Day Trip With Kids

This weekend has been pretty full. I know it's Wednesday, but I was on a roll and didn't want the weekend to stop.

I was supposed to have the kids this weekend, but Emylie had an all-region choir concert (middle school) in East Texas in the town I lived in before I got married two and a half years ago. Rather than bringing them to Dallas, I picked them up from their dad and we had a day together--except for Emylie who was in rehearsals. We had a picnic in the park and played on the playground. Babies got to swing go down slides, and ride Merry-go-rounds. We went to the train station, played in a caboose, and watched the people load on and off the Amtrak. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. We drove by the old house, which still hasn't resold, even with a paint job because it is such a crappy structure. It is a great house, but it has so many problems. I got to see the flowers I had planted were still thriving.

It was funny going back. The kids were a little nostalgic. "Oh! I remember that when we always used to..." But the first thing they said was something to the effect that I had sure moved up. It really is a crappy little forgotten town. There is a lot of work going on to renew it, but you have to have an entire community who cares, and when 3/4 of the population is in poverty, there just are not enough resources to care.

When I got to Emylie, it was 20 minutes before she had to be lined up to get onstage. That was just enough time for me to find out that she needed black shoes and a skirt, which were not available at her dad's house. Fortunately, I knew where Wal-Mart was, dashed there, found the necessary items plus a dressy shirt for under $20 in 20 minutes. She was in the front row (I don't make tall kids). I was so glad to have been able to be there for her.

Afterward we went out for dinner and ate the pumpkin pie I had brought, which I spent an entire day making from scratch (including boiling down a pumpkin), because that is what Emylie always gets for her birthday. I gave her some art supplies as well. She has taken to sculpting. She is doing it "professionally" because her friends are willing to pay for the dragons she is making.

Isaac made it through a whole grading period at the top of his game. We are thrilled that high school has brought some maturity and responsibility. Funny thought: I have found a huge percentage of my friends from Whittell high school on Facebook. Many of them were freshmen when I was a senior. I now have a child that is the age I remember them.

Claire and Andrew are having a little trouble being away from mom as much as they are.

Babies just woke up, and I didn't do what I wanted to do while they were napping. Ah, well, such is the life of a domestic administrator.