We are Moving!!!

Well, its official! We are moving to Iowa this summer!

While we have had a great time enjoying Tucson and the warmth of Arizona, I miss having some family around. Over the past year there were a lot of instances where I just wanted family around. And with two kids it just gets harder and harder to "go it alone". A few times I broke down crying from stress and tried to figure out how to cram everyone into a car and drive to Iowa.

My whole pregnancy I flashed back on my 48 hour stay in the hospital during my first pregnancy. If I were to go into the hospital for any reason our life would just stop dead in the water and we would begin sinking. I am tired of treading water for survival. It is not fun when you have a family.

Then add John's thyroid surgery and worrying about taking 2 kids with me to the surgical waiting room... Emergency situations and medical concerns add an extra scare level when you have 2 little ones to care for.

And I just miss having family to share things with. Birthdays, holidays, milestones. There are so many people in Iowa that LOVE my kids and will support them. They deserve to have a village caring for them.

I am excited for Iowa summers and festivals, the much improved educational system (including free preschool at age 4!), and safer communities (Tucson has had a big increase in crime and violent crime lately).

We are still a little scared of going through winter. I am hoping it will ease us into the cold and go easy on us the first year. Peter's hand me downs won't work as well because we have nothing for the frigid snow! We will be doing lots of shopping to get set up for the snow.

As of right now we will be loading the moving truck in mid-June...2 months from now. So we have a lot to do! We will be moving to North Liberty, Iowa. It is a little town between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids so there are 2 metro areas to look for jobs. I have already done tons of research on both communities and been looking for activities to keep the kids busy. It looks like some fun things going on.

There is lots of excitement going on in our home! We are trying to clear out the freezer and sort through clothes in the closets. Boxes are being collected and slowly being packed when we find time. Unfortunately, its hard with 2 little ones. Peter is good at EMPTYING boxes, not so much filling them up. :)

But we will get there one way or another. In just two short months!!!