Great Weekend!

It was so strange to have a weekend where I didn't have to worry about studying! Friday night, I had a girls' night out with some of the women in my neighborhood. Traffic was crazy around The Woodlands, because the Ironman Texas was scheduled for Saturday, and Town Center was the hub of all of the activity. So, we had a hard time getting into Town Center to meet everyone at Crush. I had never been there, and was very excited to see what it was like. They have a really cook rooftop bar, and we hung out there with some drinks and appetizers. We were supposed to walk over to Tinseltown to see Something Borrowed, but didn't end up making it to the movie on time. So, Plan B was go to the Goose's Acre for more drinks, and I had dessert, as well. Some of the women wanted to go out dancing, but I was ready to head home by 10:30. What can I say; I'm getting old!

Saturday, we decided that we wanted to try to go and watch as much of the Ironman Texas as we could. The swim in Lake Woodlands started at 6:50, and we realized there was no way we were hauling the kids out of the house that early in the morning. We ended up riding our bikes up to Woodlands Parkway right before noon, and were able to catch the first 50 or so bike riders as they headed back to Town Center from their 112 mile bike ride. I can't imagine riding that far on my bike! We went home, ate lunch, packed up some provisions, and hopped back on our bikes for the ride to Market Street around 3:00. We had to navigate past spectators and the Ironman participants in the running portion of the race, and were able to grab a spot along the wall near the finish line. We watched the first participant from The Woodlands cross the finish line, as well as a few other people, then the kids started begging to go home. The bike ride took us about an hour, and with a 36-pound child in the seat behind me, I feel like I worked almost as hard as some of the Ironman competitors. Zoe napped in her seat on the way home; must be nice! Last night, we were so worn out from our bike ride that we called it an early night.

Today was the Art Car Parade in Houston. We've only been once before, and decided that we wanted to take the kids to go and watch it. We made it downtown a little late, and by the time we found parking and walked to where we could watch the parade, car number 142 was passing us. We did manage to see over 100 cars, and about an hour's worth of parade time, so that was more than enough for us, especially with the heat. The kids really seemed to enjoy it, and I took lots of pictures. After the parade, we wandered around Sam Houston Park. The kids chased the pigeons, I admired the ducklings in the pond, and the kids played in the sand where there was an event earlier. Afterward, we drove around Houston for a little while, and headed home to get on with our Sunday evening chores.

It was such a nice weekend that I didn't want it to end. We didn't worry about cleaning the house, grocery shopping, or doing laundry, and I didn't have to hole myself up anywhere to study. Bliss!