Where did we go? Moscow!

It’s about time for a blog post wouldn’t you say? After about 3 months, here’s the scoop! (Sorry for the length)
 

Photos by Cierra Owens (amazing photographer in our ward), http://photographbycierra.blogspot.com/ don't worry, I asked her first

We moved to Moscow, Russia, Idaho. It was quite the experience moving for the first time after being married. We had no idea how much stuff we had accumulated in the past 3 years. Things like camping gear, food storage, snorkeling equipment, bikes, all sorts of kitchen appliances and gadgets, craft and jewelry supplies and the list goes on and on! I’m still feeling a bit of anxiety over it all and there are still random things around the apartment that there’s just no place for, so for now it sits where it is because the closets and cupboards are full. We stopped and stayed with Allie and Hyrum on the way up and we got to meet little Owen for the first time, what a cutie pie. I can’t believe babies come that small. Bailey seemed like a giant, and she was so excited to meet Owen she peed on Allie’s bed! 

I still can't believe we fit everything into this thing!



Our dads came to help us



My mom came too

Bailey: 3 months, Owen: 3 weeks

The excitement

In an earlier post I said we got the apartment we wanted. I spoke too soon. We didn’t. The apartment we’re in right now is fine (because I know it’s temporary) but the one we really, REALLY wanted didn’t have an opening the week we needed to move in. We’re planning on moving there in May after this first school year.

These are the reasons that make moving again worth it!
1) Washer and dryer in your apartment – ours doesn’t, coin op for now
2) Garbage disposal – ours doesn’t have this
3) Air conditioning – not this either
4) Larger kitchen and more storage – we have a tiny, tiny kitchen that can drive me nuts sometimes
5) Just about everyone around you are members of the church – I don’t know of any members in our complex
6) Newer, cleaner, and has two closets in the master bedroom and two bathrooms
7) The price difference is only $20

Sounds nice huh? Especially the part about the washer and dryer and air conditioning. The first few weeks we were here our apartment got up to 88 degrees. That’s hot! I remember thinking how nice grocery shopping was cause it was air conditioned! It’s cooled off here now so it’s not an issue anymore. The laundry part is what gets me the most. I refuse to do laundry more than one day a week, so for now it’s Mondays and here’s why: I load up the car with all our laundry and Bailey taking 3 trips up and down the stairs and drive over to the laundry place for our complex with about $5 - $10 in quarters. I load up 5 of the washers, leave for 45 minutes, come back, load up 4 dryers, drive home the hang dry items, go back for the dried clothes in 60 minutes, drive home and fold it all up while it’s still hot. All while trying to juggle Bailey with me and work it into her feeding/sleep schedule. It was really hard the first few times, but now I’ve gotten it down pretty well. The good part is that I can do 5 loads in about 3 hours; the bad part is that sometimes the washers are taken up so it takes the entire day rotating clothes, going back and forth and by the time dinner comes around I’m exhausted.
The only bad thing about moving in May is that I think we’d be in a different ward and I love this ward! I’ve become friends with some of the greatest girls I’ve ever met.

Loads and loads of laundry for Bailey to roll around in



Sunset from our balcony




Gotta love the power lines



Here are some things I’ve learned about Moscow:

1) It’s pronounced Mos-co not Mos-cow and you’ll get corrected
2) We live in Latah county, pronounced Lay-ta
3) Whoever named these places is very particular
4) Population: 21,000 no other cities or towns around for a few miles
5) The water is yellow, especially when it’s hot
6) I feel weird bathing my baby in yellow water and we’ve gone through two faucet purifiers
7) Don’t try to go grocery shopping at Winco on a Saturday
8) Safeway grocery store is expensive but so much more convenient
9) Food stamps are a blessing from Heaven, and the government, we’ve never eaten so well!
10) Our ward is great! It’s fun to be in a student ward again where everyone is your age and doing the same thing as you.
11) The wheat fields and open spaces are beautiful
12) There’s a JoAnn’s and a Michael’s so I’m not going crazy
13) The fastest I’ve driven is 40mph. The average speed is 25-30mph.
14) A tank of gas lasts 6 weeks
15) You can only buy baby toys at Wal-Mart so everyone has the same toys
16) There’s a sign that says, “Welcome to Moscow, a pedestrian priority area” but it should really say, “Welcome to Moscow, be prepared to slam on your brakes at any given moment”

So much more but I’ll save them for another time.

What a hottie on his first day of school, who wouldn't want him as their lawyer?

I’m sure you’re wondering about how Mark is doing in school. He likes it and is getting used to it. He gets called on in class and after about a month he said he feels comfortable giving answers and using some of the fancy legal jargon. He comes home and tells me about these crazy law cases he reads which just shows me that some people are insane and think they can sue anyone for anything. I guess that’s a good thing because those insane people may someday hire my husband and put my kids through college. But Mark is still most likely going to go into patent law and help people patent their awesome inventions. Got any? Mark leaves for school at about 8:00am and comes home at about 6:30pm just enough time to see Bailey for a while, we eat, Bailey goes to sleep, and he studies more until we go to bed at 10:00pm. I’m learning to be patient and give him what he needs. I’m also adjusting to only seeing him for about 2 hours of the day and trying really hard not to disturb him while he studies.

Dinner with the three of us

Bailey is of course getting cuter and cuter every day. I’ll have to do an entire post of just her and all the fun things she’s been doing since July. I can’t even describe how much I love her. It’s totally different than anything I’ve ever felt.
The sad thing about these pictures is that I just packed away all of those clothes, they don't fit her anymore! She's about 3-4 months old in these and she's 5 1/2 months old now, don't worry I have a TON of recent pictures too.

One more list before I end this post. These are some of fun things we’ve done since being here in Moscow:
1) We went on a hike and we go on walks when it’s nice out
2) We went to the county fair with the Muirs and saw all the prize winning animals and ate a delicious elephant ear scone
3) I’ve been to all the craft, fabric, thrift, and antique stores in town
4) I go to play group every Wednesday with the fun girls and babies in the ward
5) Had some craft days and nights with the girls
6) Sunday dinners with friends in the ward
7) Went to Costco in Lewiston

I wore the baby carrier on the hike and this is the cute face I got to look at the entire time

She liked most of the hike

Ranger Mark

I should also mention that we had our 3 year anniversary on August 11th. That was move in day so we celebrated by carrying boxes all afternoon. Actually my dad took us all out to dinner that night (me, Mark, my mom and dad, and Mark’s dad) to a great Italian restaurant. Thanks dad!



Love you Mark

 Okay that’s it for now, mostly because Bailey is awake now and I can’t get enough of that little girl!