I’ve always been a self-professed beach girl. Where are my salty hair girls at??!!
I love digging my feet into the warm sand, tasting the salty air on my lips, and lying under the sunny summer sky. I could sit on the beach for hours watching the tide roll in and out. The ocean is my happy place.
So why THE HECK did we move to Park City right?!?
The Genesis of a Dream
Well, the decision didn’t happen overnight, in fact, we casually threw the idea out there TWO YEARS prior to making any serious decisions about moving. The conversation went like this: “How cool would it be to move to Park City someday”. PERIOD. END OF STORY
Let me provide a little backstory and context… If you need a cup of coffee, now is the time to refuel.
In the early 90’s, my dad fell in love with Park City Utah and my parents ended up buying a second home in Deer Valley, the neighborhood above Park City. Growing up, we would visit once or twice a year and it became our little mountain paradise, away from the bustle of the fast-growing Orange County California area.
Rebellious Roots and Realizations
True story… When I was in high school, I BEGGED my dad to sell the “mountain house”, and buy a lake house in Havasu, AZ. I gave it my best effort to convince him that a lake house would be waaaayyy more fun! We could teach my younger brothers how to wakeboard, I could invite all my friends, and then hopefully have a parent-free weekend there to do all the things my sneaky teenage self hoped to do (my kids ain't getting away with nothin!) Sadly… dad wasn’t buying what I was selling. Dang!
They say wisdom comes with age, and they (whoever “they” are), are right! Dad knew better than to sell our little slice of paradise, and thank The Lord he didn’t sell it. Matt and I took our first of many, trips together, to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011.
Falling in Love Again: The Discovery of Jordanelle
Fast forward 6+ years, during one of our many trips to Deer Valley with my family and our three kids, I came across a new development being built on the Jordanelle Reservoir inside a magazine. Let’s just say I was SWOOOONING hard, and after showing it to Matt, he had emoji heart eyes too. We agreed to drive over and scope out this new place. I’m a sucker for golden hour and there is truly nothing quite like it, when the sun is draped across the glassy lake top with a mountain resort views across the horizon, not to mention the most incredible telescoping views toward the Mount Timpanogos, the second-highest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range. Talk about a dream!
A New Chapter Begins: Embracing Change
Up until this point, we had never considered living anywhere other than Orange County California, where both Matt and I were raised, and had all of our family close by.
But a couple of years later, after a long dark season of heartache, the soon to follow healing process, opened the doors for us to see new opportunities for our family and marriage to grow and thrive…
At the Crossroads: Faith Over Fear
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. We were supposed to get married, have babies, and live happy forever, and travel, and create businesses, and do “all the things”. Dreamland was shaken when I realized that my heart was torn between two places and the marriage, I once thought I had, was a distant hope in need of rescue. During the years of navigating whether or not our marriage was going to make it, we put our family house on the market to sell.
God did an amazing thing during this specific point in the journey. He spoke clearly to me, “Summer, I am not done yet”. I remember crying and pleading to be released from this marriage that I no longer wanted. And if you're wondering “why did you have to stay” or “why couldn’t you just leave if it was that bad”? The answer is… I could have. I could have left many times and for many justifiable reasons in my head and heart. But the best stories, the best love tales, the redemption stories… those are made in the mud and pit of brokenness. In this process, God gave me the encouragement I needed to keep holding on and not give up on years of love and sacrifice. I most certainly could have walked away…. But where would we be now…. My faith told me that if God says, “Don’t let go” then He must know what's on the other side.
From Tight Quarters to Open Skies: A Renewed Commitment
After our house sold, we moved into a little one-bedroom beach house rental on the Newport Beach Peninsula. I know it sounds “cute”, but it was TIGHT quarters! The kids “camped out” every night on the couch and living room floor, and we got to enjoy sharing one tiny bathroom between the five of us. I can say with full confidence, that I DO NOT want to do that again. However, it was in this tiny beach rental that we reignited our silly little thought of moving to Park City.
It was during our annual winter trip to Deer Valley that year, we made a real effort to look at available lots and homes on the stunning Jordanelle Reservoir… and guess what happened…. we fell in love.
A Pause in Our Story
The rest is not history and there is sooo much more to this story, but I think it’s time to put this book down for now. More on this another day and time….
Some takeaways…
Remember, you can do hard things.
Marriage is absolutely a choice, every day.
God has better plans than we can imagine.
With Love,
Summer
More of our story in this Mariners Church video and the Maverick River podcast episode or follow @themeddocks on Instagram!
