Please no more deaths. 7 in 1 year is too much. I don't want to have to attend another funeral for a LONG time.

Its really happened. The house sold, David and the parents are living in Palmer Alaska and I moved to Ogden Utah. I never pictured this actually happening but here we are! Amanda and I are living in the basement of a cute little house with our cousin Monica Savage while my Uncle Mylan lives upstairs. The dog Honey made her way to Ogden as well.
I drove my favorite white jeep from Seattle to Utah. Its almost as old as me, but with the help of many prayers it made it with out any problems. It was the beginning of September when it was so HOT and the jeep does not have AC. All the windows were down, the wind was loud, and I was sweating. Those who know me are not surprised that I found no use for much clothing while driving. However, when I pulled up to get gas in Oregon, I forgot that they pump your gas and I pulled up to the pump with only a tank top and underwear on. I was reaching for my shorts when the man was walking toward me! I got so scared and pulled away as he was about to talk to me. I shimmied my clothes back on and pulled back up to the pump. It was an awkward but funny encounter!

Monica and I have been best buds since we were kids. She's always lived in Kaysville and I always lived in Seattle but we have been pen-pals since we first learned to write. Growing up, I would spend at least a week at her house each summer, usually after the 4th of July. We'd spend the days at Lagoon, Cherry Hill, watching Goonies, playing Yahtzee, Phase 10, Mankala, and GIGGLING the entire time. Her Dad (Mylan), and my Mom are siblings. She came home from her mission to Toronto Canada 2 months ago and is going to school at Weber. She's planning to do the radiology program, and working at Ogden Beauty Supply. While Monica was gone, her parents moved from Kaysville to Ogden, her sister got married, and Monica's mom passed away after a bad car accident. Obviously, her world is upside down. My life isn't upside down like hers but its shifted quite a bit now that I'm graduated and my family moved to Alaska. So I think we've been good for each other in dealing/laughing through life's uncomfortable or painful changes.

Unexpectedly, I love Ogden. The singles ward is small, but we are in a whole stake of Young Single Adult wards so there are plenty of people to meet. I love having so many relatives nearby. I don't have many friends yet but I haven't felt lonely because so many cousins and their cute kids are nearby. However, my Seattle friend Sara Batt lives here and she does hair so I do have one friend, and a hairdresser! I love my relatives! There's never a shortage of love around here! I like that I will get to be here for things like the Savage Family Christmas Party and visiting my Grandma.

The Bell side has monthly themed cousin dinners which will be great. I love all the small adorable houses and how simple directions are in Utah. I like that there are definite seasons. Up until this week it was 80 degrees and now the cold front moved in and it officially looks/feels like fall. Amanda and I hiked up the mountains one day and it was BEAUTIFUL! Not like Seattle, but still beautiful in its own way. I like that people always seem to pass through Utah. My old roommate Heidi came home to Sandy for conference weekend and we met up so I could meet her newborn girl, Cora. She is precious.

We live just on the other side of Snow Basin which will be fun for Snowboarding this winter. My mom was in town for ANOTHER funeral... we'll talk about that another day :( and she was able to go to the Relief Society General Mtg at the Conference Center with us. Our ward had tons of tickets and a bus for transportation. How cool is that?

In the picture of us at the temple I forgot I had a tattoo on my arm from a 5k I did that morning. Jadeyn Glauser asked me to volunteer with her and then we could participate for free. It was called the 5k Foam Fest and it was a huge obstacle course, crossing little rivers by crawling on inner-tubes that were linked together, a slip n slide, army crawling under barbed wire, running over mini mud mountains, balancing on 2x4s, crawling through big logs, making your way through what felt like a human carwash, being sprayed with foam/bubbles and so forth. IT. WAS. SO. FUN. Next family reunion we need to do one of these! It would be so fun to do in a big group, regardless of skill level. (If you're not comfortable doing the obstacle you can just go around.) There were 2 unhygenic girls in horrible homemade mermaid costumes. I had to document.

Jadeyn's sisters and Aunts participated as well. Afterward we all had our picture taken in the bubble bath. This could have been awkward since I was bathing with people I barely knew, but I was having too much fun to care.

And the greatest news of all is.... I HAVE A JOB! I interviewed with Baxter BioLife Sciences Plasma Center in Layton on Friday and they told me they would let me know by Tuesday. However, I received a call only 2 hours after my interview, offering me the position above what I applied for! And I will receive a dollar more an hour than I expected. Its a pretty good starting pay for Utah. Its full time, with benefits. I feel so relieved and thankful and blessed to have a job! I was worried I would move here, wonder what on earth I had done, wasting time and money being unemployed. I received the job the last day of my phlebotomy class. Perfect timing. I'm shocked there hasn't been more hoops to jump through. It will be nice that coworkers and plasma donors will generally be around my age. I was afraid I would have to move to Salt Lake where there are more jobs. But for the first time my plan and Heavenly Father's seemed to be the same. Hallelujah.