Summer Plans

If you were to have asked me last year at this time if I was excited about moving to the East coast, I would NOT have been jumping for joy. I was very nervous about the big move, being so far away from family, and everything comfortable/familiar to me. However, it's funny how after living in the DC area for less than a year, it feels like home! I have been anxiously looking forward to the warm sun and hanging out at the pool with Madi. Of course, Spencer's summer plans are the determinative factor though. He has the whole summer off and has been considering numerous options. Being in DC, he initially planned to work for one of the many government agencies in the area, like the Dept of Justice. Not only are there lots of summer externship opportunities here in DC, but not having to leave our home for the summer is a BIG plus!! However, after some research and lots of thought, the opportunities available didn't seem as appealing. On top of that, since nearly every summer job available to first year law students is non-paid, that means more debt!! While Spencer was mulling over the opportunities available here in DC, the law firm he worked at in LA made him an offer to come back and work for the summer. There are obvious pluses and minuses!

The bad first. We will be gone for almost 3 months!! I'm a home-body. I love my own space, my own things, my own bed, my elliptical etc. Who doesn't? Not having my stuff can really throw a wrench in my routine. If anyone knows me-I'm all about routine! On top of that, I love living out here and I was looking forward to enjoying the DC summer-trips to the zoo, the museums, the parks, the pool, hanging out with friends, working with the young women in our ward, etc.

Now for the pluses. The biggest one: NO MORE EXTRA DEBT (at least for the summer). Spencer will get paid and we will live at his parent's home in Camarillo. Ya, we are keeping our place here in DC which means rent, but at least we will have some income and not have to borrow more just to live for the summer! While we won't be in our own home, in the grand scheme of things, 3 months isn't so long. Plus, we're really glad that Madi will get to know her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Since my parents live in the Bay area, I will get to split the time between Spencer's parents' place and my parent's place. Another big plus: we get to live in Camarillo for a couple of months. Who can complain about that? Glorious weather. Minutes from the beach. And...NO humidity!! No problem with that. For Spencer, working at his old firm provides awesome legal experience (its a litigation firm and that's what Spencer wants to do) that most law students never get the summer after their first year!! Plus, he loved working there and is excited to get back into the action! On top of all these "pluses", we already had to fly out west for my high school reunion (in Boise) and the Rudd family reunion (at Bear Lake) in August. So in other words, we're just going a little bit further west and leaving a few months earlier!

So, after lots of thought and prayer, California here we come!! We found $99 tickets from DC to LA on Virgin America-this airline is the best!! We flew with them when we went to Cali for Christmas and their planes are amazing! After we officially made the decision, I'm getting more excited about going. Although those sad feelings of leaving linger, we both feel like this is the right decision. On the bright side, we will potentially have two more summers here in DC if Spencer gets a summer associate position with a DC firm. And if that's the case, we could have many DC summers to come!!