Dallas Week 1

This week has really been a blur.  Really it has been quiet stressful and when I look back we accomplished 3 main things.

Monday through Wednesday we spent finding housing.  Monday we drove around and looked at the neighborhoods houses were in that we thought we would be interested in.  By the end of the day, we had decided that it would be best for us to live in an apartment for a couple months so we changed gears.  The next day we went an toured apartments.  I liked our system.  We mapped out the complexes we wanted to see, then when we arrived at a place, Ryan would go in and see if there were vaccancies and get the basic info while I entertained kids in the car.  Then if he thought we'd still be interested, he came and got us and we would take a tour of the apartment.  The kids favorite part was riding on the golf carts.  Wednesday morning we went back and actually signed the lease for our chosen one which is in the Valley Ranch area.

Thursday through Saturday we focused on cars.  Neither of us know anything about cars or even have a desired to, so this was not so much fun.  We went and checked out a couple different ones.   We ended up buying a 2011 Honda Odyssey EX-L with 14k miles on it on Saturday morning.  This was our first huge purchase but we both feel good about it.  To complete the process it took about 3 hours at the dealership (test driving, price negotiation, insurance, registration, etc).

Friday I had my first doctor's appointment.  I had one just a week ago in Belgium, but I wanted to get in while Ryan didn't have to work so I wouldn't have to figure out kids.  The receptionist, doctor and nurse were all unbelievably nice.  Plus the doctor said my fluid levels looked fine and I could resume working out if I wanted (he'd check them in 2 weeks to verify nothing changed).  To top this all off, we live only 15 minutes from the office (which is attached to the hospital) I arrived 10 minutes early and only waited for 5 minutes to be seen.  I was home in record time...it would have been even sooner if I had got lost so many time (a new gps with updated maps just got bumped up on the most urgent items to buy).

A couple funny stories:
1.  When we were touring one of the apartment complexes, Kevin dropped and smashed a goldfish on the ground so he got down on all four and sucked it up like a dog.  Not so cool.  It get better.  He thought it was so fun, every couple step he'd drop another one (skipped the smashing part) and get down on all four to suck it up.  Kinda gross.
2.  We spent hours and hours and hours on the computer doing research for both housing and cars.  The problem with this is that we only have one computer.  To help us out, Ryan would go down to the business center in our complex and use their computers.  Kevin really liked going with Ryan.  One of the times, Ryan had turned on the TV to pbs kids so Kevin could watch while he researched.  About 20 minutes later someone else came in, so Ryan looked up to make sure Kevin was still watching the TV.  He was....but at some point he had stripped down so Ryan actually turned to find Kevin watching the TV naked.  Haha.  This is in the business center which has only glass walls and is right next to the main entrance and the fitness center.
3.  We talked to a few different sales people through the process of finding a car.  Some were a little pushy, some were very nice, but one just had no idea what he was talking about.  Even though we were leaning heavily towards the Odyssey, we decided to check out a Toyota Sienna at a toyota dealership.  The sales guy there couldn't even answer the most basic questions about the Sienna.  He didn't really affect our decision to go with an Odyssey (we just like the inside the Odyssey a lot better), but it made me wonder how in the world he could make any money as a salesman.
4.  We went to the ward we'll be in.  There are a LOT of younger families..as in there will be 20 babies born between now and the end of the year.  There are also 4 different nurseries.  Crazy.  Well, with the move, I had pretty much promised Kherington that there would be another little girl in her sunbeams class.  Wrong.  Her class has 7 boys.  Haha...at least her teachers are girls.
5.  There is dog wash in our apartment complex...people take their dogs very seriously here.