Getting Settled and a Photo Update

Have I mentioned that I'm so grateful we have a home? Sometimes you have to go without one for a couple weeks to really appreciate it. This is actually the first time in our married life to have our own house - no one below us, above us, beside us, etc. We have a yard! I'm so excited to learn about gardening in Florida - from what I have heard we can start planting some things in late September. We got here just in time! We have pretty hibiscus in the front yard, and a fig tree (with figs!) in the backyard along with a bird of paradise, palm trees, and a large oak that provides a fantastic shady area. There are a few things that I have yet to identify. We have some purple flowers in front and I went out one day and was sad because I thought the wind had blown all the blooms off as they were scattered on the sidewalk. But then I was surprised to walk out the next morning to a whole new set of blooms. Apparently that species' flowers fall off and grow back almost daily. This morning an opossum ran across our front yard. Do they really play dead when they're scared? I thought about chasing it to find out.

The entire house is tile - which I'm ok with since I've heard cockroaches like to live under carpet in these parts, yuck. One of the first things I bought was a steam mop for the floor. It works great and once Jack is mobile it'll be especially nice to know the tile is sanitized! We've been in our house a month now. I think I unpacked the last box last week. Did I mention it takes a MILLION times longer to unpack and get settled with young children? Like instead of a few days, more like a month. We have a handful of pictures on the wall now, and it's feeling more like home every day. We have a spare bedroom - even comes with a bed! Start planning your Florida vacations stat :) We LOVE visitors!

Grandma Lewis got to spend the first night with us in our new house before she flew out the next morning. Here we are having a picnic lunch.

The ergobaby carrier has been a lifesaver. Keeping Jack close and mom's hands free.

 Thanks to Great Grandma Nancy we had a 'dining table' of sorts. She refinished this beautiful child's desk. Now that we have our own dining table Sawyer loves to use the desk for all of his art projects.

 This lil guy bedded down in a suit case until we were able to buy a crib. Worked out pretty well really.

 Sawyer enjoyed the easy access to his brother.

 Sawyer was great at unpacking. If only he was as good at putting things away, instead of strewing them everywhere.

Look mom a SQUIRREL! Florida is so exciting!

 Do you ever sleep like this?

 The pool is a BIG hit!

 Did you need something mom?

 I told Jack to look cute for the picture. Such an obedient boy!

 Sometimes shaving cream fun doesn't last long enough for mom to accomplish what she wants to...

Looking adorable, like usual!

 Sawyer LOVES his little brother. He is so sweet with him most of the time. He likes holding him and always has a kiss for him. It's fun that Sawyer can make him laugh now too.

I still can't believe he dialed 911

Karate Kid

"Hiiii -

 YA!"

A Glimpse in my Rearview Mirror

Not a bad view. In fact, I quite like it :)

Every morning before it gets too steamy I load the boys in the trailer and hop on my bike. I LOVE that there is a shady paved trail that takes off right from our neighborhood. The forest is alive with little creatures singing, chirping, buzzing, and humming. We've seen a tortoise a handful of times cruising on the path, and we can't leave the house without seeing lizards. Sawyer and Jack love it!

A/C Issues

I'm furious!!

So after I bragged that our Ford Escape had no problems for the big trip out here, the a/c went out on it. Which we've found is basically a state of emergency during the summer in Florida. So we took it to a mechanic - one that the auto parts store recommended. We paid them $100 to diagnose the problem. They said it would be $300 to fix it. So we had them do the work. We picked it up Thursday afternoon and then drove in to Orlando Friday morning. The a/c stopped working again during the drive! So we took it back to the same shop and they want to charge us another $600 to fix the real problem. Seriously? So I wasted the first $400 on what exactly? No wonder mechanics have such a bad rap. Ugh it's so frustrating! I know fixing cars is expensive, but that just doesn't seem right to me, especially since they won't work with us AT all on reducing costs the second go round. You've got to be kidding me thinking I'll throw another $600 to the same shop that just took $400 and did nothing. I wrote my experience on a google review so other people would know, and I'm going to report them to the Better Business Bureau. What would you do in this situation? Am I right to feel upset, or am I overreacting?

U.S. eh!

In October 2011 George decided to start the process of becoming a US citizen. He had been a permanent resident since he was 17-years-old. A green card must be renewed every 10 years and costs about $500, whereas if you become a citizen it's a one time deal and I believe it cost us right around $800. It's been a fairly simple process, but as with all things government, it takes 'processing' time...10 months in George's case. He had to submit a bunch of paperwork. They wanted to know every date he had been in and out of the country. He lived in Seattle and had family in BC so he had no idea how many times he'd even just made day trips back and forth between Canada and the US. He also had to take the civic test. I actually learned a few things while quizzing George for that. Did you know there are 435 Representatives in the House? I didn't. Friday morning was the naturalization oath ceremony in Orlando. There were 101 people (1 from Albania!) representing 29 different countries, and the ceremony took about 2 hours. They had everyone in the room sing the Star Spangled Banner and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance. The guy we were following said pledge of alliance instead of allegiance, uh whoops!

Can you spot George?

George did it! And just in time for the big vote in November :)

(Another perk for George becoming a citizen is that he can now do night vision goggles at work, yes!)