We had a full schedule this weekend: party - sleep - drive - shop - tailgate - cheer - sleep - drive - party - soccer party.
On Friday night we had nine adult guests show for an barely planned party. There was mexican food and beer. We had preachers, musicians, actors, teachers, a poet earning a living as a librarian, a guy who'll sell anything, and an ex-soldier. If more of us had been single it would have been a real Dostoyevskian gathering. Instead, there were so many stories of fecal matter that Lexie instigated the term "rectal turretts." We laughed as we showed our spotty knowledge of pop culture as defined by the makers of Trivial Pursuit. We got our children back around 9:30, just in time for everyone else to race home to watch the Spurs win game six and the series with the Kings.
Saturday morning we drove to Houston. There was some pretty severe rain just before eight o'clock but it broke in time for us to leave a little before nine. We got to my folks' house about twelve-thirty and ate spaghetti, cream corn and green beans. My mom was playing it safe with foods the kids were known to eat.
While my dad played with the kids and Mom got a nap, Lexie and I went to IKEA and spent a couple hundred dollars on various stuff for the house. We got some shelving bins for Kevin's room and some drapes for my study. We tried to go to Toys 'R Us, but the traffic was horrible and we just turned around and wound our way back to my parents' house. While we were stuck in traffic, the folks in front of us opened their car door and dumped a bunch of trash on the street. Lexie was very unhappy with this flagrant act against the public motorways. Beware the folks in a little red Toyota, Texas license plate 575-KLJ, for they show no regard for the law.
When we got back I had a few minutes to lay down and rest. Then my mom kept the kids while Lex, Dad, his co-worker, and I went to the inaugural Texas derby. After getting our T-shirts, which were a package with the tickets, and wandering around a bit, we found the Texian Army tailgate and got some beer and dogs. I chatted with a few people and asked after the guy who had gotten me the info on getting tickets in the supporters' section. Never did find him but was assured repeatedly that he was "just here." Our little group left a little before the Texian Army marched in. I wanted to leave my other T-shirt in the car and I told the other three that this might be their only chance to sit down for the next couple of hours. I shopped a little before the game and got a pennant and a little T-shirt for Kevin. Then it was an hour of noise making, with a little break and another fifty minutes of noise making.
As often happens in soccer matches, the teams appeared to switch uniforms at the break. Houston had the run of the pitch for the first half and scored three goals to nil. In the second half Dwayne DeRosario (DeRo) was the only man in orange who appeared interested in attacking. Sitting back doesn't work for the Dyanmo and Dallas got two quick scores. DeRo got us back to 4-2, with the only goal scored on our end of the pitch all evening. Then they got a third and we had to hold on. Ching almost put in a fifth on a volley, but it went wide.
After the match, Dad's co-worker had out his imaginary life check list and was marking as completed "sitting with hooligans at a soccer match." Hooligans? Hardly. But then I was in marching band and we cheered for our team more than most folks. Also I've recently seen Football Factory and Green Street Hooligans and have a more specific definition than he does. I actually thought it was a little tame and not very imaginative, but this is only their fourth home game and the keg ran out before I was entirely prepared.
Sunday morning we had an uneventful drive back to SA. We caught lunch at Burger King on Rittiman on the way in to town. Maddie was looking pretty tired and had a fair amount of nasal drainage. We decided that she should get a nap rather than go to the swimming party at two. I've been blowing green for a while too, so Maddie napped and I cut and pasted the pictures together for the previous post. Lexie and Kevin went to Wal*mart for the gift we didn't buy at TRU in Houston. Then off to the birthday party for a six-year-old (scheduled 2-4pm).
They got back about four-twenty and we zipped out to the soccer fields for the coaches appreciation barbeque (scheduled 3-7pm). It turned out to be great timing, because they had apparently not done anything until we got there. I just had time to set up our chairs when they started calling for the kids versus adults game. I enjoyed my time running around playing. If they had a league for fat slow careful nearly-forty's I'd be all over it. Especially if we just played against U9's. Kevin only got to play for a little while due to some misunderstandings. Fortunately there were a couple of bounce houses and he and Maddie jumped for ages.
The good news about returning home was that we had spent enough time cleaning up for the party that the house was still on the moderately clean side and was pleasant to enter.
After the kids had gone to bed and we settled in to watch Grey's Anatomy. As Lexie turned to put her glass on the counter behind her she got something like a musle cramp in her neck which caused her a lot of pain and threatened to close her throat. It lasted nearly a minute. We need to get her to a neurologist or something to figure out what it is, since this is not the first time, but might have been the worst occurence yet.
A full weekend. Lots of hot dogs and burgers.
This week my parents will arrive on Tuesday and take the kids Wednesday to go stay in a cabin by a creek for the rest of the week. We will be joining them with Kevin's church friend, Steven, Friday night and staying all day Saturday. This precludes my making a trip to Dallas for the second leg of the derby. I plan to get a few more cable channels this week, though, so I can at least tape the game.
Posted to Family and Home at May 8, 2006 8:32 AM