First Day of School

Look at my big boy! Morgan had his first full day of school today. He seemed a little hesitant for me to go at first, asking to hold my hand and play with him on the playground. After hanging out a bit, I gave him a big kiss "through the rainbow" (colored tape around the bars of the gate) and off he went. At pick up, it seems he ate a good lunch by the strawberry stains and crumbs on his face. Ms. Kelly said he even went on the potty when the group went to the bathroom. The school is very different from last year's -- a lot smaller and more art-centered. Parents come in and swing on the swings with the kids rather than just dropping them off out front. No one is in a hurry to get to work. The pace is definitely more mellow here. Morgan should fit right in!

Barton Springs Pool

Late August in Austin is hot. Like 107 degrees hot. So we decided to check out Barton Springs Pool, a natural spring that stays around 68 degrees year round. For as hot as it was outside, the water felt freezing. Morgan loves to swim but didn't even want to get in past his ankles! It was pretty cool, with algae and salamanders in the springs, but not the most kid-friendly. We might have to check out the wading section of Deep Eddy instead, another pool in the area.

Morgan had his first mini-day of school yesterday to meet the teacher and get acclimated. His first full day will be tomorrow. The school is cute, lots of art supplies and a huge shaded playground. He seemed pretty comfortable and even went pee pee on the school potty so that was a big hurdle conquered! His teacher has a thick Texan accent so we'll see if Morgan starts picking that up : )

Still unpacking slowly and getting to know the area. Went out for Mexican last night to a place just down the street. It's nice to be able to walk so many places. We drove through Zilker Park where Austin City Limits will be - all the grass is burnt -- I hope it cools down before mid-Sept!

We're here, ya'll.

Sorry I haven't posted sooner -- it's been a non-stop whirlwind. We got in around 2:30 Saturday, went in to check the house out and turn the air up (the owners vacated Aug 1 so left the air at 88 degrees), then walked across the street to have a late lunch at Magnolia Cafe, where apparently one has to be on a wait list at 3:00 in the afternoon : ) Then it was unloading the UHaul, returning the UHaul, grocery shopping at the Flagship Wholefoods (which is a tourist attraction in itself), Costco and unpacking and more unpacking. I didn't feel like we brought that much, especially since we left so much behind, but it has been - and still is - taking a while to find places for things and get the boxes out of the way.

I haven't been much outside, but we've done some driving around to check out the neighborhood and drive by Morgan's school. Our location in amazing - we can literally throw a rock at Magnolia Cafe, which is at the end of the South Congress strip of restaurants & shops. So from there, we can walk a mile to our left and have tons of places to go to. We are south of downtown and UT, but it's only like a 5-10 min drive. Austin feels very eclectic, youthful, health-conscience and full of polite drivers. Everyone seems to be in a good mood, even the guy working at the gas station.

Our first impressions of the house was that it was quirky but charming. The moldings, paneled doors, high ceilings and original hardwood floors remind me of San Francisco architecture. The decor is bohemian with a 60's flair. It reminds me of my Grandma Joe Bear's old house. Not really our style, but we knew that going in - it was the location that we were really going after. Since the owners have been away, it was pretty dusty and we noticed a lot of cobwebs on the floor, etc which of course is at Dean's eye level. As soon as we got in yesterday, we called to have people come clean for today (Sunday). There were two nice ladies who did a good job. At one point, they called me in alarm to a room they were cleaning in the front of the house and said they had found a rattlesnake tail under the TV. We all looked at each other in fear that there was a snake in the house. (Thankfully Ed was not here when this happened or he would've flipped out as he is scared of snakes. Sharks first. Snakes second). I called up the owner and asked if he collected rattlesnake tails and he said he once wrote an article about a rattlesnake hunter and the man had given him one as a souvenir. HUGE sigh of relief.

Well, tomorrow is Morgan's first day at school. He'll have 2 short transitional days, then his first full day on Wednesday. I'll send more pictures of the house soon.

Tennetexarkana.

Well, besides the 30 seconds it took to pass through Memphis, there was a whole lot of nothing between Nashville and Little Rock. We are starting to feel like one with the truckers on the road, stopping only to eat or fill up (12 miles/gallon doesn't get you that far). It's a little disorienting, even for the kids. Morgan keeps asking me "What did we do yesterday mommy?" several times within the same day. Today when I asked him what city we were in, he answered "Dashville." (Dallas + Nashville)

Little Rock was cute. Had a really nice meal at Redbone's near the water and found a good park for Morgan to run around before heading back to the hotel. On our drive to Dallas today, we stopped for lunch in Texarkana, which is an appropriately named city straddling the two states. That was a big sense of accomplishment to cross the Texas border.

We've been able to tell all along we are headed in the right direction because the temperature keeps rising. It was 107 here in Dallas, but a dry heat. Still, it's freakin' hot. The other thing I've noticed is how friendly everyone is. People just bend down and say hi to the kids and ooh and ah over them. Strangers make chatter while waiting in line or come out of nowhere to help you if you drop something.

Tomorrow is the big day. Only a 3.5 hour drive to Austin. We can't wait to see what the house looks like. I think we're all ready for some home cooked meals and a place to call home. Oh, and Dean's tooth won -- somewhere in Arkansas, it poked through the gums.

Nashville

 

Ahhhh. The silence of sleeping boys. Any illusions I have had about Morgan and Dean sharing a room have been squelched. This sharing a hotel room together is getting old. I have to say though it's been nice to be somewhere for more than one night. We've enjoyed our fair share of southern food and live music here in Nashville. I don't think I can stop ordering sweet teas. Besides visiting the downtown Entertainment strip, we checked out a train display at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens today. Morgan of course loved that. Tomorrow will be our longest leg of the trip -- 5-3/4 hour drive from Nashville to Little Rock.

Charlotte: Check. Knoxville: Check. Earthquake? Man, we missed it!

Look into the eyes of this three year old to see how Charlotte was. The NASCAR Hall of Fame proved to be no match for even Santa Claus.

Monday morning started out a little rough. Upon closing the back of the Pilot, one of the straps on the bike rack broke, leaving Ed's bike dangling. At least it didn't happen while on the highway! Then the UHaul lock jammed (in the open position at least). Luckily I had my gym lock on me and after an impromptu hour of rearranging the UHaul to cram Ed's bike in, we were able to get back on our way.

Knoxville was nice but nothing to write home about. We took a restaurant recommendation from the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food, but kept on driving after it turned out to be a shack in an iffy part of town! Had dinner instead at Calhoun's on the river at Volunteer Landing and Morgan fed the ducks. To be honest, it felt like dinner at the Rio back home : ) I do have to say though, I know Tennessee is known for it's BBQ and those were the best baked beans I've ever had (sorry Tom!)

This morning was an easy drive to Nashville where we'll be staying for 2 days. After checking in to the hotel, we had lunch at a local BBQ joint and overheard the next table talking about the earthquake that just hit DC. What???? Luckily everyone seems to be ok. We'll have to see about our house!

The kids are taking a long needed nap right now. Life on the road has been cutting those short but these little guys have been such good troopers. Poor Dean's top left tooth is about to pop through the gums. We'll see what comes first – it or Austin.

It all comes down to this.

Turns out this is all a family of four needs for two years. What a relief it all fit in the UHaul. It's funny how you spend so much effort decorating the house and picking out the perfect coordinating pillows... just to box them up and not see them for years. Hope I still like them when we come back!

Days 1 & 2 went smoothly, although looks like we'll be filling up every day with this gas-guzzling trailer. Stella is now at her new home (thanks Darren & Annie!) and will make lots of new friends with the deer and hummingbirds in their backyard.

Tomorrow we'll make a pit stop in Charlotte at the NASCAR Hall of Fame for our little 3-yr old fan.

The tow hitch is in.

Got the tow hitch installed on the car today so we can pull a trailer. We leave a week from today, via:

- Chapel Hill, NC (thank you Darren & Annie for taking Stella for us! Can't wait to see the new house)
- Greenville, NC (visiting mom, Tom, Katie & the kids, Nana & Grandaddy)
- Charlotte, NC (Ed biz meeting)
- Knoxville, TN
- Nashville, TN
- Little Rock, AR
- Dallas, TX
- Austin!

Back to packing for now.

Blame Househunters International

It's sometime in February. Ed and I are sitting on the couch watching Househunters International on HGTV. Morgan is napping and Dean is asleep in my arms. The episode takes place somewhere in Europe. "Wouldn't it be cool to liver somewhere else for a year or two?" we fantasize. We talk about how we miss traveling since the kids were born and how once they start school, then we'll really be tied down. It hits us that now that I've stopped working and Ed can work anywhere there's internet, there's really no excuse to hold us back.

"Let's do it. Let's move to Czech Republic." Ed blurts out. "Ok!" I say. And that was how it all started.

After researching the going rate of rental homes abroad, it occurs to us that we would kind of need Ed's income to do all this and he couldn't work from Europe with the time zones being so different. Hmmm. Guess we need to stay stateside. The fact is, we've lived in Bethesda, MD for over 10 years and besides college, never really lived anywhere else as an adult. We have family close by and just remodeled a house that we love, but the clock is ticking before Morgan starts kindergarten. If we are going to do this, it's got to be now, or else when we are empty nesters.

Just as you get intrigued about vacation destinations you hear people talk about, we have been intrigued about certain U.S. cities. I think over a dozen people have told me how great Austin is. So city #1 is established. The plan is to rent a furnished house so that we don't need to bring much with us. Clothes, toys, bikes and Ed's office equipment.

We have some ideas, but we'll figure out the rest of the itinerary when we get there.