Update from the desert
Well we have been in Arizona for a week now. I guess I should update my LJ.
The drive down was uneventful. Though it DID get underway 2 days later than planned, due to the weather and my wife's insistence on leaving every abode we have lived in, in much better condition that we found it. We did not have a cleaning deposit, nor was the place all that unkempt. That did not stop my wife from taking an extra 12 hours to clean every little nook and cranny of the apartment to Martha Stewart levels. And this after we had already been delayed a day by the weather.
The drive itself was pretty straight forward. Drive south on I5 turn left and take I10 to Phoenix. The roads were wet in Oregon and dry in California and Arizona. No snow on the roads, but we did see some on the sides of the road in Oregon. We also saw some on the sides of the road in California, in the hills north of San Bernardino. We did stop for the night outside of Stockton CA. We made to our friends house about 8 or 9 pm on Tuesday. We DID NOT stop in Santa Rosa CA, where a friend of mine is interning with a fasting doctor. NOR did we then drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Those were options we were looking at before we got delayed by 2 days.
Now that we are here, we are staying with some friends until we can get jobs and begin to get settled. Since it looks like both Sue and I need to get jobs, we decided (at the last minute) to enroll the kids in the local elementary school. Which is literally a couple of blocks away and within walking distance. MM is very excited and has enjoyed her past two days of public school. She loves the fact that she can be with other little girls and that she can ride her bike to and from school EVERY day. JB is less excited, but is still doing okay. He never really liked the public school system and has had mixed experiences in the past. This time seems to be taking a bit of a good turn. He is having some trouble with math, as our homeschool plan didn't mesh well with the public school system. There are some topics that we haven't covered, that his new peers have been doing for a while, so he has some catching up to do. On the other hand, it took less than two days for his teacher to see that his reading skills were well above the average for his age group and he needed to be reading more advanced books than the class. It was also noted that his handwriting is pretty good for his age. Which is a huge turn around from two years ago, when his handwriting was one of his challenges.
We went to our new (old) ward on Sunday. It was our old ward in the sense that when we lived here almost 10 years ago, this ward was a part of our old ward. The ward split within weeks of our moving out, and the current ward has many of our friends (those that stayed around) still living here. In that sense it was a bit of a homecoming. We were constantly confronted in the hall with 'nice to see you guys again' and 'welcome home' all from people who we sort of recognize. My DW suggested that, if only people would wear pictures of what they looked like 10 years ago, and said their names when they were talking to us, it would be SO much easier. It is a huge change from the wards we lived in, in Oregon. They have almost two complete primaries. They have two deacons classes. The hall outside the YW room, with all the YW waiting to get in, had at least 25 - 35 girls. The kids are really feeling a change. MM is in heaven, what with all the little girls to talk to. And they all live with in walking distance of us. And JB is 'fine' with his class. Though he did note that there are several cute girls here his age. Again all within walking distance. Did I mention that the ward is 1/8 mile by 1/4 mile. Every one is with in walking distance.
Well that should about do it for now.
Gilbert AZ: 52 degree F, clear and calm
The drive down was uneventful. Though it DID get underway 2 days later than planned, due to the weather and my wife's insistence on leaving every abode we have lived in, in much better condition that we found it. We did not have a cleaning deposit, nor was the place all that unkempt. That did not stop my wife from taking an extra 12 hours to clean every little nook and cranny of the apartment to Martha Stewart levels. And this after we had already been delayed a day by the weather.
The drive itself was pretty straight forward. Drive south on I5 turn left and take I10 to Phoenix. The roads were wet in Oregon and dry in California and Arizona. No snow on the roads, but we did see some on the sides of the road in Oregon. We also saw some on the sides of the road in California, in the hills north of San Bernardino. We did stop for the night outside of Stockton CA. We made to our friends house about 8 or 9 pm on Tuesday. We DID NOT stop in Santa Rosa CA, where a friend of mine is interning with a fasting doctor. NOR did we then drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. Those were options we were looking at before we got delayed by 2 days.
Now that we are here, we are staying with some friends until we can get jobs and begin to get settled. Since it looks like both Sue and I need to get jobs, we decided (at the last minute) to enroll the kids in the local elementary school. Which is literally a couple of blocks away and within walking distance. MM is very excited and has enjoyed her past two days of public school. She loves the fact that she can be with other little girls and that she can ride her bike to and from school EVERY day. JB is less excited, but is still doing okay. He never really liked the public school system and has had mixed experiences in the past. This time seems to be taking a bit of a good turn. He is having some trouble with math, as our homeschool plan didn't mesh well with the public school system. There are some topics that we haven't covered, that his new peers have been doing for a while, so he has some catching up to do. On the other hand, it took less than two days for his teacher to see that his reading skills were well above the average for his age group and he needed to be reading more advanced books than the class. It was also noted that his handwriting is pretty good for his age. Which is a huge turn around from two years ago, when his handwriting was one of his challenges.
We went to our new (old) ward on Sunday. It was our old ward in the sense that when we lived here almost 10 years ago, this ward was a part of our old ward. The ward split within weeks of our moving out, and the current ward has many of our friends (those that stayed around) still living here. In that sense it was a bit of a homecoming. We were constantly confronted in the hall with 'nice to see you guys again' and 'welcome home' all from people who we sort of recognize. My DW suggested that, if only people would wear pictures of what they looked like 10 years ago, and said their names when they were talking to us, it would be SO much easier. It is a huge change from the wards we lived in, in Oregon. They have almost two complete primaries. They have two deacons classes. The hall outside the YW room, with all the YW waiting to get in, had at least 25 - 35 girls. The kids are really feeling a change. MM is in heaven, what with all the little girls to talk to. And they all live with in walking distance of us. And JB is 'fine' with his class. Though he did note that there are several cute girls here his age. Again all within walking distance. Did I mention that the ward is 1/8 mile by 1/4 mile. Every one is with in walking distance.
Well that should about do it for now.
Gilbert AZ: 52 degree F, clear and calm