Our tap water gives us the squirts.

Yep, you read that right. After two weeks of trying to force ourselves (me and Natalie, Sam had it right by day two) to acclimate to our NASTY water, I can make no other conclusion. We bought cases of bottled water, and then the section of my conscience labeled "Recycle, or else" started to get to me.

Introducing Miz Brita.

So far, so good.

Horsham, Pennsylvania

This last Saturday we planned a winner. Walmart, playground, Chick-fil-A. In a desperate effort to avoid an accident (Megan, not Natalie), we decided to find a Chick-fil-A outside of the mall food court in hopes of finding a play place. And that's how we found ourselves in Horsham.

Let me just say that the city we live in is not the biggest in the world, but it is the biggest and most highly concentrated place I've ever lived in. There are a lot of buses and sidewalks and gas stations, and you can find grass only if you look for it. The drive out to Horsham got better and better. Slowly there weren't any sidewalks and the buildings were replaced by green fields. The roads widened out and there were fewer and fewer traffic lights. And then like a shining beacon of realized dreams, we found the Chick-Fil-A, complete with play place, bathroom, and as a bonus, a Red Robin across the street.

We beat the lunch rush and found a great seat by the window where we could see at least 50 yards of grass (!) and watch the very occasional car pass on the distant road. Our food was hot and ready in record time, and was complete with a large peach milkshake. How could it get better?

By an employee bringing us a second milkshake for free of course!

It turned out that the play place was too big for Nat - she couldn't climb up the stairs to go down the slide. But apart from that, I think Sam said it best when he likened our experience to the cleansing, freeing feeling you get after going to church. But seriously! It was just wonderful to be out in the country again and feel the space that's there and drink not one, but two delicious milkshakes.

Oh, and as a side note, I feel pretty confident that I've heard of Horsham before, but I can't remember what for. A google search revealed that Horsham was voted 15th best place in the USA to live in 2007. That must have been it.

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!