Hello Florida!

Well I wish I had some pictures of us on the air plane or of the HUGE moving truck but I didn't have it all together to take such pictures during the craziness so here are some pictures of some real signs and my girls in Florida although, nothing about the pictures actually show that they are in Florida but they are!






Hello Florida! Yes we really do see signs that tell us not to feed the alligators which let's be honest I DONT NEED A SIGN to tell me to keep my distance! Although I guess it is common for people (not the most intelligent people) to actually feed and PLAY with the alligators. Really... they are not ducks people! The closest I have come to the alligators since I have been here is at the zoo which is as close as I EVER want to be! Honestly these animals are HUGE here. Stephen has seen one out in a lake behind our apartments but I have yet to see one out and about although... the other day I did see an Armadillo on the road!

Now if you can imagine a swamp... gross water festering with mosquitoes and other strange insects, hot, sticky, humid, greenery everywhere, wild animals everywhere... ok now you have a pretty good idea of where I am living! Maybe it isn't quite that bad but honestly pretty darn close! There are literally ponds (well that is what the locals call them I personally would refer to them as swamps) all around us and driving on roads even busy roads we see huge birds and wild animals everyday...this is Florida! What an adventure we are having! Florida has often been called "heavens waiting room" due to the large population of elderly people coming here to retire and...well you know wait it out until the end! As of now I think a better nick name for Florida is "Hell's waiting room"! Alright so I am being a little silly but you get the idea so far I don't know why anyone would choose to live here. However, It is fun to see and to have a new experience living in a completely different part of the country. It has been quite an experience for the entire family. Every Floridian tells us that we are here during the worst possible time and that it will only get better. Our ward so far has been very kind and accommodating and we both already have callings. The church is not as strong here as it is even in Fresno. Our stake building for example is 45 minutes away from us! This is new for me! When we first moved Katie loved it because it rains A LOT. She loved getting her umbrella and going outside in the rain now when it rains she says, "Ahh it's raining again...dangit!" Our apartment is actually perfect for our little family. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen is the only down side in that it is super tiny but we have an attached garage and a laundry room inside the apartment so it really is pretty nice. Well that is all I am going to say about Florida currently because I have other posts in which to tell more! Thanks for reading...if anyone made it this far! OH and again please come visit we would love it and you have to admit it sounds lovely! Don't I do a good job of convincing you to come and visit??