It's official... I miss Utah.

Just a little over a year ago, we packed up our moving truck and drove away from Draper. We haven't been north of Cedar City since then. I really didn't know whether I would like living in Las Vegas (well, techinically we live in Henderson), but I have to admit that I like it. I have started to miss Utah though. So here's a list of things I've been missing:

• I miss the grass. Just about everyone has a lawn in northern Utah. I didn't realize how nice it is. It's nice grass too. It's so nice to sit on. Much better than sitting on rocks.
• I miss the mountains. We went to Mount Charleston on the 4th of July. It's a mountain close to Vegas with a ski resort and plenty of hiking. It was nice to get out of the heat for a while, and it was pretty, but it just wasn't as pretty as the Utah mountains. I guess because it's so dry here not as much can grow. And there aren't any streams. A couple of the hikes at Mt. Charleston were described as having seasonal waterfalls. I assume that means that they dry out during the summer. How sad.
• I miss seeing family. I was reading my cousin's blog this morning and she had pictures of our family's 4th of July picnic. I miss going to things like that. Yes, we do have family two hours away in St. George, but with gas prices so high we can't justify the trip just for a day or two.
• I miss the summer nights where it stays light past 9:00, and it feels cool outside. Here it gets dark just after 8:00 and it stays hot all night long! It also gets light here just after 5:00 am. Ugh.

In all fairness, I should post things I do like about Henderson:

• I love my ward. This is the second one we've been in down here and they've both been great. I think members here stick together more. The ward becomes more like a family than wards I've been in in Utah. We also seem to have more adult converts, which is really cool. Both wards we've been in have had people investigating and being baptized, and newly baptized couples getting ready to go to the temple. It's really neat to get to see their excitement toward the gospel. It makes me appreciate it more.
• I love the fall, winter and spring. I love not having to ever drive in snow, and I love being able to take the kids to the park in January.
• I like how there are pools everywhere. It's fun to go swimming all the time.
• I like having parks all over the place, rec centers where Grace can take all kinds of fun classes, and free activities like outdoor movies and plays.
• I like not having to pay sales tax on food.
• I like being closer to California. This makes a drive to Anaheim or San Diego much easier (and actually possible) with the kids.

I'm sure there are more things that I miss about Utah, and more that I like about Henderson, but that's all I could think of for now. Maybe it will make some of you appreciate what you've got! :)