Shout out to the Village People!

When Tom & I got married, we moved straight into the University of Utah Married Student Housing, known as the University Village. We lived there for almost 4 years. It was a very significant time for us, as we began our married life there and soon added 2 children to our small 2 bedroom cinder-block haven.

During that time, we saw so many wonderful friends come and go. It was an exciting place to be: with the beginning of each semester we welcomed the new families moving into the "court" (as the groups of buildings were called) and at the end we would cheer on the graduating families as they left us to "begin their lives."

It was a time when all things were relatively equal: we all had basically identical close-quarters living spaces and limited funds. In my memory, really the only thing to envy was who had the least time left in school before moving on. I loved meeting all of our neighbors from different cultures and mingling with everyone at our extraordinary, super-fun, amazing Court activities :) And, at one time during our stay there, there were roughly 25 women in the ward who were pregnant at the same time. Good times!

For me, the best part about the Village was the playground located in the middle of each court, which is where many of the moms & kids would hang out most warm days. How lucky was I to be able to walk out my front door at almost any time and meet any number of friends--for both Jacob and I. There was a great sense of community as we helped each other, usually in the form of watching one another's children so we could do something as luxurious as putting laundry in the laundry room without kids in tow.

I mention my time at the Village now for 2 reasons:

1) I went back to visit in May and was immediately swept up in the memories of that unique atmosphere. It was joyous to run into so many that were still keeping the fun alive there!

2) As blogs are becoming more prevalent, I am able to keep up on several families that I have been missing. And, I am amazed as I stumble upon more & more Village People blog sites to see our family listed among their favorite blog links! And I had no idea anyone knew we were out here--thanks to those who leave comments so I know who's looking. (And then I realize I hardly ever leave comments on your sites, so I need to be better at that!...)

A common occurance at the playground: laughter & sobbing as the little ones learned about friendship.


A little group trip to the fire station. Yes, that is Karen H. under all those clothes!


This is the sight many passersby would see for the last few months of our stay there. Jacob loved to picnic on the balcony and newborn Allison would participate in her own little way by sleeping by our side.

Yeah for the Village life! Thanks for the fun times! We miss all of you!