Fall fun in 2021 has looked a little different than 2019…but also a lot better than 2020! We’ve been able to get out and about and enjoy quite a few of the activities we’ve loved in years past like…
- The high school homecoming parade. The girls’ school is right down the street from the high school, and this event is essentially a bunch of kids, grouped by activity (baseball team, choir, swim team, etc) on trucks and trailers throwing out massive amounts of candy to the kids lining the road. As you can image, the girls are big fans.
- Zoo Boo with friends. We renewed our membership since it had been more than a year since our last visit, but hopefully we can hit the zoo a few more times in the coming months while the weather is nice!
- The airshow. This year Jose’s company had a bbq and potluck at their manufacturing facility, which is on the far side of the runway. We couldn’t see the static aircraft displays, of course, but despite that it honestly may have been my favorite airshow experience ever. We had a great view of all the flying, didn’t have to deal with crowds or parking or entry fees, had plenty of great food, and access to actual bathrooms instead of port-o-potties. To top it off, there were a few other kids for the girls to run around and play with. Win-win for everyone.
- Bayou City Art Fest was back after skipping 2020. This is one of our favorite events every year! It was set up in a slightly different location, and the weather was warm and sticky. It wasn’t the best year, but it was still fun for all of us.
Halloween was a rousing success, despite being on a school night. (What if we all just agreed to make Halloween on the last Friday or Saturday of October every year? That would be nice!) The girls both ended up as witches of one type or another. Emma was Hermione, and Charlotte was a fancy green witch after finding this dress she loved at the Halloween store.
We made our traditional owl cookies the day before Halloween — yum! On Halloween itself, we started the day with spider doughnuts, carved pumpkins in the afternoon, and enjoyed trick-or-treating with a few neighborhood friends. All in all, an excellent holiday!
Quilt Festival was back this year after being cancelled in 2020 (like everything else) and it was SO great to be at an in-person quilt show again! I took a longarm class with Jodi Robinson where we practiced several rulerwork motifs. The class said you needed some experience quilting with rulers — which I don’t really have — but I signed up anyway and felt confident I could figure it out. And I did! I had no issues and it was a good class. I inherited quite a few rulers when I bought my used longarm and I’m excited to play around with them now that I have a bit of education on how to use them properly.
I also got to see several quilty friends in person and that was amazing! Some of them live in the Houston area — but literally on the other side of the city that’s at least 1-1.5 hours away. And a couple of them live in other states and came in to see the show.
Last but certainly not least, the girls each got their first covid shot shortly after the FDA and CDC approved it for ages 5-12. Woohoo! They were nervous, as they usually are with shots, but they both did really well. Emma has moved beyond the tears stage and Charlotte, who was quite upset for her flu shot back in September, did a lot better and we got through it with minimal tears. The pediatrician’s office gave them each a small lego set while they sat through the 15-minute post-shot observation period, so that certainly helped.
They were both totally fine afterwards — no side effects at all. Dose #2 is coming up late next week. While I know covid tends to be mild in kids, it’s such a relief to know they finally have some protection. And with the recent news that booster shots are now recommended for all adults, I plan to get myself a booster soon.
Onward to Thanksgiving and Christmas!
