Briefly...

Just a quick note and then hopefully some new pics in the next few days. We are back in Omaha and so, so happy to have the trip done. It was quite an adventure this week getting everything packed up in time and out of the apartment we had in Midland. Dan and Stacy arrived a few minutes early on their flight Tuesday night and that's the only thing that happened even close to on time!

We planned to get out of town by 9 Tuesday night, but instead were out a bit before 10, then it turns out moving trucks are not made for speed, so a 90-minute trip took 2 hours over to Sweetwater. The motel cost considerably more than we'd been told it would be, but that's just how it goes sometimes. We got to sleep late, got up early, but still didn't get out until around 9:30 or 9:45. Then, we managed to take what is normally a 12 to 14-hour drive and turn it into almost 18 hours, arriving in town well after 2 a.m. Dan and I then had to take the truck to the house, unload my Jeep, then drive back to Gary & Nell's in Bellevue. This meant getting to bed around 3:30 in the morning and then, just to make it fun, I had to get up at 8:15 so I could be back at our house by 9 for the movers to unload! What fun!

Needless to say, I crashed last night before 10:30 and slept until 7:30 this morning. Tomorrow (Saturday) morning, we're off to return Dan and Stacy to Custer and that's another 9-hour drive. What fun! At least we only have 1 vehicle instead of 3 for this trip, meaning we have a better shot of sticking closer to that 9-hour window. I hope to update soon with pics and or video this week! Take care everyone!

On Our Way Home

It's Saturday morning and we're in Bartlesville, having spent the night here after leaving Midland yesterday around noon. We're really looking forward to making it home, but it may take slightly longer than usual. I guess Omaha and that whole region has seen quite a bit of snow and ice over the past week, and is even getting some light snow this morning.

However, I checked road conditions through the State Dept. of Roads for Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri and all looks fine for where we need to go. If you see this today, please pray for good travel and conditions and for our safety. :)

Katy & Zac Here!

Just a quick note...Katy, Zac and Nell arrived late Thursday night, Friday morning at about 3:15 a.m. It was a long night for all, and I know most of us didn't get much more than 2 hours of sleep or so. My boss was kind enough to give me a short day Friday after I had to work a short day Thursday when the movers arrived, and we celebrated Katy's 51st birthday with dinner at On The Border. Why 51? It's a long story related to some confusion at Sears several weeks back. Why On The Border? Because of course, where else do you go for Mexican food in West Texas? (he says with tongue very much planted in cheek)

I had people lined up to embarrass Katy with a song, but she declined dessert and I couldn't find the person who'd agreed to get people together for it, so we had to skip it. That's OK, though, because she enjoyed her birthday dinner and we enjoyed the evening together.

Nell left Midland this morning at 9:40, or was supposed to, on her flight back to Omaha. What a huge help she was to Katy these past several weeks, helping her pack and then driving down with her so she'd have extra assistance when I couldn't help out. We're very, very thankful for such a good mom and mom-in-law. Pics to be added soon! We need to download a pic of us in front of the townhouse here in Midland that Nell took for us yesterday, so I'll get that in before long.

More Rain in Midland

I hope everyone enjoyed the last video posted on Tuesday. I can tell you one thing; being down here away from Katy and Zac has not been a fun experience for me, but those videos and pictures she sends me really make a difference. Also, I get to talk to him every night on the phone, which is fun. Last night he decided to talk to me a bit, and the previous night he laughed once on the phone, so that just makes my day! On an ideal day, I get to talk to Katy, Zac and Claire and that helps my day feel complete.

So the title of this post was about the rain here. I'm beginning to question the honesty of all the people down here who told me we never get rain in this part of West Texas. I've been here barely two weeks and we've had rain on at least 5 or 6 days, several times with quite a bit of rain. It's been raining since early morning at least, and continues to rain solidly. Remember that picture Katy took that we posted previously showing the flooding in the streets? Yeah, today it's worse because it's been continual. With no sewer system to speak of, it doesn't take much rain to create flooding, so on my way home from running errands this morning, I went through several patches of water at least 6 inches deep. I think I know now why so many people here drive big 4x4 trucks. In Nebraska, we love our SUVs and trucks, but here, it's truck, truck, truck all the way. Being in a car at a stop light makes you feel very small.

What Rain Does To Midland

Two pics for you tonight. Katy just e-mailed me some pics she took last Friday night when we got a huge thunderstorm here in Midland...the place that never gets rain. Since they don't have a sewer system here, the rain just pools and floods the roads. Being in a car instead of a truck or SUV in this is pretty tough since the water is so high. Maybe that's why so many people here drive huge trucks.

The second pic is of Zac, taken either last night or tonight as Katy had finished feeding him before bed. As you can see, he had decided the TV was much more important than anything else. Ah, just like his Dad!

Delayed Updates

A quick note here, folks, to give an update on things. I know many are probably wondering how everything is going with the move to Midland. We've been just swamped with stuff to do and buy. Oh, the buying. If you've ever had to move someplace without all of your stuff, think of the little things you have to buy that you need. Like a broom and dustpan, trash bags, a place to sit, soaps, toilet paper, etc. I could go on for awhile. When we bought a bunch of things Friday at the Wal-Mart here, we had a FULL shopping cart. I don't mind shopping, but looking at all that money going for things we already have on hand back in Omaha was tough. :)

Trying our best to get settled in a bit. Katy had a GREAT interview this morning with West Texas Gas Co. and is in the middle of one right now with Accountemps. She has another scheduled for tomorrow with a trucking company. I think she's going to get the one with the gas company. She had a great feeling about it, as did I, and it feels like a great fit. The office is about 7 minutes from our townhouse. In fact, most everything is within a 10-minute drive. Even my job over in Odessa will take 15, maybe 20 minutes to get to in the morning.

We have to register the car today, which isn't cheap for new Texas residents, but it has to be done. We'll do my Jeep next month after we complete the move. Katy flies back to Omaha Wednesday afternoon and then we're still looking at Labor Day for the move down here. I'll try to get pics here and there posted. Sorry so many delays lately!