Texans Now!

Nick had a mostly uneventful trip.  Toby did get sick in the hotel bathroom.  The stuff arrived and then Mom, Sam, Zoey and I hit the road.  My car was packed!!!  The girls did so well on the trip aside from not getting much sleep in the hotel.  Our trip was mostly uneventful as well.  A rock did chip my windshield, but that was minor in the grand scheme of things.  

We were so excited to see the Texas State Line.

We have been super busy.  There are always so many tasks to do when you move.  And we still have some boxes and toys everywhere.  I miss my built ins!  But we like the house (we will definitely be making some changes) and LOVE the location.  We have met some neighbors and found a couple of moms clubs to check out.  We love our colleagues.

  

We have also been playing tourist.  We got city passes.  We did the aquarium first.  It was so tiny and had white tigers (don't get me started).  

The girls loved the sting ray tank.

And they loved the train (which takes you under a shark tank), the carousel, and this frog hopper.

We also did the Natural Science Museum and the kids Museum.  But a highlight was meeting our friends Martin, Sarah, Seb and Luci at the Johnson Space Center.

The Saturn V (unused) was impressive.

Sam and Luci stuck together.  

Zoey felt a little left out, so she hung with Seb, even convincing him to hold her hand.  So sweet.  We were so impressed he would tolerate her bugging him, let alone be so kind to her.  A young gentleman!

This week is packed.  We were all set to go on our last adventure when I realized Toby slipped out of the fence.  Generally the dogs have seemed happier and more playful here.  It is a smaller yard, but with a wooden fence so it seems more isolated.  But Toby evidently wanted more.  He is about 13 years old, has cataracts, hearing loss, and possibly a heart murmur.  We are not far from a major road and he is unpredictable so I was worried for his safety and the safety of anyone near him.  I walked down to the opening in the fences where the bridge to get across the gully behind our house is and around the corner along the major road but did not see him.  I went back home and grabbed my mom, Sam, and Zoey and we drove around, no luck.  I reported him missing to the chip company and posted a craigslist ad.  I decided to try one more time.  When I got to the gully area, I saw him outside our fence.  I tried to get to him and he ran toward the road.  I turned and ran the other way.  He came back.  I called my mom to get them to call from the yard to help him find it.  I finally was able to corner him and get the harness on.  Ugh, what a morning!!!  And tonight I have new adjunct training.  But I did get a small raise, so that was good news.

Next Monday starts our semester(s) and Sam's school.  I am teaching 4 classes at 3 schools and they all start on the same day.  So that is nice.  Nick is teaching his Marshall course as well as his UHCL ones.  So we will be extremely busy this fall.  Wish us luck.  Zoey starts the week after.  Hopefully she will adjust well.  I am a bit nervous, but I will definitely need the kid free time.  My mom leaves after the first week of school, so that will be rough.  But we were super lucky that she has stayed so long.  I cannot imagine getting through this without her.  Thanks for the loan, dad.

It has been a hard transition, but we are trying to make the best of it.  We miss all our friends and loved ones so much.  Our house is a wreck, but please come visit us in Houston.  We can clear a space for you :)