Complaining and Counting Our Blessings

We are happily and safely here in East Lansing, Michigan. My wonderful parents drove out with us to help with the baby and to haul the U-Haul with my dad's truck. We had an uneventful drive and are happy with our house. Of course a move brings lots of emotions to the surface, but we are getting used to our new surroundings. Being a fan of lists I thought I'd share a few with you. Negatives, To Do, Blessings etc...

What Scared Me at First:
This:

Not the best picture. You can't see the van seat very well, or the cooler/smoking table so tastefully set next to it. But I was too chicken to take a good picture so I took this from my car as I was backing out. Here is a better shot of it. My folks took this right before they left.
(I look extra sassy due to a day of moving and crying right before this was taken.)

And This:

Note the four cars jam packed in the driveway? There are always four, and oddly enough, most of them work . So, why so many? There are often one or two more cars parked on the street too. Meth lab? Kidding. But it's like a non-stop party next door. Beer bottles on the lawn to cement that idea. And there are also usually seventeen kid bikes. But I kind of like that.

They shout all the time to get some one's attention in the house. They also have a 200 lb dog that seems to mark up the entire back yard. Ugh. Shouldn't scooper laws apply everywhere? On our first day here I opened my big mouth by asking if the dog "goes all over" to the neighbor's boyfriend. I ask this in a horrified voice to sound real neighborly. He replies that the dog only goes on their side, but at that moment the dog was making a "present" not three feet from our door. My reply? "But we have a baby!" Um, ya. That's not a response, nor a reasonable argument. Luckily we, um I, have been more polite and have found that they are really sweet people. I could do without the smoking, as the smell spreads far and wide, but all in all they are good neighbors.

Also:
Finding my way around at first is always intimidating.
I was terrified of the U-Haul being stolen on the trip.
Our car started acting wonky the second my parents left (My dad would've been able to diagnose), to the point that we couldn't drive it anywhere unnecessary.
Spiders, I sprayed first thing, but I think they are coming.
A giant diseased apple tree drops apples all over the yard making it smell like apple cider vinegar.
Our laundry room. It's in the spooky, dark, unfinished part of the basement.
I'm worried the neighbor dog might eat Eleanor.
Boo hoo, oh wait, that's the next section.

What Has Made Me Cry:

This:

Her fan club is all through correspondence now.And this:

What will I do without my Jenni? How will we spend our Sundays?
P.S. Bismark?!? Could we get a more boring U-Haul vignette?

Little Allie will get older and more advanced without us! What a sad sight.So tiny! No dishwasher!

I'll explain this one later. Next blog post. But it made me cry. This started it all really.

Sniff.

Sob!

Also:
The news about Jed Mingo and his brother and father.
Realizing that my favorite people are going through so much grief so far away from us.
And I cut my finger on a potato peeler. Ok, so maybe that one doesn't rank.

What I like or Blessings:

Walks to local parks. E loves being outside and the neighborhoods are gorgeous. It's like everyone is in a giant Best Lawn competition. The East Lansing area is a bit like the Avenues or Sugarhouse in SLC. And look at her. Can you be sad for long with her looking at you with that face? No.

She also seems to like the messy mess of unpacking.

The campus is amazing! The old buildings are beautiful, and the new law building is awesome. Look at their cool moot court room. I want a moot room.

Michigan has given E her first taste of pickles. Or the new Law Student picnic did. She chewed on it for a few minutes.

Also:
First day I found Joanne's and Michael's. Fabric and Crafts, I should be ok. Thanks mom!
I've also found WalMart, Target, a mall and a good grocery store. I can function.
I finally got unpacked enough and enough groceries to make a batch of cookies.
The church is only a two minute drive from our house. As close as our Provo building was to us!
The ward is amazing! We have been welcomed in so warmly.
There is a blog for the local moms to keep everyone up to date on playgroups, sales, activities etc... It's what you dream of as far as making new friends and staying in the loop.
Here is a link:
http://mimormonmom.blogspot.com/
We've been able to "borrow" internet until ours gets set up in about forever. Ok,
Friday. Whoever AmyRenee is, we owe her a batch of cookies.
We found a really awesome place to fix our car. They were honest and fast and even gave me a ride to and from the shop! Thanks East Lansing Automotive Repair. Tell your friends!

To Do:
Keep unpacking. Once you find a few necessities, you sort of slow down.
Find a desk and dresser and a way to get them to our place.
Arrange furniture.
Hang pictures.
Deal with insurance boringness.
Maybe paint.
Blog... hey!
Laundry.
Rake up all of the apples.
Buy dog biscuits.

Wasn't that long? That's what happens when it's late and there are too many things to blog about and none of them fascinating. Thanks for reading!

P.S. Price of dressers at the thrift store I visited today? $109.00 to $149.00! What the?!?! It's a charity store! Icky, old, super-used dressers people!