Our trip to San Diego

Ryan's brother, Aaron, invited us to go to San Diego with them. I've never been before and am not one to turn down a vacation. It was short notice so we took Hannah with us. Although we would've loved to leave her with a sitter, we didn't have time or means to do so.They were getting away for their 5 year anniversary and Ryan had just turned 30 a few days before . We'd been told it was only a 3 or 4 hour drive from Phoenix but it ended up being 6. They fly for free since he works for Delta, so they flew in Tuesday and we met them Thursday Aug 22. Once we got there we ate at Cafe Coyote then drove straight to the Zoo. We had a bunch we wanted to see and only 3 days. The zoo was huge! We didn't get to see everything before it got dark. Hannah did so well. She was out way past her bedtime each night but she didn't even get fussy. She'd fall asleep in the car on the way home. It took quite a bit to get her back to sleep at the hotel, but we survived. The animals were all out and it was fun to see the hippos in the water.

The next day we spent all our time at SeaWorld. I'd never been there and don't quite know what Iwas expecting, but it was awesome. We planned out the day so we could see all the shows we wanted. It was very hot, which was a surprise for me. I was expecting a vacation from the heat. We all got sunburned, even Hannah. I felt so bad. It was a lot of fun and the animals are incredible. It's amazing what they can do.

The next morning we went to the USS Midway and took a tour. It said to plan on 3 hours, but it could definitely take longer if you listened to all the audio. Ryan and Aaron loved it, but Jessica and I were trying to hurry them along. It was too narrow for strollers so we had to carry Hannah the whole time. At 20+ pounds it was tough. She didn't like being in the Bjorn most the time either and was pretty fussy. The ship was cool though and it would be hard to be in there for so long. I wonder what the ships nowadays are like.

We met up with Aaron's mission companion afterwards and ate lunch at Seaport village. We enjoyed the stroll and the amazing views.

We went inside several stores and bought a commemorative Christmas ornament. Aaron and Jessica bought these for us and they were amazing. So tasty.

From there we drove to Petco Park and watched a good game of baseball.

They handed out free hats which was helpful since our seats were looking directly into the sun for the first hour or so. We were on the first row though which was great for Hannah. She could crawl around on the ground and was happy just chewing up the program and eating her snacks. It got pretty cold after the sun went down so we had to pull out our sweaters.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites and they had the most amazing breakfast. We really looked forward to eating our made-to-order omelet every morning. Like any vacation it wasn't long enough, but we had a blast!

We're moving!

Here are the details:

At the beginning of the year Ryan's boss told him there was an area manager position open in New Mexico and they'd like him to apply. When Ryan came home and told me this we both just kind of laughed and thought "that's nice of them to offer, but they know you're leaving to California for school next month." We brushed if off. A few days later Ryan told me he had a really strong feeling to look into it a little more and to not dismiss it. He talked to a bunch of people got all the stats about salary, bonuses the area etc.When he told me he was looking into it I got really upset. I'm the kind of person that likes a plan. Since we've been married Ryan's changed his mind about what he wants to be when he "grows up." It's been frustrating to see him jump from job to job with no degree just wondering what our future will hold. When he decided to do Air Traffic Control we put all our efforts there. He went back to school and we saved all our money for him to live in California to finish. That was the plan. Seeing that that plan could change was hard for me. I cried for days.

We decided to list the pros and cons of each career. Ryan talked to a bunch of different Air Traffic Controller's  about the job market and to get their take about their job what they like and don't like etc. What he found it really surprised us and our friend even told Ryan if he were in his shoes he'd take the job in New Mexico. There was still no guarantee Ryan would become an ATC because he still had to finish school, pass the FAA exam and find a job. He knows people that have been waiting for a job to open up for 18 months. The starting salary is low and they have a salary cap. Our friend has been working as an ATC for a few years and his schedule is still really bad. He works some nights some days, weekends and Holidays and bids for shifts. It's hard for him to hold a calling because he can hardly ever make it to church. That was his biggest complaint about the job. It's also hard to get time off and it's really strict as you could imagine. Ryan talked to my Dad and from his point of view thought that Ryan would get bored as an ATC. With the new position he would be traveling, each day would be different and the opportunities were huge.

After weighing everything for a few weeks we asked our families to fast and pray for us and we went to the Temple. The experience there was incredible. We read a few scriptures that really helped and we knew that New Mexico is where the Lord wanted us.

Ryan interviewed for the job on January 24th with the West Central Region General Manager for Off Airport and then had a second interview on January 30th with the VP of Off Airport for North America. They both loved him (of course) and told him the job was his. He had to take a 6 hour assessment that evaluated his skills and would let them know what areas he needs to work on. He did extremely well on it and impressed everyone. He doesn't really need to improve in any area. He got the official job offer on Feb 8th.

Ryan is so smart and does well in everything. He was able to get the job without a degree and has only been with the company for a little over two years. He has turned his branch around and won numerous contests and his name is well known. He's going to do great things. I'm truly blessed to have him and so grateful for his hard work.

We met with some friends that just moved back from Albuquerque and got their take on the city. They gave us a lot of good advice and told us the good areas to live. We flew down to ABQ last weekend and found a house that we'll sign the lease on today. (details about our trip forthcoming)

We put our house up for rent the first week of February and the tenant signed the lease Monday. We feel really good about them and feel so blessed to have this taken care of. I was stressing about it the most.

My last day of work is Feb 24th and we leave for New Mexico that next week. We've been spending as much time as possible with family and friends. We're really excited to move although I've been putting off packing. I've always wanted to live outside of Utah and now I get to! It will be hard to be away from our families but we're not that far. We're ready for this new adventure!