Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Our News



Well, we're doing it. We're moving to San Diego.

It's been a dream of ours for years. We got married on the beach. We've traveled to the beach countless times - be it Mexico, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or California - we've always been drawn to it. And, finally, we're in this odd little limbo spot. Stay here and search for jobs so we don't have to move? Or, move exactly where we want and find jobs there?

I'll quote Blake from the La Jolla Shores Beach.....a moment in our marriage that I will never forget:

"I'm tired of work dictating where I live. I want to live where I want and work around that."

Well said, babe.

We put our house up for lease today, showed it once and we're 99.9% sure it's taken. Lease should be signed tomorrow. So, in exactly 25 days, the Starnes family will be westward bound.

Do we have jobs? Not exactly.

Prospects? Yes. Several.

Are we nervous? Excited? About to vomit from all of the anxiety? Have I increased my meds?

All of the above.

But, this is what it's all about, peeps. Embracing life. Living it.

We've been married 10 years. We have 3 kids and we're not having anymore. We've lived in the south, the deep south, the mountains and the Midwest. Our next and hopefully last is by the sea (until the kids leave for college and Blake and I sail the world, of course).

It's time to set roots. And, California has been calling our name for years.

So, here we go!

53 comments:

Allyson and Dave said...

Yay!!! You will be so happy there and I am sure you all will find your dream jobs once you get there. I really think you all belong there.

Kristen said...

I love this. I love your spirit. I love your optimism. I love your perspective. You and Blake- your beautiful family. That's what I'm holding out for some day... you guys just are doing it right... You truly inspire me to live life with reckless abandon and keep the things that really matter close at heart.

Good luck!! What an amazing adventure this will be for you... so excited to travel along with you... even if it is just by way of your blog :)

Kim said...

CONGRATS!!! I am sooo happy, giddy and excited for you and your family. You did it, you found a place you are both CRAZY about and I know you will be very happy!

SASS said...

I've already heard the news, and I'm crying again. Out of happiness, mostly. You guys were totally meant for San Diego. And I'm still in awe of Blake's words. He is so right. Y'all are doing it right. Inspiring.
The trains will miss you. And so will a Sass.
Love you.

SASS said...

Ok, I didn't use any exclamation points, which makes me sound sulky.
I'm not SULKY!!!! I'm sososo excited for you! Promise.
Just going to miss you. All of you. But especially MeowMeow. Sorry.

Rennie said...

Congratulations !!! How very wonderful for you all. Best wishes. We can't wait to hear all about your new adventures !!

Becca Jane said...

YAY!! That's exactly what we're doing with Tennessee!!! Very cool...can we come visit?? This is so exciting for your sweet family, congrats!

Pam Bowers said...

woohoo!!! Welcome!

Impulsive Addict said...

OMG! I wanna go!! Take me! I'm stuck in Oklahoma and it's home for me but I don't like it.

Good for you! What a brave and bold move! YOU GO STARNES FAMILY!

Kami said...

Congratulations! I've loved my time here on the West Coast. (Even if it has only been a month!) I've been to San Diego a few times & have always loved it. Good luck!

Heather said...

I RAN to the computer as fast as I could when I saw the post on fb!!!

SO EXCITED for you guys! Y'all have it all figured out. Seriously...life in general... just figured out. love it!

CANNOT WAIT TO FOLLOW THIS NEW ADVENTURE!

Yippie!

If the shoe FITZ said...

I wouldn't expect anything less of you crazy Starnes'.
Congrats.
Adieu
Way to go.
You're doing what everyone else wants to do!

Jodee said...

Holy cats! I am sooo excited for you all! I bet the kids are over the moon. I hope we get to look at beach pictures every other day. I can't wait to follow you on your next adventure!

Sara said...

As I've already told you - SOOOO excited for y'all and can't wait to see what the future holds. Yippee!!

And you've already changed your blog header. Impressive. And cute.

FROGGITY! said...

AHHHHHHH!!!! SO AWESOME!!! i will have to give y'all the names of our friends... good louisiana folk...

God bless in this exciting endeavor!!

Nate, Abbey, Noah, Blaire and Tatum said...

Soooo exciting!!! Congrats on the move! We will miss you!

Lauren W said...

That is awesome, Casey! I am so happy for you guys!! 25 days? We have got to get together before you move!!

Emily Devor said...

This crazy blogosphere has allowed me to to catch up with old friends from high school. Through this I "meet" people and strangely follow their life stories. Then sometimes the life stories come closer. I LOVE San Diego and really enjoyed your La Jolla blogs. Much because I live less than an hour away and was familiar with many of the sites you visited. I think it would be really fun (and freak out Shannon) that we get together sometime and meet in real life. Good luck in your move, California really is amazing. If you want advice on some smaller towns (not to mention cheaper if out of SD County), but still close driving distance from San Diego, beach, etc. let me know. Much luck to you and your family.

Clare said...

NOOOO!!

Okay, actually I'm totally jealous of you guys. How cool!

Call me, I have nothing going on so I'm available to get together when ever (I'm still really nervous to run around with both kids, I know, I know)

Just Hatched Photography said...

YAYYYY! I'm sooo excited and so glad you are moving out here. I just KNOW everything will work out! I truly believe when you take a leap of faith that feels right then things work out! I am looking forward to being able to hang out with the Starnes Fam and getting to know all of you better! I feel like that line in Grease when Sandy meets the Pink Ladies and Frenchy says, "We're gonna have so much fun and be lifelong friends!"

The Soladay Family said...

Okay...so Africa was wayyy off. Totally excited for you, Blake and the kids. Like I said, I had a feeling! Awesome. Ryan and I are totally jealous!! His exact words were, "Good for them!"

Marguerite said...

Congrats, so happy for ya'll! My daughter lived in San Diego for two years, and loved it. It is a beautiful place to live! Best of luck with the move.

The Rand's said...

FUN! Love San Diego! And the beach!
I'm so happy for you all, a little sad, too, since you'll be even further away from TX. You really do want to stay far, far away from us, don't you?!??!
Blake said it right. I wish you both the best of luck finding jobs that fit your family needs.
I'm definitely coming to visit!

Anonymous said...

Good luck. Diego is one of the better places in Cali. Hope you all get a chance to come up to see me. Otherwise, I will see you in 12 my next scheduled trip to OC and Diego. Rick

Teacher Man said...

I've often thought about moving away to some place like Alaska or Colorado, but for some reason I don't remember, I can't.

Oh, I remember what it is...my wife would kill me.

Good luck!

Malinda said...

Wow, big news! Congrats!

Jeannette Pucella said...

I love it! As you knew I would! I'm so excited that I want to help you pack up and unpack when you get there! I actually have this crazy love for for unpacking and setting up in a new place. I know it's really weird. Whenever my mom or sister have moved over the years, I'm always there to do the unpacking, arranging the furniture, setting up a potted garden by the front steps... SOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

LOVE TO ALL!

Coco said...

When did this happen? WHAT IN THE WORLD!! CALL ME!!

Shannon said...

Tried to comment last night and the word verification wouldn't work.

Ok, so, I'm super excited for you and love when people follow their passions and dreams and just go for it. I just hate when that means going far away from me. We'll come visit. :)

Congrats, Starnes family!

Jillian Bennett said...

I really am excited for you guys!!! And I am excited because I will get to come visit!!! And I will have a wonderful pen pal!!! And the kids will have friends to write letters to!!!

Brittny said...

YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!!! That is so exciting!!!!!!! I have lived in the deep south my whole life, but never really loved it here. Except that my family is here. But for some reason I feel this really strong draw to the west coast. Or maybe just the west area, but I really love water. Anywhere from the middle of CA up sounds good to me. We have some friends that were just moved to the Santa Barbara area a few weeks ago and the first thing she said when she emailed to say they arrived was they had to wear light jackets. Do you have any idea how much I love light jackets???? I never get to wear them!!! I bought a really cute trench last year at the end of the season and wore it once. Never even got to take it out of the closet this year b/c we went from freezing (very rare) to hot overnight. Have I mentioned how much I hate humidity? I know God had His reasons for making it, but I will definitely want to talk to Him about it when I meet Him face to face. And roaches too. I'm rambling. I'm very excited for you guys and we feel the same way, you should live where you love and work around that. That's partly why we signed up. We don't know where that place is yet and figured we'd have the military help us figure it out. Seeing your photos makes me want to move out to that area too. I know you'll keep us updated so I'm not even going ask you to. Love it!!!! : )

Brittny said...

ok, feel i need to rephrase it. i've been to san fran and LOVED it. i just don't want to live in or anywhere i will have to deal with LA. (and that include Lower Alabama and Louisiana). I just think that crowd would annoy me. Never say never b/c growing up I said I'd never live in FL or CA and look where I am now and where I want to go. Crazy kid!

The Lenzers said...

Casey....WOW!!! I am so excited for the Starnes family. You are such an inspiration and can and will continue to be one to so many from wherever you are. I pray (but already know) that Blakes dream job is there for him. Cannot wait to hear all about the next chapter in your story. I totally was not expecting this though!! It will be great.

donatelli98 said...

Congrats on the decision and best of luck with settling and everything. I know you will love it ... maybe Jann and I can come and visit for a girls weekend!!

Dee Stephens said...

HOLY SHIZZNAT!!(Brad's word)!!!!!!CAN YOU SAY 'I'M JEALOUS!!??'
How freaking exicting!! now I have 2 friends to visit in SD!! My friend Christina lives in Cardiff by the Sea!!
Holy Cow!!!!!!!!! YAY! I heart Cali! You guys have to hit up all the National Parks in that state.
Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Sequoia, Yosemite.
Can't wait to read your blog even more!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carrie Darney said...

Holy Crapola! I'm so jealous!! Why the hell should you NOT go?! It's not like anything is holding you back?! I'm so excited for you guys!!

Mama Sue said...

I have 3 cousins in San Diego and Rick's best friend just moved there. One of my cousins is a realtor...she's really sweet if you want her name. There is a good chance we will be going there for vacation in the next year or so. I'm trying to convince hubby we can do Colorado and California in the same year. I think it's great to set your roots down and build your life around it. We decided years ago mostly because Rick's older girls were little that we had to look for jobs in the D/FW area only so we could continue to live in Fort Worth...plus all of our family is here. Congratulations!

merrilee said...

I am slightly biased, but San Diego is the BEST! I am so thrilled for you and the fam...... You will LOVE life here!

Merry Mack said...

I did this a year ago and have been so happy ever since even in the midst of severe poverty. Good for you! When you live where you love all things are possible. Yeah! I will be thinking of you as you get through this transition period. It will be fabulous!

Anonymous said...

Congrats! That is awesome! Way to embrace life! Good luck!

Susan said...

Wow! I'm definitely not that adventurous. Good luck with the move and the job search.

Alvis said I would kill him if he wanted to move - mostly because I love where I teach and know no other place would be like it. Also not real hip on moving to Alaska. Tennessee would be more my style.

Megan (Best of Fates) said...

YAY!!

SUCH an awesome decision - I can't wait to read about where it'll take you!

Monica said...

Jealous! I'll never leave Texas because my entire family lives here and they are everything to me. Cali is a favorite vacation spot for us though! FO SHO!

Hattie said...

OMG!!! How exciting! I teared up reading this. It's so amazing getting to know how you and your family are embarking on this new journey in y'alls life! I'm so happy for y'all!

Kelly Beatty said...

I'm late to the game here. But, all I have to say is "This is the Casey I know :)." With God anything is possible.

5 Boys And Me said...

How exciting - I so admire you guys! Wow - Ali & Roberto AND the Starnes Family - San Diego is the place to be!

The Potters said...

OH MY GOSH I love this for y'all! How exciting!! We also picked up and moved one day (to NYC!) and it was the single best decision for us (and our marriage) that we ever made! We are back in Texas now, but it was the best time ever. You will love it, I know!

Kelley Loredo said...

ok - so I am late to comment on this - didn't read my blogs yesterday! So cool - good for you guys!!! Best of luck-

Jennifer said...

How exciting Casey!!! Good for yall for following your dreams! We went to SD and Coronado Island on our honeymoon. Only stayed one night but loved what I saw while we were there. Good luck with the move!

Vincent Family said...

Good for you! I can't wait to watch this new chapter unfold!

Unknown said...

There's the news i missed!

Congrats! tAking leaps like this does make us all queasy, but in the end, you need to live where you are happy. No sense settling!

My hubby and i have lived all over Canada, and i would never give those experiences back!

All the best in this new adventure!

Spyder said...

Congrats on your move! I'm excited for you! Wishing you lots of happiness!

Be Brave, Keep Going said...

Welcome to San Diego!