I just realized I haven’t written a word since Christmas. I actually wrote a really long post in April and forgot to hit publish, and seriously it’s probably for the best. I was deep in the despair of our political situation at the time. Not that I’m okay with things now, but I was particularly upset then. And I have found Xanax-don’t judge, it helps. So much has been going on! Rick and I went to Florida in February to help Jenna and Tyler move out of their rental house and to the home of their dreams which they bought. It is truly beautiful! The perfect place to raise kids, or kid, whichever they decide. We packed up the old place, cleaned it up, helped move, painted some rooms in the new house and unpacked the boxes and put stuff away. I think they each took one day off work for the actual move, and we were happy to help. This was during the 4 month period we rent our condo, so we never even went to the beach, which was really weird. I stayed a couple extra weeks after Rick went home to finish up organizing the kitchen and fun things like that. That wasn’t sarcastic, by the way. I’m German and love to organize. Getting to spend so much time with Sloan was the big bonus! What an adorable little character she is! It’s hard to believe she is almost 8 1/2 months old already. Watching her grow and master new tasks is so much fun! It amazes me how quickly it all happens. I have now spent more time in Florida than in Arizona this year. I just got back two weeks ago after being there for 8 weeks and am returning a week from Sunday. Tyler joined us for a week on the last trip. He can’t get enough of Sloan either…. I’m so glad we bought the condo and can all enjoy it. Together, separately, however it works out.

The new house is a little farther from our place, but not bad. It takes about an hour and a half. It is a beautiful drive through the greenest country, passing rivers, lakes, farms, horse ranches. Nothing like Tucson to Phoenix! I have driven it so many times, I think I can nap through it. We found a really neat state park that is between our place and theirs where you can rent kayaks and paddle up a river to a spring where you can see manatees and alligators. Luckily when we did it, we only saw the manatees. I’m still not a fan of alligators. There is some crazy freaking wildlife in those parts.

My car currently resides in Florida, which I thought would present more challenges than it really has. So far, so good. Plus it gives us a ridiculous amount of room in our garage in Tucson. We also don’t have to rent a car every time we go there, like we did last year. We even have neighbors who take us to the airport and pick us up when we get there. I remind myself constantly how lucky I am. I just wish my mom had been here to meet Sloan and see how well everyone is doing. In April we drove down to Boca Raton to see my mom’s dear friends Stefanie and Milan for a nice lunch. We love getting together with them! Earlier in the year that my mom died, she had gone to Florida to visit them for the first time and absolutely loved it. She was already talking about her next trip she planned to take there. She’s still never far away in my thoughts.

During this last trip, we lost two more family members back in Germany. My cousin Traudi’s husband Roland, who I could not have loved more, had he been my own brother. Over the years those two and their daughters Stefanie and Michaela have been the closest family we had and the loss of Roland was a horrible shock. He was only 70 and just a few months older than Rick. I still can’t wrap my head around it. And shortly after that, my mom’s older sister, Alice, died. And now there are only two left, her younger sister Helga and her only brother Hans. As Jenna put it, I hate death. I just remind myself that without it, we wouldn’t have the joy of birth. The bitter to the sweet…

Some photos