Home Means Nevada

This is mine and Brad's home.  This is where we grew up.  This is where we met and fell inlove.  This is where we spent our engagement.  This is where we were living when we got married.  This is where we escape to every chance we get!

When I was younger I decided Paris was the place for me.  I use to always say that I would never come back to Logandale.  Infact, Im sure when my friends from high school read this, they will laugh, because I was quite insistant about it.  haha 

Brad was always much more logical and adult when it came to thinking about where he wanted to end up one day.  As a teenager and when we started dating, he had no specific plan.  He knew he wanted to be close to family and that Utah was out.  haha

But then we got married and our ideas of the future started to mesh, and in some cases, clash a little bit.  I had long since left behind me the hope of living in Paris.  That wasn't all that appealing anymore, but I still had my mind open for other places.. except our home town.  haha And Brad would always just say "not Utah."  Then some years went by and here's the kicker-- we had kids.  My Mom and Dad always told us that "things change when you have kids.  Your perspective changes when you have kids."  We never believed them.  But, they were right.  Things changed SO much after the boys came into our life!  We agreed!  No more "we have to live here" or "we absolutely cant live there".  We realized that it really didnt matter that much.   

I remember very vividly, a drive home from a wonderful weekend in Logandale with our families where Brad and I talked about our future residence and for the first time, agreed.  We picked out the only 3 things that really mattered to both of us when deciding where we end up..
1. Somewhere close to family!  If we can at all help it, we want to be as close as we can be to as much family as possible.  Living in some cool place a million miles from the people you love makes it not so much a cool place anymore, in my opinion.  We want our children to have strong relationships with their Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts and Cousins.  They are the best people we know and make life so happy and so fun.  Everything is easier when you're with family!
2. Somewhere small and safe.  This is a big one.  We are not city people.  We hate the crowds and noise and traffic and crime.  Its not for us.  We like space and quiet.  We want our children to grow up with the same freedom and independence that we had growing up.  Knowing that your kids are safe when they're at school or riding their bikes down to the park or walking to a friends house is an amazing thing.  Something we look forward to in the future!
3. Somewhere where Brad has a job that he really loves.  Obviously this is an important one.  There is no way he is gonna work this hard and this long in school for some job he hates.   

After that conversation, I thought back about how important living somewhere exotic and cool had always been to me.  How I always swore up and down that I would never live is Las Vegas, because I couldnt ever be happy in a place like that.  haha And I realized, that in my whole life, the happiest I had ever been, were the years I had been living in Vegas.  Not because I love this city, because I dont.  But because of the people.  Because I was living in Vegas with Brad and our baby.  Because we were close enough to see our families a lot.  Because those are the things that truly matter to me. 

After that realiztion, it was like all these doors and possibilities opened up.  We no longer worried about the future anymore.  We both softened a little and said we would just let the Lord lead us to wherever it is that we will be happy.  Weather that be Logandale or Utah or Somewhere else entirely.

And now when we go to our home town, we cant help but smile at the possability of living there one day.  We cant help but take a second glance when we see a "For Sale" sign out infront of a house.  We cant help but perk our ears up a little bit when we hear someone talking about the schools or the activities for kids.

But we also like the idea of moving some place new.  Some place different.  Some place with cooler weather.  Some place that we can make our own.  A place where we're not "the Robison boy" and the Merkley girl" that got married, but where we're just simply "the Robison's".  There are some beautful places in Idaho and its no secret that we love Cedar City.   

But wherever we end up, I must say, I think that Logandale will always have my heart!

There is just something about seeing your children play where you played.  Seeing them climb the same trees and swing on the same swings and sit in the same seats at the ice cream shop that you sat in as a child.  Its like your own childhood isnt as far away as you thought it was.

We each have a hundred memories attatched to every square inch of this Valley

We have a lot of Pride in our little town!! But how could we not? Its the cutest little valley tucked away in the desert hills, overflowing with the most wonderful people you'd ever meet!

Like I said, it will always be home and always have our heart, no matter where we end up!


Photos courtesy: Emily Mortensen
(All besides the one of the museum)