Living in Florida

"It's like a vacation every day here mom!"

That's what Henry said to me the other day. And, so far, for Henry, Amelia and I that has been the truth. Our days are spent at the ocean, pool or splash park. We have annual passes to Disney (all the parks), NASA, and the Alligator Zoo. Tonight we are going to a medical dinner at the Daytona speedway and Henry can't wait to drive on the track, something we apparently get to do.

Moving to Florida is probably not everyone's dream come true. But, we're not those people. We have loved it here so far.

Our ward is fabulous. There are lots of old people but there is also vibrant group of young families who all spend a lot of time together. In Utah wards have the obligatory play date once a week or once a month, events rarely attended in wards I've been in. Here it's like torture for the moms if they don't hang out three times a week. I have loved spending time with these women. In addition Family Home Evening here is like a Utah singles ward, everyone congregates at someone's house for a group FHE.

Joe's co-residents are, thus far, fabulous. There are eight of them. Several of them have children, some Henry's ago. And, regardless, we have very much enjoyed getting to know them all. They all seem to be very social, happy people. Both qualities we adore in our friends.

Our neighborhood is great. I think we live on the senior citizen street. That said, people still come over to say hello and make sure we are adapting well. And, every time we go to the pool (we have a community pool) we make new friends. Henry has a buddies named Garret, Cody and Libby and several still who I couldn't name. The neighborhood here feels different from any neighborhood I've ever been in. It's not okay to be private, you are expected to make friends and be friends with the people around you... people here are ridiculously friendly.

Our banker, grocer, real estate agent and others have offered their hands in friendship and their knowledge of the area.

I still think Daytona is ghetto. It's smaller, more spread out and less clean looking. But, the people here are fabulous which is making it feel a lot more like home.