Today I finally feel like I am making progress around the house, so I feel like I can take a few minutes to post something. I have no idea where the camera is or if it survived the move, so I guess I'll just write a novel and post pictures another time (maybe the camera is in the box with my cookbooks?-can't find those either). The basement is still an unexplored abyss of boxes waiting to be unpacked that I am pretending don't exist-ignorance is bliss, right?
So, it's no secret that I came here kicking and screaming, but I have decided that living in Michigan
probably won't kill me. I'm not singing "I think I'm gonna like it here" yet or anything, but I am starting to find things that I like. For example, I've only turned on the air conditioning a couple of times since we've been here. That's a welcomed change. We met some really nice neighbors (-it is true that people are more friendly here) that have a girl Tyler's age and a boy a couple years older. Their backyard is in back of our yard so they just run back and forth. They have invited us over for ''beers" but we've been too busy. :)
It's also true that everyone in Southeastern Michigan drives a Ford. If you don't, you better at least drive an American car. We visited the F-150 factory but they weren't making any trucks that day because sales are down. The economy is pretty bad here and a lot of people in the auto industry are worried about their jobs. It's kind of depressing.
We have really enjoyed living closer to Aaron's sister and her family. They live in Ann Arbor (about 30 minutes away) and have two kids. Tyler loves playing with his cousins and I am thrilled that we are within driving distance of a family member. We are planning on going camping with them this weekend-weather permitting (it rains here-a lot).
I registered Tyler for Kindergarten last week and was surprised to find out that
Farmington now has ALL DAY Kindergarten. Yikes! I'm not sure that's a good idea, but apparently I don't have a choice, so Tyler (and I) will have to adjust. They only have one recess at lunch time and they don't get out until 3:57 pm. I hope they're paying those teachers well.
Our Ward covers a pretty large area-it includes three area codes. The bishop said they have been praying for more families to move into the ward (I guess he prayed harder than I did-because I was
not praying to move
here). I was really excited to find out that they have a play group on Thursdays at 10:00 am and there are four other boys in Tyler's primary class. There are even a couple of other residents in the Ward.
The house we are renting has turned out to be really nice. The yard needs some work because no one has lived here for a couple years, but the inside is in really good condition. I love having a basement-it's kind of scary and smelly but it's great to have a designated "toy area", a laundry room, a storage area, and a place throw stuff (or kids) when I don't know what to do with it.
The
neighborhood is beautiful. Trees! There are real trees here! And it's green-with grass, flowers, and everything. You can even water your lawn and no one will get mad at you, but it rains so much you don't even need to. No more rocks and cacti for us! :)
I miss all of you! Thanks for all your love and support. Keep on Blogging!
Why was 6 afraid of 7? 
People have been asking me if Aaron's family has been affected by the fires, and yes, they have been evacuated. Aaron's hometown of Paradise, CA has been hit hard by the CA fires. The last I heard 49,000 acres have burned. The first big fire didn't burn near his parent's home, but at least 70 homes were destroyed. Unfortunately, the latest fire is right behind their house. It has burned to the bottom of the canyon in their backyard, but hasn't crossed the river (more like a stream) yet. It is doubtful that firefighters will be able to save their home if the fire crosses the river and heads up the canyon as there are plenty of trees and brush to fuel the fire. We are praying that it does not cross the river as many other families will also lose their homes. Aaron's parents were able to remove many items (photos, albums, etc.) from their home before the mandatory evacuation and are staying with relatives for now. Hopefully the fire will burn itself out before any more families lose their homes. 
We love our Tyler. He is a good big brother for Bret, a great helper for Mom and Dad, and a very happy, smart, handsome, and kind boy. We are so grateful to have him in our family!
Tyler decided on the morning of his birthday party that he wanted a transformers cake. I made Aaron make it because he has all the artistic skills in our family.
I thought it looked pretty good, and more importantly, Tyler thought it was really cool (if you don't know your transformers, this is "Bumblebee"-he transforms from a robot into a Camaro)!
Tyler with his new hotwheels track-he couldn't stop jumping up and down when he opened it. He loves speedracer even though he has never seen the movie-you just can't go wrong with race cars.
Tyler waiting for us to hurry up and take a picture so he can blow out his candle and eat Aaron's masterpiece.
Tyler trying to bust open the pinata (unfortunately I could not find a transformers pinata, but I did learn that a "party store" in MI is actually what I call a "liquor store"-not a place to buy balloons or pinatas). 
We made it safely to our new home in Michigan! The house is great, just really empty because our stuff isn't here yet. The nights are no fun because we don't have beds or a crib and the time change (3 hours) makes it impossible for the kids to fall asleep at bedtime-so we are all exhausted. Otherwise, all is well. Tyler's favorite thing about our new house is the laundry chute. He loves to sit in the basement and watch the dirty laundry fall from the ceiling-it's becoming a popular game. "Mom, will you play laundry chute with me?" Now if only we had our washer and dryer. . .
