We only took one 16-gallon plastic tote of toys. That's it. We are just overflowing with toys and junk from Christmas right now and I cannot fathom how my kids could live with that, but they did. We spent lots of time out on the porch and I took them to the pool about once a week. Two or three times a week we left the house and went on adventures.
We only took 10 outfits a piece, plus jammies, underwear, and a set of sunday clothes (four dresses for me). I had six pairs of shoes but two broke while we were there (from being used every day) and everyone else had two pairs each. I can say with confidence that the minimalist life is not for me.
TJ slept on an air mattress and Eli slept on a pack-n-play. For two and a half months. Tyler and I slept on a futon, and had to make the bed every night then unmake it in the morning so we could use the futon as a couch. The other furniture we had with us was a little card table and three folding chairs for a kitchen table, two camping chairs, and a long folding table I used for a desk. We used our computer to watch movies and shows for the kids.
We got to know a few people in our church congregation but they (and we) knew we were leaving so we didn't really make friends. We were completely alone. It was incredibly liberating and terribly lonely.
We spent the majority of Tyler's income on doctor and ER visits for the kids because they were uninsured while we were in Texas, and came back to Utah flat broke. We paid for gas on the way back with our credit card and didn't buy food until we got Tyler's student loan check. (It's probably tacky to put this on the internet but, like I said, I want to remember it.)
TJ and Eli learned to swim and love water while we were there. We did so many fun things and made some awesome memories. Have you heard of the bucket list family? I can't imagine living like they do but when I think back on the fun things we did in Dallas I understand it a little bit how and why you would want to live life traveling.
I legitimately still have nightmares about the Dallas Aquarium. Like, it was super cool and all, but I have nightmares about the kids falling in the shark tank. Still. Like last week still. I think I mentioned this in my post about it but everything is so open, it would be so easy for kids to run and jump in. Seriously. It's like the gorilla thing waiting to happen. With the shark tank. And the alligator enclosure. And the river dolphin exhibit. I was terrified the whole time we were there. Seriously. I will never, ever go again with kids who don't know how to swim. (I googled it. Nobody has ever fallen in. But apparently the guy who owns it is kindof a scum bag. Fun fact.)
I still hate the laundry mat. I would take all of our stupid laundry and go once a week. There was a creepy guy there one time who would not leave me alone, but I didn't have the car because Tyler had dropped me off and walking home seemed like a bad idea. About half of the boys' shirts were completely ruined from stains that didn't get rinsed out or mildew growing on them between laundry loads. Yep, gross. I've never lived in a humid place before and it took about a month for me to realize that wet things needed to air out and dry instead of being shoved in a hamper for seven days.
I love Kroger. They have Kroger's there instead of Smiths and I love love loved it. The shopping in Texas is just amazing. All the stores are huge. I about died when I got to go to the Old Navy flagship store. They had a GAP store that carried maternity clothes! Unheard of!
I lost or forgot to pack an extra pair of contacts so I wore glasses all summer. And hated it.
On our trip to and from Texas, we lost a broom, a pillow, a mop, and a tote lid. We bought a trailer hitch for our van but apparently Town and Countries get some crazy drafts coming off of them because we also shredded three tarps and destroyed a cargo net. I thought it was Tyler's packing abilities until even a load packed by my famously well-packing dad also got beaten up. We mostly took the trailer so that we could bring Tyler's motorcycle. He rode it to and from work every day because we agreed that I needed to be able to get out of the house and go places when I felt like it. For my mental health.
One regret that I have is that Tyler and I didn't go to Alaska before we had kids. There is a tour bus company that hires out students (especially from BYU-I) to come drive tour buses in Alaska. We had a friend who did it and Tyler wanted to, but I just felt like we couldn't afford it. But we could have, and it would have been so fun. I'm really glad we went to Dallas. It WAS fun. It was an adventure, and I learned a lot. It was incredibly humbling. It was such a good experience. I don't think we'll have many chances to go somewhere new to live for just a short time, so I'm glad we took this one.
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