first time hiking in redrock

our first time hiking in red rock canyon was beautiful. the weather was windy, but great and the skies were oh so blue. the views were breathtaking!

a farewell party

before we left for vegas it was really important to me to see as many loved ones as possible. my parents graciously hosted a little get together at their home the night before we headed out. it was SO good to see these people. i can't really express adequately how much all of them mean to me. seeing their sweet faces is the thing i miss the most. in fact, writing this is the first time i have cried since moving a week ago. 

that's the only thing that makes this place seem strange, the lack of the people around me that i know and love. everyday i can't wait for tyler to come home from work so i have someone to talk to! it's weird knowing i can't just call my family or friends and meet up for lunch or a movie night. now i am forced to make friends and get out of my comfort zone. i am sure there are fun people to be met at church. that is my only hope! 

thank you to everyone that came to see us off and who continue to support us in our life choices. you know who you are and i hope you know we love you more than words can say. you are in my thoughts and prayers everyday and i miss you more than you know. even though this is hard on my tender heart i know that this is where God wants us to be. that brings me great comfort whenever i start to get a little sad. He is with us always if we seek him. He is my guiding light and my strength. 

 

leaving california

it was really tough to pack everything up and leave our very first apartment. it was long and tiring, but we had a lot of helpers along the way. one of the things i was excited for was to purge myself of unnecessary things. this meant that we made a few trips to the donation bin, but it also meant selling my car (tyler drives a company car now). my sweet little mazda 3. the first car i bought when i graduated high school. my baby.

it was a great little car and it still is. luckily we sold it to my sister's in laws and they told us we can come visit whenever we want! i will miss that car, just watching it drive away was sad. seeing our apartment completely empty was sad too. surreal.

but something about this moves just feels right. we are trusting in Heavenly Father's timing and in His plan for us. sometimes it's not easy leaving something behind, but it is necessary. we both know that las vegas is where we are meant to be and so far we are loving it!

 

 

my life in instagram

so we are still alive. we have had an incredibly busy month. 

i second shot a wedding. 

the next day we left for utah, with 3 hours of sleep.

we stopped in vegas for tyler's interview. 

he got a job offer. 

he signed the deal. 

we spent new years in utah with family & friends. 

we drove home to so cal on new years day. 

we drove back to vegas a few days later to look for a place to live. 

we drove back to california. 

we got approved to rent a condo in summerlin. 

we packed up what seemed like a million boxes. 

loaded a 26' truck. 

said goodbye to our friends and family. 

drove to las vegas. 

unloaded the truck. 

now we are here. our bed is up and so is our sofa. oh and also our internet and cable. we pay attention to the necessities around here. it's nice to be here. tyler's parents and sister came to help us so it has felt like home having them here with us. it will be strange when they leave. but it will also be nice to establish a new life here and a new routine. tyler is really excited for his new job as a territory manager for ecolab and i am excited for my retirement before we become parents. no, i'm not making an announcement, that's just what is next for us. 

sorry i've been absent, but moving stinks! i'll be updating the blog with all of our adventures from the past month or so in between un packing boxes and getting organized.  

the mitidiere family

head on over to my photography blog to view the rest of this fun family session. since they didn't get their session scheduled in time for christmas cards, they decided to do happy new year cards instead. i think that is totally the way to go! probably going to be what happens in our house in the future.

 

 

i like the view from here

driving to and from utah was unbelievably gorgeous. rolling hills. mountains covered in snow. beautiful trees standing tall. clouds swept across the blue blue sky. it was majestic.

i couldn't get enough of the view.

now i'm home and my apartment is a mess. nothing has a place anymore. anything that i put away just has to be taken out again anyways. boxes fill the rooms and everything seems to be in disarray... and i'm still trying to put away christmas decorations and unpack my suitcase. the clean freak in me is just about at her limit!

for the first time in 5 years of marriage we are moving our lives to another place. i haven't really even began to dig in and pack, but i think i will be making a very large giveaway pile. let's hope, for tyler's sake, that i don't have too many emotional breakdowns over the next couple weeks.