It was the best of times....

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same."

We moved to Salt Lake City the beginning of 2006. We had just gotten married in November of 2005 and Gregg was going to be starting school at the University of Utah. We knew Gregg had spent much of his active duty Army time visiting me in Minnesota on breaks and knew we couldn't pay for out of state tuition at the Univ. of MN. So, off to Salt Lake City, UT it was to get a good deal on tuition at a good school and be closer to his family for a while! Little did we know, we would meet the most amazing people, develop friendships that would last a lifetime, and make memories that we will cherish forever.

So as not to play favorites!... had to post one of our favorite pictures of all time...

I was lucky that even after Kaylen was born, Carissa would come over, get some good Kaylen time in and then stay and hang out with me to have a little girl time on nights that Gregg worked. She is remarkable. The kind of person who I will always miss and cherish because she can't help but give more than she gets. She's a giver... and she gave me the kind of friendship I'd always wanted and needed.

Anthony... Gregg's BFF. He has been there through the thick and thin and always will be. They really are two peas in a pod. Anthony is also pre-med with the same major and minor as Gregg and just a semester behind, he will be applying to medical schools for the next school year really soon. They support each other through it all and Anthony is like family now to all of us.

Anthony is so great with Kaylen. He spent a lot of time at our apartment and always gave so much attention to Kaylen. He considers her family and to her, he is Uncle Anny. We're going to miss getting to see him so often, so we're grateful for Skype as she loves getting to sing to and talk to Anny every chance she gets.

Casey and Carissa have always been so great to us and to Kaylen. They are truly amazing people and we could not be more grateful to have them in our lives. We know they're going to be the kind of friends that make an effort to see us and the kind of friends we can always visit.

Ali, Jason and Dane. Jason was one of Gregg's first friends in Salt Lake. They met at the gym and soon enough, Ali became one of my best friends, too. They're such great people with such good hearts and after Dane was so close after Kaylen, it made our friendship so much more well rounded. We were friends as families. We definitely miss all our family excursions with the Hart family.

Kaylen and Dane :-)

Max, Gregg and Jason. Max and Heidi were also friends through the gym and again... two amazing people. We were lucky to get to see them whenever we could. They're daughter turned one around the time Kaylen turned two.

Me, Ali and Heidi

Gregg was lucky to work with some really good friends. Gregg and Anthony were health techs, but he got to work with some great nurses and doctors. Mato (on the left) was one of those great people. Always a friend to workout with, take us whitewater rafting, and even help Gregg move ALL our stuff here, he always gives anything he can. His wife and family is incredible and we're so lucky to have them as friends.

With Blogger, you can't go back and move a picture once it's in there, so the next two pictures belong further below on this blog.... but I had to get them in, so here they are!!

While getting to live in Utah, we were able to make it up to Gregg's Dad's hometown, Turner, MT and spend time with Gregg's Uncles' families and Kaylen got to meet her Great Grandpa. Kaylen is his first great grandchild.

Each summer, we do what we can to make it home and the last two summers, Kaylen and I were able to make it to Minnesota to spend time with my side of the family. As shown below, I am bound and determined to give Kaylen the water bug that I always had. Loving being on and around water is something engrained in me and I hope she'll get it, too!

Kay, still on friends. This is the picture I had to post of some of our friends, together for a birthday dinner of mine last year in 2010. The reason for my choice of this one is I couldn't manage to find a picture of Reina and Tyler together! They're on the left, second and third up! Gregg had class with Tyler and we were lucky to become friends as couples. They're such good people and just this year, had a daughter of their own, Ruby! (What a great name!)

Again, could've done a little better with this placement :-) Gregg became friends with Mark while working in the VA ER as well. He moved about two years ago to South Carolina, but we've managed to keep in touch with them through Facebook, etc.

Gregg has few mentors in his life. His Dad has always been one them and another Gregg was privileged to meet while working at the VA. Dr. John Masaryk, aka Maz, has been so incredible in the friendship, guidance and help he has provided to Gregg. Their whole family loved Kaylen from the start. Even one of their daughters, Iris, became one of Kaylen's very few babysitters!

Polly, Gregg and Maz

I love quotes, so I'm going to throw in a few of my favorites in this blog...

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes." ~ Henry David Thoreau

An special treat to living closer to Star Valley, WY was not only getting to see Gregg's family whenever we got the chance, but also getting to see Gregg's best friend from high school, Colby, who lived close in Provo. It was fun to meet up with Colby and Ginny when the boys found time in their busy schedules. They probably won't be the types to stay in one place long, but it's great to know, no matter where we all are in the world, true friendships have no boundaries.

As often as you might find me complaining about having to live in student housing, one of the many perks of our own concrete jungle was the opportunity to be around some really great people. Kaylen LOVED getting to go outside to the playground right outside our stairwell. She thrives on energy from other kids and is a true social butterfly.

Kaylen and Tanner, one of her favorites

We had to cover friends in this blog because it is truly amazing how many incredible friendships and wonderful people we found while living in Salt Lake City over the 5 years. When I moved away from Minnesota or Gregg moved from Wyoming, the easy part is knowing that it's home and you'll always be coming back. But with Salt Lake, it was our first move without the family ties. But the part we're so grateful for is that we made it home for us in those 5 years. The friends we made became like family and we will always have a reason to come back and visit.

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." ~Carol Sobieski and Thomas Meehan, Annie

But with those friends made, we also made some amazing memories and had some incredible opportunities. I have to finish this blog with some of our favorites though as it would be next to impossible to cover them all.

One of my favorite pictures of my two favorite people having a cuddle on the floor of our apt.

What an incredible opportunity to live less than 4 hours away from Gregg's family in Star Valley. We tried to make it home for every long weekend and have some quality time. Katie and Ian were adopted close to the time Gregg was graduating high school and joined the Army. Although a good deal of tuition was a selling point for Utah, the chance to watch Katie and Ian grow up was something that was very important to us. The chances in pictures of watching them grow is a fun way to really see just how long we've been together! But Katie and Ian are both two amazing kids and are becoming young adults before our eyes. The time we got to spend around them was priceless. Leslie also got her first teaching job in Logan so it gave us the chance to see her get her first job, meet her first serious boyfriend, and start a life for herself. Kaylen has grown so close to our families and will definitely miss Gregg's now that the visits won't be so regular. But we couldn't be more grateful for all the time we had.

Gregg grew up loving the time he had with his Dad camping and hiking. So, the summer of 2010, they got to go again and this time made even more special by being able to share it with Ian.

Warren's birthday always falls around President's Day weekend, so every year we made the tradition of going to Star Valley for the weekend to ski/board at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. It was always so fun and on a blue bird day, it was always one of my most favorite views doing something we all loved.

Being that my Dad still got to use his US Airways travel benefits, my parents were able to make it out to Salt Lake every couple months. It made the distance seem so much closer and we were so lucky my Dad still had those benefits. I can't even tell you how hard it is for me to be away from them sometimes, but getting to see them fairly regularly has made it so much easier on my heart. And Kaylen's relationship with them only gets closer all the time as there is never too much time that passes. They've even made it out to Portland once so far. They have just a couple years left of them and we're hoping to see them every chance they get!

Gregg loved a chance to go watch a Ute football game and we were lucky enough to have a gorgeous day to take Kaylen. I love this picture and wanted to include Gregg's love of the University of Utah!

And the day the hard work paid off, Gregg graduated!! It was a fun day to celebrate him with his family and friends. Not only was he pre-med with a difficult class schedule, but he got into a great medical school having to work full-time and be a husband and father! He has so much to be proud of and we are SO proud of him!

While we lived in Utah, we tried to take advantage of some of the surroundings like skiing/boarding the world class mountains and making it down to southern Utah a couple times and even took Kaylen the last time we went!

Along with trying to see some of Utah, we were also able to travel a bit of the world! It was important to us that Kaylen get to meet her grandparents and family in Australia, so we saved long and hard to be able to make the dream vacation happen! Two weeks in Australia between Sydney and Brisbane, traveling all over, seeing everything we could've hoped for and having so much time with family was more than perfect!

The opportunity for Kaylen to meet her great-grandparents who are in their mid-90s was something we'll be able to cherish forever. They are amazing people and the love they had for Kaylen right from the start was incredible.

This picture just made me think of the fact that this was our first (kind of) place together. We started out in a 2 bedroom apt, but when I was pregnant, we moved to a 3 bedroom. The student apartments grew on us. I swore we would never be there longer than a year, but it was such a good deal and it was so easy for us. We managed to really enjoy it there and will definitely be missed as it was our family's first place!

One of my favorite pictures of all time. This beautiful girl has been amazing from the start. You think when your child is born that your heart could explode with the love it feels as if it couldn't possibly feel more. But each day, we fall more in love with her.

The most amazing blessing to our lives happened when we lived in Utah... the birth of Kaylen. What a remarkable day.... 2 years has passed, but it feels like it was yesterday. The anticipation of her coming, the day that it took to get her here, and the joy she's brought us each and every day since. Our lives are forever changed because of this sweet angel.

In Utah, we became of family of three. Kaylen is the most amazing addition to our family. We were fortunate to have so many wonderful who became like family to us who loved Kaylen right from the start. To have family close and visiting often and the love of our friends was something we will greatly miss.

"Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetime, is certain for those who are friends." ~Richard Bach

Work Friends Who Become Best Friends

Where did it all begin...? Gregg had started school at the University of Utah January of 2006 right as we moved to Salt Lake City. I had graduated from St. Cloud State May of 2005 with a business degree, but didn't know what I was going to do with it. I applied for a slew of jobs and ended up getting one at a local employment publishing guide as an Office Manager. Very quickly I realized that wasn't going to pay the bills and it wasn't something I enjoyed. So, I thought I'd take my shot at a federal job search and ended up applying for a job with the federal court. It was an interview panel of 4 people if I remember correctly. And little did I know at the time that one of those people would become my first and closest friend in Salt Lake.

Me and my first friend in Utah, Ryan

Ryan and I worked in Intake together and over time, Ryan became one of my closest and most dependable friends. It wasn't long before we thought to grab a drink on occasion after work. But what fun is a "drinking club" with only 2 people!? So... we had to invite others... and along came Judy!

Judy and I

Drinking club was a lot of fun and a great escape for us. Gregg was working mostly full-time nights at the time and Judy and Ryan were both single. So, we found lots of company in each other! But soon, Judy and I were always talking babies!!! I got pregnant and not too long thereafter, so did Jude. It was the end of our "drinking club" but not of the friendship. I will be forever grateful for the two people in Utah who took a chance on me right from the beginning.

Judge Warner... I had the priviledge of working with him in court for quite a while. Judge Warner could definitely make a hearing memorable! He is a hard charger, but knew how to have a good time. I miss working with him and his chambers very much.

Cheryl... my supervisor from beginning till the end. She actually is retiring now and my friend Aaron took over her position. She put her heart and soul into her job and it was obvious. She cared about us all as people and provided such a supportive work environment.

Me and my boys... John M., Aaron Ryan and John D. The best kind of guys a girl could hope to be friends with. If ever I needed to vent, whine, or share joy, they were there. How I will miss all of our daily conversations! Work will never be the same.

Mary Jane and I... what a sweet heart and a great ear for listening! She knows how to have a good time and make anything more fun! Forever my ab partner at workouts, an ab day just wasn't the same without her.

Stacia and John.... Judge Warner's two law clerks. Along with Kirsten, one couldn't ask for a more fun chambers. On a regular basis, I wished a spot could be created for ME! :-) Two wonderful friends and two very good people who bend over backwards to help others.

Aaron, Kris, Trudy, me...

Aaron became one of my closest friends. The kind of person who would do anything for his friends, he is such a great listener, now a great boss and has a heart of gold. Kris is always the organizer and the catalyst for many good times. Trudy could throw the best of parties and thanks to them, I will forever be known as a girl who doesn't know how to quit karaoke!!

Gregg, me, Kirsten and her husband Paul... Kirsten was that official and much needed 4th person in Judge Warner's chambers. She was always willing to help me out whenever I needed favors and would volunteer to help anyone. The sweetest heart.

Matt!! We were lucky enough that MJ and Kris brought Matt to come do personal training at the courthouse. One I started, I was addicted! To the energy, to the motivation of the great group of people I got to workout with and Matt, such a great trainer!

Most of these pictures were taken at my work going away party and no party is complete without some good arm wrestling!

Stacia, who is not only an amazing friend, helped me through every pregnancy issue I could possibly have, threw me the BEST going away party I could've hoped for. It was fun and sad all at the same time... but what kind of going away party isn't!!??

On an almost daily basis, I miss these people. I miss having friends at work. And not just friends, but amazing friends. The best kinds of friends. These are the kind of people that I hope a move out of state won't change everything. They're the kind of people that you want to know for a lifetime and I intend to!

But I do want to also mention this... Gregg got to go out a few times with his friends before we left and his work friends had him over for dinner, but he isn't much of a camera guy. He soon realized after he quit working a little early in order to get ready for medical school and our move that the best part of his job was the fact that he had so many great friends there. The kind of people we could depend on to offer to help move ALL our stuff. His friend, Mato, revolved his family vacation around helping us move our stuff to Portland. The kind of people that now feel like family. Gregg's closest friend, Anthony, considers Kaylen a niece and Kaylen calls him Uncle Nanny. His friend, Christian, left to work in a hospital in Libya just before we left. We weren't able to say goodbye to him, but he was always such a reliable friend. Another friend of his, Celina, was always a part of the snowboarding crew in the winter and always showed up to support Gregg in his accomplishments. Gregg was also grateful to become friends with one of his biggest mentors, a Doctor in the ER, Maz. We both got really lucky with work places that we had such great friends. Made it so much harder not to miss them so much once we got to Portland! SO many amazing friends! And the best part!? These just cover work friends... yet another friend blog to post!

Gems like these...

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about." - Angela Schwindt

And Kaylen's first daycare, First Friends, taught us what we wanted to find in our next daycare. We were lucky enough to have some of the most amazing, caring, giving teachers we could've ever hoped for. And her friends became family. She spent 5 days a week with these people from the time she was 3 months old. It was one of the most difficult things to say goodbye to.

The one and only, Weston.

Kaylen's school boyfriend declared early on. This short hair cut of his was a newer development, but always quite the beef cake! He was always sweet and Kaylen took to him from the beginning. It's been 4 weeks in Portland now and his name comes up out of the blue as I'm sure she still retains so many of her memories of him.

Lilly was Kaylen's other BFF who had been around since the beginning. For some time, they went back and forth biting each other. Usually the Action Notice we got was either that Kaylen got bit or did the biting. And we could almost be 90% sure that the other participant was Lilly! But all in all, they were friends and it was funny to have her friends be going through all the same stages at almost the same times.

Kaylen has always been a social butterfly. She has always thrived being around other children, so I know that it would be important to find another great daycare for Kaylen in whatever city we were going to end up in. She has always been a leader in her class. Gregg and I often joked that Kaylen pretty much walked into the classroom and announced her arrival. She usually had Weston or Veer take her coat off for her. Ha ha... she definitely had far more than just us wrapped around her little finger!

First Friends Director, Mirna. Kaylen loved to yell out every night as we headed out the door... "Bye Mirna! Bye Minney!(Mindy)"

Miss Melinda. She worked in the Infant Room even when Kaylen was with the Toddler class, but always took a fondness toward Kaylen and we loved her dearly for that.

Miss Rosie... Kaylen LOVED to get her dance on with her! Miss Rosie gave Kaylen a little Latin rhythm!! ;-)

Miss Linda. With the kind of motherly love you would hope to find in a daycare. Each day we knew that Kaylen would find the kind of love we'd hope to give her in the Toddler B Classroom like Miss Linda could give her.

One of the gems we had to leave behind. Miss "Kika", Monica, was definitely one of our favorites while we were at First Friends. She was one of the teachers who fell in love with Kaylen the way that Kaylen fell in love with her. In the Infant Room, it was Miss Becca, and as a Toddler, in was Miss Kika. Kaylen attended her 2nd birthday party, she thought of Kaylen when she went out of town and bought her her first tutu dress, she would think to share special treats with Kaylen, and the list goes on. We, as parents, really connected with Monica, but it was the special attention she gave to Kaylen that always meant the world to us. We always knew Kaylen was loved, adored and well taken care of, as we would do at home. It's people like these, who your child grows to adore herself which makes it hard to switch "schools". These people become family... which always makes it that much harder.

We couldn't be more grateful for the amazing care and memories First Friends gave to us and to Kaylen. We always knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was in the best of hands. She was loved, nurtured, cared for, educated, praised and disciplined the way that we would've tried to do ourselves had we been able to at home. It's always been hard to know that we both had to be working parents, that staying home wasn't an option. And if you had to have your child in daycare, this is the kind of place that you would want them. We loved the facility, but it was the people that we're most grateful for. The teachers were more than we could've asked for and trusted them with our most prized jewel. Thank you First Friends for all the care and love you gave to Kaylen and being the best second family we could've possibly provided her!

Gregg turns 28!

The unfortunate part of having your birthday fall just two days after your daughter's??? Having to basically share your birthday with your daughter for the REMAINDER of your life!! But honestly, the minute Gregg knew his birthday was going to fall so close to Kaylen's, he was going to be more than happy to give his up to celebrate hers. And this year was his second in having to do so...he turned 28!! So, we didn't have a big bash, though he had friends that gave him plenty of crap for not filling them in on the fact that it was his birthday! But we did go out for dinner that night as a family and he spent a little time out with a few friends later! So, it was nice to celebrate Gregg! He who gives so much of himself to make this family continue to tick, his dreams stay on track and still find a little bit of time for himself. We love you and are so happy we had even just a little bit of time to celebrate YOU!

Out to dinner at Market Street to celebrate Daddy!!

Kaylen helping Daddy blow out his 28th Birthday candles!

Daddy opening presents... this card was from Kaylen...As were his new Toms!

No birthday is complete without birthday kisses from Kaylen!

We know Gregg had given in to more mellow birthdays considering his his two days after Kaylen's and he couldn't be more selfless. But we were super excited to have a little time to just share with Daddy to tell him how much we love and appreciate him! Thanks Daddy for all the time and energy you give to us!! Glad we could help celebrate your birthday with you!

And the winner is...... OHSU!!!

The decision has been made! After being accepted to 5 schools!!, Gregg is going to attend Medical School at OHSU- Oregon Health and Sciences University in Portland, Oregon! We couldn't be more excited for him as this is such an incredible opportunity and school! It wasn't a decision that was made lightly as the other major contender was Des Moines University in Des Moines, Iowa. We knew what an opportunity it would be to live closer to my side of the family, which would've been about a 3.5 hour drive from the Twin Cities and DMU was also an incredible school. But after really considering Gregg's options, the M.D. Program at OHSU is hopefully an opportunity that will not only open doors for him for his residency program but also for his future. OHSU is an amazing school that saw the potential in Gregg and we saw the possibilities in it!!

OHSU picture Gregg took while at his interview

Kaylen in the Sky Bridge on the OHSU Campus after making our way to Portland

Gregg and Kaylen taking a walk around the OHSU Campus

We knew that it would be hard to leave Salt Lake City and the proximity to all of our friends and Gregg's family as well as the decision to not make it closer to my family. But we knew that this was the best decision for our family as well as the best decision for the rest of Gregg's medical career. We are so proud of Gregg and all that he has accomplished! Congratulations, sweetheart on such a wonderful opportunity!