The Big Move

Well friends, what can I say? I thought I might be done blogging. That's why you haven't heard from me in so long. I decided to try again for a while just to keep a few of you updated. I really have a lot of catching up to do, but I might be too lazy to do it. So I'll give you what all of you have been asking for. Here is what's up with our move.

We moved to Indianapolis area (Carmel to be exact - north of the city) the beginning of April. Yes, it was for Joe D's job. The private equity firm he works for bought a company and is putting the head quarters here and sent him over here to get that set up. He is still loving his job, but he does go into an office now. :( I can't say we were excited to make this move, but I can say we are deeply grateful to have a good job right now and are willing to do what we need to do to maintain that. We have been pleasantly surprised by how well we like the area and the people. I believe life is what you make it where ever you are and it is easy to have a good life here. We have a wonderful neighborhood, full of kids and friendly neighbors in a clean, safe area about 20 minutes from the city. We chose this area for the great schools. Little did we know it was the wealthy part of town. We live in probably one of the most affordable neighborhoods, but it is a little strange to drive around and see mansion estates a few blocks from you. I feel like we are in the country though. It is extremely flat, but quite pretty and green. I can't say I am thrilled with the weather. It is stormy it seems like at least half the time (hence all the green) but it makes it muggy and I hate humidity. I am definitely missing my desert sunshine and dry air! The thunder storms are like nothing I have experienced before. Crazy! And we now have a tornado preparedness plan in order. Never had to do that before.

Our ward is great. I got called to teach primary (9 yr olds) a few weeks ago. Joe D has escaped a calling for now. We have a couple NFL Colts players in the ward. Joe and I have followed Austin Collie's career since he was playing at BYU while Joe was attending MBA school there and knew he had been signed by the Colts but were a little surprised to see him in our ward when we moved here. Kinda fun. We were lucky enough to find a house only about 10 minutes from the chapel and even more surprised to find another member family a few houses down from us with a girl Kenzi's age and a boy Will's age. Poor Sadie is really missing all her friends though! This neighbor and I are the only stay-at-home moms in the neighborhood, so Sadie never has anyone her age to play with as all the other kids are in daycare during the day. I have her enrolled in preschool this fall so that will give her something to help pass the time. Speaking of Sadie, we chopped her hair off right before the move. It was just too long and tangly. A few of you have been asking for pictures.As for the other kiddos, they settled in quite well to their new school. They have both made friends and done well in the short time before summer break. Here are some pictures of Kenzi's 2nd grade concert. She was only in class for about 3 weeks but got all the songs and dance steps memorized in time and had a great time performing. Sorry the pictures are so bad, I forgot my good camera and all I had was my little point and shoot.And the last week of school, Will's kindergarten had the Kindy 500 races. They learned a bit about the Indy 500, then made their own cardboard cars and raced them then had other relays. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. Here he is racing his car and showing it off.And just because several of you have asked for photos of our new house, here is one of the front. I haven't taken any of the interior yet. We are just renting for now. Can't decide what to do about buying. Joe D picked this house out on his own. I was impressed. I set up like 20 appointments for him to look at rentals and he did a great job finding the perfect place for our family.Here is a shot of the neighborhood. It kind of has a little bit of a Mr. Rogers feel to it. Lovely green lawns and black mailboxes all down one side of the road. It's a little bland for my taste, but I'll take it.But my favorite part is our backyard. Here are some pics. of it. Nothing special, but I love that we don't have houses right behind us and I think it is kind of pretty. We can see horses in the pasture behind the trees. We get cute fat brown bunnies from the fields hopping through our yard. The kids love to dig in the dirt (which is mostly clay) because there are worms in every square inch of it. We planted a little garden. So far the tomatoes and peas have survived. I think all the rain killed the beans though. We've put up a bird feeder and have all kinds of beautiful and not-so-beautiful birds that come around. The kids have named a cardinal pair that are regulars. They are our favorites. The ducks in the bottom right hand photo have become regulars too.
All in all, it has been a good move for us and we are adjusting well. I would be lying if I said I wasn't homesick for my friends and family, but I am doing the best I can to settle into life here. Hope all is well with you and yours!