The big move...

It's been two weeks, and though I'm working 18 hour days (okay, almost that much!), it seems
like we still have the same amount of boxes around! :0 I guess that means we still have too much stuff. Hard to believe we managed to accrue so much as poor grad students, but I guess that's a function of 4 kids and too many hobbies.

Oh, man, our trip out here was nutters! That terrible rainstorm that caused all the flooding in Ohio was what we drove out in. We drove through all of Ohio and much of Pennsylvania with tornado warnings coming over the radio. The rain was sheeting down, and it was a nightmare to drive the truck through the Alleghenies! Derek caught up with us at like 5 am (he had to tie up some loose ends at Umich before leaving, so Derek's mom and I drove with the kids to get started). Anyway, we stayed in a nice hotel in Bedford (east of Somerset) and only had 2 hours to get to our new place. We got tons of help from our ward to get unloaded. We've gone two Sundays now and have really enjoyed them. They've been pretty open-minded and friendly to us. It eases the pain of missing so many dear friends in AA. We are also loving our house. It's about twice as big as our last placel, and is in this awesome location: on a dead-end, with only one neighbor, and surrounded on the back and side by this huge community preserve (think the Arb). The late husband of the owner built this beautiful sunroom on the back, so even though the house is old, it's full of light. I guess he also gardened prolifically, so even though the yard has sort of gone wild, there are still roses and lilacs and all sorts of butterfly-drawing flowers around. We've had deer and rabbits and tons of other wildlife (including the beloved skunks and raccoons to keep me from getting homesick...). As you can see we are really enjoying our new pad.

The only disappoint has come from the community attitude. The people that surround us are commonly busy, irritated, and impatient. That is a function of being in the DC area I guess. I don't remember North Carolina being like that at all. We are constantly being called down for all the mistakes we make (not signing in the at the office, going in with our kindergartener on the first day when we aren't supposed to, not parking in the right spot, etc, etc). At least the kids seem to like their teachers and they are thriving and enjoying school. I know that means something since they love our new home so much, and never want to leave to run errands. Domba is doing well in all-day kindergarten, though she does get tired. At least she is pretty
adaptable. Shrimp is totally ready for preschool, but as we are still working potty-training, she will have to wait a little bit. We miss our A2 educators. We just loved Mrs. McGarty and are so happy that Bub could have her as her first teacher. She set such a wonderful foundation for her public education. We also miss Mr. Dekeon. He's so good about getting the kids excited about physical fitness and making it fun, and just loving the kids. I hope we find some stellar teachers here too.

Do you remember that sniper that was here in DC a couple years ago? I guess he was in this city, Silver Spring. In fact, a guy was shot a street away from us, and a jr. high kid was shot a few blocks away. So that explains some of why they are so crazy about security here. Frankly, it reinforced my belief that I don't want to raise the kids long-term here. Still, I think we'll have a good few years here, then at the very least, move to a community a little further out where security isn't such a big issue. As a new friend pointed out, there are senator's children, etc here, so it's a hot spot for kidnapping, etc. And let's not forget the chemical/biological attacks looming... :) At least if we get nuked, we won't suffer. We'll maybe have just enough time to wonder what that loud boom was... :) Well, time to unpack my nine millionth box and figure where to put it all in my loads of storage. Adios for now!