California, Here We Come!!!

Well, the results are in and we’re excited, to say the least! We didn’t get our #1-Los Angeles or #3-Boston (props to those who know me so well!), but we got a pretty decent runner-up: Edwards Air Force Base—an hour and a half outside of L.A.

Apparently, we'll get to enjoy goreous sunrises and sunsets (in my case, sunsets...), as well as the occasional space shuttle landing.

Full disclosure: Back in August, when we were making our list, I only half-jokingly told Matt that if he gets Edwards, I’m not coming. When Jodie picked me up from the airport on Friday (since Matt was racing), I told her I’d be happy with anywhere on our list-just as long as it wasn’t Edwards. And then, when we opened up our base assignment and saw Edwards, I almost expected them to be kidding. For those of you who aren’t aware, Edwards is the one in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Thankfully, there’s WAY more to Edwards than meets the eye (literally). Turns out, Matt’s job will be pretty amazing there. Edwards is in the middle of the desert because they need all that space to test their new toys (it’s where they first debuted the F-22s and other cool things like that). As an engineer, Matt gets to work with that. According to a few high-ranking officers we’ve talked to since we got the news, his time spent working at Edwards will do incredible things for Matt's career in the future—both in the Air Force and out. Not bad.

Meanwhile, we’re actually loving the location. Obviously we would have preferred the big cities but besides those two, the rest of the locations on our list were also at least an hour away from the next major city. And if you’re going to live 90 miles from a big city, it might as well be Los Angeles! Within a two-hour drive we’ll have: a temple, the beach, Disneyland, Six Flags, plenty of college and pro sports, Broadway plays, and all sorts of shopping, restaurants and entertainment. Plus, some of our closest family friends are in Bakersfield, which means if I need a mom Tamara is just 80 minutes away. Oh, and home? A quick 8.5 hour drive, with my extended family three hours closer than that. And let’s not forget my most favorite thing since we’re in the middle of winter—the weather! According to the monthly averages, it's really similar to Sacramento's. Year-round marathon training, thank goodness.

We’ve now officially learned the whole “Needs of the Air Force come first” thing first-hand. The majority of guys with Matt’s specific job ended up at either Eglin AFB in Florida (two hours outside of Mobile, Alabama) or Wright Patterson in Ohio (an hour between Columbus and Cincinnati). So, we actually feel pretty darn lucky to be heading where we are. And while I'm sure there will be times when I just sit at home and wonder how we got there, at the end of the day it's comforting that the Lord knows what He's doing.

And let’s be honest: after spending 2 ½ years apart by the time our wedding rolls around, we’re happy to be living anywhere as long as we’re together :-)

The fact that I get to move back to California with my Matt is just icing on the cake.

Many adventures sure to come.

PS-Remember those track pictures I talked about? And Valentine's Day? And the infamous 100's Night festivities? I'll be home in Utah this weekend so I plan on actually getting caught up in life, including one months worth of laundry, wedding plans, taxes, and this blog. Stay tuned :-)