Maloney Family est. 1994: Shout Out

Things we LOVE about Texas:

the produce! Cantaloupe, strawberry, mango, celery....everything is always in season and it tastes sooo good!
the people! So many super nice people - neighbors, waitresses, friends at church...genuinely nice folks.
the women! I'm so inspired by all the ladies I meet. Several women participate in triathlons, 10k, half marathon or marathons! There's a running club that meets at 5:15am every Tuesday and Thursday, and they run 5 miles. I want to be with them one day, but for now I'm only running 3 miles/day/4x/week. So 5 miles is my next goal. These and other women all have goals and work towards them. It's refreshing and invigorating to be around so many like-minded ladies!
the food! This is BBQ heaven! I'm not talking about "BBQ" where people cook hamburgers and hot dogs on a grill (that's for you my Western US friends :o). I'm talking about the real deal. Slow cooked ribs, brisket, roasts slathered in amazing sweet tangy barbeque sauce. If you think you have good BBQ, I promise you Spring Creek BBQ or Carl's or Goode's will put it all to shame.
the neighborhoods! Our neighborhood, Northlake Forest, is great! Only 400+ homes, but 4 large lakes to enjoy as we jog/bike around the trails; one of which is in our back yard! The neighborhood across the street, Coles Crossing, is huge and offers all kinds of entertainment and support. The best fun we've had is joining their Garage Sale yahoo group and finding so many inexpensive treasures for our home. Check out the photos of the girls rooms - we got bargains for McKenna - nightstands ($40), bedding ($40) and lamps ($10), and for Sariah - bed and dresser ($200)! WooHoo!!
the shopping! Outlet malls on nearly every quadrant of Houston, high end retail shops and (my favorite) THE CONTAINER STORE! I managed to live seven dreary years in Alabama without a Container Store - the love story can now continue! We've met for a few closet and pantry rendezvous and most recently for an elfa encounter. See photos below.
the Church! The Church we attend is fabulous. I mentioned last time just over 400 members and 179 are under the age of 18. Plus all those 400 members live within 5-7 miles of each other - the ward boundaries are that compact! What a network of support and friends! It is so easy to give/get rides, arrange playdates, meet for callings and visits. There are a few families that have several generations in the area, but most of us are transplants and quickly feel a bond of Church family since our extended families are so far away.
the Temple! The Houston Texas Temple is 10.3 miles from our home (23 minute drive) It's a huge gorgeous structure similar to Atlanta Georgia Temple. We've found several ways to drive there and it's all about 20 minutes. Our teens' homeschool groups both plan temple trips - one group goes monthly and the other quarterly. Ken and I love going as a couple and are working to arrange a group trip for the Bishopric members and their spouses.
the convenience! Even when McKenna was invited to a birthday party at Cosmic Jump at 5pm on Friday, we made it there without any traffic delays or problems. I remember in Atlanta that nothing was scheduled before 7pm because of evening 5pm traffic. The traffic is bad here, too, but there seems to be enough side roads that we can go wherever we want on the northwest side of Houston within reason. I wouldn't go to the airport at 5pm, but everything else has been really good. Movie theaters, grocery, shopping, restaurants are all 5 minutes away.
the parks! There are several parks (think "everything is bigger in Texas" park :o), and we are just beginning to explore them. We tried one last week and will pick another one for this week. One of the homeschool groups has a park day each Friday, too.
the homeschooling! It is so easy to homeschool in Texas. No government hoops to jump through! We love it. So many museums and fun places have homeschool classes or homeschool days. There are too many homeschooling groups to choose from, and we are happy with the few LDS ones we joined. They offer Shakespeare play in May, Modest Prom, Lego club, Book clubs, Temple trips, Teen Quests, Teen Games nights, art classes, clogging group, Super Singers choir, Mom's nights and so much more.
the opportunities! College classes available for 14-year olds, national team gymnastics training, Church leaders and speakers visit or broadcast to us every other month, General Relief Society President's sister, Marsha Decker, lives in our stake as does Daniel Stephens, son of Carole Stephens, First Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency, a member of the First Presidency of our Church will broadcast during our Stake Conference next month, Elder M. Russell Ballard was in our Stake last month and held a fireside for the Youth and Young Adults, Brad Wilcox was here in November of 2012. Certainly Ken's new career is the best thing about Texas. He is doing so many different things with the students and truly creating an environment where they want to be the best of the best!