In early October, we snuck in our second-ever visit to the Texas State Fair. We’d have liked to wait for cooler weather, but it just wasn’t an option this year. I kid you not, on both Saturday and Sunday, it was 100 degrees outside. I had spent most of the summer reminding Sean that we hadn’t turned on our sprinklers till July, that we hadn’t had that many 100-degree days, that for Texas this summer really wasn’t so bad. Well, I take back all the nice things I’ve said. Our September felt like a second August that happened to bleed over into October. It was horrible.

Sweating amongst the fall pumpkins at the Dallas Arboretum

We thought we’d do the fair on Saturday and then visit the Dallas Arboretum on Sunday morning. After circling the entire fairgrounds and finding zero parking (at least none that wasn’t in some dude’s driveway or in some business’s lot), we decided to reverse our plans. And that is how we found ourselves wandering the incredible grounds of the Dallas Arboretum, fully bedecked in its fall finery, on a sweltering October afternoon.

The sheer quantity of pumpkins and gourds was staggering, the colorful variety providing a beautiful autumn palette that clashed mightily with the sweat rolling down our faces. The theme was, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” and the sculptures, topiaries, and pumpkin buildings did not disappoint. We spent a good amount of time in the area running through mazes, hiding in pumpkin-festooned fields, and pretending to play Schroeder’s piano. We ventured beyond the fall festivities as well. The Children’s Garden in particular was really fun for both kids and grown-ups.

Knowing how hot it was going to be, Sean had made sure to find a hotel with a pool, and I think we were all looking forward to being in the nice cool water after that blistering afternoon walk through the gardens. Alas, that hotel pool was *really* cold. Maya, being Maya, didn’t care at all. Ian on the other hand had bluish lips and a distinct chatter when he told us over and over again he wanted to keep swimming. We thought we might warm up a bit in the hot tub, but wrong again! It was so hot that none of us were willing to actually get in it. Oh well, the swim was refreshing and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun.

Maya is right up front. Ian and I are about four cars back.

We got to Fair Park the next morning right as things started opening up. Last year, we had learned that the kids’ favorite part had been the rides, so we tried to front-load our visit with those activities before the lines got too long. Sean was collecting some data on how well the kids tolerated various kinds of rides in preparation for our spring break trip to Disney World. At least back in October, Ian was unsure about rollercoasters that moved at any pace beyond a pleasant chug. Maya (surprise) was all in, even daring to ride by herself on one of them.

Maya and Ian had fun going through the children’s farm exhibit. They got to put on aprons and pretend to be farmers for a little while. We visited lots of different animas and fed many of them. We even got to see a kangaroo with a little joey in its pouch. A lot of the animals looked stressed or just plain miserable. It could be that a pen at the state fair is not their favorite place to be.

Texas Longhorn – ready to gore the less than diligent fair patron

Naturally, we partook of a few of the deep-fried delicacies on offer. Our favorite was the fried fettuccini alfredo. Another standout was some kind of “burnt ends” enchilada / taco situation. The kids had (sigh) chicken fingers. After a run through to play a few games and to ride just a couple more rides, we loaded up in the car and made the long and somewhat sweaty drive back to Austin.

Maya skating

Not long after the fair, the kids had skate night at the local rink. I don’t know how to skate, so I watched as Sean took the kids out in turns to tool around the rink with their “skate mates.” Not wanting to miss out the next time we had a skate night, on our next date night, I requested that we go back so Sean could teach me. By the end of the night, I could haltingly make it around the rink, but of course this wasn’t achieved without a few falls. On the way home, my right wrist was hurting a bit, but I assumed I had just sprained it and went on my merry way.

Ian skating

When it had swollen noticeably and started to turn weird colors, I thought maybe an x-ray was in order. Sure enough, I had fractured a bone in my wrist (to this day, I cannot tell you which one). The first doctor I saw at the urgent care clinic was jovial enough about the whole thing. At one point, I shrugged and said something like, “They tried to tell me not to reach my arms out if I fell backward, but i just couldn’t avoid it.” She explained to me that probably my body was reacting whether I wanted it to or not. It happens so often, in fact, that they have a name for it: FOOSH or Falling On OutStretched Hands.

I didn’t ever have to wear a cast, just a brace, but it was my right wrist that I’d broken and I am right-handed, so our whole world had to slow down for a while. The first brace I wore (only for a few days, thankfully) actually immobilized my thumb. I have a cushy desk job, and I still found it nearly impossible to work like that. In our current January timeframe, I am brace-free but far from pain-free. The orthopedist warned me it could be six months or a year till my arm felt normal again, so I’m trying not to worry.

Ian – Fall 2019 – Age 4

During October, each kid had their school photos made. Maya still struggles with making the fake smile for a yearbook photo look natural, but I think she did a passable job this year. Plus she was super proud of her fancy dress. Ian is Ian and just can’t help but look cute in his photos.

Maya – Fall 2019 – Age 6

We ended the month with Halloween. Maya and Ian had had their costumes chosen for weeks (in Maya’s case, months), and bonus: I was able to order them from Amazon! The legs in Ian’s wound up being vastly too long. With my dumb broken wrist, I was unable to alter them, and when I suggested that we just cut off the feet (and a few inches of leg), I was met with two teary eyes and a big quivering lip, so I was essentially forced to come up with a solution. Luckily, a friend was able to make the alterations quickly. Unluckily, that friend was sick and wound up sewing the feet on backward. Whoops! The kids thought it was a total crack-up. I was thinking it was still ok; I could find a professional to just turn the feet around. I had plenty of time before actual trick or treating. Unfortunately, Ian wanted to wear his costume to his fall carnival, which was a few days earlier. We were fortunate to find one kind-hearted seamstress who rushed us in and got his costume fixed.

Ian at his carnival

We had amazing weather for the Saturday that featured both the fall carnival at Ian’s preschool and Dolphin Fest at Maya’s elementary school. At the carnival, Maya and Ian met reptiles, got their faces painted and hair colored, and they bounce-bounce-bounced through castles and slides and obstacle courses. At Dolphin Fest, they played games and redeemed their tickets for prizes.

Maya, at Ian’s carnival

Anna and the kids drew the jack-o-lanterns. Maya wanted a scary one and Ian wanted a happy one. Thanks to my dumb broken wrist, I didn’t really get to participate at all. Sean wound up gutting and carving the pumpkins for a change.

These two!

On Halloween night, poor Maya came home from school feeling headachy and nauseated. She managed to pull it together though for about an hour of trick-or-treating. A surprise package from Grammy and Grandpa supplied them with glow-in-the-dark swords for our perilous journey through the suburbs of Austin. Maya and Ian pulled in a giant haul of candy and seemed to have a lot of fun complimenting the neighbors on their beautiful houses. Next year though, we’ll have to have a talk about waiting outside on the doorstep instead of wandering right on in to people’s living rooms.

After our action-packed May, June, and early July, we purposefully kept the rest of the summer as unscheduled as possible. Chilling out around the house. Working through some of the Kiwi Crates that Santa had brought the kids for Christmas. In general, recuperating.

Ian and his unparalleled sense of style

Sean bequeathed all his boxes of Transformers to the kids over the summer, and they were hooked. To this day, when they remember they have them, they can easily while away a full hour or more playing with those Transformers. Some of them have suffered a bit at the kids’ hands, but so far, I don’t think it’s hurting Dad too much.

We had a couple of fun water outings with the McKee-Starling clan. We met them at Typhoon Texas one afternoon. Ian was pretty content to just putz around in the water, but once Maya got past her initial apprehension about the water slides, we could hardly get her to leave.

Ian and Mom at Typhoon Texas

The very next weekend, we hung out with them at their community pool for an afternoon. In Texas the pool water can sometimes get kinda warm and bath-like. It’s a little gross, but it’s still better than standing out in the unforgiving sun.

Snow cone at the pool

Also, toward the end of summer, Maya put aside her skateboard for a bit and learned to ride her bike. It’s really hilly around our house, and it’s hard for her to ride much there, so she’s largely learned in a nearby park.

As the start of school approached, we attended the ice cream social to meet Maya’s teacher for the first time and find her new classroom. We were stunned to find out that she’d be part of a co-teaching classroom. Two teachers and 37 students are all in a giant room. It’s not the environment I had imagined when I filled out the class-placement survey and explained Maya was very smart and capable, but had trouble sitting still and was easily distracted.

Ian told me it was an alien. I wondered if the alien’s name was Mr. Hanky.

The kids also went early and decorated the sidewalks leading into school with sidewalk chalk. I guess the nebulous octopuses that Maya drew and turd-shaped aliens that Ian created weren’t part of the program because the sidewalks had been washed clean by Maya’s first day of school. I have photographic evidence though :-)

Maya on her first day of first grade

And then school started. Maya was brimming with excitement and maybe a few nervous butterflies. Kindergarten had been such a positive experience for her, as far as we could tell, and she was looking forward to going back to school. The transition to first grade has been a tough one though. There’s a more rigid routine and the expectations are greater. Maya describes her teachers as strict. She is expected to follow instructions. She is expected to sit still in her seat and comply. These aren’t things that come naturally to our girl though, and she’s been struggling. We regularly get notes home about various behavioral issues; it has been stressful for all of us.

Luckily, she still tells us she enjoys going to school and says she likes her teacher. Fingers crossed that we can carry that through to the end of the school year.

Maya has been doing a lot of sewing. It started with a pre-formed, pre-holed animal sewing kit and progressed to a more free-form breakfast foods kit. I still cut the felt out for her, but she largely does the sewing herself these days. Nearly all of her creations go to Ian. For Maya, the joy appears to be in the creating of the item rather than the item itself.

Throughout the late summer and early fall, Ian had been on a notebook bender. He’d create little notebooks out of stapled together pieces of paper and then fill them with his name and Maya’s name. He eventually added Mom and Dad in there too. Occasionally, he’d ask us how to spell another word (“moon,” for example) and then that would make regular appearances for a few days before slipping back into Ian’s mental ether to be randomly called upon at some future time.

Ian and Maya at the baseball game, complete with rainbow

In September, we got to go to a Round Rock Express game, courtesy of Sean’s company. They rent a suite, offer up a bunch of food and drinks, and then let us relax and watch a baseball game. Maya LOVES it. Ian loves the food part, for sure, but I truly believe Maya is interested in the game. By the end of our time there, she had a basic comprehension of the rules and kept good track of the score. It was a double-header and one of the games was rain-delayed, so we had to leave without seeing it finish. Maya made sure to check on the score when she woke up the next morning to see whether her team had won.

Assuming WordPress isn’t lying to me, this is our 100th post on this family blog. Fitting I guess that this one is all about a trip we took in late June / early July to visit our family!

Weary hikers with limited tolerance for photographs

Our vacation started, as Woods vacations are wont to do, with a bit of trouble. Sean stayed up really, really late either on the phone or trying to finish things up for his job before he left town for the week. This forced two outcomes: 1 – Sean only slept about 1.5 hours and 2 – because I was doing all the packing and kid-wrangling work, I think I only managed about 4 hours of sleep. On top of that our connecting flight was delayed for about an hour and a half out of Charlotte, so two tired grownups had to try to entertain a couple of rambunctious kids for an extra hour and a half at the airport.

Either way, we eventually made it to Knoxville, TN, where most of Sean’s extended family lives. Our AirBNB house was nice enough, and we could all comfortably spread out and not get in each other’s way. Lolli and Pop and AP and Steele came over and we all had Pizza Palace for dinner.

Steele (4), AP (9), Maya (6), Ian (4)

The next day we went to the family reunion picnic at Sean’s cousin Cathy’s house. This was our primary reason for visiting, or at least our primary reason for the timing of our visit. The kids had fun playing in Cathy’s pool. The grownups had fun sitting still and idly chit-chatting with each other. The kids managed to have such a good time that they conked out during the short drive over to Sean’s Aunt Glenda and Uncle Jerry’s house. After a quick visit there, the still-tired grownups had leftovers for dinner back at the AirBNB house.

After we woke up and had a pre-breakfast, we hit Duck Donuts for our vacation doughnut fix. The kids talked Lolli and Pop into buying them little rubber ducks, and we all enjoyed our doughnuts. They had an out-of-this-world good texture, and the flavors were interesting enough.

Lost Sea Adventure

After letting the kids blow off some steam at the park, we drove out to Sweetwater, TN to check out the Lost Sea Adventure. Unlike our cavern adventure in Texas, this cavern was blissfully cool. We took a fairly easy walk down, down, down through the caverns and then had a brief boat ride on an underwater lake. It was fun watching the fish swim around down there, and I got the impression the kids had a good time.

We enjoyed the country buffet for late lunch / early dinner at a place called The Dinner Bell on our way back to the house. We indulged in a bit of relaxing on the couch before heading into Knoxville proper to test out ice cream from Cruze Farm Dairy and taking a walk to the Sunsphere to go up and see the city.

The next morning we had breakfast at Rami’s Cafe, where I think I would happily eat breakfast every day of my life. We had a slow start that day, but we eventually got the kids out to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a visit. Sean wanted to take them on the Chimney Tops Trail. It’s one he remembers fondly from childhood, but it’s pretty long and difficult for little kids, and it turns out forest fires had destroyed some of the trail and it hadn’t been fully restored yet.

Maya and Ian hiking with Lolli and Pop!

We chose to try it out anyway. Those kids covered 3.7 miles out and back with a 1400-foot elevation gain on the way there, easily their longest hike to date. Ian was carried just a tiny bit. Maya chugged through it on her own. Both have requested that we go on more hikes.

We had dinner at a place in Gatlinburg called Cherokee Grill. The wait was longish and the service was slowish, but the food was really good, especially after that hike. Sean and I were happy for the experience of the Smokies we were able to show the kids, but it was veeeeery late when we finally got them to bed.

Given that, our last day in Knoxville was a pretty laid back affair. We had an easy morning playing around the house and eating breakfast at Rami’s again. We watched Toy Story 4 at the Regal Riviera and then enjoyed doughnut and ice cream treats afterward. We relaxed at the house through the afternoon and had a leisurely dinner at Fountain City Diner (yum).

Travel into Missouri was uneventful, and we arrived in Friedheim in the afternoon. The kids immediately went into playing mode after being cooped in airplanes and cars all day.

Dinner was sort of funny. My parents pray before dinner, and Ian wanted to know all about the “song” they “sang” before they ate their dinner. I guess the kids had simply never noticed the pre-meal prayers before this visit.

Ian on one of Grandpa’s tractors

The next day, actual 4th of July, the blow-up pool came out along with water guns and water balloons. The kids had a TON of fun with all that, but it was marginally controlled chaos for everyone else. All their aunts, uncles, and cousins came over for the big Independence Day celebration. “Baby Paul” was super smiley and sort of crawling. Maya had fun being thrown around by Uncle Jade.

Fireworks in the country

We did smaller fireworks with the kids in the afternoon and then we all lined the porches for the big fireworks show in the evening. It was a late night and we had blissfully tired kiddos when it was through.

They were so tired, they actually slept until 7:30! That doesn’t happen too often. After a morning full of playing and lunch at Imo’s, we visited Great Grandma Schmidt. The kids are always excited to see her … and her cuckoo clock … and her treats and toys.

A torrential downpour cancelled our creek visit for that day, but the kids still played in the pool at Grammy and Grandpa’s once the rain stopped.

The next day, the kids went out to the pond to feed the fish and turtles. Before we left, out of the thin blue air, Maya asked if they had a fishing pole she could try out. Apparently she’d seen a video on youtube and wanted to give it a go. As luck would have it, there was a fishing pole.

Feeding turtles and fish with Grammy

Grandpa got it all baited up and ready to go while an over-excited Maya drove him crazy. They had to cast a few times, but finally, she caught a fish! She and Grandpa reeled in a little catfish that Maya proudly held. Given Maya’s success, Ian wanted to try too, and almost right away, he and grandpa caught a bluegill! The kids were both so, so excited. And now they have completely unreasonable expectations of what fishing is *really* like.

Catching fish with Grandpa

Becky and Iris came by the house after lunch, and we all went to the creek for awhile. Even after playing in the water all afternoon, they came back to the house and played in the blow up pool again. A little kid plastic slide was added to the mix for even more fun. They enjoyed bath time in Grammy and Grandpa’s giant tub, we had more Imo’s for dinner, and that was that. The next day, we took a late flight home, and as I recall (half a year later), our travel was uneventful.