4 States in 6 Years...Why Not?

New start, new beginnings, new blog.....new STATE! The little Pettit fam has begun a new chapter in the Hoosier state, otherwise known as Indiana. The good ol' Midwest where the livin' is easy and fireflies are abundant. There are some definite plusses to Midwest living and thankfully I was born and raised in Oklahoma or this state would be a shock to my system after living in some of the countries most cultural and beautiful spots. (Los Angeles, Orange County, Portland, OR and Denver) I'm not sure if they know what recycling is here yet and the idea of eating organic is almost unheard of. However, there is a Whole Foods set to open down the street and I'll be camping out in the parking lot the night before. Word. This was a hard move for us, to say the least. Leaving Co is one of the more impossible things I've been asked to do in my life. We loved it there, in every sense of the word. Great friends, an abundance of things to do, amazing place to raise kids, family, etc...truly a great life. That being said, we were only there for under 2 years and we all quickly adapted. I was told once by a sweet friend of ours that "cream always rises to the top, and you, my dear, are the cream" Very sweet words I've held in my heart in relation to starting over and making friends. Because it's Ex-Hausting. Every playdate, every dinner...those first ones really feel like job interviews. Do they like us? Will the kids get along? Dear Lord don't let me say anything offensive....There is just something so comforting to me now after moving so much about walking into a room full of people that know your story, know your heart, your joys and your pains. I've fully reached that in OR and CO so I tell myself that I will here too.

* This was somewhere in Nebraska. Our movers parked the trucks outside like this at night outside the hotel. Somewhat genius if I say so myself! Nothing more worrisome than the ENTIRE contents of your worldy posessions just sittin' in a parking lot at night. Sheesh. I drove by myself for 18 hours and followed the trucks....with 2 kids, a golden retriever and 2 elderly geriatric kitties.

I suppose I should finish my story about our trek across the country to come to Indiana. My husband was offered a promotion job wise that we didn't want to pass up. It is his literal dream job at this point and he was so blessed to get it. So blessed. It was all a God thing (but really, what isn't?) But this was one of those things that was SO clear to us that it was where we were supposed to go. God wants us in Indiana...why? Um, no idea yet. But I will. And I'll take all you lovelies on that journey with me. We've settled in the South Bend area...and at this point I'm convinced that if you have to move to the midwest, it's actually right where you want to be. We are 90 minutes from Chicago, 30 to Lake Michigan (actually only 4 miles to the Michigan border which is still weird to me when I'm driving around and find myself in michigan all of a sudden) and we have 6 colleges in this county....including Notre Dame and Purdue. So, because of the bustling universities there is a lot to do here. A lot of arts, concerts, nice restaurants, etc...Oh and let's not forget all the neat Amish towns surrounding us. Erik, my husband has a full blown facination with the Amish. He compares driving around their little towns to "Disneyland" Um...okay. I will say that we ate at Amish Acres, a highly recommended restaurant in Nappanee, IN and it did NOT disappoint. We had the "Thresher dinner" and it consisted of about 20 family style platters of food being brought to our table...all made right there on the premises. Homeade warm bread, apple butter, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, shoe fly pie, ohmysweetlord.....the works. Definitely a place to take out of towners when they visit us.  My husbands company has put us in a 3 bedroom apartment for the summer while we buy a house. We are hard core on the real estate prowl but haven't seen anything we must have...well, I have actually. In typical Amanda style there are all about 200-500k above our budget. That's how I roll. So, I am taking a step back in time to my single days and living in an apartment...with 2 small kids, a large dog and those two geriatric cats. It's actually very nice though but all of our stuff is in storage. Like all of it. We brought in our sofa, 1 tv, computer, mattresses, dressers and some toys for the kids....less to move when we close on our new house:)  SO READY to have my life out of storage and back to normal. Our stuff has basically been in storage since last October if you know our moving story from last fall. But we have a pretty great pool, basketball gym, workout facility and a tanning bed...which I despise now but would have been my best friend about 9 years ago. Cause I looked so much better in my backless shirts with a good tan.

* Amish Acres, eating the famous Thresher Dinner. Go there. You wont' be disappointed. Oh and that's Toomas, our Russian friend who helped us move. Good people.

* This is Notre Dame. Giving my children a tour of their future Alma Mater.

Um, completely breathtaking, this campus. I thought Oklahoma State was gorgeous....

And this is my little Claire at a darling Lavender farm in Niles, MI. I've already joined a playgroup and this day was "Lavender and Lambs" The air smelled like heaven and the lambs were only 2 weeks old. Totally presh.

* And last but not least..Happy 6 year Anni to my amazing hubby. This was in Oklahoma City last month in front of the Hefner Mansion where we got married:)