tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3313497557503690423.post4692755179994098670..comments2013-04-21T12:26:12.807-07:00Comments on The Shirley's: Trying to take pictures with a 2 1/2 yr old is IMPOSSIBLE!The Shirley'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17949659588131405330noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3313497557503690423.post-32041160549044881552007-12-18T12:16:00.000-08:002007-12-18T12:16:00.000-08:00Randi, the pics are SO TRUE TO LIFE! I feel the s...Randi, the pics are SO TRUE TO LIFE! I feel the same way! Once Daisy got the hang of "cheese" then it went EVIL and turned to "CHEESE!" with teeth showing and eyes squinting...not cute. Anywho...I feel your pain.<BR/><BR/>On to my opinion of Gainesville...<BR/><BR/>Girl I cant honestly say we love it here. We were hoping to find a job for Dan when he was done. We thought we had and then now its not looking ideal. But I have to say we have loved it. We have been here 3 years. And I am so bummed to leave (if we do). <BR/><BR/>We LOVE the weather (was in the 80s last week...now its finally kinda cold). The winter ROCKS. We play outside from Oct to April or May. The summer we do too...but just only when we are in a pool. It does get stinkin hot (I should know I was due with Isaac in Aug!).<BR/><BR/>I love how "small" it is compared to Atlanta. It takes no time to get places.<BR/><BR/>I love my MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group here. Highly recommend you join if you come! <BR/><BR/>We live in Campus housing which is kinda ghetto. But it was a cheap way to live (570/mo for a townhome) and how I could stay home. But I have to say, even though it is rough with 2 bedrooms, we have loved the community we live in. All Daisy's friends are from different countries. They all play together on our playground. There are lots of events and classes that are free for family housing. Scrapbooking, get out of debt, toddler hours, baby play dates, free movie rentals (they have good ones), holiday celebrations...we love it all.<BR/><BR/>Gainesville is perfect because it's like a little college town but with bigger town benefits. UF draws lots of business to its 60,000 person student body. Like the mall is NO Nashville mall. But it is much better than you would think...its got most stores you would want. If its normally a store in a mall...we probably have it. There is even as AWESOME toddler play place there that we go to alot and then eat in the food court for lunch on playdates.<BR/>We love how close we are to the beach. We have not gone a ton. But when we do its AWESOME that we can do a day trip if we want. <BR/><BR/>Also, even though we are not Gator fans...going to the events/games was lots of fun (football, swimming, soccer, baseball, volleyball, gymnastics...). They have some great perfoming arts stuff come thru here. And most of it since you are students (you can get a spouse ID for $15) is free or super cheap. Oh, on campus there is a butterfly rainforest and museum...we love it. It's also fun to be apart of something so HUGE (UF) and nice. I mean hearing about UF on ESPN is a nice change from Harding football. :)<BR/><BR/>There is an airport that we have flown out of several times. It's not as cheap as orlando, jacksonville or tampa but once you add gas and parking to flying out of those places...its about the same. And it's tiny so you can get in and out easy. Many flights go thru Atlanta and then on to where ever. It's a nice option to have. I have flown to Nashvegas from here...took me much less time than the 10 hour drive!<BR/><BR/>Our church is Campus Church of Christ (used to be the Crossroads church..if that means nothing to you..good!). Our preacher is Eric Brown and is one of our best friends. He really brings it each week. Another thing about Campus is its diversity. There are almost as many black members as white. It's a nice change. :) Its about 225 members. There are also other good church options here. <BR/><BR/>Plus, I just love the palm trees and spanish moss. I felt like I was on vacation the first year I was here. :)<BR/><BR/>I will say I do hate the mosquitos.<BR/><BR/>And it constantly has people moving in and out of here. We worried about that in staying. But its just part of living in a college town. <BR/><BR/>Also, its NOT a part of "the South" like I was used to. There are NO "W The president"'s on the back of cars. There are more "F the president" stickers here. :)They are not only democrats...they hate Bush. Hilarious! It's a very liberal community. But honestly its a little refreshing and challenging. People here are very organic and healthy. Its different...but nice. <BR/><BR/>We are supposed to be getting a Super Walmart. Now we just have 2 ghetto regular ones...how have I survived???? I could not believe we were going to live where there was not one. But we hear it wont be long. Target is here. So I made it. :) And I have to shop at Publix for groceries...but I love that store anyway.<BR/><BR/>What school is he applying for? <BR/><BR/>please let me know if you have any more questions. melaniecaglejones@yahoo.com<BR/><BR/>I do get bummed sometimes that we are 5 hours from Atlanta. But we hvae really enjoyed it. <BR/><BR/><BR/>hope this helps! <BR/><BR/>melaniemelaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02600728110948546082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3313497557503690423.post-63324322624524589862007-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:002007-12-13T13:54:00.000-08:00First of all- You are looking great! And I love th...First of all- You are looking great! And I love the hair:)<BR/>Second of all- I could have told you it would be practically impossible to get a decent pic when a 2 1/2 year old boy is involved. <BR/>Third- I totally agree about not paying for professional pics until they are older. <BR/>Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!Amanda's Newshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12146072645696744954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3313497557503690423.post-10228036061029417732007-12-12T15:39:00.000-08:002007-12-12T15:39:00.000-08:00They turned out cute. I love the first family one...They turned out cute. I love the first family one! <BR/><BR/>And, you look amazing!!Blessedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881584038565612490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3313497557503690423.post-2344159936517698962007-12-12T05:58:00.000-08:002007-12-12T05:58:00.000-08:00Well, these three pictures turned out pretty good ...Well, these three pictures turned out pretty good even if they are blurry. Hopefully, you will have better luck next time. Maybe bribes would work with Parker? Merry Christmas!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03971986684380337809noreply@blogger.com