Two Months in Florida

We have been in Florida for the past five weeks.  Spiff's work has put us up in a furnished apartment and has given him a rental car for while we're here.  Spiff has been busy at work doing pediatric anesthesia, which is "not his favorite", but is something that he is rapidly becoming more comfortable with due to the fact that this private hospital he's working at has fast surgeons, and he does 12 or so cases per day.  This is compared to the 2/day he would do at home.  His schedule hasn't been bad.  He's usually done by 5 p.m., and not a ton of Call.  That being said, it has been super convenient for us that our good friends are also here for a rotation at the same time (lucky coincidence) so that we can entertain the kids together. 

The kids can't really figure out what we're doing here.  We traveled for four days (took our time driving, seeing friends, sightseeing) on our way here, arrived at our apartment, set up house, and then Spiff started work bright and early the very next morning.  For the next five days, we had this conversation several times:
One of the kids: Where's Dad?
Me:  He's at work.
Kids:  Why?!?!

It feels like a vacation, but it's part normal life, but it's not normal at all.  Spiff is working, we are at this apartment that feels like a hotel (we sometimes call it our "Hotel House"), and the kids and I have to go about our business.  Gunner exclaimed after a few weeks, "This is the longest vacation I have ever been on!"

Both kids have asked me if we're ever going back to our old house.  Five weeks must feel like forever to them.

We figured out that Hobbes doesn't really understand the idea of Florida as a state.  After countless times of him asking if we were "going back to Florida" on our way home from an outing, we asked him what Florida is.  He responded, "Florida is a place with walls, and a ceiling, and beds, and a place for warm-up baths.  And we can't jump or yell.  Those are the rules of Florida."  Pretty much, he thinks that FL is our little apartment.

But regardless of the displacement, and the fact that I was not meant to live in Florida (the humidity hates my hair, and the sun hates my white white skin!), we have been having so much fun here.  There is so much to do, compared to our small Midwest town.  We love having access to the apartment's outdoor pool and the beach so close by.  We have played at some fun parks, taken the kids on bike rides, spent time with good friends who we know from other phases of our lives who just happen to live here.  We took a day trip to see an old Spanish Fort that was built in 1740.  We took a Ferry across the river to the fort, and were lucky enough to see dolphins swimming up the river, about 5 ft from the shore!  So neat!   We also drove to Ft. Lauderdale to take the kids through the new Temple Open House, a real highlight of our time here.

The time is going quickly, and we need to pack in as much pool and beach time as we can before we head back home in a couple weeks.