just a big town girl

living in a small town world.

isn't it kinda beautiful?

well it gets even better in the summer when all the trees are full and green (almost there!). you don't really get that in colorado... maybe for 2 weeks and then it gets brown again. maybe i'm exaggerating and making myself feel better about not being in colorado.

but seriously, ohio is much greener than colorado, but it is a lot more humid and has a lot more bugs, though i would say, smaller spiders. that's a definite perk. but this isn't really a post about ohio vs colorado. there are so many ups and downs to both. i love both for many different reasons. this is a post about my new country life.

i was a city girl, born and raised. i'm not sure what the population was like when i was born but now there are a whopping 96,000 people living in highlands ranch. that's 3,000 something people per square mile and there are only 23 square miles. according to wikipedia anyway. out here we have around 5,000 people in 23 square miles. that's about 200 people per square mile. ummm, there is a quite a difference.

with only that many people you have to be careful about picking your nose in the car. you never know who you are going to see ("ewww. she does that?" yeah, well, sometimes).  you just have to play it safe now and again and actually get dressed to go to wal-mart. we ALWAYS see someone c.krill used to know and i believe in first impressions. especially when its an old high school friend or girl. silly and shallow? maybe. but its my life.

its really quiet out here. except when someone is riding a dirt bike (awesome but i wanna hurt them, unless they give me a ride) or the occasional target practice (this annoys me and my own dear husband is a world record target shooter). but most of the time it is quiet. the birds are glorious. i am obsessed with cardinals.

(our front yard. i think we have a dandelion problem)

we have an acre of land and it didn't cost us all our money and then some body parts. we have started a little garden and are hoping for the best.

(jr likes to help garden by putting on the gloves. that's about it)

there is a strong sense of community that is lacking in a city environment. everything is more dear, quaint and people are nicer. my husband is probably laughing at this. he used to tell me that when we lived in colorado, i had no idea how nice people could get. he was right. its not that coloradoans aren't nice, not at all. i'm from colorado and i am a very nice person (in my humble opinion). but chances are you aren't going to see that person again (b/c its a big city... keep up) so you skip the warm smile, the hello, the stopping to chat. you rarely see someone you know or used to know. okay my colorado readers, i am not dissing you. i am speaking in general terms here. if you aren't one of these people you either a) didn't grow up in the ranch or 2) are really awesome.

country life seems more simple. not to mention, we have saved money. why? there is no mall. there is no starbucks. there isn't a lot actually. what there is usually closes at 8 anyway. that's kinda frustrating but its also forced us to be more creative. its also changed my perspective on driving. all of a sudden, 30 minutes doesn't seem so long to get somewhere. in highlands ranch a long drive was 10-15 minutes. you had all you needed at your fingertips and there was no reason to drive any long distance. that is not the case here. if/when we move back i think i won't mind visiting my friends farther away :) wish i had learned that one sooner.

(exploring one of our favorite nearby places)

i have loved living in the country. it will be hard if/when we convert back to city life. i'm not sure we will and i'm not sure we won't. c.krill's job could really take us anywhere. 

we're thankful for this time we have here, though. all the new experiences, new and old friends, and new places to see. we have been blessed.