UTAH

We got back from Manhattan on Thursday afternoon. Unpacked to repack everything in the mustang, did laundry, bought some snacks and went to bed by eight. Got up at three and drove straight through from Indiana to Utah. We've gotten to know I-80 really well. We made it Friday night around eleven that night to the Harward's and began our summer!

I went right back to work on Monday. Liberty Mutual was good enough to let me transfer to a local office for the summer. What a blessing! I really enjoyed my time in the Riverton office. I met a lot of great people and continued to work hard at my job. It was also nice to work a regular nine to five shift and no weekends for a few months.

Wes started his job at the firm the following week. He absolutely loved working at Stoel Rives. The work, the people, the paycheck, everything! I loved being able to see his excitement and hear it in his voice as he would tell me what he could about his work. I am so happy that he loves what he has chosen to do professionally.

He worked in the Chase tower downtown Salt Lake, and I visited him on occasion to meet up for dinner and stuff. We got to go to several different firm activities and sponsored events such as dinners, a Real Salt Lake game, and a concert at Dear Valley. It was nice to get a taste of the future that we will have with this firm.

Between my job and Wes' we stayed very busy, but we did find time to see family and friends. And golf of course. We golfed once, if not twice, every week, and often with my brother Steve and my dad. I have really learned to love the game, and I improved so much over the course of the summer! We had a blast trying out different courses all around Utah.

Some other highlights would include my 23rd birthday, Wes' 26th, our 2nd anniversary, buying a 2nd car for me, and the many summer holidays and family get togethers. Our birthdays and anniversary were pretty low key this year because of our Manhattan trip and buying a jeep liberty for me, but still another great year celebrated together!

We stayed with Wes' parents for the first part of the summer and then moved in with Cassi and Logan into their beautiful new home. We are so grateful for their hospitality and loved being able to stay with family. We were all so busy we hardly got to do much together, but it was still a lot of fun.  We just barely missed the birth of baby Shad by a couple of weeks. He looks darling from the pictures and we can't wait to meet the little guy.

We saw my family frequently as well on random weeknights and for Sunday dinners. There are several summer birthdays in the Peterson family so we had lots of celebrations and parties. I was also reunited with my cousin Becca who had returned from her mission in February!

It was just good to be home. In every sense of the word. Utah is my home. It's where I was raised, where my family still lives, and it's where I want to be. The summers at home these last two years have been such a great way to recharge my batteries. I've liked Indiana and I wouldn't trade my time here with Wes for anything, but that still doesn't make it hard for a girl from the West to be away from everything she loves and knows to be stuck in the Midwest. I miss the mountains and the dry heat. I miss the familiarity and the community. I miss my favorite local restaurants and all of the things to do. I forget about a lot of those things, except for the missing people, when I'm in South Bend and so it all comes back to me when I'm home. I'm so grateful that it's only eight months until we'll be back for good! We've never lived permanently in Utah as Anna and Wes, so I'm looking forward to that time.

The summer months always seem to go too fast. It was over before we knew it. We were able to squeeze in last bbq's and a camping trip and golf and then it was time to go...