The Adventures of the Johnson Clan: The beginning of our Iowa Chapter

Supposed to hit the road by 4:30am, my alarm never went off and we found ourselves waking, rushing, and on the road by 7:00. The drive wasn't too bad. I only ever made it 4hrs at a time and Trav did most the driving. Or trip was seriously slowed down by the roof bag who's straps kept stretching out and banging on the roof to be retightened... we constantly had to stop.

By the time we rolled into Omaha, we couldn't have been more grateful for the kindness of the desk attendant who offered milk and juice to the boys, and made sure to get us a room away from the noisy baseball team staying the night.

We knocked out the 15hrs on Sunday, and woke up refreshed, enjoyed breakfast, and finished our 4hrs more to Mason City. The keys for our new place we were waiting for us on the counter, doors unlocked and everything. The storage unit had no one working and was just open for us to go get our stuff. People were putting along slowly, and mostly everyone waved everywhere we went.... WEIRD!

After one round of gathering boxes into our rental truck (to which we discovered water had ruined many of our boxes, and spiders had nested in the rest, and our furniture), we called the Elders who came and saved us by doing the heavy lifting and allowing me to stay home with the boys.

At home a neighbor's little dog caught sight of Nala and charged our yard and chased her into the house, trying to attack her. I couldn't believe the neighbor wasn't doing anything to get his dog! He did come introduce himself though; He's so nice. And then 15 mins later when he came and introduced himself to us again... we were confused. Come to find out we have our own 10 sec Tom living next door and we just love he and his wife. Shortly after, several other neighbors came over to introduce themselves, I quickly realized the People of Iowa are the NICEST people I've ever met.

The 2nd counselor in the R.S. Presidency came to welcome us and soon arranged for her husband to take Travis to the Thurs night basketball game they play; she also added my number to the group of women that meet often with their kids for playdates and get to gathers. She was a bit of a Godsend for me.

Thunderstorms like I've never experienced, ducks walking the street, a bunny in my yard, squirrels playing in my tree, and lightening bugs at night are now replacing the endless cars, mortuary, laundromat, row housing, and corner markets I used to view from my windows.

We had our first Sunday here and met the ward; a strong amount of old retired farmers, and a good amount of young medical transplants all associated with the hospital! Our ward has a doctor of every kind you could ask for! The group of women we've been hanging out with took us to the library for a scavenger hunt, showed us West park, and had us to their home for lunch; they are so nice, and Maddix has really hit it off with one of the boys.

Travis and I discovered the "beach" at clear lake, the state park, Hoover Elementary, the tennis courts, some waterfront right by our home, walking trails, baseball fields, and so many other hidden places in Mason City. We also drove to Minneapolis which is where the nearest Costco and IKEA are; while we were there we explored the mall of America! I can't believe how comforting it was to be in a city with buildings and people, or how relaxing it was to see a city skyline out in the distance as we drove in. Never in my life did I think I would be that person who would love anything but mountains and greenery; however, now I find myself a little more well rounded and loving all types of surroundings.

It's going to be an adjustment, definitely; however, we are already feeling the peace that comes from slowing down and enjoying the little things. I used to find it hard to sit and play toys with the boys because there is so much to do, but here, I naturally want to join in. We love to read, as we're apart of the summer reading program. I have a yard to do work in while the boys enjoy riding their bikes out front. We feel like there are more hours in the day, probably because it only takes 5 mins to get anywhere and you DON'T have to get there early, vs. 45min commutes, and getting to an activity an hour early to beat crowds. Maddix keeps saying, "you should just tie my shoes, we're in a hurry," but we're not. He ties his own shoes, accomplished the swing, rides his bike, makes breakfast, dresses himself and his brother, swims, and is just learning new things everyday because he's not afraid of wasting our time, or getting it wrong because we have endless time for him... for both the boys. I don't know exactly why we were supposed to come here, but that alone makes it worth it.