Settling In

Settling into our house here was pretty easy. We put 90% of our stuff in storage and brought the other 10% with us. Our house is 3 beds and 15oo sq ft. It was mostly furnished, kitchen and all! It is great. I love that it doesn't take as long to clean! Less is more they say. I believe it to be true. The school bus picks Maddie up right in front of our house.

Georgia in her new room, she is setting up her babies and stuffed animals.

Maddie wanted the piano in her room. Now she plays way more than she did when it was in the basement in our other house.

Man this girl makes us laugh. She is in the holiday spirit.

This is what it looks like right out our backyard. Miles of trails. That is the Cochise Stronghold in the background. It is desert, but has mountains too. So we had to take advantage on the wheelers.

HALLOWEEN

Maddie was a stylish nerd and Georgia was Elmo.

Georgia had her face painted at our branch trunk or treat (which had about ten cars). It was funny. They did have a bounce house and tables set up with games and food. The church sits in the middle of our neighborhood, so all the kids out trick or treating joined in.

Maddie's school had a halloween party for all kids and thier families. So we went and played games and had food.

Georgia making her halloween cookie

Today Forward...

Yep, we are back! Where did the two years go? I have no idea. The time has flown by and I can't keep up. Life for our family has been nothing short of chaos with alot of ups and downs and learning curves, but at the end of the day we can say that we have truly been blessed in the midst of it.

After ten years in Payson Utah, we decided it was time to move on. We loved living there. It was hard to leave our house, friends, family, and life. After packing up ten years, we are now living in a very small town called Sunsites Arizona. It is a retirement community with alot of "Grandma's and Grandpa's" Georgia says. Maddie goes to a school with 85 kids total from K-8th grade. I really thought we were crazy coming here, but after 2 months, this is where we are supposed to be right now. Crazy how that works.

We are liking it, surprisingly. We are together as a family more. We have Scott home every night and the girls are loving it. I was worried about Maddie not having alot of kids in the neighborhood to play with, me feeling isolated, and Georgia not having any other kids her age to learn to share with. I was wrong about all of this. There are a few kids (not alot) that Maddie has made friends with with good families. She is liking school. It is definitely different she says, but it's a good experience for her. Georgia has a little friend named Shaylee who is 3.

I like that the evenings are spent doing homework, cooking dinner, and spending time together as a family. We live to far away from take-out so I have to cook! It has been good for both Scott and I. After the last four years of him working so much and traveling, especially this past year, it is finally good to have him home more. I am trying new recipes and Scott is getting very good at the barbeque. We have no family close so we have to rely on each other. We do everything together, shop, take walks, ride bikes; Scott and I even get up in the morning and attempt to excercise.

Church has been good. We are in a branch with maybe 50 people on a good Sunday. In the two months we've been here, we have spoke in sacrament, I got called to Relief Society 2nd counselor, Scott got called to branch missionary, I have taught a lesson, put on a RS christmas dinner and program, and next week have to help with the branch christmas dinner. Let's just say, we are not lacking for things to do. I do love the seniors. They have a unique wit about them and they are not afraid to say what is on thier mind! I look forward to learning from them. They are all a very grateful and humble people. It is neat to see.

Pictures to come...