House pics

So I just wanted to update any friends out there wondering where in Texas we have moved. Logan decided to get his PhD in Journalism and was accepted at the University of Texas in Austin so here we are. We found a house just about 30 minutes north in Pflugerville close to the Park and Ride bus system so he is able to ride for free with his student pass.

We have already met some great friends from our ward and have been on some fun adventures (which usually includes us sweating profusely). There has been a drought in Texas for a while now and we are hoping that when fall comes, it will bring some cooler weather and rain.

So here is our house. I'm not a very good photographer but once I figure out how to upload some videos from Logan's I-phone you can get the tour of the place. And I took some of these pics in the evening so they are a little dark. We haven't done much decorating yet. That will be coming later, I hope.

When you first walk into the front door, you will step into the living room and see the set of stairs going to the second story. To the right of the stairs is a half bath and a bedroom. We are just using it now as Logan's office and future guest room when we acquire more furniture. (not really sure when that will be either)


































Next to the piano in the living room you can see part of a doorway and that will lead you into our kitchen. It is a galley style kitchen with countertops on both sides of you as you walk in. We are loving our new fridge and dishwasher recently purchased when we arrived. We also really love that there is lots of light at the table area - two big windows and a backdoor with a window.


















At the top of the stairs to the right is a whole loft area. It looks like it could have been another bedroom but whoever bought the house or was building the house decided to leave it more open. Currently it is a play area for the kids. But most of their playing happens downstairs. We have future plans of building a wall there and door so we can have another bedroom upstairs. And so we have a spot for another child (when that happens, not announcing anything yet). Anyway, I didn't get too many other pictures.

The backyard is spacious but right now the grass is all dead because it wasn't watered after the previous owners moved out. We are hoping to have grass next spring when it rains.

Not included is the kids' bathroom upstairs right next to their bedroom. It is so nice to enjoy our own bathroom. The other two bedrooms are also not included because Cameron is asleep and our master bedroom looks empty except our bed and some boxes left to unpack. I hope to show it off later.

Our moving days are over...

So most people know the reason I haven't been blogging lately. Now I finally have some free time and life has slowed down so I will attempt to catch you up on our move down south to Texas. I spent the last few weeks in July and the first week in August packing up the rest of our house slowly and cleaning out our apartment. That was by far was the worst part of the whole ordeal.

When it was time to pack up the truck, we had some wonderful friends and family come to help us. We even got our belongings packed up and saved a little bit of money on the truck because we used less space in the U-Pack trailer. Then we stayed a couple of nights with some close friends from church, said goodbye to friends and family, and headed out on the long drive to Texas. We will definitely miss all of those who have blessed our lives while we lived in Utah and hope to come back to visit some day.

As you can see, there is not much to see through New Mexico and west Texas. It was pretty dry and desert-like. The only area that looked pretty was the very southwest tip of Colorado where we drove the mountains and the town of Durango.
Entering the Texas border



























Each day while driving 10 hours we had the kids take a nap in the car after we stopped for lunch. I had this great CD with lullaby songs, and they both fell asleep. The thing that helped the kids the most was bringing some movies for them to watch on Logan's laptop. Movies and stopping to use the bathroom or for a meal helped us make the long trip more bearable. And the kids were so excited once we finally arrived at my parents' house and spent the next two days there.





























Logan insisted on driving most of the first day, and he didn't want to smile at me while I was taking his picture. He is a very serious driver.
I was just trying to stay positive through the trip, but most of it was pretty boring.