We are back in “zoo town”. Ok, seriously people unless you are from the East coast and therefore don’t know any better, don’t call Missoula “Zoo Town”. I walk into a family barbecue and my uncle, who I thought would know better, says, “welcome back to the Zoo!” Oh, I about collapsed. Zoo town, zoo city, the zoo…it is consuming Montana natives…stay strong… resist the urge!
I don’t even know where to start. It has been a crazy four weeks. It started off with us in Salt Lake City finishing up the cleaning and packing of our house. We packed
up the moving truck with the help of Mac and Kenton. Saying goodbye to the Erb’s was so hard. Addi whaled “Carley” as we drove away from their house. She totally understood what was happening. It broke my heart to watch her give Carley a hug goodbye. We spent most weekends at the Erb’s house for over a year and it was hard to drive away from them.
The drive from Salt Lake to Missoula was the fastest trip we have ever had. We got up at 5 am and pulled into Missoula around one in the afternoon. Dylan’s parents and brother came over to our new house and helped unload the truck. In about 20 minutes the truck was empty. That evening Dave and Em came over and helped us unpack. Em did her whorl wind organizing and quickly put my house back together! It was so great to have so much help. By the time I had to drive Dylan to Spokane on Sunday our house was completely unpacked, the pictures were hung and it already felt like home. Addi and I drove Dylan to Spokane on Sunday morning. Dylan flew back to Salt Lake and Addi and I stayed with Jackie and the boys for one night in Spokane. It was really great seeing them. Ethan and Owen are so grown up. Jackie is adorable all pregnant with Liam!
Addison and I spent the 2 1/2 weeks without Dylan at family gatherings and with our friends.
We were busy, going somewhere everyday. We made it to the river with the dogs several times, we made an evening trip to Salmon Lake with Neil, Ember and Ella. We’ve picked a billion huckleberries and we floated the river with Dave and Em. Dave made us a lobster tail, steak and shrimp dinner. Oh, yah! Wow, it was the best dinner I have ever had. Addison is true Montana girl. She loves all the water! It made the time without Dylan go by really fast. Which was great for us. He spent his time living on our kitchen floor back in our Salt Lake house. He was on the kitchen floor so the newly cleaned carpets would not get dirty! Moni and Mike put him up the last few days. They said he was nipping at the bit to get back to Montana. Who would have guessed!!!
Dylan drove home last Wednesday. It is so great having him home. Addison doesn’t let him out of her sight! She missed him so much. One day before he got home I was watching her without her knowing I was watching. I had hung several pictures of Dylan on our fridge at her eye level. She had taken a picture of him off the fridge and was silently looking at it and one solitary tear rolled down her cheek. She didn’t say anything, but you knew she was thinking about him and missing him. It was so sad. Addi and I made a ring countdown to when Daddy gets home, similar to the countdowns kids make for Christmas. Every day she looked forward to tearing a ring off the countdown until he was home.
Dylan has this week off before his clinical year begins. He will be working for four weeks at the allergy clinic near the Providence Center. Each week on Wednesday we will go to Kalispell to work at an allergy clinic there part of Wednesday and Thursday. He will be staying over night Wednesday to Thursday. He is excited to start this next phase. He will do great, I know he will love it.
I am in limbo right now. Trying to find a way to have to work only part time. The thought of not being with Addi during the day breaks my heart, but it is what is best for our family right now. I have been applying to a few jobs but I haven’t heard back from them yet. I am eager to finish my Medical Transcription school so I can hopefully get a job doing that from home. I figure I have two solid more months working on it a few hours each day before I finish.
Addison is loving being home. She gets constant attention from family and friends. My sisters, Jessica and Jaci, spend a lot of time with us. Addi loves her aunties! She still talks about Carley almost daily. If we go swimming she gets her excited looks and shouts, “Carley? Julie?!” The other day we had friends over for dinner and I was telling Addi how our friends were going to come over soon. She went into her room and found the kitty blanket that Carley used to play on in Salt Lake. She laid it on her floor and picked out several toys for Carley to play with. She would do that for Carley when she would come over to our house. Poor girl. She really misses her friend. The other day she also said “Kenton” clear as day. For a year Kenton has tried to get her to say Kenton and she says it now when he can’t hear it. She thinks about them all the time.
I made up a very special room for Addison. I was planning her toddler room for months. I think it turned out really great. She is so proud of it and shows it to everyone who comes over!
In a couple days Dylan and I will be celebrating our third wedding anniversary. Hard to believe! Three years have gone by already. Someone asked me the other day, “Are you still in love?” Yes, I can say with all my heart we are still very much in love. It has been a crazy three years full of constant change! The past few months have been hard for Dylan and I. With him immersed in his books and having very little spare time, but we always look forward to the time we do have together.
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