Bienvenido a Miami

I can't believe we are finally in Miami after anticipating it for 18 months!  Prior to moving here we heard almost nothing but negative things about how much we would hate living here.  Seriously, nearly everyone had something to say about our choice to move here. Common warnings included things like, "Have you ever been there?  You are going to hate it!" And "The humidity will kill you, its like a hot washrag in your face." Or, "Its not a good place for a family, its not safe, the schools are bad."  "There are so many immigrants, you may as well move to Cuba." "People there are so rude, you are going to hate it." Etc.  

I decided to set my expectations very low, wondering if all these people (none of whom had actually lived in Miami) might be right.  But I also decided to have a positive attitude, and I have been very much looking forward to living here.  

Fortunately so far we have had mostly wonderful experiences.  I know its only been two weeks, but I am really happy to be living here and excited to spend the next 3 years here.  Miami is in stark contrast to the very bland and homogeneous Spokane (no offence Spokane-ites), and to me that is a great thing.  When I go to the beach or the park or the store, I rarely hear a word of English.  I hear Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Creole, French and a host of other languages and I love it!  I love listening to people debate in Spanish about whether Jane is a girl or a boy (no matter how girly I dress her).  I love the stares my children get and the comments about their blonde hair and blue eyes and the exclamations that they should be, "Stars in the Hollywood!"  I love looking at all the different types of restaurants that surround us: Russian delis, Argentine steakhouses, Cuban cafes.  We stopped into a little Italian restaurant when we got here.  We were the only non-Italians in the place.  They brought us plate after plate of incredible authentic Italian dishes and spoke to us about their homeland.   I enjoy speaking to cashiers about where they are from (usually Haiti or the Bahamas) and hearing them call us, "baby!" and the way they sing while they work. I love shopping at Publix and being able to buy unique foods from all over the world.  I love watching the Jewish families in our neighborhood walking to the beach with four or five children in tow. I love watching the thunderstorms roll in over the ocean every night, cooling off the humid air.  I love the beautiful parakeets that land in our trees and the huge pelicans flying by.  I love the abundance of parks, all of which are shaded with large sail cloths.   And honestly I don't even mind the heat and humidity so far, but it helps that we are close to the coast and get a bit of a breeze.  It makes me laugh the way people bring sweaters everywhere because they think it is so cold inside anyplace that has air conditioning.  My kids have already accustomed to the warmth and were complaining today that church was too cold!  I guess we'll start carrying sweaters too.

I love our ward!  After moving from ward to ward over the past few years it is nice to be able to settle in somewhere and not be viewed as "temporary" members or "the renters".  We are actually needed here.  And there are plenty of young families to be friends with and they invite us to their apartment pools to swim.  Our ward is combined with a French/Creole-speaking branch as well as an ASL branch so the meetings are translated.  It is the highest baptizing ward in the mission and one of the highest baptizing missions in the church.  The ward has had over 40 baptisms already this year!  We witnessed 4 baptisms last week and one today.  Today's was the father of a family who are already members, it was a special moment.  

And most of all I love the beach.  Almost everyday so far we have loaded up the stroller, walked to the splash pad/park near our house to cool off and then crossed the street to the beach.  I can't believe we can walk to the beach! And such a beautiful beach too.  The water is so clear and warm.  Hannah has become quite the brave soul and hops right into the ocean  (she is becoming a good swimmer too).  We have had some decent waves all week and Jack has been teaching Hannah to body surf.  She has been asking if she can learn to "stand up" surf too and is very interested in learning to snorkel since we see lots of fish every time we go.  Jackson hesitates to get in, but with some coaxing he eventually has fun in the water too.  And Jane loves every second of the sand and sea.  She puts her face in the water and drinks a little, I think she likes the salty taste.  I love the way my kids come home from the beach happy and exhausted, eat whatever I put in front of them and then promptly fall asleep.  

We chose to live in an area called Sunny Isles, also known as "Little Moscow," due to its high population of Russian immigrants, many of which are orthodox Jews. It is incredible safe and we live in a rare neighborhood with houses and yards (most everyone in Miami lives in high rise apartment buildings).  Our place is quite small and old (I already mentioned that it only has 2 closets!) and that has been frustrating, though I try to remind myself that it is part of big city life.  But we do have a small yard and our neighborhood is beautiful and safe.  The local elementary school is very nearby and is supposed to be an amazing school.  

Of course there are negatives to life in a big city like this too.  The worst part so far is that we are 25 minutes away from Jack's work, which can turn into a 45 minute drive with traffic.  Oh, and the drivers here are crazy and the traffic can be horrendous.  I plan to stay in Sunny Isles most of the time to avoid it!  

"Our" beach, Sunny Isles Beach.

Jane just can't stop eating and rolling around in the sand!