Catching up, volume 1

While I 'blog' fairly regularly, it's not really blogging in the traditional sense. And while my readership has exploded, ever since I made my blog public, from 3 daily readers to close to 7, I realize that at least 95% of them are family members who may or may not be interested in some minor family updates. And so...

• Things are going well in Florida. We have a really nice ward. One of our home teachers plays for the Miami Dolphins and the other is a really nice guy who is always willing to sub for classes. I'm the sunday school president again (One of my favorite callings) and Jan is the ward organist, which is nice because it's allowed her to keep that talent going. But it's challenging for me, wrangling the kids each week. I get help from Sara, our babysitter, who always sits close by so she can run over and assist with Mads.
• Florida has a nice voucher system for preschool where you can help make the government bankrupt by allowing them to pay for your kid to attend 'VPK' (pre-kindergarden). Always willing to do our part to expedite the end days, we quickly got Maddie enrolled. And since we're in Weston, we wound up with one of the best ones in the state. In August, Mads will start at the 'Cambridge Academy.' We'll also need to buy her some school uniforms; khaki pants and red polo shirts. It is very cool.
• Emme got her first two teeth last week. No sign of any others yet, but she has two little chompers on her bottom row, front and center. Maddie has had several 'Charlie bit my finger' moments with her since.
• Work is going really well for me. A sr. person at the company stopped me in the hall the other day and told me I am 'saving' my boss and that I am respected by my peers and am 'key' to the success of the company. This is a really gruff woman that doesn't seem inclined to say such things. That is really good to hear and is a major change from how I was perceived at my last job. Apparently the bar is very low here.
• There are many fun things to do in Florida. Within 3 hours in almost every direction there is something cool, and plenty that we haven't tried yet. We even have the option of going on a 'speed ferry' to the Bahamas if we want. It's apparently just 2-3 hours away by boat. 
• Miami is still a pretty rough town but we have a decent sense of what is safe and what isn't. Yesterday we went to a farmer's market in Coral Gables, which was very safe and nice, and we were able to walk around freely. We also visited a nice book store where famous authors apparently visit and do book readings and signings. We attempted to buy a hamburger at 'Herb-e-que,' which was a tent at the farmer's market apparently owned by a guy named 'Herb' (his picture was the logo), but they were sold out. Would we prefer a full rack of ribs? Tempting, but our 3 year-old is not interested. Thanks, though.