Daddy's foot

Yesterday at Duane's flag football game, someone stepped on his foot and crashed into him (no, it's not SUPPOSED to be "tackle" football). Well, Duane's foot hurt really bad, even after icing it for a couple hours. So, we took him to the ER. The doctor thought it was overstretched ligaments, but they took an x-ray to be sure. Then, the doctor had to admit he was wrong. Duane actually has 3 broken bones. So, he's in a temporary cast/splint thing until we can get to the orthopedic doctor this week. Dax thinks his crutches are a blast. Badger thinks they're from the devil. Duane doesn't care because he's hopped up on vicodin. j/k He's actually hoping to get a walking boot asap. We'll keep you posted.

In other "news of the weird", Dax took a 3 hour nap this morning! I don't think he's ever done that. Then, to top it off, he even took an 1 1/2 hour afternoon nap. If only he had picked a day that I would have been able to nap, too! :-o We're guessing it's a growth spurt. He's really getting tall - he can look into the drawers in our bathroom to see what he wants to grab out of there. For some reason q-tips, hair clips, and toothpaste tubes are popular.

Cowboy Dax

Dax found Mommy's old country dancing boots. He thought it would be fun to put them on and clomp around in them. He was right! (I love how he was wearing a rodeo-themed shirt to complete the look, too.)

The British Invasion

Grandma's cousins from England, Catherine and Clark, came for a visit, and while she was at work, Dax and I played Texas tour guide. The first day we drove out to Gruene. Gruene is a great, old-time, Texas town. They have one of the best dance halls in the world, and I gave them a dance lesson there. If only they knew how cool it is to learn the Texas 2-Step, and dance at Gruene Hall! Then we ate lunch at the Gristmill next door. Clark had his first-ever chicken fried steak. He said he liked it.

The next day we met Hollie and Payton at Whole Foods. Catherine and Clark got to experience the store's lunch buffet, and the kiddos played on the playscape. Next we took them to Amy's Ice Cream for another Austin experience. After that, we met Duane at the lake and took them for a boat ride on Lake Travis. That's definitely something they couldn't do in late October in England!

The following day we went to the Texas State History Museum. There was a "Cowboys and Presidents" exhibit, complete with a kids cowboy dress-up area that Dax liked. There was also a movie about Texas history we all enjoyed. After the museum, we drove all around University of Texas campus, St. Edward's University campus, and then up to Mount Bonnell where Catherine and Clark enjoyed the view of Austin and Lake Austin. We had "Afternoon Tea" at an outdoor cafe and then took a quick tour of Grandma's office. After dinner we met Travis and Hollie at The Broken Spoke (another true Texas dance hall) for some live music. We then visited downtown's 4th Street entertainment district for some evening fun.

We really enjoyed our time with Catherine and Clark. The funny part is that each morning Dax would get a little freaked out until he got used to their accents again. Luckily, they didn't take it personally. :) They were a lot of fun to show around and we really hope to see them again soon.

At the world famous Gruene Hall


Learning the Texas 2-Step


2-Steppin' (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)


Enjoying chicken fried steak


Beautiful day on Lake Travis


At the Texas State History Museum


Cowboy Dax

More Football

Last weekend Dax went to 3 football games in 3 days: Austin High, Texas A&M, and Houston Texans. He was great. Especially since he'd just gotton over being sick all week. We were very happy to be able to see Kateri at the Aggie game. Dax also discovered the joy of spurs (Kristin is in the corps and her senior boots have spurs).

with "Aunt" Kateri


spurs are fun

Feeling Better

Today, Dax finally started feeling better. He started getting chatty earlier in the day, and then he took a 2-hour nap (which is very rare!). That must have been what he needed, because he woke up cool as a cucumber and very happy. We are so happy to have our happy Dax back!

Tonight was Mommy's 20th (!!) high school reunion. The class had a tailgate party at the park across the street from the football field. It was great to see how some folks had changed, and how some are still the same. Dax had a blast and was Mr. Social. We even watched the first quarter of the football game. We'll have to take Dax to some more high school games because he loved it. We were so close to the action and he watched everything that was going on. Hopefully we didn't push him too much after being sick. We'll find out tomorrow when we head out for his second Aggie game.

Yucky

Dax has been feeling yucky for several days now. He's been running fever and has white bumps on his tonsils. And, he also has a slight rash all over the trunk of his body (fever-induced). The pediatrician thinks it's a virus, so we just have to let it run its course. Poor little Dax has been just miserable. All he wants to do is have me hold him. So, for a guy who is usually moving non-stop, you KNOW something's wrong if he wants to sit still. After 4.5 days of 101 - 104 degree temperature, I'm sure he's just exhausted (I sure am!). He did perk up a little late this afternoon - he actually smiled and even laughed a couple times - but, his fever was back up again before bed. Hopefully, he'll kick it tomorrow.

First Aggie Game!

Today we took Dax to his first Texas A&M football game at Kyle Field. He had a great time. And, as usual, he made friends left and right. He especially enjoyed meeting our seat neighbors, General Joe and Sue. Duane and I are looking forward to Dax growing up with Aggie football traditions. We have a lot more pictures posted at http://picasaweb.google.com/karen.derouen/October2008#

Pre-game game of catch


1st time at Kyle Field


With Sue and General Joe


Enjoying the game