We moved!

We did it! We moved from our quiet, cozy Rexburg to Roslyn, Pennsylvania, not far from the Philadelphia border. Let's me just state for the record that moving is probably the most inconvenient and just plain annoying thing I've ever done. From the packing and cleaning, to the displacing of our whole family into other people's houses (thanks Shell and Ams!), and to add to the list of annoyances, Nat got Fifths disease in the midst of it all. Not something I'd like to do again anytime soon, thanks.

Pulling up to our new apartment was underwhelming, to say the least. It looked a little run down and crowded. Our apartment was older than I expected and it was dirty. And then the smell. WOW the smell. It was SO BAD! A mix of mold and stinky people and maybe something dead. I called Mom in tears that night because we had just moved our little family into a dumpster where we were sentenced to stay for the next two years. She told me to go to bed and call her in the morning. Wise advice. Everything was a little brighter looking after a good night's rest in my own bed.

Sam saved the day with several fresh linen scented air wicks, and after a good scrubbing it wasn't too bad at all. And it starts to feel more and more like home with every 'first' we get through - first time making cookies, first time dropping a scrambled egg under the burner, first time the bathroom got stunk up, first time for family movie night, etc.

Our ward is just WONDERFUL. Four or five guys showed up and moved us in in about twenty minutes, and then one of their wives dropped off supper for us later. It's nice to see old people again on a regular basis, and there are more than two kids in nursery! There are actually fifteen kids. Natalie loves it. Everyone is really friendly and welcoming. The sameness of the gospel is a really great blessing and comfort when nothing else in our whole lives is the same.

Natalie's room. By far, the most finished room in our house. Also the biggest I think.

On a walk around our complex - getting the lay of the land. It's hilly.

From the front. Well, the front of our apartment. Ha.

"Ours!" says Natalie every time we come home.

The view from one of Natalie's windows. Yes, that's the free community garden we'll use next summer!

More pictures to come! I think we're going to be ok!