2 Years

We have now lived on the Wheatley compound for two years and fourteen days.  We lived in our house in Provo for 2 1/2, which is the longest place we've lived since we got married.  We're nearing the longest time we've ever lived anywhere.  It's been a great two years and I'm looking for a few more here on the Wheatley compound.  Why?

1. The back yard.  We have a patio/porch in the back that is perfect for afternoon popsicles, bike riding, and pool wading.  

2. The tree.  We have a giant willow oak tree in the back.  It shades the entire yard so that it feels more like an extra large rec room than a backyard, plus some bugs and dirt.  But I bought a few citronella plants so maybe that will keep the mosquitoes away.  Probably not though, I saw a mosquito on the citronella today.  Greg and the neighbor boy built a teepee/hammrack a few months ago and the kids loved it.

 3. The backyard is mostly fenced in, so I can let the kids out without only minimal worry of them...getting stolen, hurt, lost?  I don't really worry about any of these things actually.  Mostly I worry about the kids running into the street, but they're pretty good about staying behind the house.  Usually, they end up at the Wheatleys.

4. Lastly, while we're only responsible for about an acre, the Wheatley's give us the run of their full 12.  It's a boys' paradise and Greg takes full advantage of that.  I went grocery shopping a few weeks ago, and came home to a large water balloon catapult.

5. People ask me all the time if I like living so far away from everything.  Really, no.  But also yes.  Nobody could not like living by the Wheatley's.  If you don't like living by the Wheatley's, you are not human.  But the longer I live in the middle of nowhere and the crazier things get internationally, the more I like it here.  I have crazy dreams about Ebola and ISIS and wake up crazy sweety and paranoid.  And I comfort myself by planning my escape to the Wheatley's house (it's not visible from the road) or into the forest around the property.  And telling myself that we are so isolated and alone out here that people won't bother with us.  The isolation is growing on me and I'm looking forward to a few more years here.