Happy Birthday Josh!

Josh turned 28 on Tuesday! It was right in the middle of our packing/moving situation so it wasn't anything grand, but he said he had fun so that works for me! I gave him his presents first thing in the morning (all he wanted were UNC clothes and jerseys, which is soooo typical Josh). Then we went to McDonalds for breakfast. We wanted to procrastinate packing as long as possible, so we sat there and talked for a couple of hours (which was actually really nice). Then we spent the rest of the day packing until dinner time when we went with his Dad to Texas Roadhouse.

Josh and his Dad

Me and the Birthday boy at dinner!

Josh got to ride the Birthday saddle at Texas Roadhouse (he wasn't too enthused but we thought it was hilarious).

Then later that night Josh's brother and his family came over for Cheesecake! I had accidentally packed away the candles (oops!) so we lit a Yankee candle and put it next to the cake for Josh to blow out (hehe). I felt bad for not having enough time to make him a special homemade cake this year, but as always, Costco never fails me.....that cheesecake was pretty dang good! We had fun sitting around the table talking to Nick and Jen and the gang, we are really going to miss them!

The whole gang (minus Josh's Dad who is taking the picture)

The next day, after another long day of packing, we went out to the Olive Garden for another Birthday dinner with Josh's Mom (sometimes divorce is kinda nice...). I was surprised because Josh actually ordered something different than "the usual"..... maybe his tastes are maturing along with his age? All in all, I think it was a pretty good Birthday. Maybe next year things won't be so hectic and we will get to go on a nice trip or something. Happy Birthday my love! May you never die.

Saying Goodbye

The hardest part of moving far away is having to say goodbye to the people you love. We have so many amazing people in our lives who lift us up and have always been there for us when we needed them. I wanted to write this post so I would always remember the special moments I had saying goodbye to these certain special people. We love you all and are going to miss you so much! 

Josh's brother Tony and his family came to visit this summer and we had so much fun!  The weather was beautiful and the kids were adorable. This is my favorite moment with them. Josh was playing football with Tony and Jaxson, while the little girls and I collected flowers and pine cones and did a random cartwheel every once in a while :).

I adore these two giggling beauties! This is the note that I came home to after work one day that they were dying to show me :).  We had so much fun painting nails and doing "girl stuff." 

Sadie and her boyfriend also came to visit us for a couple of days before she had to start the Fire Academy. We went hot tubbing, ate at fun restaurants, did some gym time (as you can see by Sadie's huge muscles!), and played with Tony's kiddos. I was so glad we got this time together!

Then I went to Nevada to see the rest of my family. I spent the night with Grandma Helm in Boulder City and did our usual dinner outside on the veranda at MILO'S BISTRO. We talked til late into the night and then the next morning went to IHOP for some breakfast. She is an amazing woman and I am really going to miss her.

My Aunt Diana and Uncle Kenneth met up with us at IHOP so I got to see them too! The Helm side doesn't get together unless somebody dies so I was glad they could make it!

Jura has been my best friend since elementary school. It still amazes me how close we are and that we have been able to maintain that friendship over the years even though we lived in different states. I loved spending the day shopping and talking with her like old times and then later that night going to a Mexican Fiesta that her ward put on, and then staying up late talking and getting an essential oil massage from her! Thank goodness for cell phones because I would be so lost without this girl!

***(I also spent time with my Aunt Heidi and Uncle Brian in Las Vegas but sadly I didn't take any pictures. As always, Heidi and I talked for hours and got all caught up on life. Brian is going through a hard time right now and I was glad I was able to be there to talk to him and hopefully cheer him up a bit.)***

I loved spending time with my wonderful Mom in Overton. We made a little routine while I was there of going to McDonalds every morning and getting a drink and oatmeal and then bringing it home and talking while we ate it. It sounds stupid but those moments were so comforting to me and I will cherish them when I am far away from home in North Carolina. We also bought essential oils of our own (thanks to Jura's oath that they heal everything) and I gave her and Briana a massage. My mom's massage was calming and wonderful, but Briana's was a different story. I had forgotten to dilute one of the oils and ended up burning her face! But don't worry, Karma struck later that night when I did the exact same thing to myself and spent over an hour in the bathroom trying to make my swollen/painful face heal and go back to it's normal size.... Briana walked in on me and couldn't stop laughing......yes, Karma.

Briana and I have a tradition of going to "the Inside Scoop" every time I come home to visit and sharing an ice cream. This isn't the greatest picture of us, but I wanted to remember this special moment of bonding over sister talk and Raspberry Sorbet. It was a little weird for me because she is in High School now and our talks are getting a lot more PG-13, but it was fun and I hope we remain this close for the rest of our lives!

Sadie was accepted into the Las Vegas Fire Academy and as tradition stands, had to buzz off all of her hair! I was so glad I could be there for this special occasion, if not just to have the opportunity to make jokes about her looking like a turtle ;). This is her with her "Mohawk" before the rest of her hair was chopped off.

The final product! I am so proud of you Sadie, love you!

Family Night for the Fire Academy. My Grandparents live in St. George now so this was the only time I got to see them. I feel so lucky that I have had them in my life and that we are so close. It was fun walking around the academy and getting to see what Sadie will be up to for the next couple of months and even getting to see pictures on the wall with my Grandma Helm of my Grandpa Helm's Fire-Team back when he was still alive!

Briana and I goofing off before we left the Fire Academy and went to a Mexican Restaurant in Las Vegas to celebrate Sadie and this big accomplishment! A better picture of the two of us was definitely a must!

Tyson and Wrandi came to visit us once I got back into Salt Lake. The guys had fun watching football while Wrands and I talked. We are really going to miss them!

What would I do without my Wrandall? We met Freshman year of college and have been the best of friends ever since! I'm hoping they come visit us in NC very soon!

And then there's my Susie-Q. We also met freshman year of college and have been like sisters from the start. I loved catching up on life and wandering around the City Creek Mall smelling Yankee Candles and catching up on the latest gossip. She is joining the Navy after she graduates this year and hopefully will be stationed somewhere back east next to me!

I wouldn't have met Josh if it weren't for Susie, so I owe her a lot. We have always been like 3-peas in a pod and have lots of funny stories from the past that we love to reminisce over when we get together. We met at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch to say good-bye. I hope this move won't stop us from always being close. 

Meeting up with Josh's Mom and Step-Dad was the highlight of our week. They are such amazing people and we love them dearly. We ate at "Mimi's Cafe" and talked about the big adventure ahead of us. They had plenty of advice to give us that will be very helpful since they just spent the last two years far far away as well (In New Zealand). 

Dreams Do Come True ~ Now Off to North Carolina!!

I have been wanting to post this for a while now but we had to make sure all of our ducks were in a row before we let the world know what's going on...

JOSH GOT HIS DREAM JOB AS DIRECTOR OF FINANCE FOR UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA!!!!!   (Go Tarheels!)

Those of you who are close to us know how hard he has worked and how long we have waited for this amazing opportunity to arrive! (Now here's where I do some  bragging...) My talented, extraordinary, dedicated, and persistent husband has been working for the University of Phoenix for the past three years, biding his time and learning the trade of finance in higher education so that some day he could take over a University (we weren't sure which one at the time but did plenty of dreaming) and be their Director of Finance. Other Universities in various states had previously made offers but it just never felt right. There was always something wrong that made it a deal-breaker. The hard part was trusting our instincts, being persistent, and continuing to apply and interview without getting discouraged and feeling like the perfect job was never going to come. And then September came....We had our Mediterranean Cruise all planned out and ready to go. We both scheduled two weeks off from work and were counting down the days til the middle of September when we could travel around Europe and experience new cultures and all the fun that comes along with that. Then the University of North Carolina called.... they wanted to interview Josh right when we were supposed to be leaving on our cruise :(. So we had some big decisions to make and finally concluded that we should put a hold on our trip and  make UNC the new plan B. So off we went to North Carolina (I got to go too!) for Josh's interview and to explore the area. Basically after a few days of our vacation we concluded that we absolutely love it there and were dying to hear back from the hiring manager as to whether Josh had made it to the final round of interviews or not.

Waiting is always the hardest part and I didn't want to waste the two weeks I had off from work just sitting around the house waiting. So I decided to go see my family! Josh decided to tell his boss he wouldn't be going on vacation anymore and head back to work, so he didn't go with me. That wasn't an option for me since another nurse had already been scheduled to fill my position so I took full advantage of my time off! I spent a week in Nevada visiting friends and family and loving every second of it!! I will write another post on that later.

While I was in Nevada Josh got the phone call we had been waiting for! He was selected as the candidate for the position!!! I was so ecstatic that I immediately started crying as soon as I hung up the phone. I was hoping that when he got the call I would be there with him so I could jump into his arms and give him a million kisses and then later that night go out and celebrate. But life is funny that way, things always work out with a twist. So I celebrated with my friends and family and Josh did the same in Salt Lake City with his family. Rest assured though, when I got back into Utah, we did plenty of celebrating which started with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory! Now we are focused on planning out the move. It is still so weird to think that we will be living on the South/East Coast very soon. But we couldn't be more excited!!! I am so proud of Josh and what an amazing example he is. All I can say is God has truly blessed us. That about sums up everything.

The buildings were so exquisite. The campus felt like we were in the
old south surrounded by massive plantations!

The inside was even more gorgeous than the outside!
This room was full of old Rembrandt portraits.

Josh goofing off (as usual) before his interview

The gorgeous gazebo in the center of campus