Deep in the Heart

We finally made it to Texas. It's been a very interesting month to say the least. It's always hard moving to a new town so I waited to blog about it so I could have something positive to say 6 weeks later.

Once we got to the airport I realized I forgot to call the RS president to see if we could borrow a pack n' play for the night until our moving truck arrived the next day. I ended up calling the bishop's wife (the the only number I had) and asked her if she knew of anyone we could borrow the crib from for the night. She asked me what the rest of us would sleep on and I told her all we were worried about was Jack who, above all, needed to be contained during the night. She said she would try to find one for me.

When I arrived at their home (at 11:00 p.m.....I felt so bad) she not only found a crib for us but had a blow up mattress, sheets, blankets, and a cooler full of milk, strawberries, orange juice, a bag full of granola, and snacks for the kids. She totally saved us the next day because the movers arrived at 7 a.m. and there would have been zero time to go to the grocery store. We also didn't have a refrigerator so we were limited to what food could be purchased anyway. I heard the people in Texas were friendly but this was SO nice. I couldn't believe how sweet she was to take such good care of people she didn't even know. I love being a Mormon.

The movers came and left pretty quickly. Chase took the kids to church while I stayed home with Cedric and his gang. When we got home he announced we had already been invited to dinner. I love Texas!! Everyone is so nice here! When they got home from church we rallied and tried to get as moved in as possible. Then the inevitable happened. Chase and I are surrounded by bad luck whenever we move anywhere. In San Diego, Chase's bike got stolen off the balcony. In Virginia, our car was broken into and our motor scooter stolen a week later. Something was bound to happen here, no matter how nice the people seem to be.

I had Sadie's room all arranged and started putting clothes away in the closet. I found her Pottery Barn Kids night light in a box and plugged it in to get it out of the way. There were boxes all over her room and some near the plugged in night light. I went down the hall for a couple of minutes and when walking back my super dooper nose smelled smoke. Chase didn't smell anything but I can smell a smoker's cigarette from VERY far away. I told Chase I smelled something and then discovered the fire blazing up the wall when I arrived back to Sadie's room. I screamed "There's a fire!!" and Chase quickly ran down the hallway. That stupid night light was on fire!!! Of course all of our dishes were still in boxes and we had nothing to pour water with. Miraculously there happened to be a plastic cup in the kitchen so I ran down the hall with it and started pouring water on it from the bathroom. THIS WAS THE DAY WE MOVED IN PEOPLE!!!

Jack sensed the chaos and started screaming especially when the fire alarm went off. Chase took over the dousing of water on the flames and I took the kids outside to get them away from the smoke and deafening fire alarm. It was very fast and the fire was out quickly but we were pretty rattled for a long time after. Sadie refused to sleep in her room that night because she thought there would be another fire. I was equally as scared to have her in that room. I wasn't sure if the plug blew up or if it was the night light. It turns out that it wasn't electrical. The bulb was rubbing against the netting on her ladybug nightlight and eventually caught on fire!!



I called Pottery Barn and they didn't seem too concerned. If I ever have the energy, I'll take them to court for almost killing us all! I am just so grateful I plugged the light in during the day and not that night before we went to sleep. I don't even want to think about what could have happened. We have since painted over the blackened wall, cleaned the carpet (kind of) and changed the charred electrical plugs. Sadie wouldn't sleep in there until the fire remnants were gone. I ended up having to clean black ashes off of everything in her room. It was awful and I am officially scared of house fires whereas before I thought it would never happen to me.

The next couple of days we had to buy a washer/dryer, refrigerator, and a car. Whopping purchases, I know. While Chase went to work, we lived without all three for a whole week and it was miserable being stuck in the house without any food, dirty clothes and no way to get out. We took a lot of walks to the park and hung out at the neighborhood pool a couple of times. The lack of transportation forced me to open more boxes (there was nothing else to do) and hang pictures on the walls. We finally got a used washer and dryer after the guy at Best Buy told me that I could expect a my new appliances to break down within 2 years. "They just don't make 'em the way they used to anymore", he said. So we bought some old ones that hopefully will last as long as my parent's 30 year old appliances. Not the most energy efficient but we spent a fraction less and got a way better product. Hooray for the Cannons!

Best Buy didn't have the fridge we wanted so we bought their floor model thinking it would be the same thing. WE WERE WRONG! It was the worst fridge ever. The handles came off, it was LOUD, and the waterline couldn't be hooked up (weird) so no ice or water for us. We returned that piece and got the original one we wanted (it finally came in) and we now have a wonderful fridge. I still can't believe the house didn't have all these things when we moved in. That's one weird thing I've noticed about Texans. They take their appliances with them. Annoying and wrong!

I mentioned before that we had a very unsuccessful trip finding housing when we came down in August. Chase came back down the next weekend after we practically dissected the MLS listings. He met with the same realtor and found a house in Cedar Park. We like the house, it's not what we want long term but it will give us a place to live until we find a home in the perfect area for us. I have a lot of criteria that I wouldn't mind being met. I'm not picky but I would like to live near other children so Sadie and Jack can run outside and play with them. I want to live away from busy roads (our backyard right now, backs up to a busy road and we didn't realize this until AFTER we moved in...I hear semi-trucks all day long and we get a laser light show every morning at 6 a.m. So glad we're renting this house!!). I also want hardwood floors and a two level home. Right now there's carpet everywhere and it's a single story. It's not my style. I like smaller houses with big charm and this house is exactly the opposite. Huge vaulted ceilings, open floor plan and weird layout. Everything is definitely bigger in Texas. Not my fav but like I said, this house is a means to an end. I'm just grateful we found something and we're happy with the area.

I love our ward. There are a ton of sunbeams for Sadie to play with and everyone has been very warm and inviting. Sadie joined a dance class with 6 other sunbeam little girls and I feel I am finally learning everyone's names and feeling a little less looserish. This is why I am writing 6 weeks later because 3 weeks ago I was utterly depressed, hated our ward, and want to curl up in a ball for a long hibernation. Like I said, it's not easy to move. The good news is, the Winegars live just 20 miles north of us in Georgetown so we get to have fun play dates with the kiddos, watch U games with them and since they have purchased a boat, we are now November waterski buddies!! It's still 85 degree here!! I forgot how hilarious Katherine was in Chi Omega and I'm so glad she's out here with me because I'm always down for a good laugh and a fellow Ute to make me feel a little less heathen around all the Cougars lurking about.


So we're all settled. The boxes are put away, the pictures hung and we finally bought a new car. We like it here, we hope to one day LOVE it so much we'll never want to leave. As long as I'm with Chase it doesn't really matter because he's my bud and we'll have a blast anywhere. Here's to no more fires, finding a better house, and more waterskiing!!