New Everything

Wow, it has been a long time since we posted. Never fear! We finally got internet about an hour and a half ago, so I want to catch up with blogging and everything. We are here in our new place (obviously), and it's starting to look and feel more and more like our home. It has its quirks, mainly that it's very open, but it is a very nice place, and I think we lucked out since we essentially moved in blind. The area that we chose is a very planned community, and a lot of stuff is either brand new or only a few years old, so everything looks well-maintained. I've been informed that no matter where you live in this area, you are within 788 feet of a park, and we are actually within very easy walking distance of three nice parks with play areas. Oh, and did I mention that there are sidewalks??!! What a novel concept. I'm thrilled to be able to walk around the neighborhood and not have to fear for my kids' lives. :) All in all, we are very pleased with the area.

Today was my first Sunday in our new ward, and Braden's second. My mom, myself and the girls were still en route to Sacramento on Sunday since we had to resign ourselves to the fact that we just weren't going to get there on Saturday night, so we got a hotel room in Redding instead of getting into an accident. So Braden went to church last Sunday in a plaid shirt, no belt, no tie, and crocs (his Sunday shoes were in the trunk of the Honda, which I was driving), but he DID have dress pants. He went up and bore his testimony, and let me tell you, EVERYONE remembered him this Sunday. Every time I introduced myself, people were like, "Oh, her husband bore his testimony last Sunday...bzzzzz, bzzzzz..." I guess he was especially memorable.

So far, I really like what I've seen of our ward. It's full of very friendly people and lots of young couples with kids. The Gospel Doctrine teacher is funny but gives great spiritual lessons, and both Sunday School and Relief Society had a lot of interesting comments. I like wards where people feel free to make a lot of intelligent comments. No offense to our previous ward, but this ward put it to SHAME in terms of friendliness. I didn't make friends really until I was called to the Primary Presidency, and Braden never felt welcome, and not for lack of trying! It's nice to have a ward where a lot of people introduce themselves to us. Anyway, we're looking forward to making friends, and I'm trying to be more proactive about finding moms with similar-aged kids to hang out with.

Well, it is soooooo nice to type on an actual keyboard after using nothing but my iPhone for a week, but Braden wants to set up the router so that he can use the internet, too. I will save more posts for later. The story of our long, laborious road trip here shall have to wait...