All the Deets ...

Time to play catch-up on the blog!  I have to admit ... this is hard to do.  I keep regurgitating what I've posted on Facebook (ha!).  But I guess here you can get The Rest of the Story.

At the end of June we took off on our grand summer trip, traveling from Virginia to Minnesota and then down to Texas and Louisiana.  Usually it's a family visit, but this time we had the added pressure of finding a job and a house.

Jesse's resignation has been approved, and he's out of the Marines on 7 September.  Less than two months now, and the wait is killing us!

Riley and Savvy last year at Mineview in the Sky
with the big truck

He interviewed with United Taconite and things looked very favorable.  They discussed salary and gave him the job description, and also had him meet the guys he'd be working with.  We found a house we loved, and since the job looked good, we made an offer.  Offer ACCEPTED!  Now all we need is that letter of employment.

And then the wrench is thrown in the works:  U-Tac decided they didn't want Jesse supervising his father at times.  So he was flown out this past week to re-interview at the plant side of U-Tac for the job of Plant Coordinator.  It's the equivalent in supervisory level and pay (we think) of what he would have been doing on the mine operations side of the business.  We will know by next Tuesday how it will play out. 

Until then we are waiting, and waiting, and waiting.  I'm making plans to sink my teeth into the new house once it's ours.  That house is stuck in the 70s, and it's going to take quite a few hours of ripping out flooring, redoing flooring and painting to get it livable to my standards.  Thankfully, I have a few friends and relatives who will have no problem helping on that end.

The town of Aurora, Minnesota is where Jesse's parents live, and it's where the new house is located.  Only about a mile from the in-laws.  As far as the town goes, it has about 1800 people, and just about one of everything you would NEED in a town.  Hospital, clinic, gas stations, post office, grocery stores, a few cafes, a hardware store, and a bar or two.  A pharmacy and a pizza shop.  An A&W drive-in in the summer months.  Within 5 miles you have tons of four wheeler/snowmobile trails, lakes, beaches, and a ski resort.  Only drawback would be the drive to the mine, which is about 40 mins away.  And the fact that it goes well BELOW ZERO in the winter.  I've seen it -40*F a few years ago, and it's been even colder.

For now, I am going through as much household stuff as I can and lightening our load a little.  Quantico Yard Sales is a good thing!  (And my seller name is Jen's Closet if you're interested in shopping.)  Soon I will have to rip up our garden and replant with grass.  Kinda sad about that, actually.  Not to mention it's going to be a lot of hot, sweaty work.  Sort of like planting the garden in the first place, but we are not getting any of the reward of the harvest.

Overall, we're looking forward to the next stage in our lives.  We've never known a life together other than life in the Marine Corps.  But it's a life that I'm so excited to start.