So, I really haven't gotten this blogging thing down... apparently you are supposed to write somthing right? So, I wrote a blog for this months ago but somehow it never made it out of the draft phase. I guess perhaps I should renew my efforts to become the blogger I know I can be. So, first off, here is the previous message that for some reason never made it onto the blog...
This summer has been a complete whirlwind of adventures. First, we packed up the car (a 4 cylinder sedan) and the tiniest U-haul trailer you have ever seen (after selling all of the furniture we own) and headed out to Baton Rouge, LA for summer jobs. At first, Louisiana seemed just a sweltering arm-pit in the South complete with red-necks with confederate flags plastered all over their pick-ups, nasty fried everything (even veggies), and ENORMOUS insects. Then, I started to notice how friendly people were. Let's face it, in the west if you smile and say hi to someone, they give you a weird look and may move further away from you on the sidewalk. In LA, good 'ole Southern hospitality is alive and well. Also, I started to realize that LA has the most interesting cultural melting pot anywhere I have been in the USA. The French influence is HUGE there, people are speaking French in the middle of the grocery store. French Creole is the craziest sounding accent, it sounds like Paris with A LOT of twang and Southern drawl. People kept asking me "Are you YANKEE?" and I just had to laugh... I said no, I am from Utah.
One of the best things about LA is the food. After navigating away from all the fried catfish (which I did try, definitely not a mistake I will make again) and move toward some gumbo, jambalya, and hushpuppies you are one happy diner. The best about the food in LA is the beignets. French for "little doughnut", they are the most fabulous doughnut you will ever have. They are more like a scone (but the dough is different) that is completely covered with powdered sugar. One of my weirdest restaurant experiences happened at Swamp Daddy's in Alexandria. They had all you can eat crawfish and they would bring out these HUGE trash can lids heaping with crawfish. Watching a family at the next table just gulping down these nasty looking shrimp-like monsters made me almost run for the loo. Then, after all was consumed they brought out another trash can lid for each person, definitely an adventure!
Finally, after a summer of adventures we moved to our new home here in Gainesville, FL. When we first drove into town I thought, “This is it?” For any of you that are from the Utah area, Gainesville can be equated to the city of Provo, but imagine Provo in the middle of nowhere with an hour and a half drive (at least) to the nearest metropolis and beach. The best thing about Gainesville is we live right in the middle of Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando. Our proximity to so many areas with some major attractions has definitely made residing in Gainesville more tolerable. The BEST thing about living here is we are only an hour and half drive to visit my brother Ben and his family in Orlando! They moved into Florida about a month after we did and it has been amazing to have family so close. We are just loving seeing them and bumming around in their home for the weekend soaking in what we have to look forward to with parenthood with their adorable and entertaining children.
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