"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”

 We're actually just across the river in Missouri. What an amazing, exhausting, incredibly busy, melancholy, and joyous last couple of weeks. After two days of traveling, 14 + hours, and a short overnight stay in Ogallala Nebraska we pulled into our new home town of Liberty, Missouri. They were experiencing a severe heat spell, over 90 degrees and 90% humidity. As we were unloading the truck and and trailers all of us were swimming in sweat! The elders quorum president and his three sons helped us move everything into the house, but that was just the beginning of lots of work as anyone that has moved knows. 

This house is half the size of our last one and much of our stuff had to go into the garage. After nearly a week here I can say I know where all the boxes are and what's inside them, a truly magnificent feat!  Our new address is: 1305 Craig Drive, Liberty, MO 64068. All our phone numbers are the same, so please don't hesitate to call or text!

Here is a list of things we have seen/learned: 

• Liberty has a population of 30,000 people. It has 2 high schools, 4 middle schools, and 10 elementary schools. 
• The cicadas are deafening. Really. So loud you can hear them even if you're inside. They sound like an electric fence. 
• Terminix is a life saver. So many spiders. SO. MANY. 
• Gasoline is cheap!
• Neighbors are kind, they bring donuts and coffee when they see the moving van!
• The high school is like a junior college, 2600 kids. 
• There are lots of stores. I didn't think that would matter, but it's so nice to run to Walmart in 15 minutes. 
• The temple is 13 minutes from our house. I went this morning. 
• The airport is 22 minutes from our house. 
• Costco is 19 minutes from our house. 
• There are 5 wards that cover Liberty. The wards are large. One of the wards that meets before ours has over 80 youth. 
• (side note-there is a woman in our ward, her and her husband are serving in the Missouri Independence mission office, that grew up in Cokeville and had a crush on a guy from Worland as a youth)
• I'm constantly amazed and how many trees there are. 
• We don't have a sprinkler system because you don't need one. The thunderstorms are something to see. 

The kids started school yesterday. It wasn't the best experience for them, but today was better so onward and upward. Eric decided to go 100% online for school. They have some really cool classes, he's taking the History of Baseball as an elective!  Peter is participating in cross country and likes it so far, even though running in the humidity is not fun. Peter thinks his school is like Hogwarts--stairs that go nowhere!  It's an older building and they have added on here and there. It's 4 stories and very confusing!  But their football field is turf!  Lucy has decided to join the diving team, their season doesn't start until November and Eric will participate in wrestling as well. 

I miss so many things about Worland, but felt an excitement today about Liberty.  Please keep in touch everyone and know you are welcome to come visit!

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 Teen Fiction. This book had an interesting beginning and an engaging middle. Avery is a teen who has lost her mother and lives with her half sister and her sometimes boyfriend. Her father has been MIA since she was small. Her life is less than ideal. She soon discovers that a billionaire has left her all his fortune and she has no idea why a man she never remembers meeting would disinherit his own family in favor of her. Thus begins an intriguing discovery of clues to solve this mystery. I enjoyed listening to it, but was extremely disappointed in how everything was wrapped up. So much so that I really can't recommend it, which is sad because it had some really good plot points. 

Recommend: No

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

 Non-Fiction. The Olympics have been a favorite of mine since I was a child. I like watching sports I would never have exposure to and to cheer for the underdog and marvel at the skill and talent of the athletes. The Boys in the Boat is a wonderful true Olympic story of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany and a rowing team of boys whose world view began and ended with the farms they grew up on. They all had hard lives trying to survive in the middle of the Great Depression and found strength and support in each other as teammates. I listened to this audio book and felt myself being inspired by the grit and determination faced by the boys. 

Highly recommend!