Where Have I Been....Part 2

Now, between work, school, playdates, hiking, geochaching(our newest, most fun thing to do as a family!), baking, St Patty's Day(ouch), and just life in general........things are moving forward for us, and quickly! We have it in our minds and hearts that we want to live elsewhere. The rat race around here is just out of control! And we are very outdoorsy people, which isn't always easy to do when you live in Northern NJ, a hop skip and a jump away from New York City. We want to live by mountains, and rivers, and lakes and just.....nature. Not highway after highway....McMansion after McMansion. We've always felt this way. I lived in Colorado for two years. The Hubbs flew out there to drive me home so we could start our lives together, and he fell in love with the place! I remember standing next to him around 1am shivering my arse off because we stepped outside to smoke(I have trouble remembering the days when we smoked?! We both quit over 5 years ago.) and the awe on his face when he looked at the sky. It was alive with stars! Stars you just can't see where we live because of all the lights around here. But in the middle of the mountains, you can see every single one of them and it's breathtaking. We didn't have much time out there to tour around together, but he's been back since for work meetings and loves every part of the state! Sadly, I couldn't join him on that trip because........GUESS?!?!?! Yep, I was pregnant. :) A piece of my heart and his stayed in Colorado. And in the back of our heads(okay maybe not the back....we've always talked about it) we've always known we'd love to end up there. And throughout the years, he's kept his employer aware that if a transfer came up, to let him know because we'd consider anywhere other than Jersey at this point. And while we haven't actively made the move toward Colorado, we've always known, we'd get there. Our hearts fill with joy that our kids will be able to grow up in that environment! And over the past couple of weekends, we've taken the kids on some ridiculously long hikes for toddlers and they were totally in their element. This just confirms our belief that these little gnomes will love the lifestyle that WE do. I could easily see our oldest son getting into Wildlife Management or something like that. And our daughter, well, she might just go live with wolves?! The two of them are becoming master deer trackers, pointing out every single pile of "deer poop" along the way and even starting to recognize other signs that deer have been around. It's awesome to watch. Even Child 3 was very content to hang out in a backpack for 2 hours at a pop as long as we fed him regularly!
So this past Thursday, St Patty's Day, I drove The Hubbs to the airport where he left to fly to California to interview at corporate offices for a job based in Colorado. We are super excited! The interview went well, and now it's just a waiting game to hear from the company. But I have a feeling about this time. I feel like this is it for us. It's finally going to happen! I know it's not practical to have my hopes up this high, but I'm actually nervous about it too. Because my feeling is so strong, I'm also hit with all the reservations about moving as well. The wonderful family and friends we'll be leaving behind. Although I know we are all very capable of travelling from here to there, it's not always in the cards for one reason or another. And that sucks. But the thought of raising my kids in a place that doesn't make us happy, where we can't make ends meet, makes me sick to my stomach. So travel we will! All of our lavish European vacations will be replaced by RV trip across the US stopping at every World's Largest Ball of Yarn or Bottle Of Ketchup along the way. We don't ever go on lavish European adventures, so we certainly wouldn't be sacrificing anything there.And I'd love for our kids to have a rich sense of their country. I sure don't. I've been to Disney World and that's about it! I'm not complaining, they were wonderful family vacations full of fun and fantasy. But I've never even been to a National Park!! I want to explore all these things alongside our kids....Mount Rushmore and the Black Hills, The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and every other place along the way!
Cheers to adventure!
I'll keep you posted on the job/move.
:)