Mini-Trip

We had a great trip this weekend!!  As a family, we trekked down to Washington on the Brazos to do some sight seeing.  The next day we headed to A&M to compete in District Livestock Judging.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Washington on the Brazos, honestly I had no idea what would be there or what we would learn.  Washington on the Brazos is where Texas became a Republic. 

We were able to sit in a building that is built to mirror the original building where a group of men met and signed the Declaration of Independence.  We heard how these men met while the Alamo was being over-run by Santa Anna and how the call for help came. 

This place is rich in Texas history, between the museum that chronicles the history of Texas, to the working farm that gives a picture of what life in the 1850’s in Texas looked like. 

Birthday Fun

We had so much fun this week when we trekked up to Dallas to visit the new Perot Museum.  We were able to get in for free since we have a Tyler museum pass – this was awesome!!

So we planned to check out the museum, and then drive over to Grand Prairie to eat at Mix It Up Burger with friends!  It was so much fun!

The museum was great.  the kids enjoyed the 3rd and 4th floor, but once we got the the second floor we hung out a while.  You take an escalator up when you start straight to the fourth floor.  Then you work your way down as you go through each floor.  The second floor was all the hands on science fun!

Museum Fun VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I personally enjoyed the 4th floor bird area the most, where we met a volunteer who is a birder  - lots of good conversation!

 

Lunch was very yummy, not so healthy – but we all had fun!  We met up with friends and there was certainly not a quite moment while we were there!!

It was a great way to celebrate our oldest son’s 12th birthday!!

Opening Epcot

Our trip to Florida was a dream on any levels, I will expound on that when I share about the other parks.  We loved all the parks, but our favorites were Hollywood Studios and Epcot. 

Epcot was not even on our radar, other than, many friends told us we had to go.  Well, we were not going to go.  And we were okay with that, we were happy with the other 3 parks and really thrilled for all of it. 

Upon arriving in Florida and meeting up with my in-laws, my mother-in-law told me the surprise, we were going to get an extra day at a park!  Well, of course …. EPCOT!!!

We were absolutely thrilled while waiting in line to go in, a Disney employee walked over and started talking to us, very nice lady.

I thought she would hand the kids some stickers, and since they all (Cast Members) are so friendly, I suspected NOTHING!  So a few minutes into talking, she asked if we would like to OPEN THE PARK!!!

Uh, pause …. YES!!

USS Alabama

 

We seem to still be settling in here in our lovely abode.  But I found some pics of our fun on the way home from Florida – and thought I needed to share.

First, I must say, that after about 10 days in Florida, the beach, and 4 Disney Parks, as my kids climbed aboard the USS Alabama and explored all the nooks and crannies, they kept exclaiming “This is the Best” – I even heard a “best day ever” – so it was indeed worth the stop!!

Flowers, Friends & Fotos

We had a great day today!!  We trekked up to Dallas to see friends, stock up on some Aldi, and take advantage of my soon-to-expire Arboretum Membership!!

 

 

It started out a bit cool, but it was the perfect day to play at the park once it warmed up!

We had so much fun looking at all the beautiful flowers and completing our Nature Mission (Texas Nature Challenge).  We joined this last week and I was not sure what it would entail.  Yesterday I received a welcome email to the program with a link to all the missions for this spring.  I was thrilled when I saw there was one for the Arboretum!  So, we were able to tie some school in along with nature study & fun!!

State Fair 2010

Our big day at the State Fair!  So much fun, so much food, so many calories!!

First, we did the kids hands on farm thing – the kids always love this – and they get that free snack at the end which is always a fun treat too!!

 

 

Then we went through the Ocean Spray booth and the V8 booth for some free juice samples – yummy & FREE!!  Fun too!!

Then we made sure to stop by for some free Floats – these are always a favorite!!

PJ had Big Red (which we thought was not so yummy) the rest of us had root beer – much yummier!!

 

 

We had to get our annual Turkey leg too – felt very carnivorous while eating that.  A year of less meat has changed how I feel about meat!

 

 

We enjoyed the Animal Kids barn – lots of fun stuff there like this friendly giraffe

 

Had to get a Big Tex pic – amazing how fast these kids are growing and how big too!!

 

Gotta get on some tractors – something about this just makes the kids love it!

 

 

 

 

On our way out, we saw this Bird Show – by far my favorite part!!  Not sure how we have missed this show for the past several years!!  So much fun to watch these majestic birds!!

If you look close enough you will see my 2 boys on the screen at the end seeing the birds close-up!

 

 

All in all – it was a fun day.  Free tickets to get in made it even better!  Can you tell we enjoy the State Fair on a small budget?  I think it makes it even more fun!!

Fun Day

Today, the kids and I went into Dallas and spent the day doing lots of fun things!!

We started at the Arboretum and enjoyed lots of colorful pumpkins and some other kids stuff

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then after some fun times playing and taking pictures, we headed to Central Market to pick up a few favorite things (we cannot find in the area by us)

Next, we headed out to the zoo – we have not been in a while, so we wanted to stop in the Nature Center and ask a number of questions, trade a few things in, and then see the new Giants of the Savannah exhibit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it home after spending a few minutes with some friends in Arlington.  We are all beat, but it was a fun day!!

I love fall – no matter where we are, and going to the Arboretum for their Fall Celebration is a favorite now, thanks to Lisa for inviting us the first time!!

Spreading Joy

This has been a week full of spreading joy!

We have had so many great days - first, 2 day with friends visiting (old & new), then a fun trip to the library, and today we ventured out to the Trinity River Audubon Center, with friends too. We had to take advantage of their Free Third Thursday deal especially with the weather we enjoyed!!

And tomorrow we are looking forward to a great trip to the zoo with friends again!

But today, it was just so much fun to see the delight my children had over simply being outside and looking at mostly dead plants and trees (okay, dormant). The did enjoy the turtles we saw. They also really did enjoy looking at the various seed pods we saw throughout the trail. But to see more about that you are going to have to wander over to HERE - our nature blog.

But I need to mention a few things I have been remiss in sharing. We are now the proud owners of this beauty!

This is a treasure I was given by a dear friend and my children are in love with it. Not a day has gone by that they are not enjoying it

I love listening to the kids play - relearning skills they have forgotten from lessons last spring. Robert is not thrilled with our new addition, but says when they play a little better he will be happier....he may not realize that could be a while. :)

We are pretty excited anyway - it is making music to my ears!!