++Six months in++

It's so hard to believe that six months have passed since we left Memphis. That's a third of the time that we spent there. Wow. The blog was meant to chronicle our lives through the move(s) and really just talks about our kids (who happen to be our lives at the moment) so maybe it's time for me to get back on track. For this post at least.
Here is my initial disclaimer. Moving sucks. It really does. Yes, there is something that seems a bit glamourous about it but at the heart of it all it is just a lot of work. We are very fortunate that Mark's company is good to us and makes every effort to make the transition as easy as possible but when it comes right down to it, they don't tell you which house to buy, they don't hang your pictures in that new house and they don't find friends for you. That is left up to us and no matter how many times you do it, it doesn't really get any easier.
Ok, enough of my pity party (I know Mark will give me a hard time for this one). Here is my initial analysis of life in our new town.

Pros:
++We love our new house. The jury is still out on if I love the lot it is on, but I like the house.
++ We really lucked out and I am in love with Wyatt's school. He loves it. It is full of a bunch of really good kids with parents who are just the right amount of involved. They don't take educating three-year-olds too seriously and are quite prolific with the art projects (why not?).
++On any given day, depending on where you are driving (or if the sky is clear) the views really do take your breath away.
++ You can really feel good about living in a community that gets it. The environment is important, education is important, parks, green space, community, etc. I don't find myself shaking my head in disbelief...ok maybe it is a little unbelievable that our recycling bin is bigger than our trash can or that it is illegal--that's right--illegal to throw away food scraps (we have to put them in the yard waste bin). I haven't seen any police officers sorting through trash yet.
++I found a great hair stylist on the first try! I never found one I liked in Memphis. These things make a difference. I promise.
++Mark loves his job. That is good. Since we are really a two-for-one deal, we need the one breadwinner to be happy while winning his bread.
++We discovered that in the winter time when the leaves fall off the trees, you can see the street from our house (and vice versa).
++Everyone here seems competent. It blew us away at the beginning. From the movers to the exterminators and even the postal workers (gasp!), things just seem to move a little more efficiently by people who know that they are doing and even appear to like it.
++The local news is once again tolerable. Ahhh...

Cons:
++I've really been struggling with the layout of our neighborhood. We live in a cul-de-sac at the bottom of a hill and Wyatt is afraid to ride his bike up the hill so it really makes going on walks next to impossible. I'm working on finding a place with a nice flat path so that we can get out and do that.
++This has been our hardest move yet when it comes to making connections. Our neighborhood is great but it's about 12-15 years old so there are a ton of families with middle-school aged kids (read: lots of babysitters). Claire is the youngest in the neighborhood. There are a few three-year-olds but they are the youngest in their families so we're not quite in the same life stage. I've been a crazy joiner lately. I already attend MOPs, I joined the Moms Club and we're in the process of joining our church. We're giving it time, but it hasn't been easy.
++I hate that I'm about 20-25 minutes from the nearest mall. I totally took for granted how convenient our house was in Minneapolis. We could be almost anywhere we wanted to be in 15 minutes or less.
++Did I mention that it rains here a lot?

So, there you have it. The initial review. Don't send sympathy cards to me quite yet. We're doing our best. To be honest, this was going to be a tough six months regardless with Claire's and Wyatt's sleep schedules, etc. I still think I'm a Minnesotan at heart...and likely always will be!