Welcome to Paradise....

Well Paradise, the actual city, is actually up the rode a bit from our new home...

First off, we have some amazing friends and family. We moved up to Chico last sunday and had an incredible crew of people helping in Davis and in Chico. There were probably 25 students, friends, family and parents helping load all of our junk into the U-hauls in Davis and 15 or so who helped unload in Chico. Now that is pretty incredible, but even more so when you consider that the day we moved was the hottest day every recorded in most places in the area. Chico had a high of 113 degrees... ouch! But people worked unbelievably hard and we were un-expressiably grateful.

Since moving in we have been spending time re-connecting with good friends and meeting some new ones as well. It has been fun to catch up on each other's lives as well as experience new people and new families.

Overall, our first week in Chico has been unbelievable. I will put up some pictures of our house all filled and settled with our stuff soon. We truly live in paradise. We have essentially a park in our own backyard and we have been waking up early and laying out on the hammock under the redwoods while trying to spot squirrels wandering from tree to tree. I asked Nate on our first night as we readied for bed, "What was the best thing about your day?" His response was, "well.....i loved swimming, and I loved playing with nana and B, but i loved most that i have my own squirrel in the yard..." A couple of times Nate has just sat in a chair in the backyard for up to an hour just gazing into the trees, looking for his pet squirrel, "Buddy".

Bidwell Park is 3 houses away and we have spent a ton of time exploring the trails and lounging in the swimming hole by our house. Here is the bridge just down the street from our house: Nate enjoyed riding his tricyle over a mile through the park the other day. And we all have loved soaking in the swimming hole and cooling off on hot summer days. It is amazing how much having a natural body of water to dive into relieves those formerly unbearably hot days... Here is Salmon Hole: one of the great swimming holes just up the trail from our house in the park:
We have not been in the new house for even a week yet, but i am amazed with how much of a sense of home we have and how much we truly love being back in Chico. I feel like i have already rediscovered a part of myself that was lost or repressed while in Davis. I loved living there but i had forgotten how much I love nature and how much that being in nature among the trees, cliffs, flowing waters and canyons just simply brings me joy. The sense of calm and serenity that i remembered in Chico has returned quickly and we look very much forward to this new season of life in the North Valley.

-therev