a limo that took us to dinner and then drove us around downtown Cincinnati so we could talk and have snacks and drink...apple cider! We went to Trish Manwaring's house afterward for cake and ice cream. We had a blast!
