Wisconsin is a State, Adrienne!

Back in August, we moved from Alabama to Wisconsin. It was the craziest move we have had yet, just because of family reunions, rent contracts coming to an end, and Cody's work responsibilities, none of which seemed to line up very nicely. So we packed up, cleaned our home, and left Alabama at the end of July (leaving Cody behind to finish his residency), flew to Washington to spend a couple weeks with my family and attend our family reunion, and then flew to our new home in Wisconsin. Our stuff arrived the next day; we quickly unpacked, Cody flew in for a quick visit, and then flew back to finish his residency). Then he finally finished and drove up here to be with us for good. I am glad that whole period is done. It was pretty tough.

But. . .we are LOVING Wisconsin so far. First and foremost, we have loved the colder weather. I am meant to wear cardigans and jeans always. We also live in a more rural town and love the space, the fields of corn and soybean, the beautiful trees and old barns. Love it all. Our backyard butts up to a corn field and it is a little slice of heaven to sit back there on a cool evening and feel the wind blowing off the corn. The kids have been playing outside almost non-stop and are loving our new house and yard.

We have really lucked out with the neighborhood. We have two families on either side of us that have eight year old girls, and other young kids. So Claire is constantly playing with one or both of the girls. It has made the adjustment of the mood so very smooth.

It is always interesting to see the differences in culture amongst all the different areas we live in. First of all, Wisconsin accents rock. Seriously fun to listen to, though Cody insists he's not a fan. I feel that out of all the accents in the world, I am most susceptible to this one. I can already hear the change in the way I say 'soda'. Awesome! The people are so very talkative and friendly here. It is a very warm, frank vibe that I get from people here. So I have high hopes for our future here.

 

Because of the cooler weather, we have been taking advantage of the outdoors. We went to the beach right before fall blew in, and had such a good time. We are excited about next summer and all the beach time we'll be sure to fit in. We also live close to a bike path, so we have been going on family bike rides (for the first time ever, may I add). We have also been raspberry picking (heaven!) and have gone to a pumpkin patch.  We live right between Milwaukee and Chicago so I know we have a lot of exploring to do.

 

Church has been really nice. This is the first move where I have really felt how small our world is getting. I discovered after I moved here that my good friend from Virginia, Amy's sister is in my ward here. Also, one of the first Sundays here I noticed one of the missionaries looked just like this teenage kid from my Alabama ward. When he introduced himself to me, I thought it a funny coincidence that he had the same last name as the kid. Then I found out he is cousin to this kid from Alabama. Small world. I love that it is a small world. And I guess the more we keep moving the smaller it will get.