It's Official - we chose

Well, first of all, we'd like to thank all of you who voted on the poll. It was a hard decision to make, but we turned down Baton Rouge and said, "Yes" to LA. We'll probably be moving in October so if you are heading down to Disneyland, you'll have to stop by and say hello. Also, we will be moving from our current place next Friday and putting our stuff in a storage unit up here in Logan. If you have any boxes, we'd love to take them off your hands.

Miss You Oklahoma

Two years ago today I came home from Ok. Not a single day has passed since then that I haven't thought about that time. I feel the same as Pres. Hinckley! “Everything good that has happened to me since then is the result of having served a mission." What a real honor it was to serve the Lord in that way. Andy took me back to his mission in Chile recently, and some time I'll take him back to mine!

This is a pict of when my mom and I went back for Sue's baptism shortly after I got home. From L-R: Sister Mahoney, Sue Smith, me, Kim Smith, Candy Smith, Sister Bell

Dresses...cross your fingers!

Gotta love the flower on her head!! She's such a cutie.
Here's a couple picts of Maren in dresses. I never wanted to wear a dress when I was young, so we're hoping she will :) Andy especially loves this picture because her legs are straight so it makes her look like a big girl.

An Update

Yesterday I got back from my second "off-site" interview, and I thought it would be good to let you all know how things have been going. Baton Rouge was last Thursday, and although I was on four different planes in one day (two out and two back) it was good. They took me out to lunch and I had a muffellata sandwich (it's kind of italian, I don't know how else to explain it). Then I went through about three hours of interviews. Sadly, similar to the phone interviews, everyone asked why on earth I would want to move to Louisiana (our parents are saying the same thing). I would think that they wouldn't act like it was such a bad place but maybe there's something I'm missing? Anyways, then they took me around town. I saw the riverfront, LSU, and a few other sights. The streets are all lined with huge oak trees, it is extremely green, and the football is intense. The freeways are horrid however (super bumpy and only two lanes throughout all the city). Overall I enjoyed things, but I did enjoy coming home. They did make an offer, but it was less that I expected, and after benefits are considered it was less than the LA offer. Plus something nags me about why everyone was so in doubt about why I would want to move to Baton Rouge. It almost seems like they are hiding something about the area. Maybe I'm just paranoid.
Sunday, I flew out to LA. Before I flew out and after I went through security I realized that I had forgotten my dress shoes in the car. Nicole had dropped me off, but she didn't have her phone, and she couldn't make it back to get them to me. So When I got into LA I decided that I ought to buy some (I needed new ones anyways). So I tried to find a shoe place that was close since I didn't have the money for a cab ride. We found a few that were close, but none that were opened before my interview, so we found a Walmart that was about 3 miles away. I woke up an hour early and headed out at 6:00 am (I had to be ready at 8:00 am). Well, long story short, after an hour and a half walk and 10 minutes in the store, I had my new shoes, was sweating profusely and was only 5 minutes late when they picked me up. I was glad I got them because there is a dress code in their office and slacks and nice shoes are required.
After I got settled, they showed me their operations, well a few of them. They service over 5.3 million people and the scale of their systems is hugh compared to anything I had seen before. They seem like great people and they really enjoy what they do. I was able to meet with a few of the people that I would presumably work with and they seemed great. I had a ton of fun with them.
Finally, Rachel offered me a job working in her garage for a bit more than minimum wage. It is a bit less than the other two, but we would get to work in her garage.
We're supposed to get back to Baton Rouge tomorrow, but they are working on getting some added things in (moving expenses, etc) to spice up the offer, and we wanted to hear your take. Spend a second and take our survey for what you think we should do.

Happy Tuesday!

Maren is sitting here in her frogger blanket my aunt Carolyn made her. We LOVE this blanket because it allows us to complete the ultimate swaddle! It's big enough and the perfect material. She loves to be tight and swaddled :)
The headband and bow are from my sis in law Melissa-so cute, thanks Carolyn and Melissa.












This is what I looked out and saw yesterday. This is one of those things you may find only in Cache Valley:) Love it.

Lastly, my mom is coming today! She's spending some time with us while Andy interviews in Baton Rouge! Can't wait to see her.

Crazy Bob's and Happy Wives

For all those who did Crazy Bob's Bair Gutsman today, way to go! Sherry, Carrie, Chad and Brad Congrats. Andy and I had a great excuse this year. (See Below)

This makes me happy.