Oregon Trail

31 July 2002 

Scott got a job at the University of Oregon!  We found out last week and we're moving out there next week.  Pretty crazy, I know.  We still have to find a place to live -- so far we've looked online and we've found a few, but some are just too expensive for what we'll be making.  Scott is doing an internship, so it doesn't pay so much.  I still need to find a job, but it doesn't seem like there are any teaching jobs open out there in the Eugene area...Something will work out.

{Another actual journal entry from yours truly.}

For approximately 13 months of our newlywed lives, we called the Pacific Northwest home.  And we loved it!  By the end of the summer, Scott had been offered a position as an intern with the University of Oregon's athletic media relations department.  After accepting the offer, we basically had 2 weeks to pack up our stuff, move to Oregon, and start our new lives.

I look back on us from the vantage point of now, and two things strike me the hardest -- 1.)  We were BABIES (seriously -- check out the pictures; we were so young), and 2.)  We were either blessed with  a titanic amount of faith and hope -- or we were ludicrously naive.  Hahahaha.  I prefer to go with the former.  (Although, the reality is that we probably had a touch of both.)

As we set forth on our great adventure, we were able to pile all of our earthly possessions into the minivan that Scott's parents let us borrow for our journey on the Oregon trail -- which was thankfully devoid of the dysentery, cholera, and snakebites that plagued the original Conestoga travelers.  You would think that such an epic road trip would have created all kinds of lasting memories, but because we were just focused on arriving at our destination rather than making a real trip out of our Provo-to-Eugene journey, the only thing I really remember from the drive was passing through the Columbia River Gorge area at sunset and thinking how absolutely gorgeous it was and what a beautiful part of the country we were moving to.

(Obviously not my picture, but how gorgeous is the gorge??  Hahaha.  Also, this will be a must see on our pacific coast road trip we're planning for the summer after Ethan graduates.)

Once we arrived in Eugene, we were blessed to quickly find a place to live (which was technically in Springfield, but literally right on the border of Eugene where both Scott and I worked), and I was thankfully able to find a preschool that was hiring when none of the elementary schools in the area were.  Our apartment was un-air-conditioned -- which I swore I would never do again after my summer of 2001 in Provo without any air -- but when we moved in, we were told that the weather is so mild and temperate in Oregon that we wouldn't even need it.  LIES!!!!  Hahahaha.  The first week we were there, the weather hit some record highs and we consequently had to sweat it out to 104* temperatures while sitting in front of our box fans and spraying ourselves with water.  Hahaha.  Those were the days.  ;)

 (Scott celebrated his 25th birthday during the first week or two after arriving in Oregon.  We didn't have any candles on hand, so obviously the next best option was a votive candle in a holder.  Hahaha.)

A couple of months after we had settled in, Scott's parents drove out with our Ford Explorer to swap with their minivan.  While they were in town, Scott was able to show off his office complex at the University of Oregon, and we enjoyed a trip out to the coast with them.  With hindsight, I can say that one of my biggest regrets during our Oregon days is not doing enough exploring around the Pacific Northwest.  :(  With both of us working full-time -- me during a regular Monday through Friday 8-6 workday and Scott working weekdays plus weekENDS covering whatever sport was in season (which -- spoiler alert -- there is ALWAYS a sport in season) -- our ability to do much exploring was basically non-existent.  (All the more reason to go all out when we finally go back in a few summers!)

 (I'm not really sure what I'm doing here.  Hahaha.  But I do remember that the coast was WINDY.)

I wish I remembered more of the details of our Oregon days, but unfortunately, most of that year is a blur of working, sports stuff, Scott and I both serving in presidencies at church (Elder's Quorum and Relief Society), and me being pregnant with Ethan and bringing him into the world the next summer.  

I do have fond memories of the darling little kids I taught in my Pre-K class, though, and I was so grateful that I was able to find my little job at Oak Street Child Development Center -- and even more grateful that I had majored in Elementary Education with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education!  When there were no elementary positions that panned out, it was such a blessing that I felt competent and prepared to apply for a preschool position instead.  :)