Weekend Wanderings

It is quite alarming to have the alarm clock ring at 5:15 AM on a Saturday morning; however, all Smiths and Smithlings happily got out of bed to get ready for a road trip to Houston. There were no complaints from anyone, except for the cats who realized that they were going to be home alone for the weekend. (They survived.)

This was our first trip to Katy, TX, to visit my brother Dwight and his family, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We will, no doubt, make a return visit in the not-too-distant future. (M. recalls making a trip to Katy about 13-1/2 years ago with G-ma and G-pa T. He had just turned four, and was really intrigued by water towers. As they drove from Tulsa to Katy, my mom and dad entertained M. by looking for and counting water towers. What fun, eh?! We did NOT count water towers on this trip. Maybe next time. Or maybe not.)

The purpose of the trip was to visit with family, and we certainly accomplished that goal. Mom and Dad are currently staying with the Texas Thompsons, so our group totaled eleven.

Shortly after we arrived, we were treated to a most excellent Turkish lunch/early dinner. I am not sure I can name everything we ate, but all of the dishes were yummy. The rest of the day was spent hanging out around the pool, as we enjoyed 70 degree temps.

Our Host and Hostess

Poolside Waltz

Hula Hooping Grandpa?!

"Two-la Hoop"
Aunt Jean is a good sport.

More bang for your buck? I have no idea what I am doing, but it all turned out okay. I think! I was doing a little damage control after Mom had someone in a Houston salon "trim" her hair in an uneven manner. No big TX hairstyles for Mom this time around.

On Sunday morning we were treated to two hot air balloons flying right over my brother's house.

The girls helped harvest a few carrots -- yum! They also learned how to prepare a few new recipes as they hung out in Aunt Jean's kitchen. We now know how to make several tasty treats with tofu. The girlie-girls also learned how to make banana "ice cream" using only frozen bananas.

It was impossible to get the cousins to pose for a photo without one of them making a silly face or laughing. I tried to get a good picture, really I did. In this pose all three Smithlings are apparently tickled at something one of their older cousins said. I wish I knew was was so amusing, but no one is tellin'.

It took adding Grandma and Grandpa to the mix to get a decent shot. What well-mannered grandchildren. I certainly love those smiles. ;-)

We've been framed!

Well, partially framed... Work on framing the "Smith Haus" began yesterday and will continue for several days. The word from our builder is that the structure should have shingles by late next week. I'm thinking Extreme Makeover Home Edition. ;-)

The Smithlings and I stopped by the construction site at 5:30 in the evening and found eight carpenters still busily working on our house. We were surprised at how much they had accomplished in one day. Not only did we get to watch the workmen, we met another new neighbor, so it was a fruitful visit. I am not sure that we will be making daily visits to "our" house, but there seems to be a lot going on right now. We don't want to miss out on anything exciting.

We just HAD to share the latest developments with Mr. Smith. The kids thought that their dad needed to see things in person, even if there wasn't any daylight left. We grabbed a couple of flashlights and the camera (of course!) and returned to the scene of the building project.

Liesey is positioned at the front door ready to receive visitors.

Our resident engineer and his apprentice carefully inspect the craftsmanship. Nerds! (Thankfully, my boys are not sporting pocket protectors.)

Millie's room seems to have a few obstacles in the way.

I have received a comment, or two, or three, that I am never in any of the photos, so here I am! I guess I prefer to be on the backside of the camera. Here I am posing in the wine grotto, which will somewhat resemble a jail cell once the wrought iron is installed on the window and door.

Sticks!

Our ballerina girl is always looking for places to dance. Construction sites work just fine. The Everest Road pavement and the glow of the streetlamp provided the perfect conditions for shadow ballet.

Ready for Sticks & Bricks

The dirt has been moving on Everest Road, as progress is being made on our new house. :-) It will be easier to do a pictorial update of the events that have occurred over the past several days than for me to try to write everything down, so here goes:

February 20th -- Dirt, dirt, and more dirt!

Mt. Everest?

February 26th -- Mr. Smith inspects the water and electrical before it is set in stone, or concrete.

The ducks in the nearby drainage canal are unimpressed by the building project.

March 3rd -- Liesey's new room has an open and airy feel to it!

Millie's room is also rather spacious looking.

Across the field there is a row of new homes that have sprung up over the past few weeks -- same 'hood, different builder.

March 5th -- the concrete was poured at 6:30 in the morning. I'm sure the neighbors (and the ducks!) loved being awakened by the sound of concrete trucks and workmen.

Someone has been doing donuts in our backyard. Hmmmm....

Here's the view from the back to the front of the house.

Yet another foundation shot...

Millie drew a cat in the temporary sidewalk to greet the workers.

Liesey had to add our family surname to the same walkway just for grins. We have apparently staked our claim! Let the sticks and bricks arrive.

Skate Date

Miss Millie finally got her wish of getting the entire family to go ice skating. Perhaps watching some of the Olympic events the past two weeks prompted our girl to desire the icy outing. If medals were awarded for this weekend's event, I think all would receive a GOLD for EFFORT!

Finally!!! Foundation Forms

Despite the cold winter weather, we loaded up the car and headed to our lot to see how our future neighborhood looked blanketed in white. It looked pretty!

I just heard on the 11 o'clock news that Keller received a total of 13 inches of snow. The weekend temps promise to be near 50 degrees, so our snowy landscape will be melting. All good things must come to an end.

The drive into our neighborhood looked... well, WHITE!

When we got to our lot we found that our builder had set up the forms for the foundation. Hooray! Now all we need is for all the snow to melt and the ground to dry out enough so they can pour concrete. We want our house built on a firm foundation. :-)

Liesey posed by the front door. I hope she didn't track any snow in the house.

All three Smithlings allowed me to take their photo at the construction site, as they know how much I love to document EVERYTHING! This shot is reminiscent of nearly 11 years ago when we were taking photos of our CA house being built. The kids were a lot smaller back then. And so was I!

Where is Millie's room?

How 'bout that? It appears that we already have a bathroom. Hmmmm... This beautiful structure adorns the front corner of our future home site. I do hope that they remember to remove it once our build is complete. Perhaps we can incorporate this into the landscape plan. Or not.

This, That, and the Other

It's been a while since I have posted anything, so this entry will be a little of this, some of that, and a liberal dose of the other thrown in for good measure. Who knows what we'll end up with!

We have been adjusting quite nicely to our new life in the Lone Star State. We miss our California neighbors and friends, but are grateful to have Facebook, e-mails, phone calls, Google Video Chat, and USPS to keep connected. We are always ready to receive visitors from near or far... Hint. Hint.

Even our furry friends are adjusting to their new home. Bartholomew and Jemima have a new feline friend, Pepper. Miss Pepper is 17 years old, which equates to about 90 years old in human years. (She can be a bit crotchety at times, but all in all is a sweet old gal.) The three cats are getting along and can all tolerate being in the same room at the same time; however, I am not sure that they will ever be the best of friends. Kitty détente is a good thing. Peace talks will continue.

Now that's the face of a well-adjusted feline. HA! Bart is no longer intimidated by the huge bathtub with the scary jacuzzi jets, so he has resumed jumping in the tub to request his nightly drink. If the jets ever were "accidentally" turned on, I don't think he'd even set one paw through the bathroom door.

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Not much has happened on our house construction, due to weather, so I do not have anything to report from Everest Road. Stay tuned... We are planning to head out to the construction site later today to check up on progress. I will be taking my camera along.

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The DFW area is BIG!!! I am thankful (I think!) for multiple forms of GPS devices: the navigation system in the car, M's Garmin, and Google Maps on the iPhone. We are never really lost, just confused -- especially when we get conflicting directions/information as we simultaneously use the different devices. Why can't the three of 'em all agree? We have taken some scenic routes that make the journey more "interesting." I am learning my way around here, and I am sure it won't be long until I can go confidently without having "Beatrice" tell me where to turn.

We recently made a day trip to OK to check up on Grandma Smith. Despite the fact that we were only there for one meal, she made four pies for our visit -- Two Dutch apple pies, one coconut cream pie, and one INCREDIBLE blueberry pie. That's two-thirds of a pie per person! No, we didn't consume every slice while there. We brought one whole pie back with us. And we even left some pie there. There was certainly no shortage of pie! Just look at the smiles on the Smithlings' faces. And there might even be a pie crust crumb on those smiles, too. :-)

I had to share this photo of Liesey that was taken in front of Grandma's garage. I love it!

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The Smithlings and I abandoned Mr. Smith for a little over a week to drive to the Hoosier state. (Having a flexible schedule is yet another perk of homeschooling.) It took 14 hours to make the road trip from TX to IN, and 15 hours to go from IN to TX. We encountered snow, ice, and some crazy drivers on the drive back to Texas.

Here are a few photos from the Indiana trip:

The kids got their first taste of Steak and Shake steakburgers in downtown Indianapolis. Yum!

Sisters!

"Wild" Women :-)

Snowgirl and friends

Sliders @ White Castle

We made a quick trip to Monument Circle in downtown Indy. Despite the snowy weather, we still enjoyed the view from the observation level.
(To see more about the monument, click here: http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/kade/soldiers.html)

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Since we moved to TX, we have had 70 degree weather, bone chilling 20 degree temps, thunderstorms, snowstorms, and sunshine. And that's just in one day! HA! Okay, so the weather is not quite THAT dramatic, but we have seen a little bit of everything in the six weeks that we have been here.

We awoke yesterday morning to SNOW! Yes, apparently, it does snow in North Texas. It continued to snow all day long. This morning I measured the snow on the deck, and it was just under 10 inches. The official snowfall total at the DFW airport was more like 12 inches. Enjoy the photos:

I love this image!

This photograph reminds me of Robert Frost's poem that I memorized as a schoolgirl. (This photo was taken from the family room window. The woodland is really a golf course, but it's still poetic!)

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

BY ROBERT FROST

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Home Sweet (temporary) Home

So now you are up to date with the TX Smiths. There's always something going on, but I just don't seem to have the time to get details blogged. Life is good -- BUSY, but good!