Bigger in Texas?

Here we are in Texas looking for an apartment. (Ellie is back in Iowa with Mandy's family.) We've all heard that everything is bigger in Texas, so I thought I'd give a run down of how that claim stacks up to what we've seen.

Bigger in Texas: Apartment Options We looked at several apartment options and even considered renting a house for a while. We have narrowed it down to a couple options and are planning to make a decision before we head back from Texas.

Not Bigger in Texas: Hotel Bathroom Doors The bathroom door in our hotel room is no more than two feet wide ... literally.

Bigger in Texas: Restaurants We ate at a really popular Mexican restaurant called Joe T. Garcia's. The inside of the restaurant was huge! (Except for an archway we had to go through that was about 2 1/2 feet wide and about 6 feet 2 inches high.) Then we found out that the outside of the restaurant was even bigger, it took up an entire city block! After we took our seats our waiter pointed out that George Lopez was sitting outside!

Not Bigger in Texas: Restaurant Menus Mandy and I ordered the same thing at Joe T. Garcia's. Coincidence? Not really, there was a 50/50 chance of that happening since there were only two items on the menu. (Not kidding.) Cheese Enchiladas or Fajitas. Okay, to be fair you could have the fajitas with chicken, steak, or both. Hey, that just doubled the options! The food was good though. They had complementary chips and very good salsa. Our meal came with excellent rice, amazing guacamole, tacos, nachos, and some corn tortillas. Not sure what the corn tortillas were for. It was an experience.

Bigger in Texas: Raindrops We drove through a fierce rainstorm late this afternoon. The rain drops were huge. In fact, some of them were hail stones. (Don't worry, it's a rental car.) To make matters worse some of the roads didn't drain the water off well at all.

Bigger in Texas: Odd Behavior The thunderstorm led to one of the more unusual sights we've seen in Texas. People who didn't want to drive through the rain/hail would stop along the side of the road under overpasses. They would pull to both the left and right side's of the road and even between the roadway and the merge lane of on ramps if it fell underneath an overpass. One overpass was so crowded that it was slowing down traffic for a 1/4 mile. We have never seen such things.

So it looks to be about 50/50 as to whether things really are bigger in Texas. Maybe we'll have to keep you posted about the relative size of things in our new home state.

Team Gramkow: Graduation Style

Two master's graduates and one NICU graduate.

From May 2009

We thought this day would never come! What a joy it was to celebrate this accomplishment! Two master's graduates and one NICU graduate.

From May 2009

Daddy's Tassel is too cool!

From May 2009

Happy Mother's Day! (a little late)

From May 2009

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mother's out there! What a great day it's been. We had Ellie Jo dedicated at our church this morning (this was Sunday actually and I'm just now getting around to finishing this post!) and what a blessing to be able to rejoice with the Lord in how He's taken such good care of Team Gramkow. I can't believe it's been 8 months since Ellie was born! Crazy! It's going to be really hard to leave our church because we LOVE all the people there and again are very thankful for the ways in which they provided for us as a church body when Ellie was in the NICU. We're praying God will direct us to a new church family in Fort Worth soon after our move!

From May 2009

Well, it's been a long time since I've posted yet again. I promise, I will get better at this! Ben is completing his last final today at 3:30 pm and I have one tomorrow at 9:40 a.m. and then TEAM GRAMKOW IS DONE! Wahoo! Graduation is Friday and I've also been diligently trying to make three cakes - one for Ben, Wade and me! :) I've been taking the cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby and am having lots of fun with it. We'll see how the finished products turn out! Last Thursday, Kim came from Parents as Teachers and administered the Denver developmental screening for Ellie's adjusted age, which is close to 6 months. She actually did very well - neither behind or ahead - just right on track for her adjusted age. She's still not rolled over from her back to her tummy, but tries. She likes to wiggle and scoot instead of rolling over to get toys beyond her reach. We'll have one more appointment with Kim the week of June 8. I'm trying to have all my appointments that week - just before we leave! Ellie will have her last appt with Dr.Duff then too (her 9 month well check). Tuesday Jeanette from Infant Toddler came and we weighed Ellie. She now weighs 14 lbs! She's in 6 to 9 months clothes for the most part these days because of her great length! I thought she had to be getting close. She was around 13 lbs. 6 oz. when she got her last synagis shot April 9, so she's gained, but not as much as of course I hoped. I do have to take into consideration that this little girl burns some calories! She's moving those feet and arms all the time these days! Ellie's become vocal - she loves everything in her mouth and will let you know when she's frustrated that she can't get her toy in her mouth.

From May 2009

We're excited for our trip to Fort Worth to find our new home - Ben and I area actually going the last week in May and leaving Ellie with Grandma Weber and Aunt Wendy (And Good friend Lynda is helping too!). It'll be a tad difficult leaving Ellie, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with my hubby! Plus, a LOT more specifics will fall into place after we determine where we're exactly moving. It's looking like departing Manhattan will be around June 15th or so. Ok, enjoy the pictures - and must get back to studying for my last FINAL EVER! Wahoo!

From May 2009

From May 2009

So Ellie had to ride home from IHOP after the baby dedication because she pooped on her dress! :( But hey you can see her two teeth!