Return of the Utahns

We've now been Utahns again for one week. The move went pretty smoothly, really. We ordered a 22 foot truck, they actually gave us a 26 foot truck, and we only needed about an 18 foot truck, but better to have too much room than too little. (I was really hoping for the smaller truck to make it a little easier to drive and maybe save a few bucks on gas. Oh well, it was only $400 something to make it across the country (plus what Shannon put in the Accord).)

Anyway, now that we're back in our birth state, I thought it would be a good chance to see how things compare, and what things have caught my eye after 7 years away.

1. Butter is short and fat again. Long time readers of the blog will remember that the butter on the East side of the county comes in longer sticks. (Except the butter from Costco, which they must import from back East.)

2. Sprinklers. Ella keeps pointing them out everywhere we go. "Look! Sprinklers." We keep telling her that if she sees grass that is green that means there are sprinklers there. And boy is the grass green. It's like Utahns discovered that if a little bit of water makes is a little green, then let's just see how green we can make it. I haven't seen grass this green in a long time.

3. It's not that hot. Even when my phone says its 90 degrees, it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Apparently humidity does make a difference. The sun is warm and strong, and since there are no clouds ever, well, time to invest in more sunblock for Shannon.

4. Staying on the weather theme, my nasal passages can tell that its a lot drier here.

5. I've been running a few times since getting here. I feel like its harder, but I've run just as fast at 4400' as I did at 600'. Either the elevation adjustment happens pretty fast, or its all in my head.

6. I keep forgetting that the ward is like a quarter mile across. It's only been a week, but the stake has already been split and the ward renamed. And it looks like we might only have one calling here - that's one calling between the two of us!

7. The drivers are . . . . fine. I've never really understood the common assertion that Utah drivers are terrible. One week back hasn't changed that opinion. I'm not saying they're the best I've ever seen (that's Michigan), but they aren't bad - certainly not worse than Illinois. Shannon has astutely pointed out that I haven't been on the freeway yet since the drive into the state, but I still think the complaints about Utah drivers are hyperbolic.

8. It's only been two days of school, but from what I can tell, my daughters elementary school is much more racially diverse than mine was. This is, of course, the lowest possible bar to hurdle, but still, while picking up the girls from school I've seen actual minorities. Also, I've been pleasantly surprised that they have class sizes of 27 and 29. Utah: where just getting under 30 students in a classroom seems like a big deal!