Our Story

So much has happened since the day we left June Lake and moved back home to good old Escondido!  A few of you have heard the story of what brought us back, but many have not, and we thought we would just share with you a little of the situation, since we are sure it probably seems a little odd to everyone how quickly things happened…one minute we are living up there, and the next, we are back down in Escondido.  What a whirlwind…and it was definitely nothing we could have expected.  I am actually wiping away tears as I write this, so it is probably a good thing you are getting this in a written format versus hearing me blubber and try to talk at the same time.

As you know, we were completely in love with June Lake Marina.  Moving away from family and friends was hard, but what attracted us to moving 400 miles away was the chance of starting a family up there, working together as a family, and eventually taking over the ownership of the marina as we had been told we would.  The future looked bright, and we could not ask for better people to work with (each other!).  We soon fell into the groove of running a business all on our own, all while figuring out parenthood all on our own, AND how to live life in the snowy Eastern Sierras (six hour round trip expeditions to Costco, Target, and Trader Joes were a biweekly outing for us!).

 As the season closed, we compared the books for 2013 to the last 40 years of the marina being in operation, and we could not believe it – the revenue had never been higher than it was during our first season up there!  The owner, my (Kaitie’s) relative, was over-the-moon impressed with us.  He said that we were doing a better job than he could have ever imagined, and that we took a lot of weight off of his shoulders.  The season wrapped up in November, and we were able to visit friends and family during this time, as well as catch up with marina work before the next season began.

When March rolled around, we were back to working every day, sunrise to sunset, repairing boat motors, replacing all of the seating in 40+ aluminum boats (big thanks goes out to my dad for dedicating a few weeks of helping us out with that!), installing wheelchair accessible ramps around the bathrooms and shower stalls, starting to put in orders to our vendors again, and continuing to manage the books.  We were in full swing, ready to start the next season stronger and even better than our first season.  The next season was to start April 26^th, 2014 – Mike’s 30^th birthday!

We were also pregnant with our second, Silas, due Halloween 2014.  What perfect timing, we thought! We officially close the marina every Halloween, so by the time Silas was to be born, the season would be very slow and we would be wrapping things up for our second season.  We had enough help in the tackle shop to let me, Kaitie, take care of Stephen and focus on the marina’s bookkeeping full time.  All of our ducks were in a row, until everything changed when Mike got a phone call on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 – just a week before the fishing season opener.  My relative explained that when he found out we were pregnant with our second, that he decided his business model changed, and that he actually did not want a family running the marina for him.  He said that I needed to find a nanny for 50 hours a week, or he would cut our salary in half.  Also, ownership was out of the question, as he had shared with us that he had a change of heart and wanted to turn the business into a non-profit 501(c)3 business, therefore meaning that no one would own the marina, and everyone would remain employees only.  Basically, everything we had been told was no longer part of the deal, and was blamed on our second pregnancy, forcing us to choose the only feasible option: leave all of our dreams behind, and move back to Escondido…with no idea where we were going to live, no idea what our source of income would be, and having to figure out life here again (including transferring our prenatal care back down to San Diego County).  We then realized that our dream wasn’t dependent on a location…it was dependent on being together as a family, no matter what that took. 

We left on April 20^th (Easter Sunday)…just 5 days after getting the “boot”.  For us as Christians, Easter represents a new beginning – Jesus died for our sins to give us new life, and an opportunity to live with him forever.  We saw our move as a new beginning as well.  My parents offered their extra bedroom to us, which has been a huge blessing.  Mike also landed a great job at Target just a couple of weeks ago (after a three month-long interview process!), using his management experience and BS in Business Management degree.  He loves it there and really feels like this is right where God wanted him all along.  Additionally, we are currently in escrow for a home in Valley Center! And, we found an EXCELLENT doctor in Escondido to deliver Silas…at the same hospital that Mike was born at (AND right down the street from where Mike is working at the Target in Poway!!).  

God is good.

We experienced an incredible amount of heartache ever since that Tuesday in April.  So many tears, so many “why’s,” so many unknowns.  But, we have NO regrets.  It is slowly starting to make sense to us.  We were supposed to move away to June Lake, in order for Mike to be led to Target, for us to be in the position to buy a house, and to be around friends and family like you who are so supportive of us, no matter WHERE we live and what we’re going through! We love you!  And our Faith, as well as marriage, has been tested and strengthened through this all.

Thank you for loving us, supporting us, and listening to our story.  This is just the Reader’s Digest version of what we’ve been through, but hopefully this explains it in enough detail that you can understand where we are coming from…and why it is so hard to explain this all over and over again, all while trying to sweep our emotions under the rug and hold it together while we simply mutter, “the business plan changed”.  On a side note, we no longer manage the June Lake Marina facebook page that we created, so our feelings will not be hurt if you decide to unlike the page just as we did.  It was time for us to let go and move on…and it feels good.

We want our story (which continues to be written) to be an encouragement to you all to thank God, in times of little and in times of plenty.  God gives us just what we need, when we need it.  Just when we saw the rest of our savings being depleted during this time of unemployment, Mike landed a job with Target.  Just when we were trying to figure out where we should move before Silas arrives, God led us to a great house – the first house we looked at while beginning our house hunt – and our offer was accepted. “Our story” is not about us…it is about God’s glory, and giving it all up to Him, through every storm in life, and trusting that He will carry us through.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. 

(Here’s a song that is special to my (Kaitie’s) heart, and helped encourage me through all of the unknowns we experienced. I hope it brings you encouragement, too.) link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLrQWVpoh7U