Beautiful Fall Day at the Zoo

My cousin Trisha was in town for a conference so she was nice enough to join the kiddos and I at the zoo.  It was a beautiful day and we got to see a lot of animals and enjoy some gorgeous fall weather.  We started the day off by catching the last 1/2 of the bird show.  The kiddos both got to hand a dollar to the raven in support of bird conservation.  We then headed over to see the monkeys, tigers, koalas and other animals along that path.  The tiger was making some vocalizitions, half roar half chuff (I learned that from Wild Kratts) and the kiddos didn’t like it one bit so we got out of there.We also got to check out the creepy crawlies in the bug room.  There are a lot of bugs in Texas and some of them are not good…so I took the opportunity to study the bad poisonous bugs for our own safety.  Like most kiddos Thomas and Elin love bugs but I am so afraid of the ones that can hurt them so I have had a in general “No touching Texas bugs” policy with them.  It is working about 50% of the time. 

Then we headed to the elephants and giraffes stopping to grab lunch.  The kiddos love feeding the giraffes and it is honestly one of the coolest things I have experienced as well.   William woke up when we sat down for lunch, had his lunch, and then was ready to do the zoo!  He looked around at all the animals and even got up close and personal with a giraffe…what a lucky 3 month old!

We took a break to let the kiddos legs rest and get a few pictures and then we were on for a long trek back to see the cheetah experience.  One of the favorite episodes of Wild Kratts is the on on cheetahs, so I thought the cheetah experience would be cool for them to see…and I wanted to see it too.  The cheetah and his black lab “brother” are about a year old and it is one of handful of cheetah/dog pairings in zoos.  They do it as to help the cheetah’s become ambassadors for the other cheetahs in the wild as the labs help show the cheetah that being around people is ok.  We watched them and listened to their story for a bit before Elin and William got too tired and we needed to sneak away.  Then it was time for the dreaded ride home…dreaded because William refuses to enjoy his car rides…big boo!  We made it home in one piece after several stops to calm him down.  The positive was that both Thomas and Elin got naps in after a big zoo adventure! 

Grandpa Jeff is in Town

Grandpa Jeff had a few meetings in Dallas so he came down a day early to spend some time with us and meet William.  He got in on Sunday afternoon about lunch time and after some lunch and a little football he and Mike took the big kids to the sports store.Then it was time to come home and head to the park for some JLBBA (Jeff Laschen Baseball Academy).  Thomas had a blast and just as he was getting tired, Elin got attacked by fire ants.  They had crawled into the wagon and as she sat to get a drink of water they started to bite her.  We got the ants off her as quickly as possible and and a few bites later, she was ant free and we were headed home.  Fire ants are a new bad thing around here….their bites feel like a quick needle poke and then they get blisters and really itchy.  We have been luck to avoid them for the most part and hope to continue this trend.

When we got home we had 2 very tired kiddos on our hands.  We got them in and out of the shower and then Grandpa read them a few books before Elin went to bed.  Then Thomas got to go in the backyard again and play with Grandpa and have dinner with us before he went to bed.  It was a fast few hours but we got lots of things jammed in with Grandpa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday night Elin was already asleep by the time Grandpa got home from his work dinner.  Thomas was exhausted too so he and Grandpa did a few animal calls on his iPad and then a couple books and then it was bedtime.  It was a quick trip for Grandpa, but we will see him in a few more days when we head to Minnesota.

Great Grandparents and Yardwork

On Thursday night Mike’s grandparents got into town.  Big Papa and Nana J had road tripped from the Chicago area to see their great grand kids and Big Papa (AKA Stiffy) wanted to help Mike with the yard.

The kids napped late on Thursday as Mike was out of town and they wanted to see him so they also got to wait up and greet Papa and Nana when they got here.  After watching the end of the disappointing Sioux hockey game we all headed to bed.  On Friday morning we were up and after breakfasts Big Papa and his little sidekick got started cutting down the misplaced tree in the back yard.  Papa was impressed with how hard a worker and focus Thomas stayed with the “work project.”  Then the kids, Papa and I started the dirt runs…we did 5 runs for dirt that day and by the end of the afternoon we had 2.5 yards of topsoil in our driveway.  Papa, Elin and I then ran to home depot for some peat moss and to check out their flower/shrub inventory.  Thomas chose to stay home and snuggle with his Nana.  Then came time for the guys to outline the area that we would be landscaping.  They chopped away and by nights end we were all covered in dirt from head to toe and tired.  It was time for dinner, the kids went to bed and then the “big kids” all relaxed.  Saturday morning we were all back at it again.  Mike picked up a rototiller and got started tilling the ground and adding in the dirt and soil.  I ran and got 1 more yard of dirt and then by lunchtime we were ready for shrubs and flower selection.  With how dirty everyone was we elected to do a car nap for Elin.  We all made it to Lowe’s for the first round of selecting and then Elin crashed in the car and Thomas again picked hanging out with his Nana and catching a quick show while Mike, Stiffy and I stopped at the nursery.  Then it was time to head home and get the plants arranged and in the ground.  Again by dinner time we were all exhausted and dirty.  We knew we had rain possibly coming on Sunday so we wanted to get everything in the ground just in case, lucky we did too as they all had a great drink while it rained until 3 Sunday afternoon. When the rain finally stopped  we snuck back outside and worked on the front yard a bit.  Mike and I have a master plan in the front yard, but it needs to wait a bit.  So with our extra help and a few extra flowers we got busy spiffing it up a little.  Mike trimmed the trees, we weeded, raked up the leaves and got things planted.  Then it was time for an early Easter dinner and Nana’s yummy Jack Daniels/Coke ham.  On Monday the yard work was all done and Mike had to return back to real work.  It was a chilly day here and so windy.  We bundled up and headed to the Arboretum, but by the time we got there it was far too cold to enjoy ourselves.  So we revamped our idea and headed toward the Perot Museum, only to be stopped in our plan by Elin falling asleep.  It was then time to head home and have a late lunch and chill. We met Mike out for dinner that night at Bob’s Steakhouse and all enjoyed a great meal and the kiddos did fantastic in a “fancy” restaurant.  It was then home for some before bed snuggles as Nana and Big Papa were heading home the next morning.     Thanks again Nana and Big Papa for all the help, fun and memories.  It was a great weekend and we couldn’t have done it without you both!

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.

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!

Big Papa and Nana J come to town

We had the pleasure of having Mike’s Grandparents join us for just under a week during our big ice storm!  After arriving just before the storm on Wednesday night after a long day of driving we took off running on Thursday.  With the ice storm we got lots of home/chill/play time in on Friday.  On Saturday we all ventured out for Thomas’ first Little Rookies hockey practice (more on that on a different post).  After hockey we again retreated off the icy roads back home.  We then stuck close to home and did a few errands or dinner out just to not go stir crazy!  By Tuesday most of the ice had been cleared off the roads and we made our way downtown to the Dallas World Aquarium.  A super neat experience and I can’t wait to go back.  There were fish, monkeys, sharks, a crocodile and even a manatee.  It really had a wide variety of fish/animals and things that we had never seen before, there were even things Nana and Papa hadn’t seen!  After a full day out and about we were all a bit tired and we headed home to wait for Mike to get off work.  After checking the roads and mapping their route, Big Papa and Nana J headed back home on Wednesday morning.  It was great having them come in and we were able to make so many wonderful memories.  Can’t wait for their next adventure with us!

Our First Dallas Ice Storm

It started to rain on Thursday afternoon and almost as soon as it started the roads got slick.  Mike’s grandparents had arrived safely from their drive down from the Chicago area and we were getting ready to hunker down.  On Wednesday night I ran to the grocery store and it was already so picked over, milk, bread, and all the other staples were in high demand.  While Thomas was in class that morning, Joan, Larry and I ran a few errands, had lunch and then drove around downtown Dallas while Elin napped.  We then made our way back to get Thomas.  Then it was time for Thomas and Elin to go Christmas shopping with Big Papa and Nana J. Don’t know who had more fun, the grandparents or the kiddos!  By the time we got home on Thursday night the rain hadn’t let up and the ice had started to form on the grass and trees.  We woke up on Friday morning to a city that was completely shut down and a 2-3 inch layer of ice that looked like snow.  We quickly headed outside to check our house/trees and see if everything looked alright.  Our trees in the front were heavily being weighted down by ice and many trees in the neighborhood had broke under the stress and weight. We were successfully iced in.  Mike worked from home and the kiddos got lots of play time with Big Papa and Nana J!  The kids liked going outside and “skating” in their boots.  Although it was cold it didn’t stop them from going outside and playing around.