Cypress Lakes Cy-Fair NEIGHBORS Families.pdf · Cypress Creek Lakes 34 • cy-fair magazine Visit CyFairMagazine.com for jobs, events, news and more. To advertise, call 281-579-9831

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32 36Community Unity

Cypress-Area Neighborhoods Build Unity Block by Block

40Cy-Fair Notes & NewsNotes from Around Town

Making My Way in CFHow to Conquer Your New

Community, One Block at a Time

NEIGHBORSCy-Fair

PLUS! Cy-Fair Q&A , 41

Cypress Lakes neighbors enjoy waterside walks

with friends

Cy-Fair kids full of neighborly cheer

Suburbia doesn’t have to be substandard. Urban enthusiasts often describe the suburbs as faceless, treeless areas without any other gathering places besides strip malls. These four Cy-Fair area neigh-borhoods have defied the suburban stereotype, forging a special sense of community among their residents.

A Sense of BelongingResidents of Prestonwood Forest, Ravensway, Cypress Creek Lakes and Hearthstone agree that their subdivisions feel like home.

“Prestonwood [Forest] just looked right,” says Gary Craig, a resident since 1973. “We drove through and it looked comfortable, like a nice place to live. It hasn’t changed. It still does.” Preston-wood Forest is located just off of Hwy 249 at Schroeder Road and Cypresswood Drive.

Bob and Leslie Nichols, also of Prestonwood Forest, echo this sentiment. “We often refer to Prestonwood Forest as Mayberry,” say the Nichols. “All of the kids know who we are and we don’t even have kids. Family get-togethers are frequent and neighbors are welcoming to others.”

Denise Wirth of Cypress Creek Lakes (Fry Road near Hwy 290) feels the same way about her neighborhood. “We have enjoyed our new neighbors, and know just about everyone on our street and [in the] surrounding areas,” says Wirth. “We have some great people in the neighborhood and we always watch out for each other.”

Curtis Eddington of Hearthstone (Huffmeister near Hwy 529) thinks the welcoming entrance to his neighborhood says it all. “As you drive up Huffmeister through the shady trees, you just feel yourself relax,” says Eddington. “It has a quiet, small town feel.”

Returning Home to LiveThat homey feel has contributed to a trend of second generation residents. “An interesting thing we see now is grown kids moving back to the neighborhood (Prestonwood Forest) with their own kids,” says Craig.

Tracey Richardson in Ravensway is a member of the trend. “I moved back because I wanted my kids to enjoy the same things I did growing up,” says Richardson of her community located off of Huffmeister Road.

Curtis and Diane Eddington wanted to move to Hearthstone in the 1990s, but didn’t get their wish until 2000. “In 1993, some co-workers of mine told me about a great neighborhood to check

WRITTEN BY ALICE HICKSPHOTOGRAPHY BY DEBBY COLSON

Community UnityCypress-Area Neighborhoods Build Unity Block by Block Cypress Creek Lakes

girls get in some friend time on the docks

Jenny Snyder and her kids enjoy some time together

at Cypress Creek Lakes

CY-FAIR NEIGHBORS

32 • cy-fair magazine Visit CyFairMagazine.com for jobs, events, news and more.


out,” says Curtis Eddington. “We drove through Hearthstone, saw the patio homes in front, and thought that was all there was, so we left. We soon realized our mistake and that we missed our chance to live in a great subdivision.”

Activities and Amenities Create CommunityEven years before they moved to Hearthstone, the Eddingtons started enjoying the neighborhood by joining Hearthstone Coun-try Club. “The golf course was a big attraction,” Curtis Eddington says. “We joined the club the first time in 1994 so I could golf, then later Diane got involved. We have met so many people. When you get involved, you really get to know them.”

Richardson says one of the things she enjoyed the most about her childhood in Ravensway was having access to the community stables there. “I have watched the barn evolve and become an excel-lent facility,” says Richardson. “The stables were a major factor in purchasing our home, and we use them daily.”

Lauren Hill agrees saying the Ravensway stables have also of-fered a way for the neighborhood to connect. “I love having the horses near,” says Hill. “I have met so many people. It’s nice to be in a neighborhood setting, not just have a house alone in the country,

Brenda Young walking Crystal Ann and Cherokee at

Ravensway Stables

Aiden enjoys the snow at Hearthstone’s Christmas

in the Park

because you can do things as a group. We have trail rides and camp with the horses.”

At Cypress Creek Lakes, it’s the lakes that link neighbors. “It’s nice walking the trails around the lakes that connect the subdivision,” says Cypress Creek Lakes Resident Pam Gilbert. “You meet so many people.”

Denise Wirth chose Cypress Creek Lakes for the lakefront view from her home, but has found other positives as well. “We love to sit outside in our backyard in the mornings and drink our coffee and let our dog, Rufus, play. Rufus loves to greet our neighbors walking around the lake.” Adds Wirth, “To watch the ducks and herons come back daily, is great! Sometimes we take out the toy power boat we have and run it around on the lake. At night when it is dark, you can see so many stars and the beautiful moon.”

Seasonal Events Unite NeighborsAlthough Craig and his wife, Charlene, have been involved in swimming and tennis in the past, Craig says Prestonwood Forest’s famous Christmas light display, featured last year on the Travel

“It’s nice walking the trails around the lakes that connect the subdivision.

You meet so many people.”—Pam Gilbert, Cypress Creek resident

Prestonwood Forest residents take pride in their nationally known holiday lights display

Kate and Sammy enjoy getting out for a walk at Cypress Creek Lakes



Channel, is the foremost activity that brings the community together.

“The Nite of Lites is what most people think of when they think of Prestonwood Forest,” says Craig. “We’ve had lights at our house since we moved there.”

Craig adds that a neighbor’s son helped bring his street closer together. “Our street has always participated [in the Nite of Lites], but we didn’t always have a theme,” says Craig. “One year, one of the neighbor’s kids, who was about six years old at the time, said ‘All the other streets have themes, why don’t we?’ We took his suggestion and it just blossomed from there.”

Hearthstone’s Christmas in the Park evokes a similar communi-ty spirit. Featuring horse-drawn wagons, trucked-in snow, a tree in the park decorated with ornaments created by the neighborhood, hot cocoa and cookies, the annual event creates memories.

“I think it’s very positive because it brings the neighborhood together,” says Hearthstone Resident Cindy Kelley. “You get to see everyone’s creativity because of the ornaments and the kids get to see snow that they wouldn’t experience otherwise. It’s one event that brings all the ages together.”

These four Cy-Fair area neighborhoods have each found unique ways to build lasting friendships among their residents and a special community spirit that will unite people together for years to come.

Alice Hicks is a freelance writer, PR consultant, wife, and mother of two. She has lived in the Cy-Fair area for eight years.

Moms and kids have fun at the park at Cypress Creek Lakes

When my husband and I found ourselves in the housing market last February, we never dreamed we would land in the Cy-Fair area. After all, we lived in the Champions area, and Cypress may as well have been Austin as far as we knew. We had a tight budget with little wiggle room. Still, we knew what we wanted—a two-story, four-bedroom/three-bath home with a game room, a nice kitchen complete with granite counter-tops and new appliances. With my eyes on the prize, I found a patient realtor, laced up my house-hunting shoes, and hit the ground running.

Like Finding a Needle in a HaystackOver the next four months, we would cover just about every highway and interstate in Northwest Houston and Harris County and comb through dozens of subdivisions. We targeted Spring, Tomball, The Woodlands, and Cypress, which amounted to roughly 90 houses in the end. It felt as if I was trying to find the elusive needle in a haystack.

In the end, we fell in love with a home in Fairfield, which was no surprise to our realtor, Amalia Norvik of Remax Realty Northwest. “It’s a family-oriented community with wonderful schools and it offers so much,” says Norvik. “It has tennis, an athletic club, all these activities for the children, baseball, and swimming. The other thing that’s attractive is all the trees, the lakes, all are very pretty and the walking trails. “

Even better, thanks to a sluggish housing market, when we did zone in on “the one,” it had been reduced greatly from the list price. Bingo! At long last our house was within reach! Now, where do we sign?

Our Journey Had Just BegunWe moved by the end of June, and breathed a sigh of relief to finally have a home. Little did we know that there was a whole other journey to go through—one of settling into new surroundings—that can prove almost as daunting as finding the right dwelling.

Since our move-in, our days have been crazy with unpacking, meet-ing neighbors, locating grocery stores and the nearest pharmacy, attending churches, and dipping into a few of our community’s wealth

Making My Way in Cy-FairHow to Conquer Your New Community… One Block at a Time

WRITTEN BY VICKI MOOREPHOTOGRAPHY BY LISA MANGOS

Writer, Vicki Moore and new neighbor and pal, Clara Lee

Raymond and Dan spark up the grill for a fun cookout with neighbors

CY-FAIR NEIGHBORS



Let Your Fingers Do The WalkingIf you are not as lucky as the Lees to know someone already in your new community, but you have a computer, there is a long list of online commu-nities that provide a wealth of information to Cy-Fair newcomers:

CyFairMagazine.comCy-Fair Magazine’s online directory (CyFairMagazine.com) has updated news, events, and jobs for our area. They also have thou-sands of business listings including restaurants, shops, churches, childcare centers, dentists, doctors and more.

HOA WebsitesBookmark your hom-eowner’s association (HOA) website and refer to it for links to other area busi-nesses, neighborhood activities, notes about deeds and restrictions, and much more. Stay-at-home mom and former HOA Manager, Angie Ledoux, says that HOA websites can really help new residents, “I used to work for the HOA, so I knew a lot. But, I also went to FairfieldVillage.org. The newsletter tells you a lot about Fairfield. It has tons of information on sports, homeowner guidelines and club house availability.”

CF Chamber of CommerceCall the Chamber at 281-995-1100 and request a “relocation package” free of charge. The package includes an area map, information on water, trash, gas and power services, in addition to real-tors, daycares, and local churches. Visit the Chamber of Commerce website at cyfairchamber.com.

CF Sports Leagues Sign your kids up to play sports or be a cheerleader for one of the area non-profit organizations, which promote a wide variety of youth athletics in Northwest Houston. Visit www.cy-fairsports.org or www.fairfield-sports.org for information on the various sports and activities available in the Cy-Fair area or search the internet for other local sports groups.

Community NewslettersMake the most of the free newsletters most area neighborhoods send out to all residents. In our area, the Fairfield Community Gazette, has everything from advertisements for area doctors and businesses, to community events like Fairfield’s Annual Scarecrow Con-test. Of course, Cy-Fair Magazine is also jam packed with local resources, events and things going on around town.

of neighborhood swimming pools. Basically, as new residents, it feels as if we had to navigate our way through unfamiliar territory, one block at a time.

Feeling That Neighborly LoveThe first people we met, our neighbors Michael and Clara Lee, we learned were Arkansas Razorback fans. My husband, a graduate of Ole Miss immediately rattled off a neighborly “Hotty Toddy.” With a smile and a handshake, this would be the beginning of a friendly relationship, filled with “SEC” love, late weekend family nights with our children, 4th of July fireworks, lots of ice cream cones and running next door to bor-row an egg, a cup of rice or a teaspoon of basil.

Clara Lee says that the neighborhood camaraderie here is like taking a step back in time. “It’s like going back to the days when a neighbor-hood was actually a community,” says Lee. “My experience in meet-

ing my neighbors has been awesome. Everybody’s been ready and wants to meet the people who are coming in. They enjoy sharing their knowledge of the area. We were fortunate to know a family who lived in Fairfield a long time. They know all the tricks and they’re willing to share it with you.”

Vicki Moore’s 15-year journalism career has included work in various television markets such as Jackson, Mississippi, Las Vegas, Nevada and Houston, Texas, where she most recently worked at KTRK Channel 13. Vicki is now a stay at home mom and loves spending time with her husband and two children in their new neighborhood, Fairfield.

Neighborhoods like Fairfield have many activities that help unite neighbors

Neighbors Angie and Jennifer enjoy a backyard party

“It’s like going back to the days when a neighborhood was actually a community.”

—Neighbor Clara Lee


Documents

Cypress Lakes Cy-Fair NEIGHBORS Families.pdf · Cypress Creek Lakes 34 • cy-fair magazine Visit CyFairMagazine.com for jobs, events, news and more. To advertise, call 281-579-9831