Welcome to Dallas, Texas!

We've been in Dallas for a little over two months now.  I thought "Farewell to Unalaska" would be the end of this blog and I would either stop altogether or begin a new blog to document our new life in Texas, but I kinda like the idea of finishing out 2015 before letting this go.  So bear with me as I recount the last couple of months in a few more posts.

I think this was the first day we were in town after our long flights and worries about the cats!  We spent a couple of nights with Sarah and Miles and kids before moving into our apartment.  I was so happy to finally be here and to be with the kids!

I had rented an apartment for us when I was in Dallas in September.  Of course, we had sold most of our stuff and the rest was on a ship which would take several more weeks to arrive.  I ordered a couch, and a small dining table and two chairs but they had not arrived yet either.  Our first task was to rent a car so we could run our many errands, and to buy a mattress so we'd have something to sleep on!

We found an eco-friendly mattress we liked and made arrangements to pick it up at the company's warehouse the next day instead of waiting 3 more days for a delivery. The weather had been sunny and warm until we had a major rainstorm with high winds--you guessed it--the day we had to pick up the mattress.  Okay, it wasn't too bad when we left the apartment, though the storm was in the forecast.  By the time we found the warehouse, it was raining.  The mattress was completely sealed in  thick plastic so we loaded it up anyway and hoped for the best.  On the way back to the apartment, we were suddenly engulfed in a total deluge of Biblical proportions, as Rich later described it.  It was quite an adventure trying to see where we were going and not run into anything with a mattress hanging out of the bed of the pickup.

Luckily, we made it home with no mishaps,  but the mattress managed to get wet despite the wrapping.  We took the hair dryer to it and stood it up in the bedroom under the ceiling fan.  It was not a cheap mattress and I was horrified to think we might have ruined it right off the bat.   Thankfully, it's fine, if a little water stained!

We had many move-in adventures but over a couple of days we got settled into our little one bedroom apartment.  It's brand new so we are the first ones to live in it, and it's very nice, but very small!  We're only here till July so it's fine for now, and right around the corner from Sarah and Miles--bonus!

Our Alaska cats are used to running around outside and going in and out as they please, but all that has changed.  We are afraid to let them outside because it's a new environment and we don't want them to get lost; there's a busy street at the entrance of the apartment; there are lots of cars in the parking lot; and although we are happy our patio faces a woodsy area known as "The Greenbelt," we don't want them getting lost in the woods.  So we bought some harnesses and leashes and, of course, they hate them!  Kali won't even consent to getting her harness put on. Ajax will let Rich put his harness on sometimes but he acts very funny when wearing it, lying on the floor, rolling around, almost making Rich pull him with the leash.  Rich has taken to carrying both of them out onto the patio periodically to get a little fresh air and sunshine.  They are usually anxious and happy to come back in. Poor kitties--we feel badly for them and know they are bored just sitting around the apartment most of the time.  Hopefully once we get into our house in July, they will feel better and will be able to go outside some of the time.

Bonnie and David and kids came for Halloween weekend and we had lots of fun with them!

 The kids were all into dressing as various movie characters this year. Elle was "Mal" from "The Descendents" and Emery was "Disgust" from "Inside Out."  :)  

 In character! LOL

 Luke was "Spiderman."

 Beck was "Bad Cop" from the "Lego Movie."

 Ada was a little Tinkerbell

 and Jack was Peter Pan

For some reason, I didn't get many pix except at Halloween, but we had a wonderful time together.  Loved being with two of my girls!

 Bonnie and Luke

Ada swinging

Elle and Emery had a lot of fun together

We kept Emery and Luke while Bonnie and Dave went furniture shopping with Ada one day.  We met Sarah and Miles and kids at the movie and wandered around the mall. A fun time was had by all and before we knew it, it was time for them to head back to Amarillo.  I'm not so sad any more because I know we will get to see them lots more often!