Wow, I think we can finally say we are settled in San Antonio. I can't believe graduation was a month ago. The time has really flown by. After graduation it was a whirlwind of packing and loading the moving truck, a few final visits with friends and then we were off to San Antonio. What a long drive! I'm so thankful to my mother for watching the kids so I could do it by myself. I spent the first week cleaning, painting and just sitting around waiting for our furniture. There is nothing like sitting around in camp chairs and staring at one another in the evenings. It was fun to have Michelle, Abe's sister, stay with us and keep me company during the day. We were hoping that our stuff would come before the kids arrived but we weren't so lucky. We still had 4 days of "camping" once the kids arrived so those were some long days. Our first military move has definitely been a learning experience. The movers finally came at 5:30PM on last day of their 2-week window and unloaded until midnight. The driver laughed when I asked him when he was going to come back and unpack the stuff, which is included in the military move. It was pretty frustrating but most of our stuff made it here safe and sound.
The next couple of days were a whirlwind of trying to unpack before the Fish family came for a visit. It is so fun having family within driving distance. We were so excited that everyone could come down from Dallas and stay with us. They are such easy company. We took a trip to one of the nearby rivers and had a day of tubing. I really wish I had gotten some pictures but Carol was the only one with a camera. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and everyone played so great together. I had a last minute trip to Dallas for work so we followed everyone back to Dallas to continue to the fun at Zeb and Leah's house for a few more days. They were so sweet to watch the kids so I could do some training. The house isn't nearly as excited without Michelle and all our family around. We are still adjusting.
We are finally starting to feel like we might like our ward. It is always so hard to leave a place you love and have to start all over again. Our new ward has an interesting mix of military and non-military families. We are pretty close to an Airforce base and I guess they have some training programs there that only last about 4 months. So there are a lot of families that just come in for a very short time and everyone seems very hesistant to befriend them because they will just leave. So when anyone hears we are military they assume we are short-term. Finally people have started asking how long we will be here and they are somewhat satisfied with the answer of 3 years. Today they had a 4th of July pancake breakfast and the family at our table said to her husband "Honey, they are going to be here for 3 years. That is pretty good. I think we can be friends." We all laughed but I think she was serious. So Independence Day was jam packed with fun activities starting with the pancake breakfast and then a great lunch with some of Abe's co-workers. Abe got a new grill for a graduation present and he cooked up some delicious chicken for us. Then we went to a member of the ward's house for a pool party and bbq. I would have to say that the lack of fireworks on 4th of July has been a let down. There are in a really bad drought in San Antonio so they thought fireworks were too much a fire risk. We are all missing them. Maybe next year.
I added a few of the pictures we have taken since we have been here. Hopefully I will get better. On Saturday Abe took Ethan for a little father/son time and they went rock climbing at the YMCA. Ethan was a little hesistant to begin with but with enough coaxing he made it all the way to the top twice. We always knew he would be a great climber. We also braved the heat for some bike riding at the airforce base. It was perfectly flat sidewalks that were great for riding. We are starting to feel at home here and enjoying all the things there are to do (and all the shopping that is so close.) We are missing our Virginia friends very much but our guest room is fully operational so we would love some friends to come visit.
We are finally starting to feel like we might like our ward. It is always so hard to leave a place you love and have to start all over again. Our new ward has an interesting mix of military and non-military families. We are pretty close to an Airforce base and I guess they have some training programs there that only last about 4 months. So there are a lot of families that just come in for a very short time and everyone seems very hesistant to befriend them because they will just leave. So when anyone hears we are military they assume we are short-term. Finally people have started asking how long we will be here and they are somewhat satisfied with the answer of 3 years. Today they had a 4th of July pancake breakfast and the family at our table said to her husband "Honey, they are going to be here for 3 years. That is pretty good. I think we can be friends." We all laughed but I think she was serious. So Independence Day was jam packed with fun activities starting with the pancake breakfast and then a great lunch with some of Abe's co-workers. Abe got a new grill for a graduation present and he cooked up some delicious chicken for us. Then we went to a member of the ward's house for a pool party and bbq. I would have to say that the lack of fireworks on 4th of July has been a let down. There are in a really bad drought in San Antonio so they thought fireworks were too much a fire risk. We are all missing them. Maybe next year.
I added a few of the pictures we have taken since we have been here. Hopefully I will get better. On Saturday Abe took Ethan for a little father/son time and they went rock climbing at the YMCA. Ethan was a little hesistant to begin with but with enough coaxing he made it all the way to the top twice. We always knew he would be a great climber. We also braved the heat for some bike riding at the airforce base. It was perfectly flat sidewalks that were great for riding. We are starting to feel at home here and enjoying all the things there are to do (and all the shopping that is so close.) We are missing our Virginia friends very much but our guest room is fully operational so we would love some friends to come visit.
2 comments:
I am glad you are settled. No fireworks for the 4th is sad. I can't wait to hear about more of your adventures.
I am glad that you guys are all settled in. We still feel like we are in school mode since Daryl has the bar exam to take still. Next week! Are you working down there too?
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