Change of Address

 Since our last post, we have pretty much been consumed with our impending move to Philadelphia, which has now come and gone (crazy!). In June and July, we tried to enjoy Florida as much as we could before we left for the cold north! One weekend we took a mini-vacation to the Florida Keys with our great Miami friends. We went camping on Friday and sailing on a catamaran on Saturday. It was so much fun!

Ricardo and I enjoying the tropical fruits we collected while camping

Mango fanatics

Ricardo and Dustan making fire the old-fashioned way, via the cigarette lighter from our car

All of us about to embark on our journey. Unfortunately, there was NO wind that day and we rented the tiniest catamaran because we are cheap. See below...

We ended up being pushed/pulled most of the way by our husbands and also, never quite made it our to the coral reef. Still fun times!

Ricardo and I enjoying the paradise that is Florida

 We left Miami at the end of July. Right before we moved, we had the chance to hang out with Nick and Lindsey because they came down to south Florida to enjoy the beach. It was lots of fun. We absolutely loved living in Miami and already miss everyone there. Such a great place! Ricardo's parents were really kind and came down for a few days to help us move so we were grateful for that and the time we got to spend with them! Ricardo's dad also gave Ricardo his dream going-away present, which is a motorcycle. We had plenty of room in our truck, so we added that to our load and left!

 We stopped in Orlando and spent some time with my family and said goodbye to Cassidy since she is leaving for BYU soon! We also got to head to Ricardo's part of town and see some old friends and say goodbye to his sister and her family. We will definitely miss being so close to both of our families! That night, we headed to Jacksonville and stayed with Ricardo's good friend and groomsman from our wedding, Sunny.  Jacksonville was a nice place and we had fun chatting til late that night. 

The next day, Thursday, was our long day. We (and by we I mean Ricardo) were driving a 26 foot truck and towing our car all the way across the country. It was basically like driving a semi-truck, hence the reason I didn't drive. We took some things for two of Ricardo's friends who are also attending dental school at Temple, so that helped us save on our cost, but it made for a LONG day on Thursday. We had to drive so much slower than everyone else and every big bump on the road was scary and stressful. We worried about our stuff breaking, the motorcycle breaking, and the car we were towing. Plus, getting off the freeway for lunch or gas was always an ordeal, because we were so huge. Ricardo was a trooper and we made it to my sister's house outside Washington D.C. by 11:30 PM that night. We were tired!

On Friday, we had the chance to sightsee in D.C. with Shannon and her kids. It was great! 

We will be just a few hours away from these guys from now on. This is Breanne and Taeryn on the metro.

Me in front of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. We went on a tour and got to see how money is made. Did you know they used to make a $100,000 bill?

Ricardo and I overlooking the Jefferson Memorial.

Jefferson Memorial up close.

Us and Breanne behind the White House. Poor thing, there is a lot of walking involved in D.C. She did great.

In front of the White House. There was one lady protesting Obama all by herself. We couldn't really understand what she was protesting, but she was persistent! 

Ricardo, Shannon, and the girls in front of the Washington Monument.

Our destination.

Where we came from. This was at the World War II Memorial.

Ricardo and Breanne and her favorite museum,  the Smithsonian American History museum. She is a history buff.  She can recognize Clara Barton's picture.

On Saturday, we went to this beautiful state park in Maryland. Pictures do not do it justice. We were amazed. We went canoeing and had a BBQ with my sister and her family. Ricardo's good friend John and groomsman from our wedding, lives in Maryland so he was able to meet us there and hang out, which was fun.

Ricardo and John about to board the canoe with the girls.

Ricardo and I at sunset

Taeryn enjoying the ride

Ricardo, the pirate

You really have to go to appreciate how gorgeous this place was. 

Enjoying the trip across the lake with Uncle "Cardo"

We stayed with the Grahams on Sunday and we are looking forward to seeing them much more often now that we live up here. Early on Monday morning, we headed out in the truck for the last time (thank goodness) and drove the 3 hours to Philly. Poor Ricardo was sick and feverish and those last three hours were pretty rough. When we got here, we signed the lease on our apartment, I headed off for my rotation, and Ricardo moved in with the help of some friends (luckily). Throughout this past week, he has been working hard to set up the place and organize everything while I have been working at my very last rotation at an ER close by. The rotation has been great so far and now I am studying for my board exam/applying for real-life PA jobs. We also had the chance to go by Temple University, which was really cool since I have never seen it before. It is a great place and we are excited for Ricardo to start school there in a few weeks. It's pretty strange to think that we actually live here in Philadelphia-it kind of just feels like a vacation still. The city is neat so far, although driving here is WAY worse than driving in Miami! The roads are so narrow, there are a lot of one-ways, and tons of impatient drivers! I get honked at all the time. We like our apartment. We are just a few miles from Ricardo's school and the city, but we live right next to the gigantic Fairmount Park, so we have a lot of trees and quiet. This week we hope to do a little exploring of the city before Ricardo gets super busy with school.

Me in our living room. Our new place is literally almost twice as big as our last apartment (it was 400 square feet, so not hard to beat). We don't know what to do with all the space! 

We are also looking forward to the end of this month, when we will go home to Florida for my graduation! Pictures to come! Life is good.