let the games begin!

WE ARE HERE! (in washington, that is.) Jarron finished his internship on Friday in Sandy, UT. We drove to WA on Saturday. He started his final internship today (Monday) here in Richland. I have scattered our things throughout my mom-in-law's house and haven't organized a thing. I have already spent $100 this morning at a new gym membership and haven't even started buying groceries, toiletries, etc. But I don't think I have ever felt this care-free during a major life change. Ever. Is that a good thing? I'm hoping so because one of my resolutions is to 'chillax' more. But one thing that will never change is my sentimentality for the past. So to honor the sappy side of my character, I will share with you the reasons why I am both Glad and Sad to leave SLC, UT. And it begins:

UTAH is AWESOME because:
1) family. i already miss the younger half of the mitchells. and i'll miss out on seeing the next generation start going to school there.
2) SO MUCH TO DO. the downtown SLC library is a tourist spot in-and-of itself. and i never made it to the observatory on the top floor.... :( And our favorite park (in Heber) may never be visited by us again. *sniff sniff* I will miss being able to walk most everywhere I wanted to go.
3) friends. i have made a million friends over my 10+ year stay in utah and have moved away from all of them (or they left me for other frontiers). thank goodness for blogs and facebook!!
4) General Authority sightings in random parking lots and having Stake Conference in the church's Conference Center (with the Prophet and his apostles being the speakers, of course). What an experience to be so close to the world's finest.
5) it was my first home during my adult life where I ventured out on my own, received a university degree, met mi amore, started my family and began raising my bebes. and although the boys will probably forget all about apartment living/living in poverty, I won't.

UTAH ANNOYS because:

1) i absolutely HATE the heated school/religion rivalries. read: the polarization of LDS/non-LDS residents causes too much friction and anxiety. I was actually afraid to wear my BYU sweatshirt in SLC.
2) the INVERSIONS. Winter is not my favorite season anyway, and when you add pollution problems (bad air trapped in the valley under cloud cover) it gets more than cold. It gets disgusting.
3) debt debt debt. that pretty much characterizes our personal finances during these educational years. and if we stayed and accepted a job there, we would never have been able to pay off our student loans, buy a home, etc.

But enough of reminiscing about my recent past. It's time to start chapter 6 of my life. Let's do this thing! (and start making money in the process!)