Lessons from Idaho...

One year ago today we arrived in Idaho Falls for our big move. I can't believe it's been a year. It's definitely been weird and a little sad to reminisce on those very hard days filled with goodbyes. Definitely one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. It hasn't been the easiest year filled with lots of adjustments but I've learned a lot too. Here are some of the things Idaho has taught me:

- Appreciate every sunny day. They are few and far between in the winter so when when summer finally arrived, I enjoyed every minute of sunshine and being outside.
- It's not always easy making friends. It's been more difficult than I thought to cultivate lots of new friendships. We've found that people who have lived in the same place their whole lives and are surrounded by all of their families aren't always interested in making new friends, makes it hard for the rest of us! We are also in between, not newlywed and not having older kids in school yet. We're always looking for new friends and it's a work in progress. I'm trying to be more outgoing and make an effort and take initiative to get to know others.
- Doing fun things! We get bored easily here so we make an effort to find things in the community to do. I've really enjoyed finding fun new things to do, whether it be a random train show, a new park, or other community events.
- Living in a rental. We actually are enjoying renting instead of owning our home. We kind of got jaded from our experience in Tucson, so it's nice to know we aren't responsible for anything major. We like our twin home but thought we wanted to move for a long time. We couldn't find anything as nice for what we're paying here and realized we got a deal. We decided to sign another year lease here, especially after the owner put up a fence in our backyard after we asked, score! We're excited to not have to pack up and move again and excited to have a fence for Jackie and Preston.
- A love for nice grass! The grass is awesome here and is everywhere. Definitely different than any grass that grows in AZ.
- Learning that weather really can affect your mood. Never realized before how much the weather can alter your attitude but it can! It will take quite the effort on our part not to let the gray, cold winter get us down. We're already coming up with some plans and ideas of things to do to avoid this.
- We like bigger cities. Idaho Falls has a lot to offer, but nowhere near what we were used to. Life has a much slower pace here (with everyone driving slow to match), doesn't seem to match our pace. Maybe we just have to learn to slow down I guess.
- We're so, so grateful for airplanes! It's been so great to be able to see my parents so much. We've taken turns going back and forth, although they won't be headed our way anytime soon with the weather.
- It's been fun living close to Steve's family. It's fun to be apart of family festivities and live the closest to family we ever have. We know Preston especially loves being so close to his best bud Ty, who he talks about all the time.
- Holidays, especially Christmas, are definitely more magical with the cold weather and snow. Even though I hate the weather, it definitely makes hot chocolate and Christmas movies more fun.
- I really love living close to a temple. I may not go as often as I should being that it's so close but I still love it. I love that it takes exactly 13 minutes to get there and I drive by it at least once a week. It's beautiful on the river and a constant reminder of the sacred things that take place within it's walls and how I should be living my life. It always makes me think of the primary song, "I Love to See the Temple."

Ok, that's enough about what I've learned. It's definitely been an interesting year with many ups and downs but we're hopeful for the year to come and the new adventures ahead.