Big Tex

While Laurann was here visiting, Aaron's parents were also here for the weekend. We all piled into the car including Savanah and Vanessa (who skipped school for the day) and headed for the State Fair of Texas.

They handed out special pins for the Opening Day.

We were greeted by Big Tex, who was recently named the quirkiest landmark in America.

I couldn't pass up my annual chance to have a Fletcher's Corny Dog. They truly are the best corn dog  and are only sold at the Fair. 

(Red suitcase photobomb. Who takes luggage to the State Fair? Haha. Somebody must be having a great time!!)

Aaron's parents asked to see the animals at the fair. Aaron told them we don't go to the fair to see animals. We go to the fair to eat food. This year we ate Fletchers's Corny dogs, fried mac and cheese, fried cheesecake, Frito pie, smoked turkey leg, fried cookie dough, fried chocolate chip burrito, fried pumpkin pie, fried PB&J with bacon sandwich, fried jumbalaya, and lots of salt water taffy. I never did find fried pecan pie and the one place I asked for a fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was out. It's probably better for my waistline anyway.

Laurann and I did some shopping. We both ended up with some great home decor.

Lynn and Elaine were interested in seeing the Cotton Bowl after watching games on TV that were played in there.

 They seemed to really have a great time that day!!

 Here are a few of the sights around the Fairpark.

Have I ever mentioned that Vanessa means butterfly? She is the cutest little bug I have ever seen!!

 Such a Texas sized fun day!

Dream Come True

When the children were little I remember getting "cabin fever" even before they did. I just needed to get out of the house!! Now that I have teenagers I find we spend so much time out and about that my new "dream day" would be to stay home with all of my family for an entire day wearing pajamas and doing nothing but hanging around. That sounds heavenly!!

Last week a major storm system arrived in our area.  The temperature plummeted 60+ degrees. The temperature did not get above freezing for several days. Along with the cold temps came ice, straight ice and lots of it. North Texans are not used to this type of weather.

Here is the thing, it was still warm when the storm arrived so the first of the precipitation was rain, then the sun went down and everything froze. On top of that, we had even more freezing rain and sleet. The result was 2-3 inches of ice. There are very few snowplows in the area because we get a storm like this every two to three years so it isn't a high priority on city budgets. A number of people from this area don't know how to drive on icy roads and those of us who have lived farther north know better and don't want to drive on icy roads. In the end, it is just easier if everyone stays home if possible until the temps warm up and the ice thaws. Schools were closed, all church meetings were cancelled, businesses did not open, roads were closed. The city came to a standstill.

When we woke up the next morning, this is what we found. Everything was coated in ice.

The girls took full advantage of the snow day and break from school to play outside. Gratefully, we still had proper attire since we moved all our snow gear down with us. We just don't pull it out very often.

They soon discovered it was not snow. It was ice and only ice. That made it less fun but, they still enjoyed playing outside. At one point I noticed the girls were simply playing with an ice scraper. How fitting!!

They weren't the only ones that learned to improvise. Friends and neighbors posted photos of the children using cookie sheets, cardboard, pool tubes, laundry baskets, and tote lids as sleds. Any tiny little hill became a gigantic snow sledding event.

The ice didn't melt for days. Life stood still for four days. As the ice started to melt on the fourth day, the girls went sledding. Is it still considered sledding if you only use a piece of cardboard? Even then, they didn't even really need the cardboard.

Long time readers know that I am not a fan of winter, snow, and cold temperatures. Winter is best enjoyed standing inside a warm house looking out the window while drinking hot chocolate. This card sums up my feelings on winter....

We were grateful that we had power. There were 500,000 people that at one point that did not have power. We had plenty of food. I stopped by the store while I was out running errands the day before the storm arrived. Apparently, I wasn't the only one......

This isn't so far from the truth. It wasn't quite this bad, but the shelves were getting pretty bare. It took almost a week for Target to get milk back on the shelves.

As the days came to a close I loved the effects the ice had on our outdoor lighting.

My dream day turned into a dream weekend. It became the never ending snow day  A four day weekend where we stayed in sweats and pajamas and didn't leave the house. I was pleasantly surprised that I quite enjoyed the wonderfully cold, icy, days. They were actually a dream come true.

Happy Place

One mile north north of my house, this is what I see.

The north Texas skyline.

We live on the edge of the prairie. There are no mountains. There is no lush forest. There are rolling hills after rolling hills. The beauty of this area maybe harder to see but it is there. Some may say that it is bland and boring.  For me it is home. It is where my heart and soul reside. It is where I raise my children and live with the love of my life. It is home for my family.

This is one of my favorite places to go running. I exercise early in the morning and I love the peace and calm that comes as the sun starts to rise. I don't listen to music. I listen to the birds and the wind and my heartbeat and the sound of my feet. I listen to myself.

I believe that everybody should love where they live. No matter where they call home. We all need to find our happy place.

Adjustment

I have people ask me all the time how our family is adjusting to Texas. Here is my reply.....with a few random photos from our recent family picture photo shoot added in.

The summer was great! We hung out at the pool, we hung out at home, we hung out on vacation. You get the picture?

Then school started. Life was brutal those first few weeks of school as the kids had to figure out new schedules and systems. We had to face the reality that our move to Texas was not just an extended vacation. We actually had to LIVE here.

The girls adjusted well. They had girls in their classes invite them to play out at recess. Vanessa found a couple of friends she knew from church out at the playground. Savanah decided shortly after school started that she would rather play soccer with the boys than do girly things. She doesn't care if she is the only girl out on the field. She shows those boys how it's done.

AJ has 25+ boys his age at church. He had at least one of them in every single class at school. He has friends on the football team and cross country team. He is a friendly kid who makes friends easily.

Ethan had football for which I am so grateful. Football helped him make friends and build confidence. We worried a little bit about his adjustment to a new high school. He has done really well. I LOVE the school here! They called us into a meeting a month or two after school started with his counselor, vice principal, and a teacher just to make sure he was transitioning well. I really feel like this school respects us as parents and respects our opinion as to what is best for our student. Like I said, he is doing great!

Este came home from school on the second day and told us that he stepped into the cafeteria and didn't know a single soul. He sat by himself the entire lunch period. He hated his classes. He either had class with freshman or an AP class (each of which promised to be the hardest class offered at the school). He also has his soccer team class where he learned they would be having try-outs the first week of school.

You know when my boys were little and upset about something I would simply pull them into my lap and hug and kiss away the pain. Now that they are bigger than me, I can't do that anymore. I found it heartbreaking and I felt completely helpless. I told him that I promised it would get better. That sounded shallow even to  me so I didn't mind when he simply rolled his eyes. Then, I reminded him that each of us felt that it was right to move to Texas. I explained to him that just because something is right does not mean it will be easy. On the contrary, a lot of the times the "right thing" is very difficult. It doesn't mean that it wasn't right. It just means that sometimes, even when you do what is best, life sucks.

Life did get better. He not only made the soccer team, he will be starting varsity and was asked by the coaches to be a team captain. He learned how to survive his classes and has maintained his 4.0. He has made friends in class and on the team. He has learned to accept his responsibilities and soar.

Both Ethan and Este have had the opportunity to answer questions about our church. Being the new guys and from Utah, they get asked all the time if they are Mormon. They answer in the affirmative and any other questions that come their way. It's usually not just one kid asking one question. It's a group of kids asking several questions. I have been proud of the way they have handled standing out. I have seen them take the opportunity to stand up. Stand up for what they believe

And so it is.....we are adjusting well. I realize it will take even more time. I am grateful that I can be home to help my kids settle into this new life. It is a good life and I can honestly say we are happy. I don't know what the future holds for our family here in Texas. I just know that if we stick together and stay strong to our beliefs, we will be just fine.

Texas Royalty

When I talk about the royalty of Texas, I'm not talking about this.......

I'm talking about this....

Yep. High school football is the King of Texas.

There have been numerous books written about it.

There is a TV series based on it.

But, until you experience it,.... ..you may not understand and I don't even know how to put it into words.

To start off, high school football does not begin during the freshman year. It begins way before then.

The majority of male children in the state of Texas are held back a year before entering kindergarten so they will be bigger and more athletic when they reaches high school. I have heard it referred to as the Texas high school redshirt.

Little league football is really the beginning of high school football practice. It starts as soon as a boy is just big enough to wear helmets and pads.I have seen teams out at practice with their parent's headlights shining on the field after dark. Yes, they are still in elementary school.There are towns that start the kids running high school plays so they know the play by heart at the time they finally reach high school. When they do enter high school most of the boys have been playing football with each other or against each other for years.

It's not just about the football players, cheerleading starts just as young. Each of the little football teams has a cheerleading squad. The girls learn cheers, do stunts (minor),  and wear their uniforms to school the day before the game. It's the real deal!

It still doesn't end there. Marching band is just as important. Marching band starts in middle school. There are hundreds of kids in the band that practice throughout the off season and summer. In fact, their practices last longer than the football team's practice. There are times during the summer where they are practicing at the school for 12 hours a day. I will say, their performances are amazing!

The stadiums are huge around here. The neighboring town just opened a $60 million stadium that sells out it's 18,000 seats. It has two scoreboards, a 38 ft. high definition video screen, and 42 lines for concessions. Aaron and Este went to the game on opening night. It was impressive!

Each high school has a practice field, a playing field (Varsity doesn't play on that field. They play games in the stadiums) and an indoor practice field.

I don't want to get into the politics of school funding and overboard athletics; I'm just telling you like it is. The competition is cut throat, die hard, and high stakes. High school football is taken very seriously around here.

That is why at the end of one of Ethan's games we were confused when the officials had the teams line up for another play. Both teams lined up. The ball was snapped and the linemen slowly stood up. From the line of scrimmage ran one player from the other team with several other players surrounding him in what appears to be an escort. He ran into the end zone for a touchdown. Our team jogged down to the end zone to give the player a high five. Those of us in the crowd were absolutely confused.

Turns out that team has a boy who LOVES football. He works hard at every practice and does his very best every time he sets foot out on the field. The problem is due to brain trauma the only time he can actually set foot out on the field is at the end of the game with the opponent's permission, he takes the snap and runs for a touchdown.

Tender moments don't just start at the high school. When a little league football team lost a player tragically, the crowd for their next football game was huge and consisted of many opponents from the league and their families wearing that team's colors and the boy's  football number. There were banners on the fence around the field sharing love and support for this football team from every team in the league.

The local newspaper had a recent article about a football player who was injured during a football game and how the players and staff from both teams met at midfield and joined in prayer on the players behalf.

Maybe high school football down here is a little bit crazy. I've heard it said that to say that football is big in Texas is like saying it snows in Alaska but, there's something about it that warms my heart when you look at the good it can teach these boys.

Texas State Fair

Last month we visited the Texas State Fair. This had been on our bucket list since we moved here. We decided to go on a Monday when the kids had parent-teacher conferences. We thought the crowds would be smaller on a weekday. Well, almost every school district in the area has parent-teacher conference on that same Monday. Most people who have lived here longer than six months also refer to it as State Fair Day because that's when EVERYBODY takes their kids to the state fair. Of course, we didn't know that until we pulled into the massive parking lot at the same time as what seemed like the other two million annual visitors.

Despite the massive crowds, we still had a great time. The Texas State Fair is famous for it's food (fried food that is) and there is lots and lots of it. You can't just buy food with cash. You have to use coupons for the food and rides. Candice had visited the fair the previous week with relatives who were in town. Her brother-in-law was wondering who in the world would ever get the $150 coupon package. He obviously does not know Aaron.

Since we had more coupons than should be humanly possible, we set out to spend them. We started out with foot long corn dogs. I LOVE corn dogs!! I have no explanation for it. I know deep down inside they are nothing more than fat-on-a-stick but they are sooo tasty!

The girls enjoyed them as well.

While these foot-long beauties are fun for pictures, I would personally recommend you save your coupons for Fletcher's Corny Dogs. They are far better tasting. Amazing actually and I know my corn dogs.

The boys joined on on the fun with fried cookie dough and fried pepperoni pizza. Both of which are quite delicious if you like deep fried junk food.

And don't forget the pickles. For those of you who may not know, pickles are a staple food here in Texas.

What is the big deal with the food? It is a big deal. A few years back, the state fair board created the the Big Tex Choice Awards.  Particpating fair vendors submit new creations to a panel of judges each year. These judges give awards for the Best Taste and Most Creative. Even being a finalist for the awards guarantees long lines during the fair. According to the fair's website, BigTex.com, the contest is considered a friendly food fight among fair concessionaires. The vendor who often wins an award actually quit his day job because he can make more money selling fried food during the month of the fair than he did working at his computer job year round.

How do they do it? They take any type of food, I mean ANY type of food, dip it in batter, and fry it. Simple as that. Here are a just a few samples of what we had to eat...

My personal favorite was the pecan pie. We also had fried jumbalaya, fried snickers, and Ethan even had fried chicken skins. He said it was nasty but YOLO (You Only Live Once).

There are other famous things at the Texas State Fair, including Big Tex who celebrated his 60th birthday this year. I will admit he is a bit creepy but, it was fun to hear his Texas drawl as he said, "Howdy, y'all!".

On a sad note just a week after we went to the fair Big Tex caught on fire. I think it would have been even creepier to watch him go up in flames.

It was a sad day in Texas to loose Big Tex. The mayor of Dallas promised that Big Tex will be rebuilt.  Fairgoers set up a make shift memorial for him in order to say goodbye.

On a happier note, the fair inspired dreams of driving fancy cars,

.... a sick stereo system,

 ....the Heisman trophy.

In a few years this could even be a reality. That's a nightmarish thought right there! These four girls cruisin' Dallas in about ten years...scary!

Aaron and I rode the famous Texas Star ferris wheel with the girls.

We could see over the Cotton Bowl (The tickets were sold out long before we moved to Texas so we didn't  get to go to the UT vs. OU game. After the result of the game, that was a probably a good thing.)

We could also see the Dallas skyline from the top of the ferris wheel.

As always the girls were ready and posed for photos at every chance.

I even snuck in a few photos of my boys.

I'd call that a successful day!