As promised, below is a post about our last few weeks in the U.S. Time slipped away very quickly, and before we knew it, we were on our way to Dublin. On July 27th, the movers came and packed up all of our belongings that we took to Dublin. Even though we had a small house (900 sf), and were taking next to no furniture (a baby crib, our bed, one dresser), it still took the movers the ENTIRE day to pack our stuff.
We also said goodbye to Isaac and Liesl’s teachers at GLCM. They took such good care of the kids while Brad and I were at school and work. We were very sad to leave them, and Isaac still talks about his friends and his teachers at his school.
The next morning, we went to Central Market for breakfast, and one last playtime on their wonderful playground. Also – as we quickly realized, once the movers take all of your kitchen stuff, you are basically camping in your own home.
From there, we took a Texas Tour of sorts. We wanted to see friends and family before we left the States, and we had some time to kill before we flew to Dublin. (Basically, our household goods needed a several week head-start.) We went to Houston to see Natalie, Will and Nathaniel, Phyllis and Terry (Rheagan’s aunt and uncle), and Beth and Pete (Brad’s aunt and uncle, and cousins).
We had a great time staying at Natalie and Will’s house. Between three kids (3 and under), and the two dogs – Otis and Annie, it was never a dull moment. Liesl was not a fan of the dogs at first, but once she realized that Otis would eat any unwanted food from her meal, she and Otis were fast friends.
Natalie and Will also arranged for the four of us to have a nice dinner out – sans kids! We had a great time at a wonderful Italian restaurant, MiBella. The food was great, and it was nice to have a calm, relaxed dinner.
According to the pictures I took, Will did all of the bathing and reading to the kids! I’m sure the rest of us were doing something very important…like getting gelato.
We saw my aunt and uncle, Phyllis and Terry, who live in a great condo right off of Hermann Park. We wanted to go to the Park and the zoo, but the heat was so oppressive. We stayed inside and watched Thomas the Tank Engine. Isaac thought he was in heaven, because Phyllis and Terry let him watch Thomas on the big TV, while eating ice cream. (Liesl was also there, but she decided to take a marathon nap, and slept most of the afternoon.)
We also saw Brad’s aunt and uncle, the Czerniakowski’s. The kids had a great time playing with Kathryn, Kristen, and Kaylee. Isaac played with Kristen and Kaylee in the play kitchen – a perennial favorite, and Liesl and Kathryn had fun with the Cheerios activity book. (I think Liesl ate more Cheerios that afternoon than she has in a long time!)
The next post coming up is about our latest Dublin adventures. (Probably tomorrow) After that, I’ll post the second part of our Texas Tour, including exotic locales such as Bedford, Frisco, and Amarillo!
