First Few Weeks in Texas

Well we've now been in Texas for a few weeks and people, I'm surviving. I know I said I'd never move to Texas, but I'm here and things are going well. The weather hasn't been too hot (although I am sorely jealous of everyone in Utah who's getting the great Autumn temperatures right now), I've found a couple of jobs that are working for me, we've almost finished moving in and unpacking, and we got to see Daniel and Natalie!

We also got to see my cousin Brooke, her husband Thom, and their adorable new baby Hadley! I was really excited to be able to go over and see them since it's been a really long time since I've seen Brooke. And it worked out perfectly since my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bruce came into town as well as their sons Taylor and Blake to see them--so Grant and I got to see all of them at once! The first time we all got together Grant and I went over to Brooke and Thom's apartment in Fort Worth and it was great to just hang out and see the baby (and see the cute nursery that Brooke put together for her!) Then the second time we got together we all went to Babe's, a famous fried-chicken restaurant out here which is literally one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. If you're ever in the area, go there. You won't be disappointed!

 Fried chicken, chicken tenders, grilled chicken...you get the idea

 Thom with Hadley at Babe's

The whole gang in front of the Babe's bus

I've also been waking up in the morning and going on runs here, since I don't have a membership to a gym yet. And I've been pretty impressed with myself! It's been a long time since I've actually run outside, since I've always had a gym to go to, so I didn't know how far I'd be able to go. But the first day I did 4.5 miles, and the second day 5.2. And I haven't clocked any more of my runs but they've all been around 5 miles! I had to stop for a little bit since I hurt my foot (of course) but I'm hoping I'll get that worked out soon and maybe even get a gym membership soon too so I can do more than just run.

Another great thing about living here: we're close to Daniel and Natalie! They were so sweet and drove up here to see us a few weekends ago. It was really great to be hanging out with them again--we just love the way we can talk and laugh together. Plus we adore Finn!

They came and met us at our place and we all took off for brunch at Snooty Pig (better than it sounds!) Afterward we went to South Lake Town Center to walk around and enjoy the great weather. We got delicious gelato, watched Daniel and Grant plank in awkward places (I guess that's the point, right?), and enjoyed window shopping. After we decided to do something low-key and we went to Daniel's parents place to watch a movie. The movie didn't end up happening since we all sat around talking instead, but we did grill up some delicious brots and have an awesome dinner! Natalie and I then left the boys for the Relief Society General Broadcast and when we came home found out they had been discussing solutions to our nation's biggest problems...gotta love where their minds are! We then ate some Blue Bell (Texas original) ice-cream and played poker with Daniel's sister Melanie and her husband Rhett. To keep the night interesting we entered a planking war with our friends in Utah, Justin & Holly and Jamie & Nicole. To be fair, Justin totally started it. He sent us this picture after watching that week's episode of The Office:

So naturally, Grant and Daniel retaliated with an Anthropology plank:

Later that night we received a Bowling Plank from them:

And so responded with the ultimate Defying-Gravity-Banister Plank:

Of course, they didn't take that standing up (get it), so we got Stacked Plank:

And we continued to defy all odds with Superman Plank:

I think we finally convinced them that they weren't going to be able to out-plank us, so they didn't send anymore. We pre-planked just in case though! We were ready to bust these out if necessary:

Sneak-Attack Plank!

And Pyramid Plank!

Even Finn joined our Plank team! I mean really, did they actually think they would win?!

I've got to admit I didn't really understand planking before all this happened. But now I definitely get it--trying to out-plank someone can be pretty entertaining.

But back to our visit with Daniel and Natalie...Sunday we went to church with them (since their ward started at 10:30 and that seemed a much better option than 8:30) and later that night met up again at Melanie's for desserts and games. It was such a fun weekend and we're so glad they drove up to Dallas to see us! We've missed them a lot since they moved away last April and we're rally excited to be closer to them now. Hopefully they're going to come up over Halloween weekend this month and then we'll plan a trip down to see them in November, and they'll be up here again at Christmas! Seems like a good plan to me :)

What else is new with us? Well Grant started his job! I coaxed him into letting me take first-day-of-work pictures so be grateful for these! He wasn't easy to convince, but man does he look good!

I'm so glad he has a job that he likes doing and likes everyone he works with--that really makes a difference! We went out the other night with some of his co-workers and everyone seems really nice and easy-going. I think we're even going to get a Poker Night going with some of them, so I'm excited about that.

And as far as jobs for me go, I'm currently working two part-time jobs. I'm nannying a 6-week old baby for a family in Colleyville for just 20 or so hours a week, and also doing some writing and editing from home for a consulting firm that has an office in Utah, Texas, and Colorado. Both jobs are working out great for me! I'm really flexible with the hours for nannying, which the family loves, and when I'm not doing that I can come home and work on the other job. Both are paying well and helping us save money, so I'm very happy :) Plus, being a nanny for such a young baby has taught me that 1.) yes I can do it, but 2.) I don't want to anytime soon! I already love little Conor but really, who would sign up for this?! I'm sure I'll be singing a different tune someday but for now I'm happy to get my baby-fix elsewhere and be able to leave at the end of the day. And while working at home doing this writing/editing is nice, I'm still looking for a full-time job that will take me out of the home. I'm looking at both the publishing industry and event planning. I'd be happy with either so universe, please target some good Karma my way--I could use an interview at least!

In addition to working, I'm dedicating all my spare time to making Halloween decorations, since neither Grant nor I want to spend a lot money on the cheap stuff you see in stores. This way they'll be more meaningful and they'll last longer. We've also decided to throw a Halloween Party, so stay tune for another post about the preparations I've been making for that! It's going to be a good one!