Well, we made it! We left the Jersey shore Wed. afternoon around 3 pm, and arrived in Fargo Sat. night 9:30 pm Central time. In between, we spent a day in Michigan visiting my family. We
The road trip itself went much more smoothly than expected. I was expecting to stop every hour for an hour of potty breaks and screaming at the prospect of getting back in the car (the kids, not me.) The kids adapted pretty well, although I admit that having the DVD player in the car helped tremendously. After leaving Michigan Friday afternoon, we only got as far as Rockford, IL that night and I fully expected we wouldn't get to Fargo until Sunday. Saturday was our longest day on the road, almost 12 hours including pitstops, but the kids were cooperative and we were able to get here on Sat. night.
So, we've been settling in the past few days. For a metro area with around 100K people, Fargo is surprisingly easy to get around in: wide lanes, little traffic and the ability to make left turns! And yes, people do talk like they do in the movie "Fargo". There is a great park on the banks of the Red River which borders Minnesota, and we have been taking the kids there to play at the playground. I found a good supermarket nearby so we can start cooking...food on the go gets old after a while. And, we have started receiving our forwarded mail!
The hotel has been nice...it will be comfortable for the time that we are here. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen/dining room/living room. Our kitchen in our "North Dakota home", as we refer to it for the kids, is sufficient to cook simple meals...a 2-burner stove, microwave, toaster oven and a crock pot (that we bought here...we needed a new one anyway). The kids are living in the lap of luxury in their bedroom here...they each get a full-sized bed and have their own bathroom! They look so little in their beds. There is a fenced-in common area that serves as our "North Dakota backyard", and an indoor pool which we checked out yesterday for the first time...the kids loved it!
Today (Wed.) is the kids' first day of day care here, and I think they were as ready to get back into a routine as I was. They got new backpacks and were excited to use them. They are in the same room together which should help with the transition. The cost is less than half what we pay in NJ, and all food is included! No packing lunches for them for a while (although I have been making Matt's lunch...can't get away from it! :-) ) I'm anxious to hear how everything went when I pick them up later.
had our best meal on the road at my parents'...corn on the cob and tomatoes from Dad's garden and Mom's blueberry pie. It was nice to have a day of no traveling. The kids enjoyed exploring Dad's garden. Billy "harvested" a tomato, a cucumber and a carrot.
The road trip itself went much more smoothly than expected. I was expecting to stop every hour for an hour of potty breaks and screaming at the prospect of getting back in the car (the kids, not me.) The kids adapted pretty well, although I admit that having the DVD player in the car helped tremendously. After leaving Michigan Friday afternoon, we only got as far as Rockford, IL that night and I fully expected we wouldn't get to Fargo until Sunday. Saturday was our longest day on the road, almost 12 hours including pitstops, but the kids were cooperative and we were able to get here on Sat. night.
So, we've been settling in the past few days. For a metro area with around 100K people, Fargo is surprisingly easy to get around in: wide lanes, little traffic and the ability to make left turns! And yes, people do talk like they do in the movie "Fargo". There is a great park on the banks of the Red River which borders Minnesota, and we have been taking the kids there to play at the playground. I found a good supermarket nearby so we can start cooking...food on the go gets old after a while. And, we have started receiving our forwarded mail!
The hotel has been nice...it will be comfortable for the time that we are here. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen/dining room/living room. Our kitchen in our "North Dakota home", as we refer to it for the kids, is sufficient to cook simple meals...a 2-burner stove, microwave, toaster oven and a crock pot (that we bought here...we needed a new one anyway). The kids are living in the lap of luxury in their bedroom here...they each get a full-sized bed and have their own bathroom! They look so little in their beds. There is a fenced-in common area that serves as our "North Dakota backyard", and an indoor pool which we checked out yesterday for the first time...the kids loved it!
Today (Wed.) is the kids' first day of day care here, and I think they were as ready to get back into a routine as I was. They got new backpacks and were excited to use them. They are in the same room together which should help with the transition. The cost is less than half what we pay in NJ, and all food is included! No packing lunches for them for a while (although I have been making Matt's lunch...can't get away from it! :-) ) I'm anxious to hear how everything went when I pick them up later.
Studying for my exam also begins today! I have a big box of notes to dust off and organize. I'm ready to get started. Tonight we're meeting up with a retired professor that Matt met at the airport when he first came out here, and we're going to a picnic for the Democratic Party of Cass County. Should be interesting... :-)
Talk to you soon!
Talk to you soon!
5 comments:
Aw! The kids look so cute with their backpacks!
What kind of an exam are you taking, Lora?
Hi Lora. Great pictures! They make me miss the kids though. Sounds like everything is going well. I hope the kids like their day care. You're doing a great job on the blog. Keep it coming! Take care, Kim.
Hi, Shalon - I have 2 exams left to earn my Fellowship designation. The exam I'm taking this fall is called Advanced Ratemaking...basically a lot of statistics and insurance pricing applications. If I pass this one, the next exam would be in the spring covering finance. Well, gotta get back to studying :-)
Love your blog, Lora! I really like knowing what's happening with you all.
That was a great picture of your dad with the kids. Billy looked thrilled with his "harvest" and of course Maddy would have her dress on. Good luck with getting started on studying. Keep the updates coming and give the kids a hug and a kiss for me. By the way,Sean has an interview at ESPN Monday AM for an internship this fall.
Good thing Dylan's wedding isn't this week!
Love karen
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