The Dallas Arboretum 2011

On Wednesday of Spring Break, we journeyed out to the Dallas Arboretum. I was hoping that everyone in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex would be in Fort Worth at the zoo, but as it turned out, plenty of people thought it would be a good day for the arboretum. After finally getting there, we had a fabulous day! The arboretum was beautiful! Tulips were blooming everywhere! We had a blast "oohing" and "ahhing" over all the pretty flowers. And the kids managed to have a great time too.

Some of our best smiles were early in the day :)

The arboretum had set up little displays throughout one half of the gardens illustrating various fairy tales. The first one we stopped at was the Little Mermaid. The kids are posed here in a mermaid chair. Some of the other fairy tales that had little houses were Jack And the Bean Stalk, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Aladdin, and the Princess and the Pea.

My sister and her kids posing by the "pea" from the Princess and the Pea. Cadence enjoyed following the map to each new house, as they were numbered 1 to 7. By the time we made it through all the houses, everyone was ready for a rest and some lunch!

My beautiful Grandmother and Aunt. We had the whole crew! It was fun!

Alex was getting a little grumpy here...he was ready for some lunch!

There was plenty of beautiful, green grass to run around and enjoy! After we had lunch, we spent the rest of the day exploring the other side of the arboretum, which has little play houses. The kids LOVED the houses. It was a really fun day.

We tried to snap a few shots here at the end of the day. Addison wouldn't even get in the pictures by this time. Alex was done taking pictures, and Caitlin was getting sleepy and wouldn't let go of that thumb! It was really a beautiful day though. The arboretum is a little slice of heaven, especially in the spring. So, so beautiful! A couple years ago, Alex, Addison, my Grandmother and Mary had all gone to the arboretum during spring break. I'm so glad we could do it again this year, with more family. This might have to become a spring break tradition!

Friends Forever

My mom lives in Chicago these days...and despite the fact that she's been gone for a couple years now, I still miss her terribly. One of the only reasons I moved back to Texas four years ago was to live closer to my mom: for many, many different reasons. So I must confess that there aren't many people I would spend a day with instead of my mom while she's visiting for Spring Break. But for this lady, I did!

She has been my friend for a long, long time. Since we were kids. She has always been an inspiration to me, and an example. As adults, this has been even more true. When I moved back to Arlington, I unknowingly moved down the street from her. She has been a friend to me when I thought I had no one else in the world. She has loved my children as her own. She has cleaned up my children's poop! She is a kind, generous, humble and amazing person. For these reasons, and so many more, I happily gave up a day with my mom to see her and her sweet children. She now lives in Lufkin, and I miss her like I miss my mom. I love her dearly, and treasure the times I get to see her when she comes back for visits. I know a loving Father in Heaven has blessed me with friends such as her, friends I know that I'll have forever. I'm so, so grateful for this tender mercy.

Spring Break 2011

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE Spring Break! I love that spring break signals that winter is nearly over (hopefully), and summer is just around the corner. This year, we were blessed to have my mom, Grandma, here for Spring Break. How great is that?!?! She flew in from Chicago on Sunday, and Monday we started off our break in our usual tradition of breakfast! Our tradition is donuts for the kids from Krispy Kreme, and breakfast for the adults at La Madeleine. It was a little chaotic, as usual, with our crew of hooligans. But still fun. Then Grandma took the kids to Toys R Us for a little spoiling, Grandma style.

Here are the kids at Toys R Us, after getting to pick out a new toy AND a book from Barnes and Noble. They were super spoiled this time around! It was a fun way to start our Spring Break.