Boxes, boxes and more boxes

Took two loads of this truck to get it done

The boxes are unpacked. Pictures are hung. First week of school accomplished tear free. Whew! Now we can breathe. Two years of waiting and we have finally arrived in our new city.  My daughter is so strong and I can only hope she stays that way. The first day of school was a piece of cake and she seemed genuinely excited. My husband was like a giddy little child when it only took him 15 minutes to get home instead of over an hour.
This has been bittersweet.  We lived in our last town for 7 years. We met some wonderful people and were near family.  Our last town was small, comfortable.  We got to know all the people who worked in the places where we shopped. We had our church community and friends.

We have moved to a town three times the size of our last.  We have no family near us.  Just like so many other situations in life there are positives and negatives to each scenario.  My husband has a better commute so we see him more.  I had to get new shoes yesterday and instead of having to drive 30-40 minutes to a decent shoe store, I had a huge choice of where to go right here.  We went out to dinner this past weekend and had probably no fewer than 30 places to chose from instead of our normal 4-5.  We are closer to my parents which makes me so excited. Weekend visits with them will be so much easier.
Our daughter is in love with the fact that there is a huge playground right behind our house, a neighborhood pool, and trails. Kids here even ride their bikes or walk to school which is only on the other side of the neighborhood.

I wish I could say we are through with moving. However, we are in a temporary house. Believe me, if it took you two and a half years to sell your first house and then two years to sell your second, you would NOT be in a big hurry to jump into the realty game so soon. We need to familiarize ourselves with this area again (yes, we used to live in this area when we had our first house).  So now that we are getting settled, it is on to scoping out houses or lots to build!  I have one more move in me....I think.  Our daughter laughed the other day when we told her this was the fourth house she has lived in....and she is only seven years old. sigh. Thank goodness for little girls with a sense of humor.

My advice? Never move.

Last day of school in our old town 

Getting unpacked

Nice view from our back patio