Despite the Heat

Roger has just finished up a two week stretch of working. By that I mean, two weeks of working straight with no days off. This happens every month because of his military commitment. Luckily, he now has a week off and it is also Alex's last week of summer. I really wanted us to enjoy these last few days together as a family before we got wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of school. Roger and I, with Alex's help, planned some fun activities together to celebrate our last days of summer. First on our agenda: the zoo! We are really going to miss taking Alex to the zoo. We've always enjoyed going during the quiet off days, such as Thursdays. And we haven't been all summer. So it was really fun to go, despite the 100 degree heat! We strategically planned how we would maneuver the zoo so we wouldn't die of heat exhaustion. You think I'm exaggerating. I'm not! So we decided to see some of the animals that were outside during the early hours of the morning, when the temperatures were only in the nineties. The first animal we saw were the elephants. Not this is how to stay cool when the temperatures are up!

This is one of the reasons why I love the zoo. No matter how many times we've been, we always experience something new. I've only seen the elephants playing in this pool one other time and I think it was when Alex was about two. The kids thought this was the greatest thing ever: the elephant taking a bath! And it was so amazing to see that trunk in action! We even went up to the windows and saw the elephant up close and personal.

We then managed to work our way through the zoo, seeing a lot of the animals along the way, before we started to melt. Then we popped into an air conditioned exhibit right as we were starting to really get warm. I've said this before, for Alex, he loves going to the zoo to eat! His special treat is the cheese pizza. He's been eating cheese pizza at the zoo for three years now. He's always happy about that.

From here, we managed to hop from one air conditioned spot to the next. We ended on a "cool" note by seeing the penguins on the way out and cooling off with some ice cream. Addison picked out a wild colors ice cream -- it was a vanilla flavored ice cream in these crazy colors of neon yellow, bright blue and red! All I can say is: KISS, You've got nothin' on my Addison!

Casting 101

The other night as Roger and I were looking over our calender, we sadly realized that summer is nearly over. Roger mentioned how he and Alex didn't get to go camping. So we found a free day and scheduled a camping trip. Then he called me today and asked me if I thought Alex would like fishing and how I felt about him renting a fishing boat. Then he called me a couple hours later and said he bought some fishing poles. I'm not sure who is more excited about this camping trip. So tonight, Roger took Alex out in the backyard to practice casting his line. He did pretty good.
Of course, Addison couldn't be left out. So she cast a few lines as well. And Daddy promised to buy her a fishing pole too! Promptly after this, Alex started packing. Have I mentioned the camping trip isn't for another week?

As a side note, Alex was talking to me this morning about the camping trip. He told me after he camped with Daddy, he wanted us to go on a camping trip. I hated to give him the bad news that Mommy wasn't really a camper girl. He looked a little confused, so I clarified by saying that I don't go camping without Daddy. I didn't want to go in the whole, long explanation of camper girl vs. shopper girl. Because deep down, I'm a shopper girl and would really be out of my element camping solo with my son. Luckily, he didn't press me any further. I'm thinking a family camping trip might be in our near future though!

Big Fun in Cow Town

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History underwent a huge renovation and was closed for a long time. When it finally re-opened, I couldn't wait to go back. I've been visiting this museum since I was a kid. And we have always had so much fun there. I've also been dying to buy a membership. So I finally did! Yay! My sister and I took the kids a couple weeks ago. They have such a good time there. It's so fun to just watch their imaginations run wild!


In the actual children's museum, the boys built a tent. This was really fun, but it took me a while to figure out how to stabilize the thing.


Then the boys starting building with some wooden blocks. It was so fun to see Alex build something from start to finish. Like his Dad, he is very talented in this area.


Addison loved these! It was in the "tinkering" around part, which I didn't realize would change every 6 months or so. Alex was sad to see that the sand table wasn't there anymore. But loved the wind tunnel that made a funnel cloud!
We had a really fun time. Most importantly, I'm happy that we were able to take Cadence again. Last time we went, it was during spring break and the museum was obnoxiously crowded. Hopefully we can squeeze one more trip in before school starts!

July 4th, Part 2

Wow, I can't believe it's August! And I'm still trying to catch up on my blogging from July. The summer is flying by at crazy, warp super speed! These are some cute pictures from the 4th of July. Since my Dad was in Hawaii for Father's Day, we took the opportunity to celebrate with him while he was here in July. What do you get a dad who has everything? Seriously, the man has everything. And if there is something that he doesn't have and wants it, he goes and buys it for himself. Part of me is happy he can do this because he spent many years sacrificing and putting the needs of me and my siblings before his own. The other part of me finds this habit incredibly frustrating. Because of this little habit of his, I really had nothing to give him for Father's Day except a small piece of my time and talent. And my daughter's talent!

Addison and I made him a chocolate cake for Father's Day. Addison is "helping" me make his cake. I think she's getting the sweeter end of this deal!

Then we showered him with a few cards and gifts. It was fun to celebrate with him and to let him know how much we love him. I think by the smiles on these faces, you can see how much they love each other!

July 4th

July 4th was on a Sunday this year. We celebrated a little before and a little after. I really wanted to go see fireworks this year, but decided against keeping the kids out late. And I would have been flying solo. Enough said. I try to remember that we have a lot of years of taking the kids to see fireworks. And that it will be more enjoyable all around if I wait until they are a little older, and when Roger can join us. Still, it just doesn't feel like the 4th of July without some kind of celebration, like a parade and fireworks. Oh, and I missed the parade this year. I thought it would be raining so I decided against it too. The best I have to say for celebrating the actual day is that I tried to dress the kids in red, white and blue.

In case you're curious, Alex is wearing his Bakugan gloves and holding one of his Bakugans. He's really into playing with them lately.

Grandbaby Heaven

My parents recently moved to Chicago for a minimum two year work assignment for my dad's job. So we've had to make a little adjustment from seeing them every other weekend, to now just once a month. So they came in for a visit over the 4th of July. It's always a treat to have them visiting, for the kids and for the grown-ups! Our latest Saturday tradition is a run to Krispy Kreme for the kiddos, and breakfast at La Madeleine's for the adults. I don't think there is much that makes my mom smile like this, except for her grandbabies! I know she misses her other "grandbabies" that live out East (except there not really babies anymore). We actually had my mom here for the whole week before the 4th. It was really fun to spend several evenings with her.

End of Vacation

What's a vacation without a stop at Krispy Kreme? Turns out our hotel was literally walking distance from a Krispy Kreme. In my humble opinion, I think there is nothing more fun than taking your kids out for donuts. It's such a treat for me. Maybe it's because I have fond memories of my parents taking me and my siblings to Krispy Kreme on vacation in North Carolina when I was a kid. Alas, Roger and I were good though! While we wanted to eat there every morning, we resisted and only ate there the last morning we were in San Antonio. Thank goodness, because vacations are terrible on the diet, and your waste line!

Our last stop on our way out of San Antonio was to visit the San Antonio Temple. It is beautiful! It's up in the Stone Oaks area of the city, way up on a hill. It also has a little distribution center, which was fun to visit and shop in. We picked up a few things in there. And then we headed home. So sad our little vacation was over!