How has it been a week already?! However, I am happy to report that in a week’s time, there is already a night and day difference around here. I’m going to just break it down chronologically. 😉
Monday:
Giddy excitement as we head out to meet our realtor at the house to get our keys at around 9am. Immediately learn the AC was busted. Like fan on outside unit busted clean off. 😑 Fast forward through a full out temper tantrum and quite a few cuss words, our realtor gets me in touch with a HVAC company that comes out that same day and gets it running again but also informs me that the FIVE YEAR OLD UNIT is on its last leg. We’ve owned 20 yr old units that have limped along better than this hunk of junk. Our realtor got to work on finding out what rights we had in a situation like this while I left the house that day saying I never wanted to come back.
Lessons for Monday: 1.)ALWAYS get the HVAC units inspected during option period. This was the first time we hadn’t done that because we were confident in the age of the unit. 2.)ALWAYS do a final walk through before closing. Regardless of how rushed the stupid title company wants to make it. In our in our case, they gave us an hour’s notice. We should have told them wait.

Tuesday:
I woke up willing to go back to the house however reluctantly. Ashlyn had dance class this evening and I was looking forward to the ease of a 15 min commute to and from so I decided we would spend the night too. Mom followed us and we brought a big load of boxes over from the storage unit. AC had held out over night, so we got some floors mopped, baseboards wiped and boxes piled in. Mom headed home and I took Ashlyn to dance class. That evening the kids and I ended up having dinner at our newly acquainted neighbors house as a result of her walking by and inviting us! 😆 We’ve gotten to know the family (kids aged 17, 8, and 5) some more this past week and can’t believe that before we even spent one night here, we have already made friends! That helped my outlook on the place ALOT more.
Lesson for Tuesday: Being spontaneous and trusting can pay off!
Wednesday:
We slept so good! Even all piled in one room! It’s quite a comfy feeling house! We enjoyed a lazy start to the morning and I got more mopping done in the final room downstairs. Then I got an amazing phone call from our realtor. She had emailed our situation with the AC to the seller’s agent and had gotten a reply that the seller was willing to split the cost of getting a whole new unit installed. WOW! Not only was the seller not contractually obligated to help at all, she was going beyond just repair reimbursement to thousands of dollars contribution! Can’t find a person like that in Houston! We ended the day with a trip to Walmart for rugs and shelf liner and some playtime with our new friends.
Lessons for Wednesday: 1.) Dirt will always find a way into your house in the country without some well placed rugs. 2.)There’s still good folks in this world.
Thursday:
Mom returned ready to help tackle the pantry that I had chalked up to a lost cause while I cleaned out kitchen cabinets. Today was by far the grossest of all. The pantry had mouse traps in it and holes that led to God knows where. After I removed all mouse traps and left behind canned goods, Mom went in armed with a face mask, rubber gloves and bleach cleaner. She got it wiped out top to bottom and I attacked the holes with pest control great foam and it’s ready for paint. I’m glad I didn’t just barricade the door and waste all that storage. (Thanks mom!) 😉 The kitchen cabinets actually didn’t go as smoothly. There was mouse poop on top of shelf liner on top of mouse poop. 😵 So gross. I have yet to find any dead or alive mice, so my best guess is all this crap is from a previous infestation that never got properly cleaned. Y’all keep y’all’s fingers crossed for me this is the case. We eventually got it done. Ashlyn even helped peel shelf liner!
Lesson for Thursday: Great Foam is some good shit!

Friday:
Weston turned 5 today! And Nathan came into town to see his house for only the 2nd time! While he got things lined out with his new job in Tyler, the kids and I ran a load from the storage unit. We came back home to a set up TV! Hallelujah! It was a rough 4 days without the electronic babysitter! 😆 Weston said it was for his birthday, haha! That evening we took the kids to the East Texas State Fair in honor of Bubby’s birthday. That was a fantastic experience.

Saturday and Sunday:
We made 2 loads from storage with a truck, trailer and my car and we got it all in one weekend! Woot! I was able to move the kids into their own room while we get the upstairs ready and it turned out so well!

I really don’t see us having a problem doing this for a month or so. Our refrigerator got delivered as well! It was quite entertaining! After removing the back door entirely and popping some trim off from the doorway leading into the kitchen, the delivery guys were able to literally shove it in. And I just love it! It’s so funny getting excited over appliances, but I see this item as the first piece of my dream kitchen I have conjured up in my head.

Lessons for the weekend: 1.) moving will always suck and I REALLY don’t want to do it ever again. 2.) 100 yr old houses have smaller door ways because people were apparently smaller in general back then. 3.) Sacrifice certain ascetics in the name of ascetics.
Andddd that brings us to the present! Today I got the hallway cleared by reassigning boxes to their designated rooms upstairs. I don’t want to think about the number of times I’ve gone up and down stairs today. Wish I had been wearing my fitbit this week! Tomorrow is showing the house to our first out of town guests, Kelli and Rebecca(!), and painting the pantry. 👍🏻

-Lindsay

I was going to include this story in the previous post because we visited the State Park on our way home from Bandera, but it turned into SUCH AN EVENT, it gets its own post. Government Canyon State Natural Area had been brought up as a “oh we should stop there on our way through San Antonio” a few times. It has dinosaur tracks! Yes! We LOVE dinosaurs! So cool! All that jazz. Now add the extra incentive of my new found goal. We were going to make it happen this time! We were going to just whisk in there, check out these dinosaur tracks and then mosey on into San Antonio for a relaxing lunch before making the 5 hr drive back to Jacksonville. Easy peasy assumption. And we all know what happens when we assume, don’t we. 😉          We pull in, get our trails map and start looking for our destination. It’s probably right around where we parked right? Nope. 2.5 miles. One way. Nathan and I take a quick parent side bar that basically consisted of him looking at me like I was nuts while I said, “we can do this! We gotta do this! We’re here, now is the time.” All that motivational stuff. And because he knows (and loves) my kind of crazy by now, I got a hesitant “you know I will try.” The kids were warned that this wasn’t going to be easy and would take a while, but they just yelled for dinosaur tracks.

At around 9:30, I packed 7 bottles of water, like 8 packages of snacks in a backpack, and we were off. The first 1/2 mile was was excitement and energy. A lot of telling the kids to stop running and save their energy. The trail was what I would call easy. It was rocky, but well maintained and scraped and mostly shaded. They had 1/2 mile markers along the way to keep you going or like one in particular warning you that if you were already out of water to turn back! 😆 By about 3/4 mile, Nathan started carrying Archer. The rest of way, we swapped out carrying Archer and stopped about every half mile to drink water and give the kids a snack. Ashlyn kept in stride with Daddy the whole way there which is no easy feat! We had to refocus Weston a few times from picking up every cool looking rock, stick or millipede.

FINALLY we reached the tracks and we were already SO TIRED. The kids mustered some more energy to be excited about the sight of legit theropod and sauropod tracks side by side. I mustered some energy to geek out a bit explaining the difference between the species and even caught a tadpole with hindlegs for the kids to see up close.

It was pretty amazing to imagine what all those tracks stayed in tact through. Although I did hear Ashlyn mutter, “this wasn’t as cool as I thought it would be.”

The walk back was a blur of whining from the kids and catching up to Nathan who either had Weston or Archer on his back and just trucked it. I was quite surprised by the number of families we passed on their way to the tracks that had little babies, toddlers, kids even and NO visible water or backpacks. Our last swig of water disappeared just as we got back to the trail head. ^^still managing to smile after 3 miles^^

I took out my phone to text mom that we were exhausted and would not be driving into Jacksonville that evening and saw that it was 1:30!!! 😳 I was in awe that the kids managed all that on snacking alone. We promptly headed out and were eating lunch by 2. It was actually really surprising to see a State Park so surrounded by development. But I guess that’s what is happening on out skirts of cities everywhere these days. I made it as far as Buda that evening while Nathan drove all the way into Houston for work the next morning. The kids were happy to jump in the pool at the motel and even said it made up for the hard walk that day. Taking 3 kids ages 7 and under for a 5 mile hike can be classified as insane. And I’m happy to say I didn’t get a call from a divorce attorney the next week. 😆 Since this trip, I’ve had 3 people ask me if I felt it was worth it after all. I’m going to stick with yes. Sure this trip could’ve waited till the kids were a little older, but we seized an opportunity and showed ourselves what we were really made of. The tracks are cool, but not super exciting. I am glad we saw them now. With all the encroachment going on out there, who knows how much longer they’ll be in that good of shape. Even with the protection of the state park. My two takeaways from this experience? We’re in the process of shopping camelbacks for the kids and Ashlyn is now the owner of bonafide hiking boots. That girl earned them (and needs them 😉)

-Lindsay

I am in love, y’all! The Medina River is the Frio River I knew 20 years ago. The river itself is that clear, greenish water that allows you to see the rock bottom at all times. The particular stretch we floated ended at the city park and while we saw residences along the way, they were set way back and for the most part our scenery was shade producing cypress trees.

We floated the 1 hr long stretch twice and made 4 hrs of it by stopping at some beaches and letting the kids splash around.

We went on a Sunday during a holiday weekend and saw maybe 5 other groups of people all of which had the same, “we love this little secret of a river” comment. We also came across TWO pieces of trash, one of which we were able to retrieve and leave it cleaner than we found it. There were only 2 sets of rapids on this stretch, but that was perfect for taking 3 young children down a foreign river for the first time. Mommy still managed to flip a$$ over head at least once on them 😆 The wonderful folks at the family run Medina River Company provided our tubes and as many rides as we liked on their shuttle service. They told us the other float trip they recommended was about 4 hrs with 8 rapids and 2 waterfalls. 😳 That trip may wait another year.

The last couple of years on the Frio have proven difficult to find that kind of calm, truly relaxing experience that we had on this trip. In my early 20’s I noticed the river changing from what I grew up with into a more party atmosphere and let’s be honest! I was loving the hell out of it then! Now I want a river to raise my kids on that doesn’t have (c)rap music blaring from a radio the next group over or wondering if that person who bumped against my kids’ tube in the crowd is going to be a creep.  So, we’ll leave the Frio to those of my former youth. My family will be found on the Medina enjoying it for as long as it takes for the “yayhoos” to show up.After 7 years of pregnancies and raising babies, it was really surreal taking our WHOLE family on a float trip together. Let a whole notha level of fun begin!

-Lindsay

Well we found ourselves farmhouse-less for labor weekend. So why let a 3 day weekend go to waste?! I had warned Nathan that if we weren’t getting a farmhouse, I wanted to be floating on the Frio. He thought I was kidding. When I started looking at cabins the Monday before, I was striking out. It was obviously going to be a crowded weekend and I didn’t care to get into that anyways. This was going to be the first year all 3 kids floated with us and I didn’t need the added drama.
I had seen a few pictures of the Medina River on Pinterest and had earmarked it for future reference. Time to refer to it! After a quick search, I found a very affordable house and floatable river area in Bandera! I promptly texted Nathan, “Frio out. Medina in.” 😄 We then decided I would leave from Mom’s with the kiddos Friday am and Nathan would leave from Houston Friday evening after work.

The kids and I left at 8am anticipating almost a full day in the car. Glad we gave ourselves that! TEN hours later, we pulled in the drive of this cute little blue house 3 blocks away from the heart of Bandera. Along the way we stopped at Common Grounds in Waco, played at the most epic splash pad ever in Georgetown, drove the very scenic 1431 to Marble Falls and stopped in Boerne for groceries at HEB.

(BTW the boys are not actually pissed in this picture. They have decided that this is “posing” for a photo 🤔)

It was the farthest and longest drive I’ve made solo with the kids so far and we ALL did really well! There was only one quick side-of-a-desolate-road pee break needed for Archer! 👍🏻

Nathan got to the house by 10:30 pm and the kids were stoked to see him when they woke up this morning. I learned that this weekend was The Bandera Days celebration and that today Main St was going to have a parade led by a legit longhorn cattle drive! We weren’t missing that! And we weren’t disappointed either!

With the heat of the day upon us, we decided to load up and drive the 15 minutes to Hill Country State Natural Area, one of the 95 state parks on our list. I had already learned that it was primarily geared towards equestrian use, but we managed a quick half mile hike to the top of a hill to take in some views.

The park offers 40 miles of trails with horse-friendly campsites scattered around the 5,200 acres. Hitching posts and corrals were everywhere. I imagine if you get a desire to camp out cowboy style, this would be a really fun place to do it!

After some rest back at the house, we ate out for dinner at “TJ’s at the Old Forge” across Main St from our house and had a great dinner, which included bacon wrapped quail as an appetizer, while listening to live country music.

Tomorrow will be our float day on the Medina River and I just know I’m going to have great things to say about it too. Hopefully Monday we can stop at Government Canyon State Natural Area on the way home to make lucky number 13 on our list. It has dinosaur tracks!

A few weeks ago, I was inspired to make the goal of taking all 3 kids to all 95 Texas State Parks by the time Ashlyn was 17. Ten years from now. Crazy goal? Kind of. Doable? Definitely! With 10 down in the last 2 years, I would only need to bump up my average to 7-9/yr to make up the other 85! 👍🏻
Here’s where we stand right now. (In no particular order)
1. San Jacinto Battleground & Monument SP
2. Battleship Texas State Historical Site
3. Palmetto SP
4. Mother Neff SP
5. Daingerfield SP
6. Garner SP
7. Tyler SP
8. Sea Rim SP
9. Sheldon Lake SP
10. Galveston Island SP

Number 9 and 10 I gave myself due to my personal knowledge that the parks didn’t offer anything more than what we witnessed on countless visits to Galveston and Lake Houston. I know, cheater, cheater.

After today, we now have number 11, Mission Tejas SP! We took advantage of the 30 minute day trip from mom’s house and thoroughly enjoyed our 3 hrs in this Piney Woods State Park located along the historical El Camino Real.

The kids got to check out the replicated architecture of a 1690’s Spanish Mission and that of a restored 1820’s log home. We walked the actual site of El Camino Real where I geeked out pretty good.

Some fun facts about El Camino Real that, in my opinion, credits it with Texas’ very existence. As far back as the 1400s, The Caddo Indians “blazed” primitive trails for the purpose of travel between neighboring villages. One trail in particular ran north east through Texas into Louisiana. In the late 1600’s when the Spaniards set out from Mexico to settle farther east into the piney woods of Texas, they found and used this very trail. Which then led them to encounter the Caddo. The natives greeted the Spaniards with a word that sounded like “tayshas” which meant “friends”, but the Spaniards thought they were being told a location name and recorded the area as Tejas. Which we all know turns into Texas.

This particular mission in this area didn’t make it (a whopping 4 years before the Indians ran them off for bringing disease).

Many other missions held their ground along El Camino Real evolving the trail into a roadway for settlers in the 1800’s. Davy Crockett being one!

paparazzi mom made the kids “head west” like Davy Crockett did.😉 I thoroughly enjoyed standing on some of the oldest travelled land in Texas and the kids couldn’t fathom coming through the “middle of nowhere to find a place to live” like that.

-Lindsay

I’m going to chat about chicken shenanigans today because I have nothing good to say about the house buying process right now. 30 days to pull paper work together is stupid. 45 days is just being lazy and pathetic. We may not close until September 6th now and that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

We’re up to 2 laying hens now! I hope we never stop being this excited to collect eggs!

Since the girls have moved to East Texas, we’ve had them in what we called “the dollhouse” coop set up on Mom’s back porch. The dollhouse is of course a Pinterest inspired repurpose of Archer’s old LittleTykes playhouse! They are in there overnight between 8pm and 7am. Then they are released to “the tractor”! I have no idea why it’s called this, but that is what Pinterest calls them and, of course, is where I got the idea. Because it’s pvc construction, it’s fairly easy to drag around the yard giving them variety and keeping Mom’s yard intact. Between the two enclosures, we’ve had good luck keeping them safe from predators out here and with a little trial and error have a good system for the interim.

What’s been fun in the last 2 weeks is accommodating the demands of a laying hen. They can be a little on the diva side! When Sasquatch started laying, we would just find eggs on the ground in the tractor. Legit yard egg, right!? When Pearl decided to get in on the action, we soon figured out how particular hens can be about their nest box! NOW we look for her start her neurotic pacing in the tractor late in the morning. Everyone gets let out to free range while she marches her fluffy butt to the coop bawking all the way. She gets settled in, gets quiet and about 5 minutes later emerges bawking a little more. Sure enough, there’s a warm little egg in there! 

She doesn’t even mind a little paparazzi while she’s doing her thing 😄 Sasquatch, in the meantime, is still content to just drop hers whenever and wherever she gets the notion. I certainly hope when the other 2 join the laying ranks, they are laid back like her. One diva chicken is enough!

All in all, it has been a pain in the butt moving these chickens.😜I’m glad we pushed through and that Mom has been so accommating with these yahoos all over her yard. They’re surviving and so are we. I’m glad we didn’t start over at the new house and have to put ANOTHER 6 months in before getting eggs. I REALLY like not buying eggs at $7/dozen anymore! And speaking of store bought eggs, check this out…

Which one is not like the others? We had one store bought egg left and when I cracked it in with our farm eggs one morning, I  was blown away! In case yall are wondering, dark yellow is loaded with way more of the good stuff. 👍🏻

Well, it’s been lovely talking chickens instead of thinking about the amazing house that we are so close to getting  while at the mercy of a dawdling corporation. 😒 Next post will be me telling y’all that they pulled they’re heads out and got us in BEFORE Labor Day weekend.

-Lindsay

Well, 80% of our belongings now reside in East Texas! In the time span of 24hrs, Nathan put in 2 hrs at work Saturday am, loaded all of our furniture in his truck and a trailer with the help of my dad, drove up to Jacksonville (where our storage unit is), then he and I unloaded it all Sunday morning. Moving is SO fun! 😐

^All loaded up and ready to depart Atascocita. So glad my dad still has mad skills from all the those years of moving his family!

^Delivered all intact! Nathan really man-handled this fiasco! No way I would’ve driven that load 3 hrs on my own.

All in all we saved thousands of dollars by not hiring movers or even a moving truck. Sure, it rained on this particular weekend after a 2 month dry spell annnndd a foot to our couch may or may not have gotten busted clean off….Moving is SO FUN! 🙄

I have to say it is so nice sitting on the other side of this weekend now. Getting that chunk of our stuff up here has been stressing me out as much as getting a final closing  date nailed down for our new house! Now we get to focus this week on making sure the mortgage and title companies quit pointing fingers at one another long enough to do what we’re paying them to! MOVING IS SO FUN. 😒

It’s so worth it, though.

Right? 😉

-Lindsay