Texas

We've been in Texas for about 2 1/2 weeks now. Chris is in Houston for a month-long clinical rotation, and my aunt and uncle have been kind enough to let us stay with them. (It's not easy keeping two O'Briens for a month.) I'm just so grateful that I could come with him on this rotation. Hopefully, I'll be able to go along on the next rotation in summer 2013. His last three will be during the school year, so let's all start praying now that he gets rotations in Nashville. It's been pretty cool learning about life in a different part of the country. We started our adventure on June 30 with a stop in Memphis. Shaving 3 hours off the trip didn't seem huge, but it helped a lot.

We arrived in Houston on July 1, and our first stop was a Texas BBQ joint. No plates. Just bbq on wax paper. Be messy!

It was hot the first week. We celebrated the fourth of July with a neighborhood cookout.

Then there was an adorable bicycle parade.

We watched fireworks from The Woodlands, TX. Of course they played Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." and of course Chris shouted "Go Vols!" when he mentioned the hills of Tennessee. It was, however, quickly overshadowed by cheers when Mr. Greenwood sang about Houston. Funny--I've never noticed the song mentioned Houston, probably because it was always drowned out by "Go Vols."

Our second week was wet. As in, there was major flooding in Houston. But you already know that since you've all been so worried about us over here. It rained for six days straight. And I sat inside for six days straight. Have I mentioned we only have 1 car out here, and Chris drives it to work? But it's cool. I stole the car today.

Last weekend, Chris and I took a mini-vacation to San Antonio. It was gorgeous and NOT rainy! First, we paid homage to Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Again, go vols. Then we walked to Market Square and enjoyed some really authentic Mexican food. Chris and I were thankful many times that we both know some Spanish. Most of the signs and menus were in Spanish. San Antonio has a beautiful riverwalk that runs throughout the city. They were offering boat tours, but the boats were in the sun and the sidewalk was in the shade, so Chris and I walked the whole riverwalk. Go, go, gadget healthy O'Briens! We experienced a Texas steak house that night, but we were too entranced by the CrossFit games on TV to remember much of the restaurant. Those CrossFit women are nuts!

We have about 2 1/2 weeks left here. I'm leaving a little earlier to get my classroom back in order for the new school year. My only goal for the rest of our time in Texas is to make it to the beach. I've never lived this close to a beach, and I refuse to go home without touching the ocean.

Chris and I are working on a blog of things we've noticed about Texas. It should be good. It includes Harry E. Butts.