But quickly, since it’s quite early, here, in no particular order, is what I will miss about Florida:

*The sunshine! Need I say more? I love the weather here. Even though the winter was colder than usual, it still was much warmer than back home in IN.

*Spanish Moss. I don’t know why I love it so much. It’s not even really beautiful, but every time I see Spanish Moss, it’s like a picturesque haunting of my soul.

*The great restaurants. And there are some really good ones around here. I know that the area where we are moving has some great restaurants too, but it doesn’t have some of my favorites.

*Our neighbors. We have the best neighbors ever. Really. I wish I could pack them up and bring them with me.

*The girl I tutor. She has been such a joy. We’ve had our ups and downs, but she has worked hard. She was recently inducted into Jr. Honor Society.

*Our military friends. I will miss them terribly. But, most of them are leaving too, so it’s not like they are going to be here.

*Our friends, Kurt and Karen. My hope is that they will move to the area where we are going sometime in the future. I am going to miss them so much. I can’t even begin to express my feelings. They walked into our lives on Christmas Eve of 2005. Life hasn’t been the same since then. They have become our family. The beauty is that I know we will keep in touch. They were meant to be a part of our lives forever.

*My MLM friends. Fortunately, we’ll still be in touch. Thank God for the Internet!

*Disney World. We’ve had annual passes for the past two years and I loved being able to go to Disney at the drop of a hat. Bored? I took the girls to Disney. They’ve probably gotten spoiled because of it. How many kids their age can say they’ve been to Disney about 30 times? I’ll also miss Bush gardens, but we didn’t go there very often.

*My house. I love it. It is the first house that I have bought and it was kind of my dream house.

I am so sad to be leaving, but I am curious to see how the new chapter shakes out. Here’s hoping for the best…..

We had a great time at the festival yesterday. This is one event that I look forward to for the whole year. I love it! And I really love that we were able to take another family picture.

And here they are again! We had such a great time, again, at the Pumpkin Festival. Mayli and Mati were so well-behaved there. They are really growing up.

Mayli right before her first ballet class this year.

This is Mati’s adorable CHEEEEEESY smile. This picture was taken over at our friends’ house on Mati’s second birthday which happened to fall on Memorial Day this year. I had no idea what was in store for us later that night. Mati woke up at about 11:30 vomiting. She continued to vomit at least once an hour until noon. Poor girl. She is much better now though.

I think Mayli looks so beautiful in this picture. She was excited all day for her “Waddulation” (graduation). Of course, it wasn’t so great when we were both sick yesterday. I am still sick as I post this, but feeling better.

Her graduation was really cute, although I was kind of frustrated. She was seated in the second row. Of course, the kindergarteners were seated in the front row, so I couldn’t even begin to get a picture of her.

The children said the Pledge of Allegiance. They sang “This Land is Your Land,” “Yellow Submarine,” and “Zippity Doo Dah”. Very cute!

Mayli still has her scar from the ER visit. I honestly hope that it will go away, but I have a feeling that it may not.

In April we went to Indiana for nearly two weeks. It was a good trip and both kids were absolutely wonderful on both trips. They really could not have been better. I was actually able to move both kids, the two car seats, and our luggage (one HUGE suitcase) and it was fairly painless, considering I did it all by myself.

I have still been doing a ton of walking and running. I have completed more than 400 miles since I first started keeping track of the mileage at the beginning of February. I have lost fifteen pounds since I the beginning of the year, am below my initial goal for my weight and am just five pounds away from my “never will see that weight again” goal. I will probably be down to it before Matt gets back.

I have been quite the um, “handy” woman since Matt has been deployed. I have mowed the yard, learned how to edge, and I have charged the battery to Matt’s car (thanks to the help of my brother-in-law 1000 miles away). The mowing has got to be really comical.

Mati has been sick for the past two days. I woke up yesterday to the sound of her heaving. She was leaning right over Mayli’s face, getting ready to vomit. Mayli, you owe me one. I definitely took one for the team. Thankfully, I got to her in time. It was very necessary for the two of us to change our pajamas, but at least Mayli didn’t have puke on her face. Can you imagine that wake-up? Fortunately, she is feeling better now. Mati has gotten sick today, but she is now eating. This tells me that she is definitely feeling better.

Well, I definitely need to get back to work.