How about that, we now live in Florida.  Never thought I would live in this state.

Roasting Marshmallows
Copyright by Holly Hedman

We are a family that loves the rugged outdoors, being on the lake fishing and sitting outside by a campfire on a cool night.  Oh, yeah, now that’s the life!  But now we have traded that for palm trees and white sandy beaches.  A person could get used to that… I guess.

For a lot of people Florida is where you go for vacation, snowbird in the winter or retire to.  Then you have those people who end up in Florida because of work or to be with family that have moved down here.  For us, we are here because of work. The Army decided that my husband was needed down here, so here we are.  Florida is growing on me, ever so slowly.  Not sure I will ever feel at home like I did in Tennessee but I will keep a positive attitude and embrace the fact that I am living in Florida.  I know, you are probably saying that I am crazy, what is not to love about Florida.  Well, I am a true northern girl through and through and I love the 4 seasons.  I know, I know, I am crazy for loving the snow and cold but I really do!  Time to face the fact though, we now live in Florida!

First Day of School 2012
Copyright by Holly Hedman

We moved here in August of 2012 about a week or so before school started! I have to say, I was getting excited for the girls.  I was ready to get our life back to a normal schedule and have them in school.  Also, I was ready for my son and I to have our one on one time.

I have always enjoyed getting ready for the first day of school!  There is always an excitement about it and an anticipation to the new school year a head.  This year was even more exciting because we just moved to Florida and our kids would be meeting new kids and making new friends!  With the girls all registered at the public school and ready to go, it was time for school to start!

First day of school, how exciting.

Seeing as we were living with friends of ours till our house was finished being built, I drove the girls to the bus stop in our neighborhood.  This way we could start meeting our neighbors and start making new friends.  So, bright and early (actually it was still dark as you see in the photo above) we were all up and getting ready for the day.  Once we were all done with our morning routine, out the door we went.  I have never driven my kids to school and waited in that crazy car lane and I wasn’t about to start now.  By driving them to our subdivision instead of driving them to school I was able to have some adult conversation and got to know our neighbors!  Oh yes, even mom got to have some chit chat time and I looked forward to it everyday.

In September I was able to close on the house (yes, I said I… my husband was off on a his 2nd or 3rd trip since moving here so I got to close on the house… All By Myself with POA in hand and a pen that luckily never ran out of ink!) and that night we slept on air mattresses in our new home.  Two days later the first two PODS came (we pack and move ourselves and the military pays us to do it) and the unpacking began.  It felt so good finally being in our own home with our own stuff, since we were technically homeless since the end of June.

Our walk to the bus
Copyright by Holly Hedman

Now that we actually live in our house, I no longer had to drive every morning and afternoon to the bus stop, we walked.  I have to say, I really enjoyed our 3 block walk to the bus stop.  Now with the cooler temperature in the morning, there were times where we walked to the bus stop in the fog (I loved it)!  The fog reminded me of Monterey, CA and the crisp morning almost made it feel like fall! OK, I guess Florida is growing on me now.

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Thanks for taking time to read about our journey into homeschooling.  Please feel free to share my blog with your friends and family!  Also, Please leave a comment below.  Have a Blessed Day!