Final Summer Weekend in Texas

After spending almost 2 full months in Texas, the kids and I couldn't believe our final weekend was upon us. We were so grateful to Julie's family for letting us stay with them AGAIN while we made the final preparations for our trip. I can't say how many times throughout the summer that I packed, unpacked, repacked, shuffled from suitcase to suitcase, repacked again, and finally packed for the last time, stuffing and then weighing each of our 6 suitcases. I spent hours upon hours of time managing the "living out of a suitcase" experience, and I was feeling relieved to be packing for the last time. We were going back with so much more than we came with, but that was always the intention.

We weren't planning to come back to Texas until the following summer, so we had to make sure to load every moment full of fun. The Aasmyr kids were such sports putting up with us all summer, so I decided to take all 5 kids out for a night of fun. We went to see a movie and then had dinner and game-time at Chuck E. Cheese. We ended up staying there until 10-10:30 on a Friday night. It made me laugh how my idea of fun has changed over the years. I loved watching the kids run from game to game with huge smiles, earning maximum tickets for their wins. It was so cute!

The next morning, Kaitlynn was soooo excited to finally reunite with one of her sweetest friends in Katy. Lauren was a former neighbor and she and Kaitlynn had just started forming such a close friendship when we moved to Dubai. They were ecstatic to see each other again and pick up where they left off. Oh, and I threw in this photo of Connor at one of our last Mexican meals in Katy, just because I think he's so handsome! :-)

Julie took these awesome photos of the kids on their last day together at the Aasmyr house. They turned out SO good. LOVE these smiles, even from our beloved Duke!

I had one final trick up my sleeve for the kids on our last day in Texas. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 8:00 pm, leaving us free for most of the afternoon. I sent some text messages and emails to most of Connor and Kaitlynn's Katy friends and invited them to an afternoon of trampoline fun at one of their favorite spots, Altitude. It was one last chance to see friends and hug necks until next summer. When I surprised the kids, they were SO EXCITED! I was so happy to have been able to pull it off. They each had so many amazing friends show up for the afternoon for jumping, cookie cake, and endless sweat! Connor and Kaitlynn both were on cloud nine. To see the love and support from their friends, neighbors, teachers, etc. just filled my heart with joy and gratitude. It was truly a reminder that a big piece of our hearts will always remain in Katy, Texas.



I can't even describe how special that last photo is to me. Those 5 sweet WAC boys (Watkins-Aasmyr-Courtright) met as INFANTS in daycare. Their moms are two of my dearest friends, and seeing all 5 boys reunited gives me all the feels! We have countless photos of them over the years, but this is by far my new favorite.

Before we knew it, the party time was coming to a close. We were on a tight deadline to head back to Julie's house for quick showers and loading up suitcases to get to the airport. I rounded up the kids and told them to say their goodbyes so that we could head out. And it was about that time when the realization of our departure began to sink in and the tears began to flow. Kaitlynn started to break down and hug her friends with all her might. At one point, she ran up to me in tears, unable to hold it in any longer, clinging to me because she didn't want to say goodbye. Oh my goodness, it just about broke my heart all over again.

It was a good thing we were in a rush to distract us from our emotions. We made it back to Julie's house for quick showers and then we loaded our bags into Harry's truck since he was graciously driving us to the airport for our long flight back to Dubai. We all said goodbye to the Aasmyr family and their precious family pets. It was so hard to say goodbye. Is it just me or did Duke look a little sad, too?

As Harry drove us to the airport, I think the emotions finally sank in with both kids. The tears flowed freely on the long, mostly quiet drive. Poor Harry, I'm sure it wasn't easy being in the middle of our sadness and emotion. The kids had been SO strong up to this point and finally just gave in to their feelings.

Once inside at the airport, we were able to gear up for the long flight ahead. Unfortunately it was another packed flight, but the kids managed like the professionals they have become. I had to crack up at one point when I looked up to see that they were both recording time lapse videos. Hilarious!

Only 1 of us managed to get any decent sleep. We were SOOOO ready to see Jeff and get settled back in Dubai. The Houston to Dubai flight is the best because we can come home around a normal bedtime and go straight to sleep, which is exactly what we all did.