We made it.
It's crazy that the last post on this blog was from when we visited this exact same place 2 years ago. Within that time we got pregnant, had Wilder, switched jobs, MOVED here, and landed new jobs!
We traveled 5 days and stopped 2 nights in Denver to see some friends on our journey here. It was a nice break from intense driving with a puppy and an 8 month old baby in my car, and Danny driving the U-Haul. Aunt Cookie flew into Denver and drove the last 2 days with us in the card - a huge help with Wilder in a perpetual state of sleeping, eating, crying, repeat! I must say.... Oliver was actually very good in his back seat spot as well. We weren't sure how it would pan out, but he did great!
Housing
We moved to Victor unsure of where we would actually "lay roots" and so far it's been great! I actually really love being in a quiet smaller town compared to Jackson, and Danny doesn't mind the commute (so far). Its about 30 minute drive over the "pass", so it can be difficult but also beautiful.
We are renting a house for a while, and it's apparent that we are ready to be homeowners because all we want to do is fix it up! It's so hard to live in a rental and not improve it. Case and point, Danny is out working in the yard as we speak! We are trying to get the grass more filled in for Wilder and Oliver to play around in. There are SO MANY rocks just below the surface that it's a real challenge to do any sort of yard work improvements.
I am searching on Zillow every few days to see what new mediocre houses are available, and mostly unimproved land is still listed. Our dreams are to build a home on the perfect piece of property: fairly remote with a few neighbors (ideally with kids also), surrounded by trees, near a small river. think we can find it?? I found a pretty promising lot for sale in Tetonia, ID (north of Driggs) but its part of a subdivision that seems to be undergoing some sort of bankruptcy or something..... In the meanwhile, we have decided that we could be okay with buying and improving an existing home if it fits enough of the before mentioned criteria.
Work
Danny is really happy at his new job in Jackson, Carney Logan Burke Architects. They are a great group of people that are very welcoming. A local showroom hosted a seated dinner for their whole office and spouses were invited, so I got to meet most of the employees that night! Good timing!
I'm doing about 10-15 hours of work for Warehouse 109 at the moment, and it seems to be a pretty good balance. Wilder is going to daycare 2 days a week, which helps me keep the house, meals, and my part-time work under control. I have put a few feelers out there to see about getting another part-time job in Interior Architecture, but haven't seen anything come through yet (which is fine with me!) I'm sure something will come along that I can't say no to, and then I'll be back to being super busy again! I just need to remember why we moved here in the first place, and keep the live/work balance under control.
FUN!
There is no shortage of activities here! We had a couple weeks when we first arrived, when we could "hit the slopes" and Danny took full advantage!! I even got out there one day and had a really good time! It was more fun than I anticipated actually. I hadn't been skiing in about 15 years, and that was only once! I took a half day lesson at Grand Targhee which also bought me a lift ticket for the easy slopes. I was happy just to get onto a Blue by the end of the day! I think Wilder will be all over that resort in a couple years, so I need to be prepared!!
We've recently had a few very nice and sunny days which we spend mostly outside walking and at the park! Oliver and Wilder love the park equally (I think). We also split our Fridays between Tot Swim in Jackson at the Rec Center and Storytime at the Victor Library. Already keeping him nice and busy, and he's only awake like 9 hours a day! haha!
Also on Fridays, Danny's office is only open half day so we can easily go out for a hike in the afternoon or explore a new area. Last Friday we went on a 4 mile hike to Taggert Lake in GTNP (Grand Teton National Park). This Friday we did some exploring around Jenny Lake and String Lake. So much to see!!!
Danny's parents and his cousin are visiting in a couple weeks, so we've been trying to get more familiar with the hiking, fishing, site seeing options. Also Danny and his cousin are planning a backpacking trek the first night, and I want us (me, Wilder, Elle and Mr. Chris) to be able to hike a few easy miles to meet them at the end of their overnight trip. That's what most of my research has been about lately. This area received sooo much snow this year that there are still a number of trails closed! And they don't expect to open them for a few more weeks... so we wait.
Well-Being
So far its been wonderful. I'm sure my friends and family were hoping we'd get here and turn around, but actually quite the opposite is true! SORRY!
We moved to this new place with the intention to become better. Not that we were bad people before...haha but we needed some more breathing room! We have generally been more active, eating better, cooking at home, exercising, relaxing, and exploring / discovering new territory. All fundamental reasons for moving out west to a new exciting spot!
It dawned on me the other day that I should probably be documenting this momentous time in our little family's existence. Hence the journal. This blog is most likely going to be less informational and more journalistic for a while... consider yourself warned :)