The Not So Awesome Things....
-The day before we arrived our movers called to lets us know they wouldn't be arriving for at least another week. awesome. no stuff. no beds. nothing to cook with. nothing except our suitcases. awesome.
-We had to get the kids immunizations on FL forms from the Orange County health dept. This meant going to the WORST part of town, seriously, I was a little afraid of getting shot and was really glad I was just driving my Honda and not Ben's nice car. It also meant standing in line in a hallway for 2 hrs one day with all 3 kids, and then another 3 hrs then next day. The crazy part was, was that they would seriously give you a mean look if you kids stepped out of the line. I mean really?
-I found a note James wrote "friends I have lost Cohen, Lexi, Jaxson, Austin, Mrs. Wood. I miss my friends" And I found him in his closet with the door shut crying. Then we sat in the closet and cried together.
-A week after we got here our power was shut off. Did not come back on for 2 days. I had just bought food, and it all spoiled. :(
-Our first trip to the pool Sophie fell right into the 5 ft part of the pool. I was right by her, jumped in and pulled her out. It took her a minute to get her breath back, but she was fine. She even tried to jump back in a little later. I bought 3 life jackets the next day. My kids are also starting swim lessons. That is a must.
-A $400 bowl someone gave to us for our wedding was not packed well and arrived broken. Sad.
-Going to RS for the first time and not knowing anyone there. Realizing that no one there knew me either, and didn't know anything about me. I came home and cried and cried and cried. *this isn't because people were unkind or anything, the sisters here have been very kind, I just missed going to RS and knowing everyone there and getting to see good friends there.
-Toll Roads.
-Ben's commute. 45-60 min each way. :(
The Very Awesome Things That Make The Move Worth It......
-THE BEACH!!!!! We go as much as we can, we aren't far from the beach. When we were there last Saturday i was walking along and I truly felt like it was home.
-The constant sunshine
-The short torrentially awesome rain & thunderstorms. I love them.
-My Mayberry Neighborhood. Seriously, we live in Orlando, but our neighborhood is like this small little town. There is the old fashioned "downtown" just a couple blocks away from my home with little shops and diners, and the local YMCA. It also has great parks with splash pads, basketball courts, baseball fields, playgrounds and it is all literally a 2 min drive there, or a 10 minute walk. awesome!
-YMCA membership. Love that place. The wall to the Daycare is all glass so you can always see your kids. They do classes and stuff with the kids and take really good care of them. The people are super friendly and I actually enjoy going to the gym.
-The fact that I can breathe now while I run. In UT my lungs always gave out before my legs did. Here, I find myself telling my legs to catch up constantly.
-My kids playing outside every single day. We have a very small fenced in area to our townhome, but big enough for the slide and a little table for the kids. Sophie plays back there almost all day.
-Our constant "family time". Our family is really really bonding through all this. The kids are fast becoming best friends. After a day together at the beach James said "mom, Harrison is really cool. I think he can be my new best friend." I love it. The three play together more than ever and I think they will be the best of friends one day. It reminds me of my siblings.
-Going to the beach all the time is the best. My kids play for hours on end there, I have no worries about them because the waves are pretty calm and they won't go in very deep. Even when the waves are decent we throw on the life jackets, they grab their tubies and ride the waves in. Sometimes they get seriously tossed around but they love it! It's the best.
-The fact that I have shopping so close to me. Love it. There are so many shopping centers in Orlando. seriously, like places that have every store you could possibly imagine all within a couple blocks of each other. Unfortunately that DOES make me spend more $$$ than I should.
-No socks ever again. Flip flops or other sandals is all we need. FABULOUS!
-we are all getting tan, but first Ben & I got seriously sunburned. That wasn't so awesome I guess.
-Produce. Here is amazing. Fresh picked strawberries that are huge and dark red all the way through.....mmmmm soooooo good. You can just go pick them at the farm if you want. Seriously, I haven't bought much junk food since we came. I just buy tons of produce (because it all tastes so dang good) and that is what we snack on all the time.
-THEME PARKS. yep. I can't wait to get to all of these. We are buying our annual Disney passes this week and surprising James on his B-day. It'll be awesome. He just thinks we are going to McDonalds. I can't wait for it.
-James' school. It is pretty awesome. I wish they got more recess & play time. But his class is small, he has made several friends and his teacher is very attentive to him & communicates really well with me all the time. I am forever grateful for my friend in my ward here Lorraine who works at the school and helped me get him registered and helped him feel welcome. Thank you lorraine!
-How everyone is all about families here and has the same morals we have regardless of religion. I see billboards everywhere promoting good parenting and anti-abortion and just really pro-family. They have tons of family activities in our neighborhood, like the movie in the park we went to a couple weeks ago & I love it.
-How active and healthy people are here, you always see families and people running biking walking and just exercising together.
-Friendliness. Um people here are SUPER friendly. It is inspiring to me. Makes me want to be a kinder person & teach my kids some serious manners.
Okay I could keep going, I really do love it here. sure, I miss my friends in UT and my kids miss their friends. But, I remember feeling that same way when we moved into our old home. So I know the friends and relationships will form, it just takes time. Our ward has been very friendly to us (inviting us to things) and we are excited to get to know everyone better.
