Dallas Stars Game

Mike got some tickets for the Stars game against the Kings so off we went!   Some looked at us like we were half crazy bringing our 3 little kiddos to the game, but they were in awe and really did great with their listening ears on!   Thomas and Elin were in awe watching the guys skate!  William was awake for the first 5 minutes before he snoozed most of the time.  The buzzer was a little loud for Elin but a few cotton balls later she was a happy camper.  Aside from the game their next favorite thing was the roasted nuts and popcorn treats!  The biggest surprise of the night was that Mike and I actually got to watch 2 periods of hockey and didn’t need to wrangle the kiddos to do so…it was a win for everyone.  Thomas keeps asking when we are going back…so we will have to see what we can do to help him out!

Botanic Gardens

Our friends, Grandma Debbie and her daughter Shelby, met us at the Arboretum to check out the Children’s Garden and the fall Pumpkin/Gourd area.  We spent the morning exploring the Children’s Garden.  The kids had a great time playing in all the water features as it was in the low 90s.  Then we grabbed a bite to eat and checked out the pumpkins before heading home.  It was a fun morning with Deb and Shelby. 

Dallas Farmers Market

We had yet to try the farmers market in downtown Dallas.   It was suppose to be a cooler morning in the 80s so we headed down before it got too hot and we all melted!  The farmers market had a lot of fresh produce, the only bummer was that most of it was conventionally farmed.  One thing I love about farmers markets is that most of the stuff is locally produced, however I noticed that some of the stuff that was at this market was not.   There were however a lot of locally produced, free range and natural and organic meats to offer, so that was fun see.  We got a few steaks and some brats to try out and we really liked the meat, so that was a win all around.  Then we noticed the petting area and the “farm animals” and Elin and Thomas were excited to go see them.  They both are so into animals, and loved petting and holding the rabbits, chickens, goats, and guinea pigs.  After taking in the foods, music, animals and getting lots of fresh fruit samples we headed home for lunch…however William decided he wanted to eat and didn’t want to ride in his car seat and Elin had to go potty….so we made a stop for lunch and tested out dining with 3 littles in tow, thankfully it wasn’t a disaster! 

We then headed home with our fresh foods and meats to cook dinner and get some stuff done around the house! Thomas and I decided we would use the huge boxes we had got in our monthly Amazon shipment (Amazon packs some large boxes into an even larger box I don’t order tat much) to build a big fort…it was 2 hours of constructing for a 4 and 2 year olds, 5 minute attention span.  Guess it was a bust, but it was fun to create it with him and Elin’s help too.  A little later that night Thomas was so excited when he found a gecko in his sandbox, the little things are so stinkin’ cute!   It was a great start to our Labor Day Weekend!

Cavanaugh Flight Museum

The kiddos and I were invited to explore the Cavanaugh Flight Museum with Tripp and Boss.  Thomas and Tripp were pretty excited about the upcoming release of Planes: Fire and Rescue so we thought this would be a good lead in to the movie on Friday.  It was a warm morning so being able to be inside and outside was a nice break for us all.

Frisco Science Museum

Thomas, Elin and I went to check out the Frisco Science Discovery Center with Anna, Tripp and Boss.  The biggest hit were the making the bubbles and playing with the huge foam blocks.  The kids had a great morning running around and playing, exploring science.  We grabbed lunch afterwards and before we made it home, both kiddos were sound asleep in the car.  I would call that a successful morning adventure!

Well Child Visits and A Trip to the Botanic Gardens

Thomas and Elin had their 2 and 4 year old well child visits on Friday morning.  After a Tuesday-Thursday travel week for Mike he decided to take the day off and spend it with us, which we were so excited about. 

The kiddos both did great in their checkups, they were cooperative and there were not any tears.   I had a few questions that I wanted answered for each kiddo, we will start with Thomas.  I wanted to have his moles checked to see if they “looked ok” to the doctor. We also asked about his lymph nodes that continue to be swollen in his groin and the doctor was also not concerned with those.  Thomas was 39 inches and 34.8 lbs.  Everything else looked great and best news for Thomas was he didn’t need any shots, he was pretty concerned as we drove to the appointment.  He said “Mom, I know I am super brave when I get a shot and that I don’t cry but I still don’t like them and don’t want to get one.” 

For Miss Elin I had some questions about her cold/allergy tendencies and the fact that if she is around someone sick she always seems to catch their cold no matter what.  He recommended some extra supplements she could take to help boost her immune system and then said we could do allergy testing after we have lived in Texas for a year.  I don’t know that we will test for allergies, but we will probably treat her symptoms for them as all of us, mostly she and Mike, have been struggling this season.  I then asked about her belly button as it is an “outtie” and could possibly be a little hernia.  He said it felt ok, could be a small hernia but that at this point he would wait to see if it is painful to her, which she has shown no signs of at this point.  So all great news there, she too did not need any shots and her statistics were 33 inches and 23.4 lbs. 

Mike and I too were very impressed with the doctor and really liked him. Although I had Elin’s 18 month appointment with this same practice I had seen a nurse practitioner as this doctor is very popular in the area.  He books out well in advance and then saves several slots a day for sick patient visits, which we really appreciate.  All in all a great visit and nice to hear the kids look good and healthy and are developing on track. 

After the kiddos appointments we were off to the Botanic Gardens.  We started in the Children’s garden in the opposite direction as we had the last visit and were able to check out everything we had previously missed.  I am still so impressed with this facility and highly recommend it. 

The first exhibit was about growing foods and what foods come from different places in the world. Then it was off to the wetland exhibit, where the binoculars and coyote statutes were the hits.Again the tree house net climb didn’t phase Elin but Thomas was super cautious.  In fact he was not even going to walk on the same area Mike and I were on, because he didn’t think that it could hold us all.  Finally he and Elin went to a spot all on their own and then he came back and made it out to touch the tree.  Both Mike and I were so proud of him pushing his limits and his fears and overcoming them, in this particular instance.  Then we went to probably our favorite exhibit of the area.  It is the area for kids under 5 and it has the play house, sand box and a few water play features.  It was about noon by this point and already 80ish degrees.  We spent a good 45 minutes in this area and then we were all ready for a late lunch.  The kiddos too were starting to show how tired they were getting.  We headed over to the little café and Thomas ordered for he and Mike.  He politly told the waitress that he and his Dad would “both take the chicken salad sandwich.”  Mike and I were giggling, he loves being just like his Daddy.   Following lunch we checked out the rose garden which smelt absolutely heavenly.  I love the smell of roses and roses in general, Mike on the other hand isn’t a big fan.  Hopefully when we redo the front landscaping we can add a few rose bushes in for me!We then strolled through the “test gardens” to see what we could.  This is an area that is strictly for testing different plants from different nurseries to see how they grow stand up to the climate in North Texas. As we walked to the water fountain area their was a nice woman that saw me taking a picture of Mike and the kiddos and offered to take a family picture, yaay1  Love having a picture of all 4 (or well 5 of us) even if it shows how big this belly (and I) and getting.  Then it was time to enjoy the water feature and the kids burned their last ounces of energy.  When they were good and tired we dried them off, changed their clothes and headed to the car.  Elin was asleep before we got out of the parking lot, Thomas was soon behind.  Mike and I took the time to chill together and then he stopped at the grocery store.  I kept the kiddos in the car snoozing and all was well.  They both took a long car nap and then were ready for the night of fun we had planned.  More on that in the next post!

Busy Weekend with Uncle Don and Auntie Katie

Mike’s sister and her husband came for a visit before Katie had to attend some work meetings in Dallas.  They came in Thursday night late and Friday morning we were up and hitting the ground running.  Mike had to work so Friday morning the kids and I took them over to Fort Worth.When we got to the Stockyards we went into the petting farm area.  The kids were able to feed a bunch of different farm and exotic animals.  Then we went over to watch the long horns and the “cattle drive.”  When the cows were done Elin had a tiny meltdown complete with flopping over onto the sidewalk, crocodile tears and a very unhappy little girl.  The cows being all done was a little too much for her to handle!  Thankfully there were other things to distract her and after riding a few mechanical horses both she and Thomas were happy little “cowkids.”  We then grabbed lunch before heading back to the homestead.  Once home we regrouped, took a walk to the park and then met Mike for some Tex-Mex for dinner.  Saturday started off gloomy and a bit chilly, by Texas standards, so we decided an indoor activity would be best.  We headed to the George W. Bush Library and Museum to check it out.  The history in that place was from a presidency we adults big kids remember.  It was a nice library/museum and a few of the historic highlights for me was seeing some of the iron beams from the Twin Towers, the replicated Oval Office, the declassified paper that allowed the start of the war in Afghanistan and the Hurricane Katrina disaster. I am sure this is all because I can remember so vividly when all of these moments in history happened.  Walking into the 9/11 area was emotionally overwhelming.  The thousands of names of the lives that were lost on that day, the number of lives changed in an instant, and a country/world that would never be the same again, so humbling and overwhelming.  It took my breath away and had me blinking back tears as Mike and I tried to explain it in as simple of terms as possible to Thomas.  A day that a almost 4 year old, two thirty something year old, cannot even attempt to fully understand.  After moving through the 9/11 portion of the museum we waited in a long line to enter the replica of the Oval Office.  After seeing that we strolled through the rest of the museum before heading back home. Saturday night we went to Medieval Times and surprisingly all most of us had a pretty good time.  The kiddos loved it, Elin loved the horses and was clapping and cheering everytime they came out.  Thomas was quiet and watched intently wondering about the knights and if they were ok when they were fighting.  Both of my boys got swords to fight one another with once home.  The food was ok, there was a lot of it and Thomas was a little thrown off by what the server was calling the food.  As he delivered the potato, a dragon egg, the rib-a dragon toe, and the chicken-a falcon, T was like “can we eat this.”  He happily chowed down once I told him it was just pretending and being silly.  As corny as it was, it was a fun experience, and the best part our red knight won!  So at the end he presented a lucky girl in the audience something and when he was walking back to his horse he gave Thomas a “high five!” On Sunday we headed downtown.  We drove by Dealey Plaza so that Don and Katie could see where JFK was assassinated.  We then headed to Klyde Warren Park to explore the “city park” and have lunch at the food trucks.   The park was a little different than we expected but non the less it was a good way to spend a nice day outside.  Sunday night we made dinner at home and relaxed.  Don and Katie were off on Monday morning and it was back to work for Mike and I.  It was a busy, fun, weekend with company in town.

Spring at the Dallas Arboretum

We enjoyed a 80 degree day and headed down to check out the spring bulbs at the Dallas Arboretum.  For a Saturday it was not busy at all and the kids, Mike and I too, had a blast exploring the Children’s Garden.   After we worked up an appetite we grabbed some lunch before touring the regular arboretum for a little bit and then heading home.  It was a wonderful morning and I can’t wait to go back and see how it changes as different things bloom and with the seasons. 

Perot Museum

The kids and I were joined by Ms. Debbie for a morning at the Perot Museum.  I had heard great things about the museum and was not disappointed.  The kids got to see real dinosaur bones, explore the bird area, the sports lab, the human body lab and the children’s museum before it was time for lunch and heading home.   There was a world of learning in that building and I too got to see and experience things I have never had the chance to yet…like the bones of a woolly mammoth. 

In the sports lab the kids got to throw a ball and shoot a ball in the slow motion lab.  I then was able to put Thomas side by side with Joe Nieuwendyk, I was pretty impressed with how similar my almost 4 year old looked next to the pro!

Dallas World Aquarium

 

The kiddos and I set out to go to the Perot Museum on Thursday morning with an old family friend of the Laschen’s, Mrs. Debbie.  Upon our arrival there were school field trips galore and we quickly revamped our plan and headed over to the Dallas World Aquarium.  It was a lot of fun to see it again when the animals were not so cold!   It is a really neat place and a must see if your in Dallas with kiddos. Thomas’ highlight was feeding the birds blueberries and Elin’s highlight was “a lot of big fish.”  After we saw all the animals, fish, and birds we grabbed a quick lunch and then headed home.  We made plans to meet again on Monday for a redo of the museum as there are “no field trips on Monday’s.”

Dallas Zoo

It was a gorgeous day on Sunday so we decided to head to the zoo and see some of the animals.  We all had a blast and the weather was unbeatable.  Elin in true fashionista fashion, wanted to wear her stocking hat most of the day.   Once we arrived we headed over to the Giants of the Savannah and saw the elephants, giraffes, lions and some other animals.  We also fed the giraffes some giant lettuce leaves.  The kiddos always think this is cool, but don’t know if they are ready to hold the leave on their own yet!We then walked through and saw some of the other animals, the gorillas, crocadiles, chimpanzees and more.  Then it was off to the Children’s area so the kiddos could feed the birds and ride a pony.Thomas let the bird land on his arm for the first time this trip.  He was so excited and pretty proud of himself, so were we.  He also helped Elin so she could feed the parakeet. Then Mike waited in line for the pony ride and the kiddos and I explored the rest of the children’s zoo, which is mainly farm animals.  Elin had her first pony ride, and she was pretty excited.  She even work up at 5 a.m. and was talking about “hold on tight,” “ride horsey,” “Elin do it.”  Thomas still swears he wants a horse and is trying his hardest to convince Mike and I to get him one. 

After a quick ride on the carousel we headed home. 

City Hike

It was a gorgeous weekend in Dallas.  We headed over to a local park, Erwin Park, which is about a 10 minute drive from our house.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how adventurous it was.  I mean it wasn’t a hike in Colorado, Seattle or Northern Minnesota; but it wasn’t walking on a side walk either!  The kiddos got their wiggles out and the one with the littlest legs refused to be carried the whole time.  We did about a 1.25 mile loop, hit up the swings than then headed on our way.  On the way out we stopped and looked at the cows that were happily grazing and nursing in the field.  On Sunday, I got all my seeds planted and we enjoyed some backyard time.  It is hard to think it is January when it is 70 degrees outside, but I am not going to complain!  If I have learned one thing it is that in Texas “winter” a 50 degree weather change is just around the corner!

Uncle Troy and Auntie Molly Come to Visit

Troy and Molly got in on Friday morning and the kiddos and I picked them up from the airport and then headed home for some play timed  As luck would have it Elin had just started to feel crummy and right after we got home, I put her down for her nap, as she was miserable!  Friday we then went to the park and then headed out for dinner before.  On Saturday we made our way over to Fort Worth to see the stock yards and the long horn cattle drive.  Thomas was pretty pumped up about being a cowboy and his Auntie and Uncle got he and Elin some authentic gear.  We saw the cows and grabbed lunch before heading back to home base.  Once home Thomas was fully engrossed in being a cowboy.  He practiced his lasso skills and learned how to great a lady.  Check out the video! 

That night he also woke up about midnight, hysterically crying and delusional, he was upset he didn’t fall asleep with his hat on and he had decided he wanted to buy a real horse.  After we tried to rationalize with him for a few minutes we then resorted to him falling asleep with his hat on and telling him that we could talk about a horse….in the morning!  We spent the rest of the weekend close to home.  Going for walks, creating long horns out of cardboard and a bike and just getting some good play time in.  It ended up being a gorgeous weekend in the low 70s so it was also a nice break from the MN winter Troy and Molly have had thus far. 

The kiddos (us too) loved having their Uncle and Auntie here.  Every night Elin now sings “Night night uncle troy and moweee woves shoe” (night night uncle troy and molly loves you).  Thanks for coming down you two and for the fun memories!

NorthPark Mall

We headed down to NorthPark mall in Dallas trying to go to “Story time with Santa” however we stopped once spot early and ended up in song and music time!  It was a funny mom flop and thankfully the kids were excited about the music and dancing and didn’t remember the Santa bit.  After that flop we headed over to the part of the mall that had the ducks.  There was also an wall that the kids all played and climbed on.  Apparently it is the thing to do as all the kids were doing it and Anna remembers doing it when she was young!  We then went to the Ronald McDonald house Trains at NorthPark.  It was cool to see a the Rocky Mountains and the Midwest represented in the train set up.  After lunch and an ice cream treat we were all ready for a nap.  The kiddos had a great time and so did their Mama’s!