A Decade

As a teenager, I can remember my sister Melissa, 2 1/2 years older, scolding me about the disorder in which I kept my bedroom.

"Rachel. You are such a slob. No one is ever going to want to marry you." :)

At 15, I'm not going to lie, getting married was not on my radar. Boys? Yes, please. But keeping a clean room to catch man? Nope. :) Melissa was always the romantic. Get married, have babies, decorate your own house. She regularly talked about her future.

Not me.

Especially as a teenager and young adult, I lived very much in the "now". I loved (and still love) living my life with all the passion and joy that I can TODAY.

I met Nels when I was 19 and we started dating a month before my 20th birthday.

We started dating and I gave my whole heart to Nels. He consumed my thoughts and all of my "live in the moment"ness. We were more twitterpated than I've ever seen anyone.

After dating for a month and a half, we were hinting at marriage. :) By the middle of June, we were engaged.

But even then, it was never about getting married or about being a wife or a mom.

It was about being with Nels. About being his.

There was nothing I'd ever wanted more in the whole world. I wanted to be with him.

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Last Friday evening I walked through Kootenai (tiny town located next to Sandpoint - and where Coldwater's head office is located) after dropping off our moving truck. Nels had a couple of things to finish up at work before heading out for our date, and so I told him I'd just walk over and meet him there. The sun was setting so beautifully over the mountains and I was clearly reminded of ten years ago - almost to the minute - saying yes to that handsome man. To becoming HIS forever.

Probably the best decision I've ever made in my whole life.

The four older girls were at Aunt Tracy's house for a couple of days and my mama had come up to help us move, so she stayed with Clara while Nels and I had a night to ourselves.

We got a room up at Schweitzer. We'd been moving all day and so after cleaning up and brushing the sweaters off our teeth, we headed out into the village to get some dinner - only to find that everything had closed at 8:30.

We decided not to starve, and drove the 20 minutes back down the mountain to a local pub named Icardt's for dinner. It was so good and SO fun! They had a jazz band performing that night. It was awesome. I've decided that although I really dislike listening to jazz music on the radio, I REALLY like watching it. We also determined that where we live is really cool and made a long list of all the things we'd like to do in the next year.

The whole evening was wonderful and I loved getting the time alone with my best friend. I'm so incredibly thankful for the beautiful life that we have built together.

I can say without a doubt, there is not one moment in ten years that I've regretted that decision I made. He is my perfect match in every way.

Thank you, Nels. I love you today even more than I did then.

On the Move

We're going to be moving at the end of this month.

Fun, huh?

We'll have been in this house for a full six months by then, so we figured, What the Heck! It's about time. 

Beyond a year and a half that we lived in a trailer in Rexburg while finishing up Nels's last bit of school and then our home in Idaho Falls where we lived for 4 1/2 years, I don't think we've lived anywhere much longer than 6 months.

All told, in the ten years Nels and I have been married, I think this will be the . . . 13th move for us.

Yep. We have a problem.

To top it off, of those 13 moves we've made, several have been within the weeks surrounding our anniversary. It's been either moving or I've been pregnant. Or both. For funsies, let's see . . . 

• got married and moved into our first apartment together. (2002)
• 1st Anniversary - pregnant with Hazel and moved back from a summer in Mnt. Home (2003)
• 2nd - pregnant with Lilie and moved back from a summer in Bountiful (2004)
• 3rd - Neither! It's a miracle!
• 4th - Neither
• 5th - pregnant with Elsie and had moved 1 1/2 months before. (2007)
• 6th - Neither
• 7th - pregnant with Violet (2009)
• 8th - Neither
• 9th - pregnant with Clara and getting ready to move (2011)
• 10th - MOVING

Hahahaha! That's hilarious. We chose the worst time of the year to get married. Ever. :)

So get this.

It's the best part.

We don't know where we're moving to yet!!! 

I repeat. --- Fun, huh?

We do, however, have a new family lined up to be moving into this house on September 1st. So we'd better figure it out by then. :)

We have a couple of options, but we don't know which one of those options we're going to choose. One of the places we're looking at is just across town - 500 more sqft, 2 1/2 acres of land, and lower rent and utilities. Our other option . . . well, you'll just have to wait and see with us. :)  And we don't have enough information to make a final decision. And I don't have any real control over WHEN we will.

{{sigh}}

THIS I do know. Wherever we land at the end of this month, is going to be really good. And I'm excited.

Right now, we are planning a trip to Utah this weekend. Which will be fun. We are going to the wedding of one of Nels's good friends from Ireland. She is getting married in the Twin Falls Temple on Saturday and I am so excited to meet her. And then we'll go to Utah for a couple of days before I ship Nels back home to work while I stay with my family for a few more days.

Our two week plan seems simple enough, but I have a feeling that it's just going to be the calm before the storm. :)

I'm going to take a quote from last summer . . .

"I have a feeling that August is going to feel like a tornado. Bring it on!"

Mean Mom

So I just can't help myself. Nels is watching MMA and I'm going to post some more.

Last Monday was not only Hazel's first day of school,

(isn't she crazy adorable!?)

but also our SEVENTH anniversary! :) Hooray us! We decided to spend the day exploring some of the beautiful sights surrounding us, including Mesa Falls and Island Park.

As we rushed through the Upper Falls (because I was sure that I was going to get a ticket for not paying the $5 fee) we stopped at the drinking fountain.

I couldn't help myself. and I laugh SO HARD every time I watch it.

My sweet girls.

I don't know why Nels and I didn't manage to get a picture together on this little anniversary outing, but it's true. :( Oh well, my angel girls more than make up for it!

We had a great time fulfilling Lilie's only wish of the day - to throw rocks in the lake - and looking for camp spots for next year's Chick Reunion.

After finishing up with the water, we headed to Angler's Lodge for a "romantic" dinner by the river - complete with what Lilie was certain were dolphins in Henry's Fork. :)

It was a good day.