Movin' On Up

Alright, enough beating around the bush. Let's just get everything out in th open:

Yes, we are moving. Here are all the details, or at least the ones I feel comfortable posting for all the world to see:

We are in the process of buying a townhouse in Payson, 20 minutes south of Orem. We started looking at the beginning of the year hoping to be in a place by late spring. We fell in love with Payson and found a great little place in our price range and in the part of town where we wanted to be. The house itself is 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, just over 1300 square feet (nearly double what we live in now), has a fairly large back patio that opens onto a huge field, two bay windows - one in the kitchen creating a nice nook and one in the living room - and great storage space (a storage unit in the back, a full attic, and a crawl space). It is really almost everything we were looking for. The only thing it lacks is a garage, though it does have covered parking, and most units with a garage were out of our league.

The location is absolutely perfect. On one side we have baseball fields (with a playground) and on the other side is a nature preserve (with a playground). Did I mention the $5.5 million dollar water/skate park that is being built half a mile away? All this and I am still under 2 miles from a Wal-mart - which also happens to be one of the newest, non-crowded Wal-marts in the valley. We've also heard that Payson canyon has some great spots for camping.


James and I both hail from relatively small towns and feel just a bit too crowded in the Orem/Provo area. It's so strange to us that you can get more house for your money by moving FURTHER away from all the bustle. That suits us just fine. We are excited to be in a more "quaint" town that boasts of such community events as Onion Days and the Scottish Festival. We are literally going to be in heaven (and I truly am not trying to be sarcastic in any way).

OK, so I do have to point out that we will really miss our neighbors and friends in our current ward. I think people are pretty perplexed that we are moving because it has nothing to do with a job, school, or family. We're not even waiting until the end of a semester! We are simply moving because we can. We can afford a house payment and we want to build some equity before we move out of Utah (presumably in another 5 years or so). We have been so blessed in the apartments we've rented and the people who we've come in contact with. Many of them have already moved on with their lives and we are excited to be doing the same. I feel like there needs to be some sort of ceremony or ritual, like for graduation, only without the silly hats. So now there is nothing left to do but gather boxes and make the most out of our last month in the first place we've ever lived as a married couple.

Speaking of making the most of our time here - let me invite all of our female readers (who live in the area) to girl's night out this Friday. We'll be hitting the dollar theater (in Orem) and seeing Enchanted at 7:20. Be there!