Laborin' with the Woods

What a super duper fun Livingston weekend! Kris and I arrived at Chez Wood mid Saturday afternoon. One of the coolest/best/Kris parts of the weekend happened almost at the end of the ride to her parents' house. About three blocks away from the house, there is a SnoCone stand in the parking lot of a gas station. As I approached the light at the gas station, Kris made a seemingly casual remark about wanting a SnoCone. Then, to let me know she was serious, she said, "I'm not kidding. I want a SnoCone." And just like that, we pulled in for a SnoCone. I can't remember the last time I had one as a treat, but I think the Sno Cone stand was a reminder for her of the Livingston she fell in love with as a child and now had the opportunity to revisit unfettered for an entire weekend.

Fortunately for Kris we were able to see her newest nephew Roper soon after we arrived. This was my first time holding a newborn in awhile, and I must admit, I still need practice with the whole cushioning the head part. Kris handled the little one like an old pro. One of my favorite mental pictures from the weekend is seeing her napping with Roper laying down on her tummy.

One of the biggest attractions to the Labor Day soiree at Chez Wood was the slip and slide adventure Sunday night. A huge plastic tarp was extended down the hill from Kris's grandparents' house to the gate at her parents' house. Kris is, oh, so fortunate to have one set of grandparents who live right next door to her parents. The three little nephews, Kris's dad, Kevan, and I took turns slip slidin' away. Kris was even coaxed to go down the tarp a couple of times. We took a couple of trips down the tarp as a couple with violently mediorcre results. Yes, we had great fun, but we kept veering off to the left. Oh well, I don't think either of us are trying to get in shape for a tryout for the US bobsled team. After slippin' and slidin' for about an hour, Mama Wood brought out some homemade ice cream that was unabashedly wolfed down by all in attendance. Mmm, mmm, mmm. A trip to Chez Wood always guarantees good food, and this past weekend was definitely no exception. Each meal rejuvenated my taste buds from the blandness of single guy food I usually expose them to. And did I mention that Mama Wood, MB, had some Mountain Dew cans chilling in the refrigerator? Wow! What eats! What drinks! What merriment!

Alas, Kris and I left Monday afternoon on Labor Day and drove back down to Houston. Neither of us were overly motivated to prepare for the next day or even the coming week of school, so we ran some errands and rented a movie. Chick-fil-a was giving away free sandwiches for wearing a team shirt, so, being the cost conscious young people that we are, we took our evening meal there. Kris's Datsun (haha, I know I spelled it wrong, but just go with me here; he's not a Nissan...) Peanut accompanied us on our trip back to Houston. We went to Target after dinner and bought some items for Peanut's new home at Tanner Manor. I was really impressed with how well Peanut handled the ride down and her new surroundings. I know I've never had such luck with the felines when moving to new environs, even for a short amount of time. We rented Freedom Writers since Kris's interest in the movie had been piqued after hearing the movie's protagonist, Erin Gruwell, speak at her district's convocation a few weeks ago. Honestly, my interest in the story has increased as well, and I'd like to read more about how she was able to connect with her students and help them be successful.

I left around 9:15 and drove home, bringing an end to such an eventful weekend. Friday night I stayed at school until about 8:30 doing schoolwork, but other than that, it was a work-free weekend. I thought about spending some crazy hours on schoolwork when I got home but only made it to about midnight before conking out. Ah, that's OK. The trip was fun, and I enjoyed spending time with Kris and her loving family.

But, alas, now it's Tuesday, and I'm plum out of reasons or excuses to procrastinate. Back to the grind.