Courtney is in her second her at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, which is about an hour away from Houston. She is on the cheer team and got a cheer scholarship, which helps pay for her housing. She lives in the dorms on campus and lives a very typical college life. She's always broke, asking me for money, and has discovered the college party scene. I'm very happy that she gets to experience life in the dorm and wish I had that experience when I was her age.
Carly decided not to cheer anymore and is in her first year of community college at Lone Star. She has a heavy workload and is living at home with us, although we hardly see her as she spends most of her time with her friends and her boyfriend. She studies a lot and is doing well with her grades, and we couldn't be more proud of her.
Corbin started his freshman year in high school and has transitioned amazingly well. It seems to be better for him - although not perfect by any shade of the imagination, it is better than middle school. Middle school was very hard for him and I'm glad to have that behind us and on to brighter things.
I decided to retire the minivan and had initially had my heart set on getting a regular old (new) car. Not a minivan, not a truck, not an SUV, but a car. I've driven that minivan around for ten years and I was tired of it! Chad told me that he thought I would be more comfortable in an SUV because it sits higher up off the ground than a car, and I was used to sitting up high in a minivan. I thought he was crazy. The only thing that Chad asked of me in the car buying process was to try out/test drive lots of options, so I could make an informed choice. Sure enough, I didn't like how the cars felt and he was right (yes I said it) - I was more comfortable in an SUV. We test drove many different makes and models, and I made my decision on what felt right for me. I ended up getting a Nissan Rogue, which is the smaller sized SUV from that brand. It has all the bells and whistles on it that makes it modern for the time (which I am sure will be outdated in a few years), and I am absolutely loving and appreciating it. (I actually didn't even want to test drive a Nissan, because I didn't like the name. Ended up loving it. Go figure.)
We recently went to the Renaissance Festival here in Texas, which is exactly like the one at home in Minnesota. We ended up buying costumes there and walking around dressed up, which I can tell you is much more fun than just walking around as a regular patron. Seriously, we had a blast! I can't wait to do it again.
We are looking forward to having family come to Houston for the holidays - my folks are coming for Thanksgiving and Chad's folks are coming for Christmas. I can't believe it's November 1st already...time continues to fly as we navigate our lives here in Houston.
