We began our trip to the south on Friday, August 18th at about 3 in the afternoon. We made a slight detour to Kalamazoo so that I was able to say good-bye to my sisters, family, and Heilman family. We made it through Chicago great and were making great time. In Effingham, Illinois we greeted a car going the wrong way on the highway and we figure he had been going that way for a least 2 miles. It was a bit scary and very funny at the same way. In Marshall, Texas we had a flat tire on the Sprinter van on the inside dual. We went to three different places before we found a place that had a jack that would lift the van and it just happen to be this teeny little place with super nice people.
We made it to Houston about 8:00 (cst) on Saturday and were able to have a steak BBQ with Ben’s aunt and uncle. We then left Houston Sunday afternoon to head to College Station. We arrived here at our apartment to see tile un-grouted, unpainted, our appliances outside, and many things needing to be done. We knew that the apartment wasn’t going to be ready for move-in on Monday but hoped for the best.
Monday morning I dropped Ben off at Texas A&M for orientation and went straight to the apartment complex. When I arrived there they told me I wasn’t able to move-in until 3 pm, which was very frustrating to us. They told us that they would call at noon and didn’t follow through on that promise. At 3:10 Ben and I, along with his parents, came to the apartment to see the painters leaving, some tile done, bath tub not fixed, brand new carpet that was now dirty, paint on EVERYTHING and an apartment that was not able to live in. My parents arrived at 10:30 pm.
Tuesday, Ben and I along with his parents went to the apartment. The lady in charge was not aware that we weren’t able to move in the day before and we showed her the apartment, she was shocked to see the condition of the apartment. She told us the apartment would be rushed and finished quickly. Ben and I went back to put our food in the refrigerator (most of it we lost because it got too warm and soggy from being in the cooler so long) and the only thing that had been done since that morning was the bathtub being re-glazed. We couldn’t move-in because of the smell and that we weren’t able to use the tub for 24 hours. So instead the six of us went through the Texas A&M bookstore (where you can buy ANY item with Texas A&M’s logo on it), toured the campus, and walked out on Kyle Field (the football field) in the pouring rain. We also resorted to touring some other apartments but decided that ours was still the best.
Wednesday we were finally able to move things in. It was a bummer for Ben though because he had to be at school all day, as opposed to Tuesday when he had the whole day off. We got all the stuff moved in very quickly and unpacked most of the day. The women unpacked all the kitchen and bath things while our dads put together our washer and dryer and many other manly things. We didn’t get quite as far as we had hoped because we had to clean everything before putting things away. We were still disappointed with the state of the apartment, there were still many little things that should have been fixed before we moved in. We ended the night with Texas Roadhouse and cake to celebrate Ben’s birthday before my parents left.
Thursday, we spent most of the day unpacking things and getting some shelves put together and pictures hung. We also went and got a few groceries, and items we didn’t get for wedding presents. We finally got the office to compensate for our inconvenience of moving in late and we still have things that need to be fixed. After the long day we ate chili-cheese dip and watched the Olympics.
Friday, Ben’s birthday we sorted through the things we wanted to return, keep and store, or send back to Grand Rapids with Ben’s parents. Ben’s dad spent the day fixing little things and getting some more pictures hung. Ben’s mom and I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and got some ideas for some shelving for our bedroom and closet since we don’t have a dresser and don’t plan on getting one. Ben was at school for part of the day picking the classes that he is going to teach this fall and getting some instruction on how to teach them. He is teaching three labs, two on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. He is going to have a long day on Tuesday with class and teaching two labs (pray for him especially on those days) but will have Monday and Friday free of school related things which will be very nice. Friday night we used our new grill :) and made some chicken to celebrate Ben’s birthday (again!).
Saturday, Ben’s parents left early in the morning. Ben and I then continued to unpack our stuff until about mid-morning and then we ran errands for the rest of the day. We were able to accomplish all that we wanted to – returning items, buying items, and just seeing the town a bit. We felt a little like Paris Hilton because we were spending money like crazy! We are so thankful for the money and gift cards that we got from the wedding, it sure made our move easy and allowed us to pick out what we needed for our apartment once we actually got to see our apartment! We got a lot of what we needed and few decorating splurges :) Now as I watch the Men’s Marathon, Ben reminds me that he is ready for dinner I should close this week with some homemade pizza.
I hope to update once a week, but bear with me. I hope that you enjoy knowing how things are going on down here. You are all in our prayers and are missed greatly!
