Settling In

We have been in our new house for going on 3 weeks now, and it is starting to feel like home.  After 2 weeks of sleeping on air mattresses, we are relieved to report that our household goods arrived last Friday.  It took them exactly one month to travel from our old house to Homer, which isn't bad considering that the moving company allowed themselves until the beginning of August to get them to us.  We got right to work unpacking, and there are no boxes left inside the house.  The garage is another story, but that should be taken care of this weekend.

We have loved downsizing from our extra-large CT house to the just-right one here.  Coming from a Colonial-style house that was very chopped up, it is wonderful to have a great-room setup so we can easily keep track of what everyone is doing.  I wasn't sure how I would feel about not having a downstairs play area for the kids, but so far we love that, too.  They each have all of their toys in their own rooms, and they spend lots of time upstairs playing.

We also really like having neighbors with kids right next door, but it is taking the little man some time to adjust to sharing not only a wall with the new friends but also all of his toys.  He was happy to play with their things that they graciously shared with us while we were awaiting the arrival of our own things, but now that our favorite dump trucks are back he is having trouble reciprocating.  I get the fun job of playing referee each time he goes outside to play...maybe a striped shirt and whistle would come in handy.

We are all happy with how easily we have settled into the pace of life in Homer.  The LT has been putting in long days at work (much longer/busier than he is used to) and the kids and I are enjoying the slow pace of a small town.  We aren't in a hurry anymore to get out of the house in the mornings to make it to the gym before it is too crowded (thanks mostly to our new in-home gym).  Most days we don't leave the house before 10am, when we head out for a walk before the "daybreeze" picks up (around 11am nearly every day).  We must be adjusting to our new version of summer because I caught myself with the window down in the car today when the temperature only registered in at 53 degrees.  Summer up here seems to be just starting, if the wildflowers blooming is any indication.  I don't miss the 90-degree humid summer days, but a few days of 65 and sunny would be nice before fall!

Learning about buoys with Dad 

The USCGC Hickory working out in the bay

We also don't miss all the driving we did while living in CT.  Every time we left our house it was at least a 20-mile round trip.  Here, we can make it 2 weeks on one tank of gas in the Pilot, and the LT may be able to make it an entire month driving the CR-V to and from work!  Kinda makes up for the current gas price of $4.32/gallon.

This weekend we are planning to go to the "city" about an hour and a half away to treat the kids to "Cars 2" and gather a lengthy list of supplies from Wal-Mart.  We are also going to check out a potential camping spot.  That's right, camping, like in a tent.  It seems to be what people here do for fun on the weekends.  We also have a little girl who has been begging us to take her fishing, so we need to get our licenses and figure out where to do that does not require ownership of a boat.

Off to register the kids for summer soccer, which starts next week, and then go tend to our flourishing garden.  Alaska gardening trivia: you can't grow tomatoes outside here!  We have a tomaoto "tree" in our front window.  I am contemplating taking the Alaska Master Gardener course online through the university this fall, so next summer we will be expert food growers.

Beluga Slough, one of our favorite walking spots

The lupine is in full bloom this week