Goodbye, Texas

The boys and I moved into our final rental house (that makes 7 places we lived over 4 months for anyone counting) and it was a trip down memory lane for me because it was in our old neighborhood in the Woodlands.

We checked out our old house, Ben's very first home, and couldn't believe the size of the tree we planted so long ago.

We were in limbo for a while waiting to find out if we'd get approval to fly back to Jakarta.  It was stressful planning for either scenario and dealing with the emotions of each.  The boys were so torn with wanting to be back with Matt and wanting to stay in Texas, where life is easy and HEB is always just around the corner.

Finally, we got the good news that we could travel but it started the hard goodbye tour.  We never even got to see so many friends over the months but managed to keep a few families in our little circle.  We said goodbye to the Oswicks first and I only managed to sneak in a picture of our picnic.

Next on the list was the Hester family.  Our plans were changed because of Hurricane Hanna, which took a turn to the south at the last minute and clearly didn't give us the storms we expected.  We were able to enjoy a great day on the lake in their neighborhood.

My very oldest friend and my "twin" brother, so we had an early birthday celebration together.

The storm damage from the hurricane...ha!  Alex was actually really disappointed because he wanted to experience a hurricane.

Then I had to get down to business and somehow pack, toss, or give away everything we'd accumulated over the months. It was a challenge not to buy too many things but to also make life comfortable as we bounced from house to house.

We only had four checked bags because we had a cooler (our deep freeze in Jakarta died, along with all our US bacon and sausage!) and a guitar, but I worked some packing magic and fit in all the necessities.

A quick and quiet birthday in the midst of covid tests, doctor calls, and last minute shopping.

All too soon, it was our last day and we were feeling sad about leaving.  Instead of our usual big meal with all the grandparents, it was just the three of us at Mama Juanita's and the only meal we ate out together in a restaurant the entire time we were in Texas.

It was weird but a fitting end to our time as the 3 Amigos running around the globe together.  Man, I love these boys and will remember our time together fondly while the world was upside down. Most every evening we cuddled together on the couch under our blankets and watched the Goldbergs beginning to end.

We said our goodbyes to each of the grandparents and got our last hugs.  While we were so thankful to have spent time together almost every week for months, it was sad that we didn't get to do the normal things like watch a movie or share a game.  The summer was stressful for sure, but also wonderful at times.  

We were so grateful to be in business class again because after a 4-hour domestic flight to Seattle sitting directly next to a stranger, I needed some space for my sanity.  We also learned that 36 continuous hours wearing masks can be challenging.

The start of a beautiful sunrise over Taipei.

A little caffeine for me in the lounge, a little snapchat for Ben.

The boys were not too thrilled about our Hello Kitty plane to Jakarta, but the Indonesians were all putting it on their instagram!

The food on our final 5-hour flight left a little to be desired.  We went a really long time between hot meals since everything was closed in Taipei, but at this point in a trip, it doesn't even matter.

The lovely Jakarta skyline....welcome back!

It's always hard for us to define exactly what qualifies as home, but this summed it up perfectly for me.  If my little family is all in Jakarta together, we're home.  When we left back in March, I really though we'd be back in a month or two.  I never expected that it would almost be August when we returned and I've never been so happy to sleep in my own bed again.  I hope to never fly my kids around the world again during a pandemic and I'm so, so happy to be reunited with Matt because together we can face anything.

Sleeping in my own bed was the best, but this was a close second....closing the door on all the EMPTY suitcases!

Pool Time

It's not easy to find a rental in Houston in July with a pool but I scoured websites for hours and finally found a house available for 12 days.  We made the most of every one of those days and thankfully only had rain once.  Ben created several custom floats and gave me a sun shade one day.

Alex perfecting sitting upside down under the water.

We all enjoyed the tiny frogs that used the frog escape float...so cute! and so much better than fishing dead frogs out of the pool.

We had to return to Katy for doctor appointments and the kids were happy to see their friends again.

We also drove by the first apartment Matt and I shared back in 2002.

We spent many happy hours playing and relaxing in the pool.  It was really a great yard with plenty of shade later in the afternoon.

The boys got massive tacos, because who doesn't love tacos?  Taco wars were a favorite activity.

The hottest week of the summer so far, so we couldn't have been happier to be poolside!

The best part was that Stacey and her kids were coming for our second week there and I couldn't think of any better way to celebrate than with a cookie cake!

They loved making whirlpools in the hot tub...

He doesn't like it, but I love this picture of Ben.  He looks so grown up to me.

Piggy back rides for Carter!

These crazy boys would game together all morning and then play all afternoon.  

Stacey and I decided this was really the best way we could have spent time together this summer.  Low-key, kids nearby even when it was adult swim, no germs!

Grammy and Grumpy joined the party one afternoon with.....drum roll....another cookie cake!!  I think we have an addiction.  With four boys, it was gone by the next day.

We had fajitas delivered and couldn't have asked for anything more.

Not everyone got tan over the course of the week, but we all had a wonderful time together.

We wrapped up our last night playing Jackbox together and laughing for hours.  But, as all good things do, our time came to an end because the house was leased to someone else and we had to move to our next house.  This time the goodbyes were real and they were a lot harder.  But our hearts were full of happy memories and good times together.

Happy Birthday, Alex!

Alex was really hoping to get to spend his birthday with Reid this year so he was extra excited to wake up at their house.  We had Chick-fila on the 4th because his birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so he basically had cake for breakfast.  Seems like a win-win.  We facetimed with Matt so he could join us for candles and birthday spankings. (originally, we had planned all the flights so Matt wouldn't miss another birthday but covid changed all that, of course)

Alex enjoyed opening his gifts and getting some birthday money.

He wasn't excited that we had to leave on his birthday but it was the only was to get the reservation on the house with the pool and I felt like it would be worth it.  He got to ride in the front seat and choose all the stops.  We had lunch from Waffle house and even added our own chocolate chips because they were out.  Alex decided that 12-year olds should be able to spend 4 hours in the car without ipads so he talked and napped the whole way!

We stopped by Grammy and Grumpy's on the way to the next house because they had an important cookie cake for him.

We also realized that Alex won't be the shortest one in the family pretty soon!

We checked into our next AirBnB in Champions and it was a pretty depressing afternoon.  I hated that for Alex's birthday, but we were sad to have said goodbye to the Frenches and bummed to adjust to another new house.  We hauled in all of our stuff, moped for a little while, then ordered some pizza and went for our first swim and things felt better.

Happy 12th birthday, Alex!  I know it didn't all go the way you would have chosen, but you were a real trooper and made it work.  Can't wait to see where this year takes you and we look forward to all the laughs you have in store for us and the new ways you will grow and learn.  We love you!!

Road Trip to Dallas

Our lease ended on our townhouse so it was time to move on again.  I found a house with a pool but it wasn't available for almost a week, so we packed up everything and headed to Aunt Stacey's house.

It's amazing how much we accumulated in two months!

It was SO good to see the cousins and have some time together with family that wasn't high risk!  Hugs all around!  Their neighborhood pool was by reservation only so we were happy to get some normal activities with distance from other families.

We went to a little creek in Sherman, TX where fossilized shark teeth have been deposited and had a fantastic morning exploring and sifting for teeth.

The kids spent time searching and then spent the rest of the morning swimming and climbing.

Ben was excited to introduce Carter to his Nascar game and Carter was all too happy to drive into all the other cars.

On July 3rd, we enjoyed their gorgeous neighborhood lagoon and went early enough to avoid any crowds.  (Alex was having a great time but hated the sun in his eyes) 

The neighborhood had held all their activities the weekend before, which was fine with us because we didn't need to be around other people.  We grilled burgers and played with water balloons and watched fireworks from upstairs in the air-conditioning.

Every day is a party when you get these four together!