Father's Day Camping Trip!

Happy Father's Day to all of the dads in our lives!!!  

I had NO idea what to get Casey for Father's Day this year.  

So I went out on a limb and planned a family camping trip, 

which he's been talking about doing for years now.  

Well, he's technically just been talking about camping with Ada in the backyard, 

so I thought I'd go the extra mile. :)

So I worked for DAYS (seriously, with 2 rambunctious kids and a full-of-fun summer schedule, 

it took me days) to prep, plan, and pack for the trip- 

and this is what Casey came home to after work on Friday afternoon:

SURPRISE!! We're going CAMPING!

 Casey stumbled across the website for this camp site a few months ago.  

It's really close to Cypress (Waller), and targets the younger audience (say, 2-15).

It's called Jellystone Park- as in Yogi, BooBoo, & the gang!

If you're interested in going anytime soon, and would prefer a cabin to a primitive tent site (ahem, me)- book NOW.  The cabins are completely booked until mid-August!  

Here are some pics from the trip- you're going to die when you see all that this place has to offer. 

We didn't have enough time to squeeze everything in!

Playing with play-doh while Daddy throws some steaks on the grill after arriving.
(Yes, I packed those!  I even rubbed them with Casey's favorite Paula Dean rub.)

 They have an outdoor "movie theatre"!

They have a stocked "lake" for fishing!  Ada pretty much mastered casting and reeling, it was adorable.

She caught a plastic fish! :)

 We (attempted) to play baseball-

They have a little water park!  They are in the middle of constructing a splash pad (for babies), but it won't be ready until later this summer.

Ada was so brave- she headed straight for the water slides and we're lucky we ever saw her again!

The "big kid" water slide- that both of mine couldn't get enough of!  We had to have gone down this thing 100 times.

Waiting in line for the big slide.

Coming down the big slide!  He giggles and squeals the whole way down.  The last few rides, I taught him how to ride with his hands up in the air like a roller coaster. :)

Cutie!

Quick snack break at adult swim!

 More snack breaks at the camp site!  With a little arts and crafts thrown in. 

 (They have a WHOLE Arts and Crafts Center that hosts little activities periodically through the day!  We never made it, but it sounded cute!)

We played putt-putt!

Cheering sister on.  She made a hole-in-one on one of the greens!
(Not this one, but it seemed like an appropriate place to brag about that.)

We met Yogi! 

(Then promptly visited the tourist center to purchase Yogi and BooBoo stuffed animals.)

We got time-outs.

This is at home today, but I had to post.  Yes, he's laughing.

Time out after a meltdown on hole 7 at putt-putt.
I love this girl so much my heart is going to pop, even when she's being a turd!!

 We wore ourselves out.  

We actually made a last minute decision on night 2 to finish out the day, 

and pack up and return home for bath and bedtime instead of braving a second night of camping.  

Our kids thought the tent and air mattress set up was to create a bounce house for their amusement.  Bedtime was not fun- Dax passed out mid-jump about 10:45pm.

I have never been SO happy to bathe in a clean shower and sleep in this soft bed!  

The last thing I remember on Saturday night is discussing with Casey 

if we should read or watch a movie at 8:30pm.

I know I'm missing some attractions- but you get the idea!  This place is the real deal!

Cancun 2012

Casey and I just returned from a 4 day vacay to Sunny Cancun!  

It was amazing.  Casey actually earned this all-expense paid vacation from his company (Aerotek) for being a total bad ass.  And let me tell you, no expense was spared.  We discussed repeatedly how we could never go on a vacation like this on our own dime.  Seriously. Mind blowing.  

(Let's put it this way- our room in the hotel where we were placed was 2 doors down from a Government official's suite, who had to have 24 hour security posted at his/her door!  Oh, and I'm pretty sure there was a Cartel member there.  I saw him.  To whack the government official perhaps?  These are the fantasies that are dreamed up as I lay drinking and napping on a beach.)

Instead of posting pictures in my usual boring, strict chronological order- I'm going to post my favorite pictures from the highlights of our trip first, saving the random photos no one really cares about for the end.  :)

How many attempts does it take a drunk photographer and 2 drunk subjects to get a decent picture at dinner?

5th Attempt- we'll take it!

We took a "Jungle Tour/Snorkeling" excursion- it was SO fun!  We all got our own little speed boat, traveled through the canals, and then snorkeled at the coral reef off of the coast!

Follow the leader!

Mangroves along the canal- this picture is for Kendra!!

An old shipwreck statue at the bottom of the area where we snorkeled.

Sexy!

Those were the highlights of the trip.  Much of the time I spent napping, eating, drinking, or just lounging on the beach- of which I did not take great pictures.  Here are the rest of my randoms!

Ada and Dax had gift boxes filled with strategically planned presents to receive throughout our time away to ensure their (Ada's!) best behavior!  A BIG shout-out to MorMor, Geneva, and MiMi for helping us out tremendously with the kids!!

Room service ordered one morning.  It arrived after Casey'd already left to golf- the waiter could not help but give me the evil eye for ordering enough food for 3 people for my one person!

Yep. That's my pump.  We had a date every 4-5 hours the entire trip.  It wasn't nearly as much of a nuisance as I'd anticipated- and Dax ended up having 20+ ounces left over at home after it was all said and done!  All of those months of worry and extra pumping sessions paid off! :)

One afternoon, while standing in a circle and socializing- we looked down and realized we'd all pushed the sand into a large mound.  This even larger mound happened after that realization.  :)  Even later in the day, this large mound became a 2- humped mound that resembled a butt.

All of the people from Houston (with their dates) on the way to dinner on Thursday night- my flash was off AND the lady must have had a shaky hand! Oh well- we'll call it artsy.

Casey's DBO (boss!)- Nathan.

Typical dinner behavior.  Mind you- this is not a cheap restaurant!  

Dinner picture!

Wade and his date Casey

Me. In a sombrero.  Being serenaded by a Mariachi.

Casey's account manager when he was a recruiter almost 5 years ago!

This picture is per Casey's request.  He wanted to caption it "The last sound heard on the last night in Cancun: UUUUHHHGGGGHHHH."  {This was after two of those HUGE margaritas and 2? 3? Tequila shots. Sick.}

Chad and Crystal Collins- they just had a baby!

We were booked to fly first class on the flight home!  It was such a pleasant surprise.
{mobile picture- sorry for the quality!}

As amazing as the vacation was- it has never felt so good to come home to these 2 sweet peas!!!!!