Life in Virginia

We've been here nearly 2 months now, and our house is finally unpacked and put together. We have settled into a routine, so that makes life much less stressful.  We only have one car at the moment, so we usually take Casey to work 2-3 times a week so we can venture out of the house. On those days we usually: swim, go to the library, go to the mall, McDonalds, or Chikfila. Not much different than life in AZ. We have gone to the beach once and played at the river once, which is a fun change from AZ. Our weekends are spent doing yard work, grocery shopping and being pretty lazy. We're learning the area and the lingo and trying to adjust to the humidity. I'm still not sure which is worse in the summer; AZ or VA? It's the difference between standing in an oven or standing in a sauna.

I will make a few complaints about life in VA:
1. There are NO sidewalks or crosswalks. And the shoulder of the road is about 2 inches wide, so there will be no bike rides or stroller walks for us.
2. We have to transport our trash to the dump in the back of our Pilot. I made the mistake of sticking our trash can outside once it got full and ended up tossing the entire thing in the dump due to maggot overload.
3. Bugs are far more bountiful here.
4. It stays light until 9, so Maddie thinks she can party late into the night.

And now a few of the high lights:
1. The farmer's market is huge and not overly priced.
2. Lighting bugs (one of the few bugs I do enjoy)
3. We have flowers to tend to.
4. I've seen a cardinal, a blue bird, tons of mockingbirds and robins.
5. On less humid days we can sit outside in the evenings and enjoy the good life.

The Big Move

Maddie was very interested as we packed up the truck. We got many requests to get stuff out of the boxes for her, like random Christmas decorations she could see in clear tubs.

As you can see, the packing got a little lazy at the end. We ran out of boxes and just began putting stuff in until it was completely full. I'm so sad that my big dining room table couldn't make the trip with us. Our grill and bikes also got left behind.

This little girl did great on the trip. This is a rare moment of her sleeping. She was content watching movies, playing her MobiGo, coloring and playing ponies.

This kid, on the other hand, needed a playmate in the backseat with him. Being the driver was nothing compared to trying to keep him entertained. I was all peek-a-booed out by the end of the trip.

I envisioned this lovely picture of our family as we gathered on our porch for the very first time. Instead, it was a hastily snapped pic of a very tired family. More of our new home to come another day!