It's gettin' REAL!

After 3+ weeks of intensive efforts we are finally nailing things down! We have a date for our air shipment, pack and load dates for our sea shipment, flights for the kids and I, flights for the pets, and an apartment to move into once we get to Texas. I even have the apartment number! We get to move into our new place May 1 so until then we will be in corporate housing....
The pets are ready to fly!

 We put a lot of thought into where we wanted to be with our new home and we were able to use the very, VERY different experiences of South Korea and South Africa to figure it out. In SK we lived in a small apartment in the middle of a vibrant community. In South Africa we lived a bit outside of town in a beautiful older home on acreage. We have always thought of ourselves as country people and given the choice I would have always said that we would choose acreage over a small yard in the 'burbs, but when we sat down and talked it all over we realized that we were much happier in the small apartment in Korea, surrounded by wonderful friends and activities! There was very little upkeep and maintenance so we really got to enjoy our weekends and we were able to walk to a lot of places. In SA I feel like I LIVE in my car, shuttling kids to and from school, activities, and playdates, and it's really lonely only getting together with friends once or twice a week. So... here is the new CHEZ STOLASZ!

 It's a one-story, which is new for us, much smaller than our last TX house which I am excited about, and right in the middle of everything! The best part is that for the next 9 years, the kids are a 5 minute walk from middle school and high school! Ted's elementary is a bike ride away or he can take the bus from about 4 houses down. THE BUS!!! Wow... We're right on the edge of a big park, and a 5 min walk from the big community center of Cinco Ranch. The kids can take their bikes to swim team, art lessons, even the orthodontist! So excited to spend more time walking and less time in the car.

Our neighborhood is super-tight, full of kids and they have already welcomed us to their facebook group. It's one of those places where everyone looks out for one another, pet sitting, kid sitting, and celebrating holidays together. Absolutely cannot WAIT to land and start exploring this area. It seems so weird to have a house that I haven't seen yet. 2.5 weeks to go!