Missing Cedar

I needed to find some time to head down to Cedar City to SUU to sign some papers and get the ball rolling on applying for my student teaching in the fall. Since Ty had a week off for Spring break this last week and SUU was in session we decided to head down for 4 days and make a little mini vacation out of it. We wanted to get away for a little bit and since we had friends and family we wanted to see down in Cedar and St. George this was perfect.

As soon as we drove into Cedar on Wednesday afternoon my heart was overcome with emotion. We haven't been back here since we moved nine months ago and I just didn't realize how much I really missed it there until we drove into town and all these memories started flooding my mind. I mean Cedar was our home it is the first place Ty and I lived together and it is where our little bubbus was born. During this vacation I realized I MISS Cedar.

Here are some things that I miss about Cedar and our memories there:

1. I miss our home there. It was cute, It was big for our little family, It was fun to decorate, it had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms,  I loved our neighborhood, we had our own backyard and our own garage. Even though we were renting it felt like ours and it was our home. It is where we came to after a long day of school, it is where we snuggled up close together, it is where we put our feet up on the table our bums on the couch and relaxed after work, it is where we brought Maddux home from the hospital to, it is where I spent my entire pregnancy, It is where I had fun decorating, it is where I cooked meals, it is where our families came to visit us,  it is where we hung out with friends, it is where I would hang out in the front yard and talk to neighbors, it was little M's first home, and when it came time to move it is where I cried many many times while packing up boxes and saying goodbye to our old life and home. Yes I do get attached and yes change is hard for me and yes I do love our life in Salt lake but that doesn't change the fact that when we drove past our old home this week I wanted to cry and say to Ty that that was our home and those people shouldn't be there...I miss our home.

This is the only picture I could find of the outside of our home. Excuse the Halloween decor. But isn't this cute. wouldn't you miss it?

2. I miss our School SUU (Southern Utah University). It is where I did all of my college classes, it is where I went terrified away from home as a new freshman, it is where I first lived on my own, It is where I payed my own bills, It is where I blossomed, it is where I grew into myself and really learned who I am, It is where I not only learned about math, English and science but about life, it is where I cheered at football games and gymnastics meets, it is where I worked, It is where I felt like I lived, it is where I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours, It is where I really started dating, it is where I built friendships that will last forever, it is where I met my amazing hubby Ty, it is where I got to be a Presidential Ambassador and make a difference to the school, it is where I learned, it is where I pushed myself, it is where I earned my bachelors degree, It is where I graduated in Physical Education and health, it is where I decided I wanted to be a teacher one day, It is where I had professors that made huge impacts in my life, It is where I loved to be and I wouldn't change my college years for anything. I would never go back to high school but I would go back here any day... I miss SUU! I will forever be a Thunderbird. Thank you SUU for all the amazing memories and life lessons that will forever make me the person that I am today.

Maddux chilling on the SUU campus. This is where Ty and I both spent many hours recruiting, learning, socializing, partying, watching and studying.

3. I miss our Family there. Ty's brother Dan, our sister in law Brooke and their kids live in St. George, Ty's Brother Mike, our sister in law Jess and their kids live in Cedar and my brother Chris, our sister in law Em and their kids live in Cedar in just a street down from where we lived. We had a lot of family down there and it was a blast. We hung out a lot, had movie nights, had rock band nights, babysat, swam, played at the park, had Sunday dinners together, and watched shows together. I felt so lucky to live close to our amazing family and I loved playing with our nieces and nephews down there. They all helped me so much when Maddux was born, and where always there when we needed anything. Even though we still see them a lot because they are our family I miss seeing them even more often. I cherish the time we got to live close to all of you guys and hope we will all be close to each other again.....I miss living close to those family members.

Our cute niece Oaklyn and Maddux. It was so fun spending some time with Dan and Brooke and their kids for a little bit this week. Oaklyn was adorable with Little M and just kept carrying him around, making him laugh and playing with him. He followed her around like a puppy dog. He loved playing with all his cousins he liked playing outside with Londyn and Connelly. This was also the first time that he got to meet our new baby nephew Creed and he was fascinated by him and kept trying to give him kisses. 

We  spent some time with my brother Chris, Emily, and their kiddos Ella's and Parker while we were down in Cedar. When we lived down there we only lived a street down from these guys and were in the same ward. We spent many hours at their play hanging out.

 This is our cute little niece Ella sitting next to little M. They are such cute little cousins I wish we lived closer so they could hang out more often. They are only 3 weeks apart. Me and my sister in law Emily were preggers together and hung out all the time big bellies and all. They almost look like they could be twins.

Maddux and his cousin Parker. Parker is always asking if he can give M kisses. It is so cute. We miss little Parker so much. We used to watch him when he was little and I just cherish that time so much. We became buddies and I hope he never forgets that. He was so excited when we came down to visit and always tells us he wants us to all live close to each other again when his daddy is done with school. So cute.

4. I miss our friends. We made so many of our best friends down here. We met and built so many friendships. I met so many people that made impacts on my life that they will probably never even know about. I have so many good memories with my single friends, with my married friends and PA friends. We are all growing up, graduating, starting families and moving all over but I will never forget them or what they said and did for me. We miss our biggest loser nights, our desserts, our lunches, our shopping trips, our Vegas trips, our talks, our runs and everything in between. I love you all... I miss our friends.

5. I miss all the yummy places we would go out to eat at.  We spent many of dates at all the yummy restaurants in town. Ty worked at chillies so we were there all the time (we got 50% off). We would go there on dates, and I would go there and visit him at work. I spent so much time there. It seriously was like a second home and a lot of the people that worked there became some of our best friends and it was like a second family to me and Ty. I miss our time there. We also loved this yummy place called Pastry Pub. They had delicious sandwiches I would go here at least one a week when I was pregnant with Maddux. We also loved to go to Sizzler, Pizza huts lunch buffet, pizza factory, a delicious Mexican place called Lupitas ( this is one of our favorite places to go with Chris and Em and we even went there for dinner our first night down there this week) and occasionally Wingers...I miss the food. 

We had to go to Pastry pub while we were down there for some lunch. Maddux had a lot of this while he was in my tummy growing. :)

We had dessert at chilies on Wednesday night and lunch on Saturday. It was fun to see all our old friends that still work there. Maddux enjoyed our Peanut butter chocolate molten (oh my heavenly) and some french fries while he was there. My brother Chris also worked at chilies with Ty and was our server for lunch on Saturday.Everyone was all googly over Maddux and saying how much he has grown since they saw him last. He was loving all of the attention and kisses. 

6. I miss our Social Life. While we were in Cedar we just seemed to have more time. It was slower there, it was smaller and we just didn't have as much to do which meant more time to play. Since Ty is in law school up here we just don't have as much time to do things and unfortunately I feel like we haven't gotten to know as many people up here and the people we have tried to get to know it is just hard to find time to do things with. I miss our theater we would always go to and our midnight movie dates, I miss our St. George day trips, I miss our biggest loser nights, and I miss all the walks around the neighborhood we used to take (we need to do this more up here especially when it gets warmer). We just need to find the time to hang out with friends up here more often....I miss the social life.

7. I miss our huge Walmart. I know this is a super weird one but the Walmarts in Salt Lake stink compared to our huge amazing Walmart in Cedar. It had everything and just a much better selection. But since Cedar was so small and we didn't have any Targets or anything like that Walmart had to have it all. This was my Walmart, it is where I did all my shopping, it is where we got most of Maddux's baby stuff, it is where I went shopping while I was in the beginning part of labor with Maddux (even though then I didn't know thats what it was. I had back labor so it was not what I thought it was going to feel like), It is where Ty and I went at ten o'clock at night when we were bored and wondered around, it is where we went for ice cream runs, it is where we got our red box movies, and It is where I went when I was bored and Ty was at work...I miss the best Walmart in the world. 

Maddux in the cart at Walmart. When we were down visiting we of course had to make a few quick trips to our favorite store. 

8. I miss the beauty. It is beautiful down south. I love the views. I love the mix of the red rock mountains and the luscious green mountains. I miss hopping in the jeep and driving up the mountain to just hang out, look out on the little city and just talk. I miss the retreats at the cabin up in the Cedar mountains and all the beauty surrounding it. I miss how much there is to do outside there. I miss the rock climbing. I miss the hiking, I miss the clear skies and the stars...I miss the beauty.

9. I miss my running Trail. Cedar City had the best running trail I have ever seen or ran on. It was my place to be alone, my place to think, it is where I learned to love to run, It is where I trained for a half marathon (I didn't end up doing it because I found out I was pregnant when I got up to nine miles and was a month away from the race and I just didn't feel comfortable running that far pregnant. I was paranoid. Maybe one day it will happen), it is where I ran with friends, it is where I ran for the first time with Maddux....I miss my running trail. I hope that I can find one up here when the weather gets better and I can start running outside again. If anyone knows of a good trail in the Salt lake area let me know. Also I could use a running partner. :)

 Me and little M at the trail during our visit. Yes, that is snow in the picture. It was snowing while we were there. Not much of spring weather for Spring break. Lame

10. I miss the Small town feel. I miss how little traffic there was. I miss how quick you could get from point A to point B. I miss how friendly everyone is to each other. I miss all the fun festivals that happened down there, I miss the Summer games, I miss all the parades, I miss the softball games, and I just miss how chill and non-busy it is down there. I like the slow pace...I miss the small town feel.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Salt Lake and our life here. I love living close to our families. I just also love Cedar and love our memories there.