Over the Hump

The weather man just reported that he thinks "we are over the hump with the worst of the summer weather...." He quickly showed the weather map with an incoming cold front; however, he went on to say that a high pressure system will prevent it from getting all the way to our area. The good news is that there was not one day with a forecast over 97° - what a relief!

I have exactly 11 minutes to write a quick update on life. Reed and Tim have gone to soccer practice and I will soon have to get on with the grilled chicken. Our tomato tart and 3-bean casserole are in the oven. After firing up the grill I am going to secretly make an easy dessert - crescent rolls with chocolate hidden inside. My people will be SO happy with me in just an hour or so. Life is Good!

Brooks made a new friend on the baseball team he played with in July. Matthew is a spunky 11 year old trumpet playing catcher who lives behind the local longhorns. No, not the University of TX type, but the cow type. Did you know that longhorns only have one row of teeth, if the leader of the pack isn't eating the rest don't eat either, and they have the longest tongues you have ever seen?

here's the boss...

Brooks feeding one...

That's Reed's arm, not the longhorn's tongue, by the way. and below is Brownie - our favorite of all.

This was a bit of Texas I never imagined that we would experience.

A few weeks ago we took a trip to Academy. For those of you who aren't from Texas, Academy is a very large sports store with a little bit of everything. We were purchasing a new tennis racket for Brooks, along with some tennis clothes for him. Cole was bent out of shape because I warned him that we would be only buying for Brooks. As he usually does, he ignored my warnings and found a few things he was interested in...

His daddy just couldn't resist that face and soon he was doing a real sales job on us...

Happily, he left the store sporting goods from the Rangers and the Cowboys. I don't think he's gone a day without that hat. Of course, down here, one needs a hat all day long.

Dinner has now ended and I will wrap up the weekly summary:

I am now proud to announce that I have gone 10 entire days without a sip of Diet Coke. He doesn't know it, but one day I sipped about 1/2 of Tim's Coke Zero, but I'm not counting that. I drink mostly water and tea. I also found St. Croix in Lemon flavor which I like pretty well. I am also trying my best to cut high fructose corn syrup out of my diet - and that is no small feat. That stuff is in everything!

I am headed to Boot Camp in the morning at 5:30 a.m. My usual time is 7:15, but the kids have had activities the past 2 mornings. I am loving Boot Camp, too. It's hard (although not as hard as I expected). The worst is getting up in the morning - but that's nothing new. I have struggled with early morning rising for at least the past 30 years.

Ok, I have to head to bed. It's been a good week and we are all adapting well. School is just around the corner and we are all excited. We do miss Tennessee and the friends we left behind. In fact, these pictures brought tears to my eyes tonight. I am so sorry I missed watching this event in person.

Congratulations, Audrey and Grace!

5 Days

I just have to report on the latest happening of my life. I have lived 5 entire days without drinking Diet Coke! I set it as a goal on Day 2 of Boot Camp - and am shocked that I haven't really craved it - well... until Tim offered me one this morning. He knew the goal was through the end of the week (which I had already confirmed the ending date was Friday). It's the carbonation that I crave and I'm pretty happy to be off the aspartame. LaCroix Lemon is my new drink of choice. Thank goodness for Central Market! It's just 5 minutes away and they carry LaCroix in every flavor.

Yippee!

I'll have to tell you more about Boot Camp, the endless summer days, and my new life. I am trying to get back into a regular pattern - but it's hard when life is full of chaos - and lots of new places to explore!

We have 16 days till school starts and it can't come soon enough. The kids are ready to make new friends and I am ready to have a few hours of time to think! and do laundry. and paint. and organize all closets. and plan meals. and take naps. and relax in the pool. and go to the grocery store. and play a bit of tennis. and make a few new friends of my own. and play more tennis. This week we need to go shopping for new shorts. I heard tonight that we'll be wearing them through November.

That's ok... I am officially EMBRACING THE HEAT! I think that's my new motto.

Texas

I just signed in to post and realized that my last post was exactly a month ago today.  That surprises me - it really seems like months since I've taken the time to sit and reflect on what is going on.  I'm relieved that I have a chance to sit.  I feel like I've been on my feet dealing with boxes for the past 3 months straight.  That really is the darn truth.  The past 2 months I loaded boxes and last week I began unloading them.  I could reflect on how overwhelming it is to pack a box one day and 3 days later, in a different state, you have to unload the same box and find a place to put the stuff.  BUT I'd rather report on all of the fun things we have seen and experienced these past 2 weeks.

We left Oak Ridge on Friday morning the 26th - after a quick trip to Asheville to pick up Caroline at camp.  We ran by the house to pick up the last few things still there (and the dog) and then we headed to Union City for a few nights with Tim's parents.  It was great to visit with them.  We slept and ate and relaxed.  It was exactly what I needed as I was at the brink of exhaustion.

Sunday we got up early to drive approximately 540 miles.  As the miles increased on our odometer, the mercury on the thermometer also increased.  By the time we arrived in Dallas, it was 104°.  We saw 5 grass fires on the side of the highway within about 20 minutes.  Our breaks with Sassafras were brief since it was so hot.  She was a fabulous traveller, by the way.  I think she loved her own private place in the back of the Yukon XL.

The movers were here when we arrived.  They were quite hot.  Kenny kept reminding me that he had lived in Dallas for 4 months and that was as long as he could take it.  Lucky for them, the next 2 days were cloudy and cool, so it wasn't as unbearable as that first day.  It hasn't rained yet since we've been here.  One day we might have had a few drops, but not much at all.  The kids don't mind, though.  As long as it's sunny and hot, they can enjoy the pool as long as they can stand it.

I feel lost in the gigantic grocery stores here.  The first trip I took was quite overwhelming and I stuck to the basics - milk, bread, tortillas, butter, eggs, etc.  Later that day I decided to stop in at the Central Market.  It was so amazing that I had to call Tim in the middle just to tell him how unbelievably unbelievable it was/is.  It is most similar to Freshfields? in Kiawah and also similar to Fresh Market - but more like Fresh Market on steriods.

I am doing quite well getting around.  If I drive out of my neighborhood and to the right, I can find most anything if I look around enough - and it's all within 7 minutes.  Amazing.  Time saving.  Wallet threatening.  HOT.

I think I'll close this post with my neighbor's statement today.  He tells his Canadian family that he survives the summers here with 3 things - air conditioning, pools, and frozen margaritas.  Yep.  That's life in Southlake in a nutshell.  Constantly seeking cool air - occasionally floating in the pool - and concocting any frozen beverage to sip before it melts in this extreme heat!  I have a feeling my rarely used blender is going to be a permanent fixture on my counter!