The Gem State

Drumroll please.....

The Whitfield 4 are moving to Boise, Idaho!  Doug and I couldn't be more excited for this major change that has been months and months in the making.

The background: After college, Doug and I ended up in the Seattle area.  Neither of us really felt like we chose to live here.  Many of our Whitman friends grew up in Seattle and returned after graduation, I wanted to earn my Master's while teaching, Doug liked the bigger city and proximity to mountains, water, etc.  But, we were never in-love with the city and we always dreamed of other places to live... Boston, San Francisco, New York... we also dreamt of living in older homes and fixing them up top to bottom... and dreamt of taking advantage of all that 'the city life' had to offer... The Doug and Elizabeth of the early 2000s envisioned a much different picture than the Doug and Elizabeth of 2013.  We have lived in our Bellevue home for 8+ years, and so much blood, sweat, and tears (and $$) have gone into transforming this cozy 1940s house into a charming cottage.  We love our big yard and the amazing location; it is ideal for a family.  But, the desire to move to a different place with new things to offer hasn't dissipated.  After Cam was born, the desire seemed to increase!

We have talked extensively about this with our families and friends over the past year.  Several different opportunities and circumstances presented themselves, and we had to make a decision about which bullet to bite (is that too vague? we are keeping some of the details within the tight, non-public circle!).  Eventually, our draw to Boise grew too strong to ignore, and it became worth shutting some doors and saying to goodbye to our wonderful community here.

The details: Boise became a possible contender because of what it has to offer as a growing, developing city, for its cost of living, for its quality of life...and it doesn't hurt that my brother, my sister-in-law, and our most adorable nephew in the world happen to live there.  Long term, this city will provide opportunities that other cities can't.  And it will enable us to live the kind of life that we want for ourselves and for our children.  We have found the most amazing community to initially move into....again, it is virtually the complete opposite of what we envisioned for ourselves 10 years ago, but right now, it is ideal for us.  We will be renting a fabulous home there during this transition and renting our current home in Bellevue.  We leave the beginning of April to start this next chapter!

The future: We will miss our friends here in the Seattle area.  I can't believe that we won't get to see some of these special people on a regular basis.  That part is the hardest.  But, we already have Sophie enrolled in a new preschool and a neighborhood soccer team.  Our new community is filled with families.  We will get to have cousins grow up together, spend so much time with my bro and Alison, and enjoy all that this change in life has to offer.  We couldn't be more excited.  It's this middle period of transition--saying goodbye, checking off our "Bellevue/Seattle bucket list", packing up and moving out, dealing with logistics-- that is difficult.

Needless to say, there are millions of things running through our minds lately.  It's been a really busy winter, and it'll be a busy but EXCITING spring!

Boise, here come the Whitfield 4!