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!

Pretty Face...

The Good News: We met some neighborhood friends at the pool tonight!  

After living here for almost 4 years, we hardly know ANY of our neighbors, 

and no one seems to have small kids.  

So at the pool this evening we finally found another young family.  Yay!

The Bad News: My family let me meet, talk to for an hour, and swap numbers with the Mom looking like this:

In case you can't tell, my hair is a mess, lips chapped, & mascara is smeared all over my face.
My typical wierd facial expressions just seem EXTRA cooky in this state of dishevel.  

Gymnastics Part II

I promise I am not going to email weekly Gymnastics updates- 

I do realize there are boundaries, and that would be crossing one. :)  

But, I was able to bring my cell phone into Dax's Gymnastics class today, 

and thought I'd share some of the pictures I snapped of him in Gymnast mode.

First of all, I made "egg muffins" for the first time today, and the kids (and I) devoured them!

Ada even claimed that she felt stronger at Gymnastics, 

and was going to start eating "strong" food from now on.  

An epiphany, perhaps!?

Nuuummmm!

"Seriously, Mom?  With the pictures?"

Loving ball time.

Slam dunking balls left and right.

His favorite part of today.  We found an even larger one later on in the class, and he'd hang on to it while I rolled it (and him) over- he couldn't get enough!

Still shots are few and far between...

Patiently waiting his turn to get drum sticks out to practice some beats. :)

Refueling with a snack while Ada goes to her Gymnastics class.

 I got more cute ones of Ada last week, but I caught a few more today that I can't help but upload. :)

Grams and PaPa came to watch again today!  They fly back out to Dubai tonight- but they'll be moving back in just a few short months!  YAY!

Ada Bear

My silly Ada Bear, I can't trust her alone with a set of markers ever.

After scrubbing most of the purple lip-liner and eye makeup off (but not much of the marks on her right shin), we met up with her friend from school- Addy- at an indoor bounce house park called Monkey Bizness.  The kids (including Dax and Addy's little brother Asher) had a blast!  This is the only still picture I was able to get of Ada and Addy. :)

Addy and her mom are the ones who began calling Ada "Ada Bear" forever ago, and I even call her that lots of times, now!

Last Post of Summer Week 1 :)

What a glorious week.  I freakin' love this summer.

We had some free time on Thursday morning, and walked up to the neighborhood park.  Where they also have a sand volleyball court.  Which is just a huge sandbox, in the kids' eyes.

Then we played on the park like maniacs.  I love the picture below because A) I think Dax is so handsome, and B) his drool stain looks like manly chest sweat.

That evening I finally indulged him and allowed him to play with the iPad. Except he was wearing an oven mit.  Not conducive to navigating touch screen technology!  He figured it out quickly.  Oh, the trials of today's generations.

Today we had our post-op consultation with Dr. Duncan about Dax's second set of tubes- they look great AND his hearing is normal! Hallelujah!  Below are pictures of him playing in the waiting room and office while we wait. 

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Swimming Lessons Day 1

The kids began their first week of swimming lessons- totally cute!

Of course Dax was a total go-getter, already blowing bubbles and jumping in.  His attention span was totally done within about 15 minutes in, and the spent a good portion of the last 15 minutes fussing to try to do things on his terms!  All in all, I think we've got a little swimmer on our hands. 

My sweet Ada girl doing exactly as she's told, listening intently, and being totally adorable and precious- per usual.  :)

In the "waiting room" in Swim School.  A huge, random truck.  Luckily, Grams and PaPa came to watch, and brought lots of quarters!  For some reason, Dax insisted on riding on the floor board...

The Finger Painting Olympics

OH.M.GEEEE!  I think today (and yesterday) might go down in history as 

one of my top 5 favorite days so far.  

So you've already read the post about gymnastics.  Which was a perfect morning.  

Topped off by Chick-Fil-A.  Topped off again by an amazing "quiet time" for Ada 

(where she played her heart out in and out of the house for hours, 

stopping periodically to tell me she loved me or 

make some kind of adorable comment or observation.  Heart melting!)

- and a 3 hour nap for Dax.  Heaven!!!

So Dax woke up and, following our agenda board (see this post!), 

embarked on our Arts & Crafts block of the afternoon.

It began innocently enough.  With Ada at her new $10 easel (see this post!), painting her heart out.  

(She is painting a pond.  After I snapped these pictures, she then continued painting her pond 

by covering her entire paper with a layer of black.  

It did actually look like a murky pond, 

with a secret world of brightly colored plants and fish beneath- 

but I'm probably looking too deep into it all.)

I adore this ponytail.

Dax painting his own masterpiece on a piece of butcher paper spread out on the grass, 

with some finger paints.

Big sister Ada "helping" Dax.

I had intended to only give a few small drops of the finger paint spread out onto the paper for Dax to crawl around and paint with.  We can all see how well that plan worked out...

Enjoying this new sensation and color explosion...

Ohhh My!

He's on a mission after wading through chest-deep paint!

And, below is one of my favorite pictures of all time.  

This whole thing had me hee-hawing with laughter in the front yard.  

And the neighbors driving by were slowing down to see our spectacle.  

Some laughing.  Some staring. Some shocked.  

All the while, I'm hee-hawing.  Literally.  I sounded like a donkey.

I. Cannot. Get. Enough. Of. This. Picture!!!!  He did this ALL himself.
I didn't even turn the paint streaks up at the corner of his mouth to make him look like the Joker from Batman.  

 And then OF COURSE we had to turn on the hose to wash ourselves off!!!

Best day in a long time.  I almost hope that our days aren't this perfect for the entire summer, 

or I'll be DREADING returning to work and leaving this behind in August!  

Gymnastics Day 1!

I just went back and read THIS post about a day of gymnastics with Ada when she was about 20 months old- 2 summers ago.  That is why I keep this blog- it is so fun to go back to any point in time and fill my memory with cuteness!  I'd forgotten she used to call gymnastics "Nasties". :) 

Both kids are taking gymnastics at The Little Gym this summer- Ada went to school 2 days a week last summer, and we didn't do anything else fun since Dax was a newborn. So we're living it up this summer. :)

I didn't get any pictures of Dax at his class today- I have to actually be in the mix with him, and he's a wild banshee that would have flipped over the bars and jumped off of the balance beam if I'd let him.  

But I was able to get a few of Ada, since PaPa was there to watch Dax so I could watch Ada!  

After this week, they'll be back in Dubai and I probably won't get to soak up as much of Ada's class as I did today since I'll be busy keeping Dax alive and out of women's purses.  :)

*These are in particular order*

Ada is in the top left corner of the picture in the white tank top.  Sitting and listening quietly- she was SUCH a good girl.  I got to see a part of her today that her teachers always brag about.  A wonderful, wonderful student!

Small balance beam- being cautious!

Transferring to another station.

Rolling on the big cirlce- supposed to help with form on forward rolls- but all of the kids kept popping their heads up to watch ahead! 

Big balance bean with the coach.

Whizzing past as they jog in a circle!

Warming up!

My little man entertaining himself in the hall during Ada's class.  He was making a wall of chairs here.  

Here he is with PaPa- about to go walking outside, looking for trucks.

Summer At Last!

Summer is finally here- we were so ready!!  We have a lot planned for the next few months- Gymnastics, swimming lessons, things to learn, places to go, people to see.  I have a feeling it's going to be our best summer yet.  If it's anything like the last 2 days, SIGN. ME. UP!

We (I) made a schedule/agenda board for us to put up our to-do list everyday.  I read THIS blog post about kids thriving on structure and routine, and knew I wanted to make something cute and fun for us to schedule our day together each morning.  This is our first day-

We got hasty and forgot to include dinner.  I joked with someone earlier that it was intentional- if they don't do their chores, then they don't get their dinner.  :)  I did create a "dinner" option, however I DID forget to make a "bedtime."  That's the most important part of the day!!

 Yesterday (the first "official" day of our summer) phenomenal.  

We took some of the kids' old clothes to a resale shop- and picked up some items while we were there.  For a whopping net cost of $24, we came hime with a princess bike (with training wheels), a huge easel, a vacuum cleaner for Dax (he and Ada fight over hers, especially if I'm actually vacuuming), and a wooden train track set that I stored away for when Dax is old enough.  

And about 10 My Little Ponies.  And a pink bow.  

I think that's it....

Then we piddled on over to the Pet Store because Murphy needed dog food.  We left with 100lbs of dog food (literally), and this-

A pet fish!  That Ada named Fast!  

(Then later added a sur name, Nemo.  So his full name is now Fast Nemo.)

She is taking SUCH great care of her fish- she watches over him and "plays" with him.  

Reminds me of his meal times. Wonders what he's up to when we're away.  

Asks him if he slept well.  Asking him if his eyes are like goggles- and if not, if he needs a pair?  

It's pretty darn cute.

Ada and Fast.