Culture Shock

We have arrived safely in Georgia. It was another long day but thankfully the kids again were total champs. I have to admit that along the way the further south we came the fewer teeth, shirts and shoes we saw! At one stop we saw a lot of t-shirts that said things along the lines of "If you mess with me you mess with the whole trailer park". I wondered if we had made the right decision but Randall assured me we were still very much in the sticks and all would be well. When we finally reached South Carolina close to Georgia we stopped at a Chick fil A for lunch, and it actually had a play place. We haven't seen a play place since we moved to Jersey. Now I know normally they are a tad germ infested but you can imagine that after so many hours in the car we told the kids to get crazy. They played for a good while. As Randall and I sat and talked over lunch I was seriously feeling culture shock. People were kind and so polite that it was seriously weird. People kept commenting about how cute the kids were. People were wearing actual color in their clothing. Nobody was rude or yelling in the restaurant. Just last week when we were in D.C. some crazy man came into a restaurant yelling like a crazy. Randall was seriously scared something was going to happen. On the road today someone cut about 4 cars off and it was a very close call but nobody honked or used any finger signals. At home when we are at a stop Anna often yells "Mom, just honk!" We now see a lot of bigger cars and many SUV's something that is not common around our area. It is strange to see actual business that were built for the purpose of business and not an old home turned into a law firm, a dental office etc. In Jersey when I am looking for a place of business I am still surprised to find it is an old house just among everything else. There are a lot of restaurants(with drive thru's) and it just feels really different. I should say that I loved it immediately but honestly it just feels so completely...different! I know it sounds dramatic, but I feel like I'm experiencing culture shock.

We decided it would be fun to drive through a neighborhood or two of two of homes at the top of our favorites list. We were both blown away! I don't know if it's just that we are coming from something so completely different, but these neighborhoods are beautiful! We kept having to pinch ourselves that this is for real. I almost feel like a total jerk looking to buy something in such a nice place. In fact one of the homes that we have LOVED on line and loved the neighborhood looked like it may have a very small backyard. Like not really room for a garden and and any place to toss a football. We shall see what it's really like but we felt like how could we be so picky now, and yet I don't want to choose something that really won't workout in the end, just because it actually has closets, and a garage and more than one bathroom big enough that you can't sit on the potty, wash your feet in the shower and your hands in the sink. Don't get me wrong. Jersey has been really good for us and I am actually really sad to leave for several reasons but being here now is making me feel really excited.

After we checked itto our hotel the kids did a little swimming in the 89 degree weather. I will say that the water was freezing! It was breezy too but they were having a ball. I just put my feet in with Jane and Randall was a champ to get in with the kids. We are now waiting for my parents to arrive which should be any time now. The kids are a little wild now I'm sure making up for the fact they've been strapped in their seats for so long.

I want to post pics but I only have Rand's work computer so I can't until we get home. We are excited for tomorrow. Our agent said she has appointments set all day. We hope everything falls into place! Who's going to be first to come visit? It's not NYC but I'm sure we could at the very least find us some good BBQ.

Along Our Way

I thought it would be fun to write some things that happen along our way to look back on in years to come. Today was the first day on the way to Georgia. I had some anxiety about being in the car all day with the kids, but it could not have gone more smoothly. The kids were so great! We didn't even turn a movie on for the first 3 hrs. At first they were just happy to ride a long. Then we turned on a book on CD, which they love. We listened to a good portion of Ramona Age 8. It was so much fun. Even Randall and I enjoyed it. I thought the kids would like it and picked that book in particular because Ramona is the same age as Ethan and is starting a new school and in the 3rd grade just like Ethan will be. I had forgotten what fun books they are since I haven't read them since I was really young. After that they watched a movie and we stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and lunch, and the time was just sailing by. Jane had the hardest time but really doesn't do badly either. Poor little thing though, I knew she was cutting one molar and has been a champ but today I was feeling around in her mouth and realized she is cutting 2 molars with 2 more on the way. One of the molars that hasn't cut yet is so incredibly swollen it looks like a little marshmallow in her mouth. She easily could be screaming just because of her poor gums but just fusses some and wants me to get her out and hold her. I've done that sitting in the back strapped in, but it makes me really nervous... I can't imagine back in the day when kids didn't have car seats or even seat belts. Although I'm sure they weren't driving as fast as we do now. Not that it would matter I guess.

The ride was absolutely beautiful too. We drove for about 4 hrs through the Shenandoah Valley and it was amazing. It was incredibly green and lush and so many of the trees are in bloom with bright purple flowers. In Jersey it is just barely beginning to show any signs of spring with just the tiniest bit of buds and color, so the ride was beautiful. I also thought it would be mostly flat but was quite hilly. We even saw some "mountains", well at least what people in the East would call mountains :)

It was fun to call out and tell the kids that we just went from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, to Maryland, to West Virginia to Virginia. Of course only Ethan really gets what we are talking about and none of them really care, but for us it's fun to think about all the places we are getting to at least say we have been too.

We have stopped for the night in southern Virginia about 30 minutes out from North Carolina. Tomorrow we should only have 4 hrs or so until we reach our destination. It is feeling more real, and yet still surreal what we are about to do. I'm very excited to see what will soon be our home and I don't mean the actual house but our surrounding community and state. Although the house part is exciting too, just a tad more nerve wracking.

The kids are excited to stay in a hotel and have jumped on the beds a bit which normally I don't like, but truthfully after doing so well in the car I think it's ok to get a few wiggles out. They thought it was fun to flip through the channels and watch "real" TV since we just have netflix at home. Ethan and Anna are sharing a bed tonight and they were having a hard time settling in saying "Stop pulling on the covers... You have more than me!" I finally realized that I don't know that any of them have actually ever shared a bed before! A room yes, but not a bed. Gone are the days of 5 kids all sleeping together.

I'm hoping tomorrow goes as smoothly as it did today.