The Simple Life

Friday, May 13, 2011

We love our state!

New Hampshire Is Once Again Named 'Most Livable State'

CONCORD – Governor John Lynch announced today that New Hampshire has been named the "Most Livable State" in the nation.

In its annual report, CQ Press listed New Hampshire as No. 1 in its most livable state rankings, which take into account a broad range of economic, educational, health, public safety and environmental statistics.
"Here in New Hampshire we have a winning economic strategy that is clearly working, and we must be careful not to stray from the successful strategy that has led to our state being name the most livable. We must remained focused on ensuring New Hampshire continues to be a leader in economic recovery with good-paying jobs for our people, a high-quality of education for our children, greater access to higher education, providing a safety net for our most vulnerable citizens and protecting the public's safety," Governor Lynch said. "We must keep moving New Hampshire forward and maintain our position as a national leader."
The 'Most Livable State' rankings are based on 44 factors that reflect a state's quality of life, including median household income, crime rate, state business tax climate, employment and several educational factors.

http://www.governor.nh.gov/media/news/2011/051111-most-livable-state.htm

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Spring is FINALLY in the air...

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

Hello family and friends! Hope everyone's doing well and enjoying the warm weather. It's been a while since we've written so let me catch you up on all the latest happenings...

First off we're very happy to say we survived that looooong winter and spring is FINALLY here!! It seemed like forever but the weather has finally warmed up, grass is a-growin', trees are a-budding and flowers are a-bloomin'! I have not been able to take very many pics but I will make it a point to take more this weekend. Just over the past couple days color has formed everywhere! It's quite the transformation and I am again in complete awe. The seasons are so amazing! We're really enjoying this part of New England life!

Blue sky- it was 80 and gorgeous out this day!

Delphiniums are in bloom

Just started to bloom

These beautiful vibrant yellow bushes are popping up all over the place. Great color!

Joshua started his new job while I was back in CA. He's really enjoying the job. He works in the city of Portsmouth which is right on the coast. Remember, this is the city we celebrated Valentines Day in? It's a really neat area- borders with Maine. Well Maine is where he found a Mexican restaurant that's the closest thing we've found to Mexican food in New England. I know- Maine?? Who'd a thunk it? They have California Burritos and Carne Asada fries!!!!!!!!!!! You know this makes someone very happy! :-)

We took a trip up to Exeter a couple weeks ago- the area we're interested in buying in. We really fell in love with the area! The schools are top notch, it's very clean and safe, it has a nice historic downtown, there's a great hospital, the homes are affordable and it's just 20 mins from the coast. Our plan is to move there when our lease is up at the end of June, rent 1 more year, get to really know the area and purchase a home Summer of 2012! This is sooooooooooooo exciting for us! Everyone knows we've wanted this for a REALLY long time!! We struggled to save money in San Diego so long for this when we realized we'd never really be able to get what we want there! It feels like a dream come true moving forward ...and actually getting somewhere!

Phillips Exeter Academy

Sqaumscott River

Ioka Theater- opened its doors in 1915

We hope everyone enjoyed their Easter. We must have been really good this year as the Easter bunny payed us a visit. :) After the early morning shenanigans - looking for eggs and discovering what was left for us in our baskets we went out for a nice Easter brunch in downtown Manchester followed by a visit to the lake. It's so nice to get out of the house and see green again!