Back in mid-March at the tail-end of spring break, we took Maya and Ian out for their annual bluebonnet photos. It just so happened that Grammy and Grandpa Schmidt were visiting at the same time. It’s a beautiful time of year to come to central Texas. The weather is warming up but not yet hot, all manner of wildflowers color highway medians and hillsides, and it’s still pretty cold in the Midwest, so it was a pleasant escape for my parents.
Maya, age 4 and Ian, age 2
The kids loved monopolizing their grandparents’ time. We didn’t get a long visit, but there was plenty of time spent combing the yard and filling Grandpa’s pockets with all manner of acorns, snail shells, and rocks. Ian had just spent his spring break week potty training, so he was obsessed with the bathroom, pestering all of us into taking him potty about 10 times for every one time he really needed to go.
Does this count as Maya’s first camping trip?
The fun thing Maya got to do over spring break was test out camping. Mind you, we just pitched the tent in the front yard, but she and I slept out there all night. She LOVED it and still talks about going camping again. We need to run the same test with Ian to see how he feels about it.
Gardening! (Ian doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, so it was really just me and Maya doing the planting.)
We also built our spring garden. This year is the longest it’s lasted. The kids and I start out with big ambitions about all the great produce we could grow, and as the heat sets in and our schedules get hectic and illnesses and/or job issues kick in, the garden gets neglected. This year it made it all the way to mid-summer. We actually had real lima bean pods on the plant. Maybe next year is our year.
Ian and Maya with Grammy and Grandpa
The evening before they drove back to Missouri, we took Grammy, Grandpa, and the kids out to Pizzeria Sorellina. It’s a beautiful place with some really interesting and well-made pizzas. We sat outside at a picnic table, sipped cocktails, and watched the sky darken. The kids ran around and ignored the grown-ups until dessert showed up. Ian visited the bathroom way too frequently.
I don’t remember a lot of the details of the visit anymore, but I do remember that we all enjoyed it. Maya and Ian love seeing their grandparents. Ian got to show off his new bathroom skills. My parents got to escape the cold for a couple of days. Sean and I could actually do a few things around the house without the kids immediately underfoot. Since we weren’t really able to go anywhere for spring break this year, it was nice to have family come to see us. (I’m not sure who we’re kidding. They totally came for the grandkids!)
