Bumpy landing . . .

Hard to believe, but we made it. After what seemed like an eternal wait, Tom got the call and we were on our way to Florida.
We spent a week in early August looking for housing and schools and trying to get things squared away. We went back to Utah on the 12th and had the house packed and the moving truck loaded by the 19th and our cars arriving in Florida the day before we would (thanks to a myriad of angels and miracles who helped us pack, clean and get things moving).
We spent our final few days in Utah saying good-bye to friends and family, tying up loose ends and we flew out early August 21st.
Tom's new boss had some air mattress brought down (by her sweet as sugar parents) for us to sleep on and we were able to get into the home we have under contract so we could get everyone ready for school to start on the following Monday. 

Needless to say (but I'm gonna say it) we were exhausted - but the kids were so excited to start their new schools that we just kept on going.  They all seem to have great teachers, Spencer loves middle school and the kids are making friends each day.  Their enthusiasm has made it easier - having them gone all day long has been hard! I miss them and the day drags - but soon I should be able to help in the classrooms and we will get into a schedule.

The actual moving portion of this adventure has been a bit more trying.  The moving company called after we got here to inform us that our shipment came in 2000 lbs heavier than they had estimated - we nearly choked on the extra costs, but after requesting several audits and talking to everyone we could we just had to tough it out. 
While we had been waiting for our things, Tom was really starting worry about being able to fit in the house.  It just didn't seem as big although the MLS sheets had said it was a little over 2000 square feet. We had downsized quite a bit and figured we could work it out - our Salt Lake home is just over 2600 square feet. Unfortunately, as our belongings began arriving in the home it became pretty apparent that this home was much smaller than our last one and Tom pulled out his measuring tape.  Sure enough, the rough square footage Tom came up with was less than 1500! We called our realtor and he started to checking out the tax records that verified our suspicions, the house is no where near 2000 square feet.

So for now, we have gone back to the sellers with our new information and we are waiting. We have offered the same price per square foot with the new square footage, but we have no idea what will happen from here. We are confident we can get out of the contract since it was all based on the home being 25% bigger, but we aren't certain what to do or where to go . . . if they lower the price significantly, we could possibly stay here, rent a storage unit or build a shed in the back and proceed as we had originally planned. If they won't lower the price or we decide this is just too small then we have to find a new place to go - something we haven't quite figured out yet.

That was Friday, Saturday we figured we would spend the day at the beach, the phone and internet company were due to connect us that morning and afterward we would take off for a much needed break.  Nine hours after he arrived, he finally had us connected, it was 7pm, getting dark and stormy but we headed out anyway - 25 minutes to the beach was better than nothing!

In an attempt to blow off more wiggles and make up for Saturday, we decided  to head out to Emerson Point on Sunday morning before church. Emerson Point is a state park/preserve where the Gulf of Mexico meets the Manatee river. Its only about 5 miles from our house and at the end of beautiful Snead island. Home to tons of crabs, fish and other marine life you can see right up close -

It could be that our heads are full of other things or the heat is getting to us but when we got to the end of the island Tom hopped out of the car and headed up a hill to get a look at the area - you can see the bridge over to St Pete, Anna Maria, everything.  Theo followed him up and so did September. I went back to the car to check on Ben who was changing his shoes and Spencer who was reading. When Ben was ready I asked Spencer to make sure to lock the car and meet us on the trail ahead.

Pretty soon we were all chatting away with the local fishermen and discovering the zillions of crabs and creatures on the island. About 20 minutes later Tom went back to the car to make sure it was locked and suddenly realized he didn't have the keys. 

After retracing our steps and offering some prayers, we realized he had left the keys in the car and we called roadside assistance (thank goodness for that) and spent the next hour waiting  . . .

 and waiting . . .

and waiting some more.

We saw a Mexican family bring in over a dozen good sized blue crabs (we are going to have to learn how to do that!!)

And we found a few treasures.

 Finally our hero arrived and after much supervision (from our boys) and several tries - the car was opened, the keys were found and we were on our way. Nearly an hour late for church and with smiles on our faces, we are starting to realize we have got to take things very slowly here - because nothing good really comes quickly, right?

(For now, I will be posting on this blog, but I am hoping to figure out how to merge my two blogs together - when I do I will let ya'll know)
Until next time - and hopefully with better news!
s