Our Baby... Birds

We noticed about a month ago that a mourning dove and a couple of eggs had taken up residence in a hanging plant that Mel got for her birthday this year. Those eggs hatched while we were in Ohio and we now have our very own family of birds!

Big Changes?

Last week I got a call from a friend from BYU offering me a job with his dad's company.

I'm faced with a decision that could mean some big changes. Other than completely switching careers and giving up everything that I've worked towards at Texas Wasatch, it would mean a whole new state (Oregon), leaving behind close friends, selling our home, and Melanie giving up the opportunity of a lifetime with her new job as a fitness center manager for Radio Shack's corporate headquarters.

Not an easy decision - that's for sure. Taking this job wouldn't even be worth considering if I was completely satisfied with my current job selling insurance. But really, who wants to sell insurance? I sure don't! The problem is that, economically speaking, this job is next to unbeatable in both the short and long term.

I think I am also getting tired of being in the same routine every day. I don't think I am learning much and I'd love a change of scenery. Professionally I feel like my progress has slowed and I don't feel as challenged as I think I should. When I came on board to Texas Wasatch I think I expected more professional development than what I've experienced to date.

I brought up my concerns in my monthly interview with Kevin Hockenjos. I eventually told him that I had a job offer I'm considering that, at first glance, looks comparable to Texas Wasatch. Since I told him, I was kind of obligated to tell Mark Jones as well. Both of them argued that this is still the best job for me - what would you expect. I do not expect them to fight for me Both precedent and common sense tells me that they would be unhappy if I left but I shouldn't expect a counter offer or other benefits to entice me to stay.

We'll see where this goes when I fly out to Oregon in a couple weeks to meet with the partners. I have to convince them that they should pay me what I'm worth and they need to convince me that I should give up everything here in Texas to move to Oregon and work for them.

Going Home

Mel and I went 'home' a couple weeks ago for Memorial Day to help Mom get her house ready to sell. We cleaned out the basement and attic and tackled a few other rooms. We hauled a bunch of stuff to the dump, and burned what we could in our back yard.

Eric and I had fun with the fire. We dumped all the fuel we could find on the fire (lamp oil, old kerosene from the basement, and lighter fluid) and lit the pile. The flames were about 20 - 30 feet high and hot enough to scorch the grass and wilt leaves on a tree more than 10 feet from the fire. The next morning Jeff & Brad Goldie helped us load up the pile of junk and scrap metal to take to the dump.

It is tough to let go of 'home' - that house is where I grew up. It must be even harder for Mom and Audrey because that is where they are all the time. But the home is too big and too much to maintain for just the two of them.

Mom let her boss know that she would be gone by the end of the summer and met with a real estate agent last week to help sell the home. I guess this is the official end of an era.

One of my favorite things about going back to Ohio was meeting up with friends. It worked out that Brad & Bekah Goldie (along with their baby Nicholas) were in town. We went up to Cincinnati to hang out with Jason & Gini Forbes and Jared & Dani Jensen (plus their twins). Good times and great memories. It will be fun getting together as all of our children get older because all the kids will be about the same age (plus or minus a year or so).