quinquine

Sunday morning (after a stubborn child delay) we headed to the Texas Renaissance Festival for some fun.

Following a much quicker route that Amy knows, we arrived and immediately went in search of a Scotch egg (yum!). We looked at quite a few jewelry shops to look for wedding bands, but didn't find anything that wowed us.

As this was fairy weekend, Lillian was right at home. I don't have a costume, so Amy and I were looking at stuff - I'm very interested in doing something LOTR-inspired, but we also found some really cool tricorns that I liked. Amy looked _stunning_ in her outfit. :)

This was not my first time at the festival, but it was my first for a lot of things - I had never seen any of the shows (Ded Bob, Clan Tynker) and I'd never stayed for the fireworks (awesome!). There was a guy with ***fire whips*** which were amazing.

There was also a lot of walking and a lot of (fried and sweet, but not necessarily at the same time) food, some mead, and a child face painting (unicorn, of course). We met up with Ja, Ke and T, and Stu and An brought Ai along - everybody had lots of fun (and some cool costumes!).

Another weekend of fun (and work)!

We started the fun early, with sushi and a Peter Murphy concert on Thursday evening. It's been a long time since I've been to a concert, and I've never been to one in a small venue; it was nice to be close to the musicians as they performed. There were some technical issues with one of the opening acts, but Peter Murphy's set didn't seem to have any problems. I can't wait to attend some more concerts!

Friday was for a small amount of laziness; Amy made some great oatmeal with blueberries and lemon curd (try it!!), and we did a small amount of cleaning, along with plenty of fun, talk, and snuggling.

After some delicious crock pot steel-cut oatmeal, Saturday was for cleaning, and we did a lot of it! Since we're having everyone over for the first time for Lillian's birthday party, it was the perfect time to do a good cleaning for several areas that will see a lot of traffic.

We downshifted (slightly) on Sunday, starting with cornmeal mush for breakfast. Maple syrup and butter were liberally applied, and I was very happy with it. :) We also ran over to Red River Barbeque & Grill and had some really excellent BBQ - if you go, make sure to grab some Texas hush puppies! Since I'm starting CrossFit this week, our schedule in the evenings will be pretty hectic, so we did a huge grocery shop and cooked for several hours in the evening. We also made time for a walk with Ang, Stu, and Ay; as we reached the turnaround point at the bridge, we were amazed to see well in excess of 30 turtles (aka a bale of turtles - yay, terms of venery!).

We finished the evening with an exhausted young lady falling asleep at the table - Lillian has been a dynamo of flailing and questioning and pouting, and she just couldn't sustain it. We're looking at some methods of curbing some of those behaviors, which will be nice.

All in all, another great weekend. :)

Oh! There was ice cream. Ice cream is always nice.

This was a long weekend - I have quite a bit of vacation time saved up, and will lose some if I don't use it in the next couple of weeks. Amy came in from a conference late Thursday night (technically Friday morning, I guess, but who's counting when you're meeting someone you love?) and I drove up to the airport to meet her.

Friday morning was spent snuggling and lazing about; after a late lunch at Nobi (I had a good beer - Sixpoint's Spice of Life - I'm guessing it was the June 2014 'Centennial') we went to the local credit union and we refinanced my car loan. Awesome! I now have a very good interest rate and a better note. We then ran into town to watch Lillian's VBS perform a number of songs that we both recognized from our childhoods.

The pool beckoned on Saturday; the weather was great, and the pool was finally warm enough to not shock me as I entered.

Sunday was another late start, after some wonderful snuggling. Lillian got to ride on a Big Wheel for the first time - she's starting to get the hang of pedaling, but steering needs a bit of work; she tends to be distracted by anything and everything (as are many 3-year-olds), and the wheel goes in whichever direction she's looking. She's also still deep in the 'infinite questions' stage, which can be pretty exhausting. Amy and I cooked some pulled pork and we all had some really good sliders; there's also enough pulled pork for the next week (at least!).

All in all, a fun weekend; we've already got plans to see the last fireworks show of the season this coming Friday, which should be lots of fun!

Friday, I took the day off for Lillian's parent-teacher conference; her teachers were happy with her progress, with the exception of toilet training, which is now a primary focus at home - I have her on a regular schedule now, and I'm already having some success.

I drove down to Amy's afterward to help with a couple of home repair tasks and to have some _amazing_ barbacoa tacos; we had a fantastic afternoon and then drove into town to attend the Menil after hours (note to self: the provided food seems to disappear in moments, so get there early). We viewed quite a few paintings by Magritte (one of my favorite Surrealists) and some very interesting pieces by an artist I'm unfamiliar with (Lee Bontecou).

We then went to Numbers; I haven't been to a club in 12 years or so! It was a lot of fun - there were enough songs that I was familiar with that it was nice, and my general awkwardness on the dance floor was not a problem. Plus, I got some good tips. :)

Saturday, we collected Lillian and headed to the Art Car Parade; I got to meet a couple of Amy's friends (Mo & Er) and their parents. There was some confusion about the actual start time of the parade, but we arrived with plenty of time to spare and had some delicious gelato. Next year we might pick a spot further away from the start of the parade, though; there was no real need to hear the announcers, and there were plenty of shady spots along the route that would have been nice. I'm already thinking about good picnicking dishes and beverages to bring. We returned home for a quick nap and then headed to dinner; my earlier craving for fried onions took us to Outback and a ridiculous wait time (I had forgotten that the Saturday before Mother's Day might be problematic. EEP!).

Sunday was mainly for being lazy, but we did head over to Baba Yega's for brunch; I had been before, but never for this meal. WOW. This was the sort of meal that makes me wish for an extra stomach. Or two. Even though it was Mother's Day and the place was packed, Amy and I were able to get in quickly; not many two-tops were coming in. We headed out for a short round of frisbee golf (Amy's first!) and she acquitted herself quite nicely. Later, we picked up Lillian and everyone had a nice nap.

This was a beautiful weekend - there were some cranky toddler issues, and Amy was fighting a nasty cough, and we got tired and sunburned, but I wouldn't trade it for anything; sometimes it's nice to know that even when things aren't perfect, they are.

This weekend, Amy, Lillian, and I went to Shiner for an overnight camping trip at a coworker's parents' farm (her coworker, not mine). It was great - I realized that most of my vacation time over the last couple of years have really been family trips or just trying to recover, and this was the first relaxing vacation I'd had in a long time. I was able to meet some more of Amy's coworkers, which was nice, and I also got to hang out with Amy some more, which was very, very nice!

I met, and consumed, some of the legendary triporken, and must say: YUM.

I was also introduced to rhubarbs (by themselves - I'd only ever had rhubarbs in combination with strawberries before) this weekend, when Amy made a pork chop and rhubarb dish. A _definite_ winner, especially with pork!

Lillian had great fun, running around with some friendly dogs and friendly kids, and we got to witness some air cannon fruit mayhem. It was her first tent camping experience, and I think the weather was perfect - just a little cool and breezy. :)

I'm still kicking myself for not documenting it with some photos. Next time!

Current Mood: happy

Amy flew in on Monday, and I was able to hightail it to the airport to meet her (hooray for slight flight delays and flexibility at work!); it was so awesome to see her again! Spent a wonderful night at her place, and then went to work with her for a lot of fun with simulators (I only futzed up once) and I got to see some of the amazing technology she is working on/responsible for - if I was impressed by her before, now I'm _extremely_ impressed! We then zipped up to my job for a quick tour of the library; nowhere near as exciting, but still a lot of fun.

Next up, a camping trip! It's been ages since I've gone camping, and this will be Lillian's first time. I'll try to remember to take lots of photos.

I also got some great news, but I'll keep that in my pocket. :)

Work was a bit more hectic than normal; finals are here, and the library was crammed with last-minute study groups. I'm also training a new supervisor; once she's fully trained, I'll assign some of my current duties to her and be able to pick up some more projects and committee work (yay?).

Current Mood: happy

Entries tagged with lillian

Fun at the Renaissance Festival

Fun From the Land of the Long Weekend

Four Day Weekend Fun

Art Cars and Other Fun

Camping!

A Good Start to the Week

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