Becoming California-tized

So let's start with the bad...the things we don't like about being in California:

First and foremost, we REALLY REALLY miss our family in Florida and that is taking some time getting used to. Oh man, we REALLY miss our family! Of course we have family in Colorado and Maryland as well that we miss a ton, but the move didn't really change this very much since we've been out of Colorado for so long.

Second, the cost of living. Craig and I figured out that if you take a house in St. Augustine and add about $1.2 MILLION to it, you'd get the value of the same house where we live. You think I kid? You think I exaggerate? Trust me, it's truly that bad.

But wow, we've figured out why some of that premium on the cost of living is justified. This place is amazing! The weather is so perfect for both Craig and me -- not too hot, not too cold. We can quickly drive to anywhere we need to go. The scenary is incredible. The education system is amazing - in fact sometimes these schools go a bit too far. The diversity of the people. The produce - TO DIE FOR! And the restaurants -- overwhelming. Of course given the cost of living, I don't think we'll be spending as much time in the restaurants as we used to.

What we are really loving though is the ENDLESS amounts of things to do. It is just unbelievable. You've got mountains, beach, city, culture, and lots of kid-centric places. Although sometimes just living life and taking care of day to day things gets in the way, we have tried to make a point of going somewhere new almost every weekend. We haven't even scratched the surface of all the things there are to do.

One of the things we typically like to do on Sunday mornings is head to our farmer's market in Mountain View. We take the wagon, walk around with Merrick and pick all our produce for the week. We are so spoiled. Below are a couple pictures during one of our trips to the farmer's market.