At the same time, I needed the outdoors close. In the Salt Lake Valley my mom could put me on a bus to the ski resorts, only 10-30 min from my front door. I could hike, bike, mountain climb and picnic in our beautiful mountains with little effort made on my part. In Portland I had lucious green state parks in my backyard with miles of trails. The coast, where I could enjoy walks on the beach and camp under giant coniferous trees and yet, I could go to the opera or symphony, enjoy good local music, and tour galleries filled with local and international art.
So I suppose I always thought I'd live in the city....Best of both worlds.
I can remember a conversation I had with a friend late one night while camping on the Green River about our dreams. He had elaborate plans to travel throughout the world and through outer space. He even wanted to die on Mars. He asked me what my biggest dream was and after taking a few moments to think about it, I realized that to him, and probably to many, my dream was quite ordinary and simple. I pictured myself sitting on a giant porch watching my kids run through a massive lawn. I pictured a few large trees blowing in the slight afternoon breeze and the smell of flowers overpowering my senses as I wiped the sweat off my forehead. I amazed myself and I shared these feelings. WHAT?!?! I was only 23 at the time. What happened to my plans to go back east for law school, spend my holidays with international travel, and a job in a New York high rise? My friends reply couldn't be better, "I hope you can find a man who can give you everything you desire"
The older I got (which wasn't THAT old), I found myself being drawn to a more relaxed daily life. I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Alaska and learned to love smaller town living. I craved the solitude, the peace, and the night sky you can only experience away from the city lights.
A few years passed. Brent and I were married and living in Portland and a job opportunity came up for him bringing us back to Salt Lake. I tired to convince him that the commute wouldn't be too bad if we lived up the canyon in Oakley or Heber but to no avail. We purchased our first home in Sandy and started our family.
My desire to move out of the city grew stronger and stronger. I was nervous about living on a busy road where my kids weren't safe to play in the front yard. I was sick of our neighbors band practice: Drums, bases and electrical guitars. The smog in the summer and inversion in the winter made it impossible to run outside and I found myself depressed and longing to get away.
After three years, Brent was out mowing the lawn and it finally hit him too. He was finally ready to get out! He had just finished his Masters of Real Estate Development at the University of Utah and had a friend from the program who was a realtor. We decided to have him check out our house and see what needed to be done in order to put the home up for sale. Two weeks later, our house was sold.
We faced a big problem at that point. We had nowhere to move. We'd been checking out homes around the Salt Lake and Kamas Valleys. One Saturday morning, we met our realtor in Oakley and knew right away that the first home we entered was going to be the home we'd call home for a long time. We went to a dozen or so more homes but nothing felt as good as that first. The other homes may have been newer with nicer finishes but they just didn't feel right. We put an offer in on the home and a month later moved out of the city and into the location of MY dreams.
It's taken a few years but we've truly made this home our own!
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| Lyla and Zoe playing in our back yard |
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| Walking home from church |
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| The road we live on |
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| Backyard sunset |
It took a little time to adjust to living in a smaller town. I had to plan ahead to do the shopping and eating out wasn't quite so easy, but in the end, it's saved us time and money. I love the space, the sky, and the proximity to everything we could ever need.
Moving up to Oakley has been one of the great decisions Brent and I have ever made for our family. The commute that seemed somewhat daunting for Brent at first, has become a time for him unwind after a long day: no traffic, no stop and go. Winter days are clear, summer night are cool and we couldn't be happier.
Does this mean that all my dreams have come true and I have nothing else to shoot for? Of course not! I still have places to go and goals to accomplish. But, I am living in the place of my dreams with the best family in the world and that's pretty awesome if you ask me!
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