Life up North!

So far living in New England, the FAR north-east, almost Canada, Greater Portland, Maine has been great! It is always a bit crazy to see the local weather on tv and realize that the region they are showing is at the very top of the U.S. Funny that we came from Mexico to almost Canada! Sometimes it is just hard to wrap my mind around how far north we really are, but the snow and cold make it a bit easier :)

Our lovely condo, with the little monster who gets into everything!

It is really beautiful here. Snow covered pine trees and a snow covered beach...two of my favorite things, but covered in pretty snow! I can't really complain about that. And the view out our windows ain't too shabby either. We were seriously blessed to come here in the winter and get this amazing condo in this cute little beach town for such a great price. I now know why it is so cheap to live here now...everything is closed! I would guess 75% of all the beach shops and restaurants are closed and, from what we hear, will remain that way until Memorial Day. By Memorial Day, I have no clue where we will be...but it won't be here enjoying the amusement park right out our windows :(

Sadly, even though our building is steps from the beach, I have to admit, we have only gone for 1 walk on the beach! It is more of an admire through the window kind of thing when the wind chills are frequently below zero! Stepping out of the building to go to the car, it is like a wind tunnel and it never fails to take my breath away. I have always kept a package of wipes in the car, just to be efficient and prepared, you know, and they have been frozen solid for at least a week...not much good to me that way!!

Tate is doing well here. He is enjoying having his own room and space to run around and play. He loves to stand at the windows and look outside. The snow plows are his favorite, he makes this cute little face and says "Oooooo"! He is starting to play on his own a bit and sometimes will go in his room and shut the door, but he still mostly prefers to have mommy around. I don't mind too much, sometimes he just makes it a bit hard to get, well anything, done! I am planning an all about Tate post...but let just say, still cute as ever (actually, cuter than ever), still hilarious, and getting smarter by the day. But also still a skinny little butt and terrible eater...some things never change!!

One thing we really enjoy here is the way people talk. Seriously...sometimes, it is hard to not crack up! I bet they think similar things about us, but Zach and I have had some good laughs and he is really good at doing his best Maine-ite impression. As with anywhere, some people's accents are minor, but occasionally I will hear someone in a store or talk to someone and it is out of control! Also...Dunkin Donuts, EVERYWHERE. Like there are probably 10 or more within 15 miles of our place, open all day too. We have had two boxes of the 24 count munchkins that may or may not have only lasted one evening...don't judge, since we don't drink coffee, we have to get our Dunkin somehow!

All jokes aside though, I am really grateful for all the opportunities I have had and will have (might need a reminder of this after move #5 or so) to move to different places and see how truly different it can be...in the US or not. It is blessing to be able to meet different people and especially to see the church going about it's business everywhere we go. The people in our little ward here have been super welcoming and I am sure we will be sad to leave. I really want to focus on gratitude for all these experiences to avoid frustration with our somewhat nomadic life. I know that we will look back on our insane med school experience as one of the best times in our life...and right now, I am enjoying living somewhere with a REAL winter!

Our building is on the left and the amusement park on the right. Cute little town of Old Orchard Beach!!