Gus and I arrived on Tuesday, August 2nd. He was an awesome little flyer, despite the 6:30 AM flight, he enjoyed his window seat on the plane, his complimentary orange juice, and new Thomas the Tank books and portable train set. We also watched a few "choo choo" movies on our portable dvd player. We arrived to 110 degree heat that didn't let up for a week. Within 3 days Gus had the routine down and was saying hot as soon as we got in the car to go somewhere - smart little buddy.
We spent our first 3 days playing chauffer to BJ (whose car hadn't arrived yet) and touring preschools. We found a preschool by Thursday - one of the teachers was from Mt. Pleasant and the other from Lancaster, PA - I believe it was God's intervention that led us to that school and allowed us to meet such wonderful people during our first few shell shocked days in Texas.
We then spent Friday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday looking at nearly 20 houses (keep in mind we'd already looked at 25 during our house hunting trip in early July). We were exhausted, but we found a house, made an offer this past Friday, and signed the contract on Saturday. We close on September 16th - just in time, as our temporary apartment runs out on September 18th!
We've visited First United Methodist Church of Keller for the past 2 Sundays. After the first Sunday, I told BJ it felt like being back at Mt. Horeb but on a smaller scale. Its a growing church with a new minister. There are lots of young children and its a very community and youth driven church. It feels good to reconnect with a strong spiritual community after so many months in limbo.
We wrapped up our second week in Texas at the Junior Achievement Rock N' Bowl tournament (of which Lockheed was a sponsor) on Saturday morning. Gus was totally in his element, balls, lights, and rock music - he had a blast. And in an effort to embrace our temporary urban living situation we headed down the street on Saturday night for the Amon Carter Museum's 50th anniversary celebration. Free food and family fun were promised and delivered. Gus had Cheetos and Frozen Custard for dinner, enjoyed some Texas Swing music, and appreciated some truly beautiful artwork. It was a great way to get a feel for the Fort Worth community.
So here's what we've learned during our last 2 weeks in Texas:
- Its HOT!!!
- Hamburgers, Steaks, Donuts, and Mexican are readily available food options
- SC bbq sauce is superior to what we've had here
- We really miss Publix - the grocery stores here just aren't up to my lofty standards
- People in Texas are extremely friendly
- Urban apartment living with a dog, a 20 month old, while 6 months pregnant poses challenges that I hadn't thought about (i.e. child napping when dog has to pee, dilemma?)
- There are a lot of trucks (much to Gus's delight)
- Fort Worth is a family friendly town and there are lots of fun things to do with kids
- Bigger city means bigger commute
- We're still in the South - sweet tea on every menu
- There is an unbelievable amount of road construction here
- 15 minutes is a "short drive" to get somewhere
