Prairie Dog Town

Last Saturday, I walked a 5K with two women from work and while out there I saw the sign for Prairie Dog Town. I had heard of it, but we had yet to visit. So...mini road trip to the other side of town to see the prairie dogs that evening.

~C

Coming Back

Last summer, right after we moved to Lubbock, I found this blog post (please read this before continuing). It really hit home with both Kyle and myself. While it is about traveling abroad, it really is the same way about living in another state and coming back--or so it felt that way to us.

We always knew that living in Lubbock, or Texas for that matter, was a limited thing. There were no long term plans to establish roots here because living further north was where we felt we belonged.

Leaving Texas and moving to Tennessee was one of the hardest things we have ever done. Exciting, yes, but definitely hard. Not being close to family and friends was definitely an adjustment. However, during those three years, we changed. We changed in so many ways. Some of those changes were pretty evident the first time we returned to Texas for a visit and some didn't creep out until we moved back to Texas. I don't think we truly realized how much we had changed until we moved to Lubbock. We also realized that everyone we knew in Texas hadn't changed or not like we had expected. As in the blog post referenced above, it was as if we came back and picked up where we left off. Except we couldn't do that because we are not the same people we were when we left.

When we announced we were coming back to Texas, everyone was so overjoyed--except us. Taryne and Hayden protested more than I ever anticipated. And to this day, not a day goes by where they don't ask to move away. We hid our anxiety and nervousness about moving back because everyone was so glad we were going to be back in Texas. I have no idea how many times we have been asked "Are you happy to be coming back?" or "Are you glad you are back?". Depending on who we are talking with we either faked our answer and quietly say "Yes" or we tell them our real feelings which is a resounding "NO". Kyle and I discussed this and decided we should give Texas another try. We can honestly say that we tried harder than we expected, but we don't like living in Texas. We don't necessarily hate Texas; it is just not the right fit for us and who we are and how who we as individuals and a family have evolved into over the past 5 years.

This year has been one of the hardest for all of us. Kyle and myself both have anxiety severe enough that medication is required. Even during the stress of moving out of state and a doctoral program did not cause the amount of stress, anxiety and even slight depression we have experienced since moving to Lubbock. In addition, all of us have experienced more allergy issues than we ever anticipated. Poor Hayden sneezes like I do (20-30 times per day) and even Kyle and Taryne who have barely any allergy issues, both suffer from congestion, cough and sneezing. I won't even start on my issues except to say that my sinus pressure has been so bad since we got here that my face hurts when I talk. Our health is a huge concern for us and we have literally been "sick" since we arrived. I refuse to dope ourselves up on loads of medication to "deal with it".

I think it was pretty telling when Taryne commented one day "Mom, why do we have to live here when we still hardly see our family? Why can't we live some place we really like instead?". It truly makes me sad--and has contributed to my anxiety--the stress and mild depression I see in Taryne and Hayden since we moved here. The have protested and continue to protest this place. I can't count the number of times they have stated the people here are not as friendly or nice as the people in Ohio or Tennessee. Kids say the darnedest things, right? Kids are brutally honest and very aware. We have not experienced what I would have expected from the "Friendliest Town in the USA" per the billboards around town.

We (and I mean all four of us) miss trees, green, and seasons. We miss being in places where education is important to elected officials. There are some amazing teachers in Texas but we feel the resources are not there along with the regulations that allow them to do the best job possible. We miss being "different" and what I mean by this is that we are the people from somewhere else. It always makes me sad when I tell people we moved here from Ohio and they seem to feel bad for me that I lived in Ohio. I am not sure why. We miss having exciting new adventures. Lubbock is in the middle of nowhere and to get to any place exciting requires at least a three hour drive. We miss feeling healthy. We still eat healthy, organic foods (which are harder to get here) but since we have been here, we just feel yuck all the time. We can smell chemicals in the air many days and no longer go on outside walks because of it.

Initially we had planned to try to live here until I was able to earn tenure and then wait for a position to open at Tennessee, but the closer the move to Texas date arrived, our projected window of time here shortened. We were already dreading our decision to move, but we made a commitment and we planned to give it a go. In December, a colleague at another school contacted me regarding a position that was to come open. He indicated that he wanted me to be part of the faculty there and that I would be an excellent addition to the department. I looked into the school and department and it was a good fit. I research sport tourism and the sport management department was in the College of Hospitality and Tourism--perfect fit. And the location was pretty amazing. I was assured at the time that if I was interested, I would most likely be the top candidate. Human resources departments are often slow. So, while waiting for the position to open, my friend gave my CV to the dean and provost. They were ready to hire me. Once the position opened, I applied and visited campus. I was eventually offered the position and have accepted. This summer we are moving to Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara University is a small, private, liberal arts school. They are Division I in the NCAA without football.

We weren't sure how to break the news since everyone but us was excited about where we were living. Kyle and I also wanted you guys to understand the why behind all of this. We have changed. We are not the same people we were in 2012 when we left College Station. We have experienced life outside of Texas and in our opinion, it is much better and a better fit for us. We hope you will be happy for us but understand you will be mad, upset, frustrated, hurt and several other emotions, but we have decided that we have to do what is best for our family--Kyle, myself, Taryne and Hayden--not simply what someone else wants or thinks we need to do.

We love you all to the moon and back.

--Kyle, Cheryl, Taryne and Hayden



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Spring Pictures

I had full intentions of getting these photos onto an Easter card to send out/hand out for Easter, but between the website being a pain in the ass and being crazy busy with life, it just didn't happen.

Instead of trying to fuss with the website (why is the Sams photo site hate me lately?) I am going to post a few of them here. I took Taryne and Hayden to the "arboretum" here in Lubbock which saying it was a disappointment is a complete understatement. There was barely anything in bloom and it was APRIL!!!

Enjoy!

~C

The Texas Rode's visit the Tennessee Rode's

This summer we had a few people come visit us from Texas. It was the talk of the house for weeks leading up to Reagan coming to visit. Josh, Janna and Reagan came for nearly a week to Tennessee to check out the Smoky Mountains, East Tennessee, visit us and lots more. The first weekend they were in town, we stayed with them in their cabin in Gatlinburg. We managed to get the kids through the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, the Knoxville Zoo and a trip to Chuy's for some yummy Tex-Mex.

Super creepy looking shark above our heads

Trying to get 3 small children to take a picture together and all look and smile at the same time is nearly impossible.

Taryne must always get a map at the zoo.

Later in the week, we had them over for a "play date" and dinner. Taryne and Hayden were so excited to visit with their cousin.

Rocky Top

It has been 2 years since we officially moved to Knoxville. I was excited and very nervous. Kyle and I had talked about leaving College Station and Texas for years and here it was, finally happening. I was so scared that it might not be a good experience for Kyle, Taryne and Hayden. They were sacrificing so much to allow me to go to school (again) to get a Ph.D. I think we all knew it would be tough and we would miss things from Texas and of course our family, but I didn't think we would actually begin to love it here.

While I have missed some things from Texas, living in Knoxville has been great. We have one more year here and then we are off to the next city and next adventure. I don't think most Texans realize that there is so much more outside the state of Texas and most are not willing to live elsewhere. As an academic advisor, most students would not even consider leaving Texas, even if it meant a higher paying job and experience where they could eventually come back. Personally, living further north works great for our family. Our seasonal allergies are virtually nonexistent, I haven't had heat headaches and the weather is just amazing. Our "hot" days are in the upper 80's. Yeah, 80's and I think I am going to die because it is so "hot".

I truly was nervous about leaving College Station and our Aggie bubble. We are in a new orange bubble now and it has been so fun and crazy and frustrating all at the same time. People here bleed orange, not the ugly burnt orange, Tennessee orange. :) I think I will actually be sad next May/June as  we pack to move to wherever we go next.

Many days I feel that Knoxville is more "home" than anywhere in Texas, even College Station or Manvel--the two places I claim as my hometown. Taryne and Hayden love it here and Taryne insists we need to move to a location that is cloudy and rainy all the time because she doesn't like to see the sun that much. I guess she is my child. :)

"Rocky Top, you'll always be, home sweet home to me. Good ole rocky top, rocky top Tennessee, rocky top Tennessee!"

The "Other" Side

As a little girl, I loved to read. I look back and I did everything I could to get my hands on books to read. My summers were spent reading and some playing outside, but I remember thinking I would rather read than be outside in the heat. My favorite books were mysteries, especially ghost stories. I think I read Christina's Ghost at least 3-4 times per school year. Ironically I still don't own a copy of the book. Another book by Betty Ren Wright was The Dollhouse Murders. Really anything I could find with a ghost story and a mystery--fact or fiction--I was anxious to read.

When we moved to the "old house" in Llano, we were told there were "spirits" in the house. I didn't believe it, though there was a part of me that wanted to believe it. While I am not sure if there are really spirits there, a few weird things happened while we lived there that made me question if they were really there. The TV would often turn off if you left the room and sometimes the doors would shut.

Two things happened that really made me think someone or something was there. One night, in the middle of the night the TV turned on. To a station of nothing but static. The weird thing is the TV was one of those really old kind that ONLY turned on when you turned the knob. You know, the kind before remotes. The on/off knob was also the volume, so when you turned it on, the volume was very low and you had to continue turning to increase the volume. Well the TV turned on to a static station at FULL volume. And it was in the added on room that had an exterior door and lock and the door was locked and no one was sleeping in that room that night. I am not sure anyone really slept in that room again.

The other thing was in the detached garage. My dad was in there working and went in the house for a moment. When he came back, there was an old knife on the floor in the middle of the doorway of the garage. No doors were shut, so nothing could have knocked it loose. Just weird.

In December 2011, Kyle's grandmother passed away. Taryne was a little over 2, but pretty vocal on most things. At the church, she talked about the angel in the front of the church. The only angel was the small one on the nativity set on the side of the church. She insisted and pointed to the front, up high and told us there was an angel there. This lasted before, during and after the service. Kyle suggested that it could be Mamaw and Taryne quickly agreed. I had quite a bit of trouble keeping myself together during the service. I am sure part of it was being pregnant, but the other part was her constant pointing at the angel in the church, that only she could see.

When we moved in the the apartment our first year in Knoxville, Taryne constantly talked about the "shadows" in her bedroom at night. At first we thought it was just getting used to a new room and getting to the age where normal shadows scare little kids. When we moved to our current town home, the shadow talk stopped immediately. We thought she might continue since it was a new space, but she has not brought it up once.

Why am I writing about all of this? Well, Taryne recently mentioned the "shadows" from the apartment and that she was glad we didn't live there anymore. I asked her if they bothered her and she said no, just scared her. I really makes me wonder what, or who, those shadows were and I am now really glad to not be living there anymore! To be quite honest, I was surprised she remembered it. She even brought up the angel in the church. I was truly amazed she remembered both of these. It has been over a year since we lived in that apartment and over 2 1/2 years since the funeral.

Other Lifestyle Changes

Sometime last fall, a book was recommended to me by my cousin, so I ordered it. And never read it. I was just too busy. After Christmas break, I decided to get the book out and I finally started reading...and was thinking "oh my goodness, we need to make some serious changes".

Most of the things in the book are over the foods we eat and how they could contribute to cancer or prevent it. So that is where some of our changes really started. 

I have since read numerous other articles and we started changing other things too. Sunscreen, bug spray, shampoo/conditioner, hand soap, shower soap, dish soap, laundry soap, deodorant and the list goes on. I never realized how much some of these cancer causing chemicals can be easily absorbed into our skin, especially in areas like our arm pits. Oh and the diapers, but that is another post.

I recently switched from my regular deodorant to an all-natural one and had a reaction to the baking soda in the product. I then tried their sensitive version and had similar results, so I finally settled on Toms of Maine and love it. Kyle now uses it too. 

This is just one of the many articles that explains why I will no longer buy regular deodorant and no one in my house will either. One thing suggested by the first product I tried was an arm pit detox. After the reaction and peeling I had from the first trial, I think I pretty much detoxed and have all new skin under my arms! :)

Cuties

Valentine Day Pictures

They made a "couch" to watch their imaginary TV

Picture Day!!

Twin?

These are 2 very spoiled children....all gifts from family