I Heart Midland

I've been trying to catch up on things lately on this blog. It's getting a little annoying. Let's jump to the present for a moment.

(In case you're wondering what the boys look like right now.)

About 11 days ago, we arrived in MIDLAND, MICHIGAN for good! We're in a little apartment for a month until our house gets finished. Matt started his new job on Monday and really likes it. Just like last summer, if he's not home by 5:30 p.m. it's a late day and he was probably the last one to leave the office. Of course that's definitely not the only reason he likes his job, but I think it's my #1.

Michigan has been such a welcome change from Chicago. We do miss our friends like crazy, but pretty much everything else about this place has had me on a constant emotional high. Here is a random collection of  surprising and lovely and weird things that have come to pass since our arrival:

-- We have been driving around for a whole week with a stroller sitting in the back of our truck and it hasn't been stolen yet. And that includes two trips to Walmart.

-- There are people here who have never even heard of Jamba Juice or In-N-Out. NEVER! It blew my mind! So so sad.

-- We've been through a lot of drive thrus lately, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that in Midland, every single drive thru has excessively polite people/teenagers working them. Can you even imagine?! It's very confusing coming from Chicago, where I kind of expect them to spit in my food if I take too much time ordering or ask any questions whatsoever.

-- I took the boys to the splash park for play group with some people from church, and when I got there I could not tell who was Mormon and who wasn't. All the moms had several kids or were pregnant, were dressed somewhat modestly, and nobody was cussing out/strong-arming their children (which is really common in south Chicago). If it weren't for the crucifix necklaces, and the tattoos I noticed on virtually every mom's back/stomach/shoulder once the swimsuits came out, I probably wouldn't have been able to find my play group without asking some pointed questions.

-- Last week when we went to check out at the grocery store, the teenage girl standing at the counter was one you'd think was too cool for anyone. She had a few piercings up her ear, this emo I-hate-my-life kind of frown, and didn't make eye contact until absolutely necessary. You know the type. But when Matt asked her for an extra bag for the avocados that he loosely threw into the cart, the girl opened her mouth to speak...and that's when I had a realization:  It does not matter how cool you look or act or think you are -- a thick Michigan accent WILL ruin your "cool" status for the rest of eternity. At least in my book. "Hah, you'd hee-alf to be pretty tee-al-in-tehd to cairry all that fruit without a bee-ag!" So weird. If you are reading this, you WILL tell me if I ever start to talk like that or we're not really friends.

-- We went to the DMV to get our new licenses and registrations, which is pretty much the most dreaded administrative chore of every new place we move to. BUT, if you can believe it, even the DMV worker was super nice and normal and pleasant! She gave Josh crayons and stickers, recommended places to eat, and was extremely helpful in answering our questions. I don't think I've ever walked out of the DMV with a smile on my face before this.

-- It is almost impossible to go out without running into someone we know. And that's saying something, because we've only lived here a grand total of twelve weeks, if you count last summer. People are going to have to get used to seeing me in my grubbies.

If all this niceness seems a little Stepford-ish to you, you're not the only one. I'm still not sure if people are for real around here. Zombies? Robots? There has to be something weird going on in the background that I'm not catching.

Whatever the case, it has been great for our family so far. Take yesterday, for example:

I woke up with the boys and read a really great book for a bit while Josh watched cartoons and Matt slept in. When everyone was up, we headed to the farmers market for some delicious fresh plums, cherries, peppers, kettle corn, and the best apple cider in the state in frozen slush form. Yum.

With nothing pressing to do, we moseyed on over to the puppy store, which is a place people go to play with the cutest little puppies around. Josh was flipping out with excitement. He already named one of them Spotty, and he's sure that's the one we're going to take home some day.

After that, we drove toward the new house to check the progress, but stopped at a garage sale on the way. We happened to meet some of our new neighbors who have a little boy who was getting rid of his old toys -- just perfect for Josh's age. Then we stopped by the house and saw that the carpenter was there working on a Saturday! Putting in the wood floors! Wohoo for getting things done! Then we went home for lunch and naps. Even I got a little rest with the boys.

After dinner, we drove over to the Loons baseball game. It was circus night at the ballpark, so there were juggling clowns, balloon animals, and even some cages with live baby tigers, a porcupine, and a baby fox. You could pay to get a picture holding/feeding the tigers! So cute. Matt's boss had a nice air conditioned box that night with lots of food and dessert and drinks, so we enjoyed most of the game from there, when we weren't playing at the playground they have inside the ballpark. Afterward, there was an awesome fireworks show. Josh stayed up for the whole thing and was just a peach since he took a nap earlier.

It was one of the best Saturdays ever. Thank you Midland for being so wonderful. Only friends and family could make this place better! Now, who wants to move here with us???