Watch Shelah wax nostalgic...

After four years in the Lone Star State, I still miss my four seasons, cool summer nights, and clipped Yankee tones too much to ever consider myself a true Texan. In fact, until now I haven't felt all that nostalgic about leaving Texas, even though we have great memories of our time here, and our kids have grown and changed so much since we arrived. But tonight, as I clean out the fridge and freezer and start on the final week here in Houston, I'm feeling sentimental. Here's a list of some of the things I'll miss most when we become Utahns:

We've spent enough time at the Houston Zoo that I know the circuit we always take (aquarium, sea lions, red panda, natural encounters, meerkats...) like the back of my hand. Yes, it's always too hot, and yeah, I'm always eager to get back in the car at the end of the day, but my boys love the zoo like no other place in the city. And I have a secret crush on the guy who runs the carousel. Isaac will also miss the "Ghost Trees" in Hermann Park-- Big live oaks draped with Spanish Moss that always reminded me that we were living in the Deep South (if the sweat after a morning at the zoo hadn't clued me in already).

When it's too hot to go to the zoo, our next favorite spot is the Houston Museum of Natural Science (aka the Dinosaur Museum). Although I won't miss Annie's tears every time she fails to attract a butterfly to her outstretched finger, or Isaac's insistence that we visit the gift shop or navigating the drinks and condiments at McDonalds with four kids and a stroller, I will miss cool Saturday mornings, the ghosts in the gem vault, the awesome special exhibits, and the Geovator (I felt cool when they talked about frack jobs on NPR this morning-- I knew what they were talking about thanks to the Geovator!).

We haven't spent much time there since Ike hit, but the beach is another thing we loved about living in Texas. We'd hop in the car, and in just about an hour, we'd pull our car onto the sand at Surfside and spend a few hours building sandcastles and bodysurfing. On the way home, we'd stop by one of our other favorite places, the small aquarium.

On a related note, during two of the three Christmas breaks we spent in Texas, we went to the beach during the holidays. Can't beat that.

And while I hated sweating all summer, (oops, I promised I wouldn't talk about things I hated about living here) I really loved running outside all winter, and picknicking in February. There's something satisfying about eating alfresco when you know all of your northern relatives are buried under a couple of feet of snow.

One of the best parts of the extended summers is the floral profusion from February until December. I loved putting up my Christmas tree when flowers bloomed on the bushes outside. It felt kind of surreal.

It's always fun to watch kids the first time it snows each season, but after spending three years in Minnesota, snow felt like old hat to the adults in the family, more likely to be met with a groan than a giggle. But here, the one time it snowed, even the adults went crazy. It was fun to watch adults capturing a child's sense of wonder.

We've eaten well during our years in Houston. We've heard it said that Houston has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the nation. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but here are some places we'll miss: Paciugo, Jake's Grill, Ruggles, The Chocolate Bar, Azuma, Churrascos, Amazon Grill, Goode Company Seafood, Pappasito's and the Garden of Indian Delights (Yatra, London Sizzler, Moksha, Bombay Brasserie and Indika, to name a few).

Even more than I'll miss the restaurants, I'll miss the grocery stores. I've seen the grocery stores around my new house, and, well, they look pretty basic compared with HEB and (the ultimate gourmet experience) Central Market. Just thinking about Central Market (the produce! the cooking classes! the chocolate!) gets me a little bit misty.

Whenever we tell people where we're moving in Salt Lake, they always talk about what a great location it is. It's close to the freeways, close to Millcreek Canyon, close to my friend Blue. Here in Pearland, we've got the not-so-chic outside the beltway address, but I do live less than five minutes from all the shopping I need. And if I'm willing to drive a little way, I have some of the best shopping in the country close at hand at River Oaks, the Galleria, Rice Village and Highland Village. I'm going to miss my Crate and Barrel and Design Within Reach.

While I'm eager to hit the mountain trails and learn to run at high altitudes, the running in Houston wasn't half bad. I'll miss the Surfside Marathon, the Great Pumpkin Fun Run, jogging in Memorial Park, and my weekly Saturday mornings in Silverlake and Southdown (which I've run so many times by now that I really run them in my sleep). My parting words of advice? Silverlake really needs a portapotty.

When I couldn't hit the roads, I hit the gym instead. For the last two years, I've looked forward to my workouts at the YMCA, where I knew my kids were always safe, and I knew Carlos would never fail to whoop my booty into shape in spinning class. Yeah, I'm going to miss Carlos.

Finally, and most importantly, we're going to miss our friends. My kids have made so many friends, and had such great teachers and administrators at Challenger. The staff at Texas Children's Hospital and their outpatient services took great care of us after Isaac got sick. My Wednesday lunch group and book group always engaged my mind. Our ward provided lots of interesting fodder for conversation, and, of course, friends that will last us far after we leave Houston.

Don't worry, we'll be back. Even though we might not realize it yet, I've heard you can never get the Texan out of you once you've lived here.