8.5 moves in 6 years

Bryan and I were trying to think of ways to torture our children a few weeks ago. We came up with something that we thought would do the trick. We were right. They were tortured.

We took them on a drive to all the places we lived before we bought our home. We covered all 8.5 moves, complete with stories and narration. And a camera. We wouldn't even let them play their DS games. They had to actually listen to our stories and look out the window to where we were pointing. Torture!!!

I know this is not interesting to anyone else but Bryan and I (and our tortured children), but I thought I would document it. For posterity's sake or something.

Now I should preface...we were married young. I was 19 and Bryan was 21. I still had at least two years of college left. Bryan was fresh off his mission and just starting college. Our tuition took most of our money, and we were POOR!

#1 - Paula Apartments in Sugarhouse

Our first apartment was a tiny one bedroom in Sugarhouse. This is a bad picture of our bedroom window (below). There were 8 apartments in the complex.

Memories:

*We were close with everyone in the complex. We were all young, married, with no money. We would spend our Friday nights playing croquet and watching football/movies in the common grass area.

*Waking up to the SWAT team surrounding our complex and yelling at us to "stay low and away from windows." They wouldn't let us leave for over 8 hours. There was a standoff that turned into a murder/suicide in the complex next to us. We spent the day watching movies and making cookies (we didn't stay low) instead of going to school and work that day.

*Bryan's POS car started to break down here, especially in the winter. So a couple of times a week, I would have to TOW IT DOWN THE STREET to start it. At 6:00 in the morning. Yup. We were awesome.

*Sunday lunch with our next door neighbors. We went over to each other's apartments every week after church and ate CEREAL together. I told you - we were awesome.

*This was probably our favorite place to live. We loved our neighbors and ward.

#2 (really 1.5) - Paula Apartments take 2

Then a two-bedroom became available, so we moved across the grass. These are bad pictures. The complex used to be nice, but when we drove through, it was run down and a bit sketchy. There was a scary guy on his steps watching me take pictures, so we hurried out of there.

#3 - Applevale in Murray

We moved from Paula Apartments to Applevale beause we had the opportunity to live at Bryan's mom's house while she was away. It was a big house with free rent. We figured, why not? It didn't last as long as we had hoped, and we had to move a few months later.

Memories:

*Living in the neighborhood we both grew up in.

*Having my parents around the corner.

*Living with Bryan's sister, DeDe, and her husband and getting to know them better.

#4 - Browning Avenue by Liberty Park

We wanted to find a place closer to the U, and found the cutest little house to rent close to Liberty Park. We rented the top level, another couple rented the basement, and a single girl rented a back area.

Memories:

*The power went out all the time here. We spent many evenings playing cards on our porch when this happened. Loved the porch.

*There was no air conditioning. We had a spray bottle by our bed and would spray down the sheets before we got in bed to keep cool. We finally broke down and bought a window a/c unit.

*The first thing we would do when we got home in the evenings was to get the vacuum and suck up the 20-30 june bugs that would make their way inside every single day.

*I finished college here! I also completed my most difficult semester when we lived here. I took 12 hours of credit, worked 30 hours a week, and worked at my unpaid internship for 30 hours a week.

#5 - Marmalade Square in North Salt Lake

We moved to Marmalade Square in North Salt Lake because I was pregnant with Kevin and got a job as a weekend leasing agent here. I was paid with free rent plus commission. It was a job I could do from home, and we didn't think we could pass up free rent, especially since I didn't want to go back to work full time after Kevin was born.

Memories:

*Kevin was born a couple of months after we moved here! Looking back, I can't believe I took my first child home to such a yucky place. It had bugs and huge cockroaches everywhere. I remember taking Kevin on walks around the neighborhood and I couldn't believe the awful conditions. I guess we were focused on the free rent, and tried to overlook the rest.

*Kevin had surgery on his cleft lip here. As a new mom, it was a time of anxiety and uncertainty. I learned a lot of things about myself during this time.

*Although we were elated with Kevin's birth, we still call that summer the "summer from hell." (Sorry, Kevin). Bryan worked all day from 9-5 at Standard Batteries and then at UPS (for the health benefits) from 10pm-2am. He didn't sleep, Kevin didn't sleep, I didn't sleep. Kevin had surgery. Kevin was grumpy. I hated my job because I really wanted to everybody to run away. As fast as they could.

*Besides my memories of Kevin as a newborn, I can't think of any good memories about this place.

#6 - Memory Lane in Holladay

A few months after Kevin was born, I got another job making enough money to afford rent, play Bryan's tuition, and allow Bryan to quit his job and focus on school. Best of all, I could also take care of Kevin because I could do it from home. I had already decided that I did not want to leave Kevin to go to work, and I did not want to rely on anybody else to watch him. I didn't know how I was going to do it, and this was an answer to my prayers. It was not easy at all, but worth it. I was on call 72-96 hours per week and I felt like a walking zombie most of the time from the 24-hour shifts. Anyways, we left Marmalade Square as fast as we could and moved to Holladay.

Memories:

*Living down the road from my cousin, who married one of Bryan's best friends.

*Taking Kevin on walks and looking at the multi-million dollar homes on our street instead of the boarded-up homes with the hookers on the corner like at our last place.

*Hauling groceries/laundry/Kevin up and down two flights of stairs all day long.

#7 - Kent's House in Sandy

Bryan's uncle lived in New Mexico. He asked us if we wanted to rent his home for barely more than what we were paying for our apartment. It was a large home with a large yard, and we jumped on it.

Memories:

*Kevin learned to walk here. I remember Bryan chasing him around the living room, and Kevin would laugh and laugh and want to do it over and over.

*We did a lot of yard work. I think we pulled an entire garbage can full of weeks.

*When I think of this house, I smile. Kevin was so much fun here, and we loved the space and openness of everything.

#8 - Hunters Woods in Murray

Unfortunately, Bryan's uncle had to unexpectedly move back only a few months after we moved in. I was so sad to leave. We were in a hurry to find a place, and we found on in Murray, close to where we grew up. We chose it because of the size and location. Those were almost the only things we liked about Hunters Woods.

Memories:

*The people below us smoked, and our apartment ALWAYS reeked of cigarette smoke. I tried every way possible to mask it, but it wouldn't go away.

*The dog poop on the grass every time we would go out to play.

*The drug deals I watched go down behind the dumpster.

*Bryan's beloved bike was stolen from our second story balcony.

*We moved here just after Kevin's first birthday. There were duck ponds on the other side of the property. Every day, Kevin and I would walk to the pond and feed the ducks. It is one of my favorite memories of when he was young. He absolutely loved it and would make duck sounds all the time when he wanted to go feed them. When I was on call for work, it seemed like I would always get a call as soon as we got to the pond, or even before we got there. We would often have to hurry back and Kevin would cry and wonder why we couldn't just stay. At times, I would want to cry as well, wanting to just be with him instead of worrying about work.

*Bryan would come home from work/school and take Kevin on bike rides almost every night. Kevin would become giddy with excitement as the evening came closer, and would wait by the window for him. They loved their bike rides together.

*Bryan finished school while we were here!

#9 - Morningside Cove

After Bryan was done with school, we were finally ready to buy a home. We were open to move anywhere in the valley, but ended up buying a home less than 5 minutes from where we grew up. It's not a big home, and there are things that we would definitely change about it. But as soon as we walked in, we knew we were supposed to buy it. Neither of us had a question. We are supposed to be here.

We've lived here for 7.5 years and love it. Great neighbors, great ward, great school. Trey was born a year after we moved in, and this house fits our little family perfectly.

And while Bryan and I were reliving important family history, this is what the boys looked like in the back seat for most of the ride...

One day, they'll appreciate this. Maybe.