Once upon a time, when we young and freshly graduated from BYU, we decided to move to Baltimore for a cool job opportunity for Glen. We had one toddler and were 32 weeks pregnant with our second baby when we moved. This picture was taken within a couple weeks of moving in.
When we sold our house and moved away from Northern Virginia in 2019, we did it with sad, but hopeful hearts. We knew we'd miss so many people that we'd grown to love over the years, but we also were excited to get a fresh start somewhere new and have the opportunity to make a difference in a new place.
We enjoyed Pennsylvania, but it did not turn out like we expected. We met many wonderful people there that hold a special place in our hearts, but Glen's job opportunity, though great for his career path, fizzled out more quickly than expected and we also got blindsided when COVID came and shut down the world. I think we would have certainly struggled with COVID in Virginia as well, but being newbie homeschoolers in a place that shut down hardcore was not fun. There were people we met that I never saw the unmasked faces of the entire time we lived there and awkward situations that never got to be resolved, because of how everything went down. Overall we 100% know that we were supposed to live in PA for the two years we were there, but, with as shallow as our roots were, it honestly wasn't that hard to leave when a new opportunity arose. Sadly, I don't believe anyone there misses us a bit.
Then we moved to Utah. Once again, we know we are where we are supposed to be right now. I believe that Ellie needed to attend American Heritage School and it's felt like a gift to be close to my Mom while my Dad's health was declining so quickly and even more so now that he's gone. Having said that though....Utah is kind of a wild place! We knew Utah culture would be different than what we were used to, but I was unprepared for the complete lack of interest from people around us. They're the nicest people in the world (literally), but don't seem super interested in getting to know us on a deeper level than just "Hey, we're nice. See you next Sunday." Granted, I admit that Glen and I are both pretty introverted and a little on the awkward side, so we don't make for the easiest people to get to know, but it has been a bit discouraging how little effort anyone has put into it. Even my own efforts to reach out have fallen pretty flat. The book group I started as a deliberate act to find some friends has resulted in a great small group of women who meet at my house monthly, chat about the book, then go on their merry ways. They don't want refreshments, they don't want conversations that drag on into the evening, and they don't want to hang out outside of book group. It's okay. As I mentioned previously, I am pretty introverted and have low social needs, so I stopped taking it personally pretty quickly after moving here and now just accept that my close friends live in faraway places. It's all good.
We enjoyed Pennsylvania, but it did not turn out like we expected. We met many wonderful people there that hold a special place in our hearts, but Glen's job opportunity, though great for his career path, fizzled out more quickly than expected and we also got blindsided when COVID came and shut down the world. I think we would have certainly struggled with COVID in Virginia as well, but being newbie homeschoolers in a place that shut down hardcore was not fun. There were people we met that I never saw the unmasked faces of the entire time we lived there and awkward situations that never got to be resolved, because of how everything went down. Overall we 100% know that we were supposed to live in PA for the two years we were there, but, with as shallow as our roots were, it honestly wasn't that hard to leave when a new opportunity arose. Sadly, I don't believe anyone there misses us a bit.
Then we moved to Utah. Once again, we know we are where we are supposed to be right now. I believe that Ellie needed to attend American Heritage School and it's felt like a gift to be close to my Mom while my Dad's health was declining so quickly and even more so now that he's gone. Having said that though....Utah is kind of a wild place! We knew Utah culture would be different than what we were used to, but I was unprepared for the complete lack of interest from people around us. They're the nicest people in the world (literally), but don't seem super interested in getting to know us on a deeper level than just "Hey, we're nice. See you next Sunday." Granted, I admit that Glen and I are both pretty introverted and a little on the awkward side, so we don't make for the easiest people to get to know, but it has been a bit discouraging how little effort anyone has put into it. Even my own efforts to reach out have fallen pretty flat. The book group I started as a deliberate act to find some friends has resulted in a great small group of women who meet at my house monthly, chat about the book, then go on their merry ways. They don't want refreshments, they don't want conversations that drag on into the evening, and they don't want to hang out outside of book group. It's okay. As I mentioned previously, I am pretty introverted and have low social needs, so I stopped taking it personally pretty quickly after moving here and now just accept that my close friends live in faraway places. It's all good.
So, why all the pontificating and recapping about our moving adventures and sorry social lives?
I guess it's to bring me to the heart of the reason for this blogpost. Ellie and I flew back to Virginia right after her graduation and spent a week visiting family and friends!!!! The visit was good for our souls and it felt so good to be somewhere where we felt known, loved, and missed!
Here's a little recap of our time there:
Speaking of book groups....these are my book group besties right here! I was sooooooo excited (like over the moon excited) when I found out that I was going to be in town while book group was meeting. I even hurried up and read the book during our travel time, so I could be a part of the discussion. As always, the discussion was in-depth and interesting and I relished in conversations and friendships like I haven't had in 4 years. Every single one of these women are intelligent and faithful and being there that night was one of the highlights of my trip. Truly when I think of "my people" (outside of my family), these are them.
One of the first people I called when I knew I was coming to town was Kelly! She's been the best kind of friend you could ask for and I was delighted that she had a little sliver of time before heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend.
We also spent some of the time visiting with my brother, Peter, and his family. They lead very busy lives, but I loved having a day to hang out and catch up with them. The girl cousins were verrrrrrry excited to spend time with Ellie and it was fun to attend one of Davin's baseball games. I was also able to go on a walk with McKenzie and take her on an outing to see another of my brother's families up in Maryland.
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So....there you have it. I do have friends. They're wonderful, thoughtful, caring, and amazing and mostly live across the country from me. That's okay. I can visit.
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I guess it's to bring me to the heart of the reason for this blogpost. Ellie and I flew back to Virginia right after her graduation and spent a week visiting family and friends!!!! The visit was good for our souls and it felt so good to be somewhere where we felt known, loved, and missed!
Here's a little recap of our time there:
Speaking of book groups....these are my book group besties right here! I was sooooooo excited (like over the moon excited) when I found out that I was going to be in town while book group was meeting. I even hurried up and read the book during our travel time, so I could be a part of the discussion. As always, the discussion was in-depth and interesting and I relished in conversations and friendships like I haven't had in 4 years. Every single one of these women are intelligent and faithful and being there that night was one of the highlights of my trip. Truly when I think of "my people" (outside of my family), these are them.
One of the first people I called when I knew I was coming to town was Kelly! She's been the best kind of friend you could ask for and I was delighted that she had a little sliver of time before heading out of town for Memorial Day weekend.
Kim was also on my short list of people to visit and it was fun to go on a morning walk one day with her and Kelly. They are both down-to-earth and good listeners. I treasure my friendship with both of them and I was glad they had time for me.
We also spent some of the time visiting with my brother, Peter, and his family. They lead very busy lives, but I loved having a day to hang out and catch up with them. The girl cousins were verrrrrrry excited to spend time with Ellie and it was fun to attend one of Davin's baseball games. I was also able to go on a walk with McKenzie and take her on an outing to see another of my brother's families up in Maryland.
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I love that I still have young children in my life through my siblings. I don't see them often enough, but we also loved visiting with Matt's family while we were there. Sadly we didn't get to see Matt, as he was on a business trip, but his kiddos are as fun and adorable as ever and we love his wife, Karey! Just in case you're wondering how cute my 5-year-old niece Anna is...she's 104 cute...as compared to her cat which is only 2 cute. 😂
We also spent some time with our beloved homeschooling friends, the S family, the P family, and the V.D. family. These are friends that have been a wonderful support through our 11ish years of homeschooling and I can honestly say that I couldn't have done homeschooling without them. They not only were practical support, being an integral part of a co-op that covered challenging topics for the kids, but they were also dear and supportive friends that felt the same call to pull their kids out of school. It's not an easy club to be a part of, but it sure helps when you've got great people on your team! Ellie was also very happy to spend some time with Joseph, Hannah, and Miriam!
My sister, AnnaLisa, was out of town for a Memorial Day beach weekend with friends for a good portion of the time we were in Virginia, but I was grateful that she was able to set aside some time to explore DC with us before she left. We introduced her to Magnolia Dessert Bar, traipsed around downtown with her (see more pics below), and, in general, just enjoyed spending the day with her.
We also hit up the Hirshhorn Museum, which was full of funky artwork--including a room filled with phallic symbols (the room with mirrors and red and white objects), a room filled with random stream of consciousness quotes from the artist, and a giant spotted pumpkin. Definitely not your typical art museum, but fun to see some off-the-wall stuff!
We also hit up the Hirshhorn Museum, which was full of funky artwork--including a room filled with phallic symbols (the room with mirrors and red and white objects), a room filled with random stream of consciousness quotes from the artist, and a giant spotted pumpkin. Definitely not your typical art museum, but fun to see some off-the-wall stuff!
AnnaLisa also brought us to the Hillwood Estate and Gardens--a place we'd never been before. It was the home of Marjorie Meriweather Post (heir to the Post Cereal fortune) and it was quite grand. I loved touring the gardens and seeing a glimpse at her myriad of collections and how organized she kept them. You can have quite the array of interests when you're the heir to a giant fortune!
I attended church on Sunday, but knew I wouldn't get enough time to talk with people there, so I put it out on the ward email group to meet me at Nottoway Park on Sunday afternoon. We kept it super casual and it was so fun to have some uninterrupted time to visit with some more friends. I enjoyed the conversations I had, even if it did make me really miss being somewhere where people know and love us.
The first few days I was in town, I used Tim's apartment as a homebase. He introduced me to Big Buns and the new Amazon Fresh Grocery Store and I brought him to Taco Bamba! Tim's a pretty quiet guy, so it was fun to have a good excuse to hang out with him for a few days!
One of the activities we added into our schedule last minute was a trip to the Marine Corps Band Memorial Day concert at Wolf Trap! We'd been several times over the years we'd lived there and it was a great place to see more long-lost friends. The music was fantastic, the night beautiful (only a little rainy), and the company excellent.
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I had met with Mary early in our trip (another person on my short list of people to visit), but never got a picture, so I was grateful to see her at the concert again and at least get a quick snapshot together. Adam and her son are good friends!
When Ellie wasn't hanging out with me, she was having her own fun with her own friends {collage created by her}. Most of her friends also had plans for Memorial Day weekend, but she spent as much time as she could with Kelsey, Emilia, and others.
Okay, so this next photo collage wasn't actually taken in Virginia, but it did occur shortly after returning home from Virginia and involved more Virginia friends, so I'm including it here in this blogpost. Cami's sister-in-law is expecting a baby next month, so she had a baby shower that included a lot of people we know and love from Virginia as well! We are excited for Ashley and loved the opportunity to see more dear friends! 💖
On the same vein, here's another Virginia face we know and love and saw at Walmart last week....Elder Perkins! Of course, he hasn't been known as "Elder" in several years, but he was one of our very favorite missionaries (and he had a special bond with Ellie back in the day) and it was a delight to see him again!
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