Rainy Day Fun

When I heard that Korea gets about 49 inches of rain a year, I decided that we needed raincoats and boots. I found rain boots in AZ, but I had trouble finding raincoats. While we were in NY, I finally found them. The girls were so excited about their new apparel that I had to promise them that they could play in the rain with them one day. Well, the Artist never forgets anything. So, every time it rained, she kept after me begging to go play in the rain with her new gear. Today, I finally caved. It is raining outside and my girls want to go play. What do you expect? They've grown up in AZ. So, I got the girls dressed in their new raincoats & boots and gave them their umbrellas and let them run around in the rain for a bit. The Nature Girl found a water-logged bug and kept her eye on him more than anything. The Artist just played on the playground equipment without a care in the world. I can only imagine what the Koreans who saw us must have thought of those "strange Americans" playing in the rain.


The girls can't wait to go play in their
new coats and boots in the rain


Umbrellas up







Even in the rain, she can't help but watch bugs




Wet or dry, merry-go-rounds are fun!

A few tips... based on my experiences

When you live in Arizona, you pretty much wear sandals or flip flops all the time. In Sierra Vista, you will find mosquitoes, but mostly during May-August. For the most part, it is not the kind of place where all the local bugs are out to get you and make a meal of you... too harsh of an environment. That, and I really didn't spend that much time outside. Texas is green and beautiful... but if you are going outside and plan to be walking through the grass, you need to wear shoes and socks. The fire ants are always looking for someone to bite... they are very aggressive. We also found that sitting in the flowers for a quick photo can get you all bit up too, by little bugs called thrips. I couldn't figure out why my girls were so upset to be sitting in the flowers getting their picture taken. Well, they were getting bit by bugs that are almost too tiny to see. I was fortunate to get these two cute shots, though.



While I was in Texas, I had a wonderful time visiting with friends. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to visit everyone I wanted to see nor did I get to spend as much time as I would have liked with the people I did see.

My Thoughts on Texas

Now, I know everything is relative... it just depends on what you are comparing something to. I have been living in AZ for almost 4 years (yikes). I am from the Northeast. AZ is dry, brown, DEAD. There is not much to look at 9-10 months out of the year. The other 2-3 months of the year, it actually "rains" once in awhile... if you want to call it that. They get a whopping 14 inches of rain a year with most of it falling in July and August... they actually have the nerve to call it monsoon season! Texas gets about 32 inches a year and I believe most of it falls in April-May. As I got closer to Fort Hood, it was beautiful! There was grass that God watered, beautiful wildflowers along the roadsides, rivers worth building a bridge over... in a word... LIFE! I actually felt like I was coming home. I was so excited to get into Texas and see that I had not missed the bluebonnets entirely. I even found a whole field of them between Oakalla and Burnette. I stopped with the girls several times to take pictures. I was thrilled to see Life! I never really fit in AZ. I couldn't get past the fact that the place is so dry and brown. I had to beg anything green to grow... unless it was a cactus... a plant that I don't particularly like. A plant that can bite back is really not a nice plant.
Now, in reference to things being relative, I will be heading to PA and NY in the next few weeks... the town where my dad lives in PA gets about 44 inches of rain a year and the town where my mom lives gets about 42 inches of rain per year. So, when I leave this green land and head North, I will most likely find Texas to be a bit scraggly compared to PA and NY. But, it is all relative. For now, I am feeling "at home" in Texas.

Whew!

WOW! I thought I would never get out of Arizona! I cleaned and worked and painted and cleaned for a week. Now, my house was not that dirty, but the list that the property management company gave me and the work that just plain needed done and the OCD issues that I have made it last that long! I wasn't able to just say, "that's good enough" or "I don't care". It just is so hard to find those words in me. The lady from property management came and looked at the house and said that the house looked great and that most of her owners don't put that much work into their homes. Wait a minute... you mean I could have left with a sweep and a mop???? I would have happily done so if I thought I could get away with it.

But that's not all... I spent the next whole day sorting through all the stuff that had been in my house that the packers hadn't taken away... about 3 vanloads full! I had to pack some of it to mail and some of it to actually get the privilege of driving around the country with me. I mailed about 18 boxes to Korea (don't ask how much that cost) and 3 boxes to my mom (of things she wanted to have back when my girls were done with them). Your postage rates shouldn't be going up again any time soon!

I finally pulled out of town around 11:30 am. We stopped and grabbed McD's and took a potty break and got going again. We are now halfway to Fort Hood, Texas. The girls were just great on the trip. They only had one opportunity to stretch their legs during the 430 miles of road. They sure were troopers! And tomorrow, we should get to see my dear friends, Melissa and Colleen! I can't wait! I sure do miss them! Fort Hood, here we come!