Well Geesh, Virginia is absolutely beautiful!!! Before we moved I had just about EVERYONE tell me how gorgeous it was out here, that I would "never want to come back"...and I just shrugged each one of them off. What could be more beautiful than the Rocky Mountains? But let me just say how right they all were! Maybe not to the point of not wanting to come home ever, but this place is to die for! There is beauty all around (when there is "love at home", give me a break, I couldn't resist)! At each turn there is something new that seems to take our breath away. I know we have been here for less than a month, and the first few weeks we felt so secluded in our new place. We felt like we could be the Ingalls family living out on our own, but instead of living on the prairie, we lived in the forest surrounded by bugs and lots and lots and lots of green bushes, grass, trees, shrubs and moss. Come to find out that the hospital is less than a mile away. The freeway entrance is just beyond that, and Martins school is 2 miles away. It's crazy how putting a million trees around you makes you feel so secluded. We really love it.
On the drive across the country audrie contracted pink eye...I think in Nauvoo, which she then so lovingly shared with the rest of our family, over and over and over again. For the first 2 weeks after arriving we all took our turns feeling lousy. After the pink eye seemed to dissipate, we decided we couldn't be done with our sickness! So we decided to share bronchitis. Thankfully, Martin was so blessed the entire time to stay healthy and strong! Such a blessing as he was in his first two weeks of school. (Which, he is killing it by the way. He really loves being a student and is fascinated with everything he is learning. We are very proud of him and his hard work!) Needless to say, cabin fever set in and after too long we didn't care, we needed to get out!
We miraculously knew a family in our ward from our days in Logan. It is nuts how many times our paths have crossed. It has been awesome having someone to show us the ropes around town. She has been our connection to get to know parks and swimming holes. I am so thankful to be apart of a church that, wherever you go, people are there for you, making it feel more like home. She invited us to swim at "The Frog Pond" the outdoor swimming pool.
It was great. Not only because we were making friends, but because we were finally OUT! The weather is perfect. Not too hot, not cold and the sun still shines. I haven't quite figured out the humidity yet though. It is a tricky thing. You see, I never put sunscreen on myself or the kids back home (with Cameron as the exception)...maybe if we are out in the sun all day long I'd slap on a bit somewhere in the middle. Remember when you were a kid and you started fires with magnifying glasses? or you would burn ants? or melt plastic figurines? Well, I think that these tiny water droplets in the air they like to call humidity acts as if they are tiny tiny tiny magnifying glasses. My heck! We were out for 3 hours maybe, and I. was. crispy. I put sunscreen on the kids and they were crispy... We all recovered quickly from that and learned our lesson well. The fun family that invited us have kids the same ages as my three youngest so they had a fun time getting to know them,but Audrie didn't really have anyone to play with. I didn't see her for a while at one point, so I walked around, I look over and there she is playing catch with 2 nice looking kids. She made friends all on her own! They played the entire time we were there. When it was time for us to go they both ran up with big smiles and asked if we had to go. When we got in the car Audrie said how she wished she asked them to come to our house to play. When I asked their names or ages, she just didn't know! She misses having friends the most I think. We talked about how to make friends and what questions were important, like, where are you going to school, how old are you or WHAT'S YOUR NAME? So she learned her lesson there.
Later that week Martin had had enough studying and decided to take us to
Cascade Falls, I was feeling like crap. The third trimester had officially set in, my cabin fever was raging and a fit of, "I need to sleep all this off" had hit hard. Martin took the reins and packed and loaded the kids in the car, came to say goodbye and that he hoped I got some good rest. As I lay there, thankful for such a man, I felt so sad to miss the first exploration as a family in our new place. I groggily rolled off my bed and waddled to the car. (I know, I am already waddling. Come on, this if #5! My body needs super glue.) I am so glad I did. The hike was amazing. To get to the falls, there are two paths. A rocky one which follows the river, with lots of ups and downs and gorgeous views of pools and forest. My quads were burning for the first time in TOO long. Carlee only complained about 3/4ths of the time, but did it all herself after the bribe of ice cream when we were finished.
Andrue caught bugs the entire way, including the biggest millipede I have ever seen! His goal, a big yellow butterfly.
And Audrie, of coarse, blazed the way. Throughout the hike I was just in awe at all the beauty. How things grew so easily. I looked down, the perfectly placed rocks were green with moss and lichens, I looked up and the trunks of the tallest trees ever were green with moss and vines, and I would look even farther up and the sky was green with translucent leaves, with only spots of blue poking through here and there! Just so beautiful. It was about a 2 mile hike to the falls and at mile 1.9 they were all starting to drag a little. We stopped to take a rest and for some reason, I was the first to get up and lead the way, so strange with my burning varicose veins and achy stomach, but the kids were spent, tired and a little edgy. They were wondering if we were ever going to make it. I took maybe 10 steps, rounded a corner and there were the falls. It was amazing! I yelled back at them and I have never seen them so excited in a LONG time. They suddenly had overflowing energy as they raced the last bit of the way. Instantly, they stripped down to their suits and enjoyed the cold, cool water and mist of the falls. I could hardly collect their strewn clothes and shoes when Audrie and Andrue had made a friend (she took my advice and was super friendly to this kid who was playing with his Mom, even asked his name). The kids mom asked if they could walk over to the falls with them as I finished helping Martin with Cameron and Carlee. Soon I see Audrie jumping in off a rock with this kid into the pool at the bottom of the falls.
It all seemed so surreal. I raced over and we chatted and visited with this family. She was super nice and friendly, with a thick Georgia accent. I would love to pick that up while I am here! It's going on my list of goals. Martin jumped in with Andrue, and everyone swam around for a bit. So refreshing. We finally had to go, Audrie was a shivering ice cube. so we decided to take the upper path that was groomed for maintenance, probably. It was much easier than the path we took to get to the falls. The nice family we met caught up to us and we visited the entire way to the cars. We exchanged numbers and everything, all while Andrue had his dreams come true with a big yellow butterfly in his net! When I was helping Audrie get into the car she said, "I knew it would work", I responded, "what would work?" and ya know what she said..."My prayer, I prayed to make a friend." That girl. It only took 2 more days before they were playing at our house building a teepee in the trees out back together.
On wednesday A few ladies in the ward send out an email saying they were going to the beach at
Claytor Lake if anyone wanted to join. So I left Martin home studying for a test and drove the short thirty minutes to the beach. Only it took me an hour and thirty minutes because my gps took me to the wrong side of the lake and I couldn't figure out how to get across. They call it a lake, but it is really just a huge river. Eventually I get there, and realize I don't know who these people were who invited everyone in the ward. I was hoping I would recognize a face from church. I didn't. So we ploped down and the kids start having a blast!
The sand was magical, like the white sand in mexico! I think it was imported. ;) Eventually a lady comes walking down and tells me she knows my kids from primary! So thankfully we got to know 4 other moms in the ward! We sat and visited while all the kids played. It was nice. When what to my wandering eyes should appear? Audrie, playing with the same 2 boys from Frog Pond. No joke. She had her second chance. Soon everyone from the ward began to leave, but I decided to stay, mostly because it was beautiful, and I love the beach. The kids were happy, we had food and Martin really needed some time to study without interruption. He could have gone to the library, but I think it's nice if he can study from the comforts of home. Soon, I figure out who the boys belong to, but before I could get to her, she walked over and introduced herself to me! The boys were her 2 oldest of 5. Yeah! I am not alone! I was impressed. We soon find out that they all were going to the same school. Seriously? How great is that? We stayed until 4pm, where we got to know them all very well. We talked about what we making for dinner and even shared recipes. I am not kidding. It was hilarious.
When it was time to go the kids all were excited they would see each other the next night at Back to School! So much fun. As much as I don't like saying goodbye to my friends and family, and as much as I really don't like being the new kid in town, this has been a great transition.
So you heard right, I said back to school night. We did decide to put the kids in school. It was a hard decision to make, but we feel like it is the right one. After going to back to school night, our feelings were confirmed. Each child has an amazing teacher. We had a great feeling as we walked the halls. The kids were timid and a little hesitant. I think mostly because of the lingering unknown of school AND riding the bus there. The family that we met at the beach also has a girl Andrues age and she is in his class! Audrie's friend was not, but is in the class across the hall. No one from our ward goes to this school, so I was happy that they had some familiar faces to see! Once we got home Audrie wondered aloud, "why did we get all the nice teachers?". Nothing could be better!
Needless to say we are overwhelmed with gratitude as things just seem to be falling into place day after day. Sure we have our rough patches of moodiness, crankiness and plain old "I hate being the new kid". Overall we can easily see the hand of the Lord continue in our journey here. We are indeed grateful.
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