Well, with Keith working as an independent contractor, our salary is a different story every month. We had the blessing of finding additional work at another practice from October to December which helped us to get settled and start paying our student loans when they hit. When that job dropped off, so did the salary and when February came around, we knew we needed to try to find a job in a more lucrative area in order to achieve our financial goals.
I started stalking the LDS dental academy classifieds and found a job that looked really promising in Astoria, OR. We looked on the map and I saw it was only 15 miles North of Seaside, OR where I had gone on vacation with my family. I loved the area and especially loved the idea of living in the Pacific Northwest again. Keith called up the dentist and found that the job seemed even better than anticipated. We talked to the associates he had working for him and they honestly had nothing but good things to say about the job. The only reason there was a job opening was because one associate had fulfilled his contract and he loved Astoria so much, he wants to stay there permanently, but has hopes of building his own practice.
At the same time, our friend Marc Issaic called Keith up. He asked how we were doing and if Keith would be interested in a practice located in Denver. The job seemed a little too good to be true and we weren't really sure that it would suit Keith. I felt prompted to pursue the lead though and Keith somewhat begrudgingly called other Dentists working for the company as well as the owners. We had mixed feelings but still felt that we needed to see the practice and get a feel for how it was run.
Both companies wanted Keith out ASAP so they could make hiring decisions and Keith really wanted me to go with him so I could get a feel for the jobs and the areas. I got to work booking us flights, hotels and rental cars and finding a babysitter for our kids. Joan came to our rescue and agreed to fly out and spend 5 days by herself with the kids and an extra week hanging out in Atlanta.
Joan flew in the night of March 6th and I gave her a quick rundown of the house and the kids. We tried to go to bed early because our flight left at 6 AM which meant we would have to be up at 3 AM to make the hour drive to the airport and catch our shuttle.
Our first stop was Denver. We arrived around 7:30 and made it to the practice just in time for the morning huddle. We spent the day asking questions and driving around Denver. We stayed in a great hotel and enjoyed having a full night of sleep for the first time in months. The next morning on the way to the airport, we stopped in Stapleton. It's a charming community and I could see our family living in Denver.
We flew to Portland, OR that afternoon and went straight to my Aunt Gail's house. My Grandma Anderson and Aunt Peggy were staying there also and Gail bought pizza and invited her sons and my cousin Justin over. It was so much fun to catch up and be around family again. The next morning, we drove out to Astoria so we could attend church and check out the ward. The whole way there, we didn't stop talking about how unbelievably gorgeous it is. I've always had a desire to get back to the Pacific Northwest and this trip was tugging my heartstrings. The ward was even better than expected. The youth speakers were incredible and the ward felt so much like home, really down to earth and everyone was dressed nice but not flashy. Half the women wore glasses and minimal makeup. It felt like my kind of people. We had many reach out to us and when they introduced me in Relief Society, a woman raised her hand and asked what she needed to pray for to get us in the ward.
After church, we went to Aaron Smith's house. He's one of the doctor's currently working for Dr. Tyack and we were happy to pick his brain and be in a house full of children. We really liked Aaron and his wife and could see ourselves living there and being friends with them. After our time with the Smith's, we drove to our hotel in Seaside. We took a walk on the beach and talked about how much the kids would love living there. We had delicious seafood for dinner and ice cream for dessert. The next morning, we got up early so we could drive to Cannon Beach and go to Ecola State Park. Driving into Ecola, I felt like we were driving onto the set of Jurassic Park. It was seriously unbelievable and we stayed for a couple of hours despite the rain. After the park, we finally made our way to Dr. Tyack's practice in Astoria.
We wanted to hate it. We wanted to hate him. We wanted an easy decision and it was quickly apparent that was not going to be the case. We took a tour, asked all our questions, and talked about the job over lunch. When lunch was over, Dr. Tyack asked Keith to get back to him soon. He was done interviewing and needed to know if we were going to take the job. As we drove over to Dr. Tyack's other practice in Clatskanie, we couldn't decide if Keith had the job or not. It sounded like an offer, but we weren't sure. I also couldn't figure out why I couldn't get myself to want to move to Astoria. Everything about it felt like home and held such security for us. That night we stayed in Portland and the next morning at the airport, we were making a pros/cons list when Dr. Tyack texted to confirm the job offer and also offered to help cover moving expenses.
We went home with a really tough decision. We took our question to the temple and came out both feeling like we couldn't make a bad choice. We were both leaning towards Denver though and decided to move forward with that job. As much as I hated turning down such an amazing job in Astoria, I felt (and have continued to feel) that Denver was the right decision for our family.
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| The Goonies House |
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| On the Astoria-Megler Bridge |
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| Ecola State Park |
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| Me with my brothers in June, 2005 |
