Welcome To TEXAS! (A pep talk to myself)

Yikes. We just landed here in San Antonio, TX about a we. It's a lot like I imagined - big, big trucks, big homes, big apartments, big freeways, big furniture stores EVERYWHERE, big roads, big churches and big, friendly personalities. Portland was small. People did not live in excess in Portland, consumerism was not quite so in your face. It will take some adjusting.

The move was comical. Me, the LG and the TP were in UT. The BK was in TX. The BK and my father flew to OR, rented a Penske, bought a washer/dryer to replace my beloved machines that were in our house we are now renting. Loaded all our belongings from our POD onto the truck, picked up my washer/dryer at the house and set of on a very, very long drive down the 10 through California. No, this is not the fastest route, but my dad wanted to see the ocean, and the BK was happy to oblige until he realized that it was a 5 hour diversion. My dad, who was helping with the driving, appeared to the BK as if he was frequently nodding off, or at least driving with his eyes only half open. Neither of them got much sleep. They left Friday afternoon and arrived in San Antonio Monday morning around 10am.

Back in UT, my mother and I were holding down the fort as well as we were able. By Friday, both kids were sick, coughing and running fevers. A Saturday run to the Dr. office for the TP determined that she had an ear infection. Additionally, since our health insurance had recently changed, all 3 Dr. appointments for that week came right out of my pocket and now I get to try to find the receipts to submit to our insurance. Sunday night I was unable to pull up our flight reservations for the next day. A call to the airline assured me that yes, they could confirm our itinerary for Monday, March 8th. Hmmm. After a long two hours of being on hold and speaking to the airline, and more than a few $$$$ later, we were booked on flights for February 8th, and my parents' tickets returning them to UT were also modified to spare them from spending another month living with our motley brood.

Monday morning, the men unloaded the truck, returned the truck, took a nap and picked us up from the airport around 10pm. Tuesday we spent the day unpacking and meeting our downstairs neighbors who were pounding on our door and asking that we tame the wild beast who was waking up their 4-year old. Hmmm. Things we should have thought about when taking a 2nd floor apartment - a wild LG who we have come to realize stomps, runs or jumps EVERYWHERE. There is no walking. Wednesday our neighbor was at our door again claiming that the LG was shaking their flatscreen off the wall. Hmmm. I decided to intervene with a friendly but firm chat about my limited ability to control the beast. I haven't seen them since although I have definitely heard their TV blasting. Good times.

I should also mention that the BK, in his gallant effort to return my beloved washing machine and dryer to me (this was the primary reason we didn't just call POD and have our stuff shipped) was unaware that you are supposed to place "shipping rods" in a washing machine before moving it anywhere. Otherwise the 100 pound drum just dances around inside the machine doing all kinds of mischievous things that don't bode well for it working upon arrival. Other items of note - in all the chaos, the BK returned to his bachelor pad (not the apartment we rented for the fam) to find an eviction notice. Apparently, even if you are busy moving a family of four, driving an enormous truck across country and dealing with all sorts of logistical and emotional issues (like a wife who can't properly book airline tickets) you are still expected to pay your rent on time. Go figure.

Finally, my father was suffering from an allergic reaction and his eyes were literally only half open from Portland to San Antonio. Needless to say, we are just glad it's over. I will post pictures when we find the necessary cables. Could be a while.
.