THE MOVE

Here is an interesting fact about me: I did not like living in Southern California. Yup, I'm weird. I know I am in the minority because of this opinion. However, let me explain: 

I grew up in the wonderful suburb of Los Angeles, Diamond Bar. Although boring and uneventful (says my old high school self), it really is a nice town. I attended one the best schools in the country and played sports my entire childhood. I actually was a pretty good volleyball player too but I digress. 

What I'm saying is that I used to like living in California. The never ending food choices, mountains or beach within an hour, and of course the warm weather all year long. These were all great things until I grew up. I had to do adult things like pay bills, go to work, and the most life-changing event; start a family.

My husband and I lived in Upland, CA. It was 20 minutes from our hometown, Diamond Bar and about 1.5 hours from my husband's work. That drive is brutal but more on that later. Upland is a fairly decent suburb. I say fairly decent because there were really nice areas and then some areas not so much. We lived in a condo. It was perfect for our "first place". However, as the years passed it became a place of resentment. 

Resentment because of how expensive it was to live there and the location was not ideal. We were living paycheck to paycheck while in a not-so-good neighborhood. My husband was driving 85 miles one way to work. The time that the 5 freeway took away from our lives was detrimental. He was never home and when he was it was for a couple hours. He even slept at work every week because of that drive. Our overall quality of life was poor. Then Connor happened. Our son, our whole world. 

We wanted the best for him. Now our "ok" neighborhood was not good enough. The poorly rated schools nearby were not good enough. His dad being home a fraction of the time was not good enough. And then we realized our life was not good enough for him.

It's amazing how much your mindset changes when you have a child. (Cue mama bear!) I want to protect him and give him every opportunity to be the best person he could be. I know, I know. I can't keep him in a bubble forever but we knew we wanted something different for him. 

My husband and I love Montana. My family lives in Missoula and Ryan was lucky enough to go on most of the trips with me to visit. Something was different. We felt lighter. Closer to God. You don't know what "high on life" feels like until you visit Montana. We decided when Connor was just 6 months old that we needed a change. Yes, we knew it would be hard. We knew it would be the most stress we would ever endure, ever. I mean, who just gets up and decides to leave their jobs, friends and family?! Parents who are desperate for a quality place to be a family, that's who. 

Fast forward 4 months: we are here. Our dreams have come true. The stars have freakishly aligned and paved the way for us to finally be in Montana. It's crazy how easy it was. Now I know we have a long way to go. We need to rebuild and that takes time. Our family is looking forward to a life long of happiness and adventure. NOW our life can begin.

Here is a picture of us as a family here in beautiful Missoula, Montana.