Then we got back in the car to show the kids around the area. We stopped at the post office to get a post office box to forward our mail to. Seemed like a good plan at the time. We had put a hold on our mail in Reno starting December 27th but the reality of the matter is our mail from Reno did not arrive in Friendswood until the 25th of January, three days before we signed the papers on the house.
We went over to show the kids the house. Then we introduced them to a Texas state treasure (j/k =)) called Whataburger, a burger joint that was started here in Texas. Then it was off to get a few groceries and return to our hotel rooms. The company was willing to pay for temporary housing so we stayed in two two-room suites until the house was ready to close. Each suite had two bedrooms, one bathroom, one small living area, and a "full" kitchen. The stove and refrigerator were both on the small side and there was a dishwasher and a few dishes in each kitchen so we made do for the 25 days that we needed to wait.
A picture of our new house.
Saturday was spent exploring the area some more and getting Rachel and Nathan ready to fly back to Reno. Early Sunday morning I drove them up to Houston International (IAH) and put them on a plane headed for Reno. Poor Rachel was just as sick as Jaron, Caleb and Sarah had been and she was miserable on our drive up there. IAH is not the closest airport but we had to use it because it is the only airport United flies in and out of. We used our leftover "Australia" credit to fly Nathan and Rachel back and forth so we had a longer drive to get them out of Houston. 20 minutes into my drive back to the hotel Rae called and the flight had not left the ground and they were changing planes. I asked her to keep me posted.
About the time I arrived home she called to say they still hadn't left. This was a problem because the layover time in Denver was getting shorter and shorter. They spoke with the gate agents when they realized that they wouldn't make the connection in Denver. United's solution was to put them on the later flight out of Denver but there was only one seat available. They told Nate he could fly standby and if there wasn't enough room then United would put him up at a hotel. Yeah, I don't think so!
So I drove the hour back up there to pick them up. I changed their flights to the next morning. So we repeated the drill Monday morning but by this time Nathan and I were both as sick as the others. It didn't matter though, it had to be done. So I got them on the plane and stayed until it took off. I headed back home and Anna only had to babysit for about 1/2 hour while Jason left for his first day of work. But I was so tired and sick she offered to continue watching the kids while I slept for two hours.
Tuesday the 8th I registered Jaron, Darik, and Caleb at their new school. Anna stayed home and watched Sarah. Then on Wednesday Sarah and I got Anna registered at her new school. Once we finished that Sarah and I went to look at a preschool and see if they had any openings. They did and Sarah started school the following Monday. Of course, none of these schools start or end at the same time so my life became consumed with transporting children to the correct locations as the correct times. Our hotel was five miles from our home so I was using a lot more gas than I usually do for my kids, and spending a lot more time in the car.
Rachel and Nathan flew home on the 19th. Again they had troubles with a connecting flight in LA so their flight was 2 hours later than anticipated but they made it home safely. There was no school on the 21st so they were registered the 22nd and started classes on the 23rd. We signed papers on the house the 28th and the movers delivered our stuff on the 29th. We spent our first night in the house on the 30th! My parents arrived on the 31st and were able to help us with unpacking and setting up our home for two weekends in a row. They spent the week in between at my grandmother's home in SugarLand, TX.
We're just now starting to find some semblance of normal and I'm grateful. I'll blog about birthdays and other events soon, promise!
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