Dan accepted a job offer as a trademark attorney for Healix in the Houston area (he works in Sugar Land). Dan finished his last day of work at Durham Jones & Pinegar on Friday February 28. Nathan had his last day of school at Sandstone Elementary that day too. We spent the weekend at my parents' home, and our family headed to Snow Canyon State Park on Saturday to play in the sand dunes and say farewell to the lovely landscape before our trek to Texas.
I miss the red cliffs and burnt orange sand and the mountains. On Sunday, March 2, we drove southeast, staying in Phoenix, El Paso, and San Antonio before ending up at a hotel in Houston. My kids had little to do other than jump on the beds and race down the hallways and play in the elevators. When Dan started his job, the kids and I took a shuttle to the Galleria Mall. This mall is ginormous -- many shops, of course, and some restaurants, a hotel within the mall, and the major attraction is the indoor ice skating rink. It's nice to know that the snow deprived Houstonians can still put on ice skates and pretend it's a winter wonderland.
After two weeks, we moved into the home we'll be renting for the next year or so. We live away from the city and we pass cows and train tracks on the way to Dan's work. It's green and wet here, which is a big change, and there has already been a tornado warning and hail in other parts of the city (just wait till hurricane season -- hopefully none will hit us this year!).
After we watched the ice skaters, we got fries at "Old McDonald's" for the kids, and then I had to return a heart luggage tag Sophia swiped from a pricey store (come on, it was a cute red heart, and she didn't know what she was doing -- and I didn't notice till I saw it in my bag at the ice rink). The leather tag cost $26, which is close to the price of my suitcase. We made a legitimate purchase at a Texas store of an ice cube tray with the shapes of Texas and stars (the kids want a star and a Texas in their drinks now).
Sophia has this bad habit of spitting out food when she decides she doesn't want it anymore. So guess who got to clean up a glob of granola bar off the white floor of the mall on our way out? Moi.
Check out the Texas longhorn, the mascot of UT Austin.
This is the prettiest turkey I have ever seen -- and this one knows it too. Talk about striking a pose!We had one family outing two Saturdays ago to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which my gal pal from Houston recommended. We didn't go to the rodeo this time around. The rodeo goes for three weeks, and people win bragging rights for their livestock, eat great food, ride on mechanical bulls, and go on carnival rides. Oh, and some come for the rodeo and performers too.
We went to see the animals first. We checked out the cattle, the sheep, the rabbits, the chicks and chicken, a turkey, and even buzzing bees. Nathan said he liked "all of it." They had a real pony merry-go-round, and Sophia wanted to ride on one, but we decided not to spend the money since we were going on a few carnival rides. I think it might be more worth it to ride on the real deal, though, so I think Sophia will get her wish next year. I really liked the rabbits. It reminded me of my neighbor Laura in California who had rabbits and let me and my siblings play with them. I think a French Lop would make a great pet.
When I told Nathan's bus driver in St. George we were moving to Texas, a boy excitedly asked, "Nathan, are you going to be a cowboy in Texas?!" I think he's going to be a farmer instead.Sophia was too short to ride on the Ferris Wheel (which was so huge it kind of scared me!), so Nathan rode on that ride with his Dad. Sophia rode a zebra on the merry-go-round, and Nathan was miffed that we were left with plain old horses. Nathan and Sophia also rode on a magic carpet on the Aladdin ride, and Nathan found his way through the Hall of Mirrors. We are definitely coming back, and next year I hope we'll attend the rodeo (we watched clips on their huge TV screens).
I have registered Nathan at his new school. Now he's an Austin astronaut. He has a dress code here, and he's supposed to wear red, white, and blue polo shirts (talk about patriotic, and what do I do with all of his green shirts?!). The school is rated exemplary and won a blue ribbon award a couple of years ago. It's an older school, whereas Sandstone was fairly new. The school starts so early -- 7:45 -- and ends at 2:45 p.m. That's a big shift for someone who was used to 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon. I like taking him in the morning, and the bus stops right by our home in the afternoon.So here are a couple of interesting things about his elementary school. First off, they not only pledge allegiance to the United States flag, but also to the Texas state flag. I saw this when I brought Nathan in last week. It's a short and sweet pledge to the Texas flag: "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." I suppose they do this because this state was once a republic when they defeated Mexico.
The second thing (that I guess is just part of this school district) is that the school had a paper asking if I approve of corporal punishment for my child at school. What??!!? Now, don't get me wrong, there are times when my kids might need a spanking. But to have a teacher do that at school? I felt like I had walked into a time warp. Dan said, "Well, they're giving the people the freedom to choose if they want it." I just think it's outdated. What do you think? So I checked "NO!" I imagine those who check "yes" don't get the nicest and best teachers. So while I was shocked by that, I am happy with Nathan's teacher, and I look forward to our life "where the green grass grows," as my buddy Tim McGraw (and Dan, who's a fan) would say.
Quotes of the week
"Special Phia!" -- Nathan calls this out at various times of the day. Sophia's nickname is Phia.
"I don't want to die! I want to live forever!" -- In a desperate attempt to make Nathan TRY a clementine, I told him people who don't eat fruits and vegetables die sooner than others. This brought on a traumatic discussion. He only stopped crying when I told him our family would be together forever. I didn't mean to scare him -- but he did finally take a bite of orange!
"Ants! Ants!" -- Sophia, after knowing that these fire ants can bite and are mean suckers, calls out to me when she spots any now.
Grateful moment
I'm thankful for new beginnings. I'm grateful for the chance to start anew and experience life in a new way. It is refreshing and awakens my senses like a sunrise.
I'm also thankful my children are each others' friends. They've been together so much during this transition, and when Nathan headed back to school last week, Sophia wanted to join Nathan on the floor mat for calendar time. Nate's teacher asked, "Do you want to hug your brother goodbye?" Nathan stood up, and they hugged each other, and the other kids said, "Awwww!"
