Groupies

Years ago, maybe when Ruth was around 6, we were visiting my parents, who decided to take us to see a little show for kids. It turned out to be Lucas Miller, the Singing Zoologist. We instantly fell in love with every silly, but educational, song he sang and bought a CD at the end of the show. To say we played it millions of times doesn't seem to be an exaggeration. We literally played it until it broke. So, a couple of years ago, we were thrilled to hear that Lucas Miller was coming to our very own library. We went to the show, bought the same CD again, and continued to enjoy his music until we, once again, wore the CD out. Today, he was back in Marble Falls, and, though Ruth and Weston were tied up, the little boys and I were able to make the show. Before he started singing, Mr. Miller chatted with the eager audience and asked if anyone had seen a show before and if anyone had any requests. My boys were on the front row, and their hands shot straight up. Max put in his request, which seemed to surprise the entertainer, so he asked where Max had heard that song. I then explained that we were sort of groupies and that we had listened to the CDs more times than we could count--even to the point of breakage. He and I bantered back and forth for a while, joking about super-fans and giving the audience a sales plug, and after a while, he said, with a *wink, wink,* that he was going to have my $20 at his table after the show. Everyone laughed at this, and then he continued setting up his props. After a short while, he came over and offered me a new CD, which we didn't already have. The boys (and I) were so excited! His songs are so entertaining and very smart. If you have kids or if you just like nature, science or cleverness in action, check out his You Tube channel.

In a tight spot

I don't even know how, but this happened today. In the library. The boys had finished their school work, and we sent them off to peruse the books. I scooted around to the same side of the table as Jeff, so we could chat in our library voices. After a little while, I heard a very minor scuffling sound behind me and turned around to remind whichever boy where we were and what he needed to be doing. From where I was, I couldn't quite tell what was going on, but I knew most definitely that Max wasn't reading like he was supposed to be, so I told him to find a book and sit down. He loud-whispered that he couldn't sit down and then hung his head, burying his explanation in his chest. Finally, I got him to tell me what the problem was: he was stuck! He had somehow managed to (silently) get his knee stuck between a metal pole and the wall. He was becoming distraught but understood perfectly the gravity of being in the library, so he was sincerely trying not to make a sound. Attempting to stifle a laugh, I went over to offer some assistance. But, he was really and truly stuck, and I couldn't get his leg to budge either. Eventually, I went over to get Jeff, who thought the situation one of the most absurd things he'd ever seen and came to the rescue, only after snapping a couple of pics. Jeff assessed the situation and decided the best solution was to lube the boy's knee up and see if it would slide out, which we did, using some lotion from my purse. Jeff said he would only get Max out on the condition that he didn't scream when we pulled his knee out. I'm pretty sure Max believed he was doomed to spend the rest of his days hugging that ugly green post in the library, so he readily agreed to Jeff's terms and managed not to make a peep as his knee was being freed. As we were leaving the library, Max glared at the pole and declared under his breath, "I'll never do that again!" So, lesson learned. The hard way. Of course. There is seriously never a dull moment when you have kids, and especially if you have a Max!

Jeff's birthday weekend in Aggieland

We knocked out the scary portion of our Halloween bright and early on Friday morning with a trip to Passport Health in Austin, for our travel shot debriefing and the first round of injections. It was actually a wonderful visit--very informative and personalized--and our nurse made the whole process as painless as possible. From there, we made our way to the Arboretum to get the birthday weekend started with our annual combined November birthday/half-birthday trip (for Jeff, Weston, Clay and Ruth) to Estancia Brazilian steakhouse. This is always one of the highlights of the year! And, from there, it was off to Aggieland!

Our first stop was the new and very impressive Equine Complex, where a sweet member of the Aggie equestrian team gave us a tour of the facilities. After that, we checked into our motel room, which we were happy to get on short notice, on a game weekend. This happened to be the same motel some of our family members stayed in when we got married, and it appears that they literally haven't changed a thing in the last 16 years. But, it was available, and inexpensive, and close to campus, so we didn't feel we had anything to complain about. 

Fun at the Equine Complex

a pile of boys

Eventually, we made our way over to Chicken Oil Co. to hang out and grab some grub. We took the kids there last year, and so, embracing the Aggie Spirit, it has become a tradition for us. After dinner, we had a mandatory nap time, to help combat major grumpiness during Midnight Yell. We made it to campus about 10:20 and were able to see the "Flight of the Great Pumpkin," before following the band over to Kyle Field for Yell. 

A cutthroat game of Crazy 8 at Chicken Oil

Flight of the Great Pumpkin on the Quad

watching the junior Yell Leaders do their class set before Yell

Clay quickly picked up the pass-backs and really got into it

We were directly behind the band at Yell,
so we had a good view of the big drums as they exited

Future Yell Leader

One of the kids' favorite things on campus

The game was at 11:00 on Saturday morning, so we arrived at the stadium by 10:00. We were sort of in awe of the magnitude of the recent renovations. And, while the stadium was far from full, it is always fun to watch the Aggies play at Kyle Field. It's even more fun when they pull out the win. 

Game day selfie

Kyle Field, with the newly added south end zone seating

Reveille

"Now forming at the north end of Kyle Field…"

"…the nationally famous, Fightin' Texas Aggie Band."

Yell Practice and an early game proved too much for this little guy

In an effort to introduce the kids to more "old school" Aggie establishments, we took them to Layne's for lunch after the game. By the time we finished eating, Midnight Yell had caught up with all of us, and another mandatory nap time was instituted. 

Jeff chose Lupe Tortilla for his birthday dinner, mainly based on the fact that they were the only non-fast food joint in town with a playground and adult beverages. Due to exceptionally slow service, we ended up just having drinks and appetizers, but the little boys were able to get all their wiggles out on the playground, while the two older kids and the adults played cards and shared some delightful conversation at the table, under the heaters on the patio. We ended up eating dinner and dessert at Applebee's, chosen mainly for its proximity to our motel. There were no fewer than two drinks spilled at our table, and the waitress made me feel older than dirt when she proclaimed that she started Kindergarten the year we graduated from A&M, but we still managed to have a good time and share a lot of laughs. 

brother time at Lupe Tortilla

This morning, we spent some time just wandering around on campus, indulging Clay's statue obsession and marveling at all the ways in which campus has changed since we were students there.  For instance, there is the most magnificent Starbucks in the library now, and the inside of that building no longer looks like the '70s threw up on every floor. 

Having a blast at the bike "fix-it" station

a particularly popular sculpture with the kids

Clay wanted to stop at every statue on campus and have his picture made.
(He also talks about wanting to see all the statues when he looks at the travel books.)
We don't really understand his obsession, but we are happy to oblige. 

Ringed with Aggie Spirit

The kids have been asking us forever to go bowling--basically, since the Marble Falls bowling alley closed down several months ago--so, we decided to take them while we were in the "big city." We had a great time at Grand Station, and Weston emerged victorious in our game. Our final stop before heading out of Aggieland was Wings 'N More, where we took the first available table in the bar, which is how we discovered that Weston is a huge fan of the sports' bar concept. (I know, this should have been obvious. Because, hello, food+sports.) He would have stayed all day, but, despite all the mandatory napping, the younger boys were quite tired, and it was clear we were going to have to voluntarily leave the restaurant or get kicked out. We had such a wonderful weekend, celebrating one of our very favorite people, in one of our very favorite places! 

Ready to bowl

The week the Watts ate out

Most of the time, we prepare our own meals at home, not only because it's a healthier alternative to eating out, but also because we are all total foodies and just love cooking up stuff in the kitchen. But, we aren't purists, and we do like to eat out on occasion, as well. This week the eating out may have been just a teeny bit out of control, though--as in, we ate out every day this week! Some of it was out of "necessity" and some was just plain fun. Our galavanting took us through a wide variety of cuisines and cut quite a swath through the Hill Country, as well.

Monday--Date Night. We were a little crunched for time but still wanted something that felt like a date (you know, nothing with a drive-thru), so we settled on Milano Cafe in Austin, which fit the bill perfectly. We were served quickly and every bite was delicious!

Tuesday--Running kids around night. Ruth was hanging out with some buddies in Burnet, so I popped into Whataburger, after I dropped her off. Ironically, Jeff and Weston also stopped by Whataburger (in Marble Falls) after Weston's football practice. (The little boys were out at the ranch with Grandpa, cooking hot dogs over an open flame and eating lots of other really fun stuff, I'm sure!)

Wednesday--Looking for an excuse night. Jeff received a birthday gift certificate to Russo's in the mail, and it just sort of seemed like a sign. We love Russo's and don't need much of an excuse to pop in. Our growing boy was still hungry after his "modest" portions of ravioli, garlic bread and two (shared) appetizers, so we decided to make a McDonald's run to get the poor boy a hamburger (and the rest of us coffee and/or dessert) after our really nice Texas-Italian meal. That's how we roll. And, we're o.k. with that. 

Thursday--Mom's Night. Once a month, the CC moms get together for a night out without the kids, to enjoy authentic grown-up conversation and not having to clean up after anyone. This time, we met at Ginger & Spice, in Marble Falls, which is always wonderful. Meanwhile, Dad had a little celebration with the kids by picking up Chicken Express, since Clay kept his pants dry the whole time he was at the ranch.

Friday--Birthday dinner night. Jeff's parents took us out to Hudson's on the Bend, for an early celebration of Jeff's birthday. Every single thing was absolutely fantastic! I got tickled when our kids begged for an order of escargot. It's not every group of 3-12 year old kids who know what escargot is, much less love it (especially if they know what it is). After the amazing dinner, we headed over to Amy's Ice Cream for some sweet treats. 

Saturday--You can't just not eat after a morning of football, especially when they were the last games of the season. And, we were close enough to one of our new favorite places that it only seemed right slip over to Milago's, just outside of Wimberley, to tank up on Tex-Mex. 

A day at the dentist

Five of us went to the dentist today. This is always a super-fun time. Oh, and this was the family's first visit to this particular dentist office.

We started at 8:30, with Clay's first-ever visit. He was thrilled to sit in that funky chair with all the interesting maneuvers, and the hygienist showed him every possible tool, and even let him handle all of them. His favorite was "Mr. Thirsty," the water sucking straw. He did fantastic with the cleaning and really had a good time.

Max was up next. He got to wear cool shades and got a wonderful report. He has twenty-one teeth, but we could see from the x-rays that it won't be long before some of them start to come out.

By the end of Max's appointment, Clay was restless and ready to go, so it worked out well that we had a break before the next round of appointments. The three of us came home for a brief period before returning to the office, this time with the two oldest kids in tow.

The two littles stayed in the van, watching a DVD, while I took the two older kids inside for their simultaneous appointments. The next hour found me running from exam room to van to other exam room. And, on one of my visits to the van, I found that Clay had released himself from his seat and was giddily rolling the windows up and down. Upon opening the door to lock the windows, I noticed the overpowering stench wafting up from the backseat. Sure enough, Clay had pooped in his pants (on an underwear day). And, AND, I had neglected to relocate the diaper bag back to the van after taking it out over the weekend. I was utterly unequipped to take care of the situation. My own dental appointment was coming up, so I called in reinforcements. Jeff came and saved the day, and took the two little boys home for safekeeping.

Meanwhile back in the office, Weston also donned the shades and got an excellent report. He had to have his spacer removed and replaced, which was a little painful, but he was a trooper and did great.

Ruth had a couple of problem areas and will have to go back in for sealants and a filling. (Ruth was more on her own than the others, so I didn't get a picture of her. I suspect she wouldn't have allowed that anyway, though.)

By the end of my appointment, I was a bit cranky from having been there all day, from having had my mouth messed with, and from having received a little bit of bad news about some crumbly old fillings, which will have to be replaced (at a significant cost). So, I was super-thrilled when I handed our Health Savings debit card to the business manager and she told me it wasn't working. This required me to call the bank, and to be placed on hold, and to talk to the always-helpful bank people--from the comfort of the dentist office. The first person I spoke to at the bank confirmed that the card wasn't working, as well it shouldn't, because there was a zero balance in the account. It's a brand new account that we just opened a couple of weeks ago, so I was a bit shocked. After explaining this to the unhelpful lady on the phone, I was transferred to someone slightly more helpful, who was able to determine that we do have money in the account, we just can't use it (for another few days). Awesome.

The good news is we all survived and (most of us) don't have to do it again for another six months. Another positive was that we are all very happy with our new dentists and their staff. This was a good change for us.

Thankfully, the big kids and I were able to end the day by seeing the Tarzan musical Marble Falls High School was putting on. What an amazing show! It provided plenty of opportunities to show off our very clean smiles.

Holly Jolly Holiday

Piano recital for a lady's group in Kingsland 12/2

hi

Walkway of Lights, Marble Falls 12/2

Seasons Greetings in San Antonio 12/6

Gingerbread Village 12/7

Oh, Christmas Tree 12/11

festive flowers 12/13

Nursing home recital 12/14

deer-in-the-headlights (and Christmas lights!)  12/15

football on the lawn of the Johnson City courthouse 12/15

yearly carriage ride in Johnson City 12/15

trying to stay warm on the carriage ride 12/15

Watts Weekend

FRIDAY

• The kids and I participated in a fun field tip to Longhorn Cavern with our CC group. 
• The boys and I ran errands, while Ruth attended her art class.
• We closed on our Kingwood house!!! Finally, the albatross is lifted.
• We had breakfast for dinner and watched "Tangled."
• It was early to bed due to early sports the next day.

SATURDAY

• Ruth had a volleyball game at 8:00, which ended in her team's first victory of the season.
• Max played football at 9:00, and his team was also victorious.
• Weston's football game was at 10:00, and his team came away with a win as well. 
• Ruth and Jeff each took a turn in the concession stand during the football games.
• Mimi came to all the games and spent the afternoon with us.
• We had lunch at Tea Thyme after Weston's game, which is a place with lots of healthy options that we all just love. 
• We visited a life-size Old Testament Tabernacle replica, which will be set up in Marble Falls all week. It was very well done, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. 
• I found somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand acorns in my washing machine and still don't know whether that was courtesy of just one boy or a concerted effort by all three. It was a good reminder to check pockets before throwing the clothes in.
• Weston, along with the rest of us, got to watch his beloved Longhorns take home a win.
• Ruth cleaned out and organized both refrigerators, which just makes happy. The cleaning part was one of her assigned chores for this week, but the organizing was her own idea. She's a girl after my own heart. 
• We set up a pizza bar, and everyone got to create their own culinary masterpieces for dinner. 
• I had several strokes while watching the Aggies try to eek out the victory over Ole Miss. I do not need that kind of stress in my life!
• The rain came down all night long, making beautiful music to sleep by, as it tapped on the metal roof. 
• Clay slept all night, which he has not been in the habit of doing lately.

SUNDAY

• Clay slept in until 7:30, which he also hasn't been in the habit of doing lately.
• The Dish Network service guy was at our house at 8:00 am to work on our satellite, on a Sunday, on a ladder, in the pouring rain. It was a pretty amazing customer service experience.
• Everyone else also slept in, as the rain continued to soak our little part of the world. 
• There were waffles and omelets for breakfast.
• I got all my CC prep work done before noon.
• Pinterest put the idea of a full-size milk carton igloo in my head, and now I'm trying to figure out how to save enough milk cartons to make it happen. I think my kids might be able to overlook some of my parenting uncoolness if I could make this appear in our loft. Jeff figured out that at our current rapid rate of milk consumption, it would take me about two years to save up enough, which kind of put a damper on my enthusiasm.
• Jeff tapped our surplus of sweet potatoes and made a delicious sweet potato and chicken curry for lunch and a yummy crustless sweet potato pie for dessert.
• A flock of wild turkeys wandered through our property and were just right outside our living room windows, causing all manner of excitement on the other side of the glass.
• Jeff created a web page for us to post articles we come across that help build vocabulary. We are trying this new contextual approach to learning vocabulary in our homeschool. Ruth reads an article or two during a particular class time, writes down and defines any words she doesn't know, and then discusses the article and the unknown words with either Jeff or myself. The web site is a way for us to gather our resources together and even share them with others. 
• Weston got to go to a birthday party for one of his football teammates at Pizza Hut, and I got to flex my socializing-with-people-I-don't-know muscles.
• I made the unfortunate choice to go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, but now we have plenty of everything, so we should be good for a while. 

It's a sign

Tomorrow my boys will join with the rest of our small town in the participation of the homecoming parade. They will get to sit on floats and throw candy at the multitudes (and probably snitch a few pieces for themselves). They will don their uniforms and display their handmade signs. And, really, it's those blankety-blank signs I'd like to talk about. Last year, I drew the letters for Weston, but otherwise let him decorate his completely on his own, with whatever markers he could find that still had ink. When we got to the parade, I saw that all of the professional sign maker moms had done the work for their boys and had stepped it up with glitter and rhinestones and ribbons and dozens of other cute craft implements I'm sure I don't even know the names of. I wasn't ashamed of Weston's sign, and he was very proud to have done it himself, but this year, I thought I'd at least get out the Crayola paints so the boys' posters would show up better amongst all those professional ones. (My boys still did all the decorating themselves, because that's how we roll around here). A few minutes into the project, I remembered why that paint lives on a high shelf in the storage closet and why we don't really do painting projects in the Watts' home. The kids' school desk and several articles of clothing, including those of a child who wasn't even involved in the project, were covered in purple "washable" paint, which I know perfectly well is just a label they put on that stuff to dupe weary, gullible, guilt-ridden parents into buying it. I can only thank God that I didn't have the ridiculous notion to pull out the glitter!

Are you ready for some football?!

ready for action

Number 99 (Whoop!)

head to head

break through that line

I haven't actually seen Max play a game yet.
I snapped this pic last week, before leaving for my writing seminar,
and this week's game was cancelled.
But, he does look cute in his (oversized) uniform!

A Birthday Story

Jeff delivered Clay to Mimi's house early this morning, so the rest of us could hang at Chili's, watching the boat races. Our lakeside table was reserved for the whole morning and included a special breakfast buffet and a select lunch menu. The boats were loud and fast, and the races were pretty thrilling. There was one nasty crash, but, thankfully the driver seemed to be unharmed.

After lunch, Jeff took the kids so I could have some time to myself. I had hoped to get a pedicure, but the place I usually go was completely packed. Rather than wait around, I decided to spend the afternoon shopping. I found several cute things, many of which were on sale. It was a lovely afternoon.

I also received many phone calls, texts, emails and Facebook well-wishes throughout the day, which made me feel very special and much loved! The only phone call I didn't enjoy too much was the one from Jeff in which he informed me that he was taking Clay to the ER, following the advice of the Poison Control people, who had been called when it was suspected that Clay had ingested some prescription medication, while snooping around where he didn't belong. They stayed at the ER for a couple of hours, with Clay under observation, and the medical staff finally determined that Clay had probably not swallowed the meds, or at least didn't get enough to hurt him. He's completely fine. The little stinker! I could just thump him.

On my way home this evening, God saw fit to give me a beautiful sunset and a brilliant rainbow. And then, Jeff and I watched "Whose Line is it Anyway," and I laughed until I cried. It was a truly wonderful day! Thank you for celebrating with me.

LakeFest dates

Rev it up

Picking a favorite

Who is a mess?

Birthday sunset

When the kids are away, the parents will play

On Wednesday, Jeff's parents picked up the kids around noon, on their way out to the ranch to prepare for the Watts' family reunion. That left us with a couple of kid-free days, so we set out to make the most of them.

We kicked off the fun with lunch together in Marble Falls at a place we hadn't tried yet. Then, we were back at the house for a few hours to get some work done. (A necessary evil before more fun could be had.) And, then, we were off to Austin to check in on the work being done on our house there, which may or may not have involved an attempt to break into the (tenant-free) house. Since we were already in Austin, we decided to slip over to the Alamo Drafthouse for dinner and a movie. We saw Now You See Me, which we really enjoyed. After the movie, we headed back to Marble Falls, where we stopped in at Chili's for drinks and dessert on the deck overlooking the lake. It was lovely.

Thursday morning, I had a pedicure and did a little shopping, before collecting Jeff for a surprise date I had planned. Before my plans kicked in, we stopped in Johnson City for lunch at a place we had never tried. Then, we were on our way to Fredricksburg, where the adventure ramped up. Our first stop was at Grape Creek Vineyard for a tour and tasting. What a beautiful place! We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the wine.

From there, we made our way to Cotton Gin Village, where I had reserved a quaint little cabin for us for the night. We spent some time in the cabin, resting and reading, before enjoying a fabulous meal at the Cabernet Grill, a wonderful steak and seafood restaurant on the property.

Our after-dinner plans took us to the Rockbox Theater, where we experienced a most enjoyable music and comedy show.

Finally, back at our cabin, we enjoyed coffee and s'mores, before turning in for the night. It was a really wonderful and much-needed break from the every day.

Grape Creek vineyard

The barrel room

Cotton Gin Village

Cabernet Grill