iMOTHER 2.0: Fun at the festival!

11.03.2007

Fun at the festival!

After a quiet and slow morning, we went down to Fiesta Gardens to the Austin Celtic Festival. Daryl and I tried our hands at the javelin (a verutum is what we really threw, it's smaller and lighter than the javelin) throw....um, I ran the relays in track, didn't throw the javelin :) Then some Roman guy suited me up with Lorica segmentata battle armor.....those things were a little heavy, but moved remarkably well. I felt a little like an armadillo. Then off to the beer stand :) The stout that Daryl wanted ran out after 3/4 of the cup was filled, so they topped it off with Guinness. It didn't look like a Black and Tan is , but more like a very dark chocolate lava spill within the glass...you have to try it, it looked so cool!
Mia had fun dancing around. The girl loves to dance and spin. Then off to the miniature horses. She has this way of squatting or plopping down in front of an animal to get eye level with them. Then she waves, says 'hi' and waits patiently for their response. Well, this little Palomino horse was eating grass, so his eyes were pretty low. Mia plopped down and got ready for a chat with the horse, but then he decided Mia was sitting on the grass he wanted to eat, so he gently nudged her out of his way. Mia stood up and told him very matter-of-factly 'No Pushing'.
Then there were the rescue dogs...Westies, Scotties, Cairn terriers and the sweetest Bearded Collie ever. Mia got rather attached to Nessie the Westie, and Nessie was attached right back. It kind of makes Daryl and I want to get a dog that will actually 'play' with Mia, not avoid her unless she has food. We'll just wait till she's older and wants her 'own' dog.
When it was time for lunch, Daryl grabbed a chicken wrap and I got a haystack of fried onions Mmmmm festival food. Mia had some of Daryl's wrap, and a few onions. The cute thing was when we went over to the bleachers to sit and eat, Mia went to the first one, got between it and the second level of seats, turned around and sat down where your feet go. She made it into her own little picnic table :) While I walked around a bit, Daryl watched Mia while she played with sticks in the dirt. Sunblock and dirt made her look like Pigpen. Then Mia got up on her Dada's shoulders and we blew that Popsicle stand.
We went over to Nana and Paw Paw to make sure all was well. They're vacationing/3o-something-th honeymooning in Europe :) The dogs were so glad to see us pull up, they ran all the way up to the gate....even Bug, and fast! Mia had a quick bath in her Nana's tub, grabbed a drink of warm milk and settled into her bed away from home. We forgot her poodle dog, couldn't find her fox, so she snuggled up with her big gecko she got at the zoo when she went with her Nana and Paw Paw a while back. She was happy. It worked. Daryl and I watched the UT game in style on their huge TV and in their comfy recliner love seat. Oh, when we got there, poor little Mia went from room to room and then she'd put up her hands and ask 'doh', Where did her Nana, Paw Paw and Memaw 'go'?
The last quarter of the game was great, but the last second, when UT made a field goal to win, was awesome! Then it was time for chores :) Mia and I checked out the pond...and all the frogs (from the original 3 tadpoles we gave Dee for her birthday a few years back) jumping in! We found the chickens, and Mia told me they were eating, Mia helped me water all the outdoor plants (Daryl was making sure everyone had food and water), then we all walked out to check out the well. Mia and Bubba played with a stick. Mia pretended to go 'get' the dogs, but after a few steps, she'd run back to my legs squealing with delight. It was a beautiful evening to spend walking around with the dogs, checking out trees, sticks, rocks, flowers.... Oh, Mia picked up a few stray rocks and said 'clean up' and deposited them on a larger pile. Hey, Paw Paw, you've got someone to help clear your land :)