Natatorium

When it's just me and the kids, there are certain excursions we just can't do, mostly because I only came equipped with two arms. With Daddy home this week, we've taken full advantage of all four adult arms and headed out on lots of adventures.



Today was no exception...we headed to the local natatorium and the kids had a blast. We do the splash pad all the time, but standing water with one adult and four kids under four isn't an option.



Our lot of littles slid...



And splashed until dinner. Who's going to have a good bedtime tonight?

Aquarium fun

We took a break from the heat while on our lake house vacation and headed to the big city aquarium for the afternoon.



NiNi and Pop went with us so nobody had to sit in a stroller. This made everyone happy!



Holden loves turtles and was thrilled to come across many.



Analeigh kissed a crocodile.



And Cash and Stone loved everything, especially the "fish tunnel," which was their given name for the huge tank where the fish swam over you.

After an Italian dinner we're headed back for more fun in the sun!

Tot School Tuesday - Out and About

Sometimes Tot School is best done away from the house.  My kids really enjoy being out and about, and I am always thrilled to find new places for them to explore!

While on vacation, we stopped at the San Antonio Children's Museum.  This is a wonderful place for kids, especially smaller tots.  I highly recommend swinging by if you ever get the chance.

The museum offered lots of opportunities for role play, a skill that is of extreme importance to little ones who are trying to figure out how all of the world around them works.

The boys had a blast playing airport.  Cash sold some tickets... he cut us a good deal on family fares.

Then we all boarded the plane...

Cash is a very busy airport employee, he flies the planes too!

Holden handled air traffic control... this mamma was sure glad that we stayed firmly planted on the ground!

Our family also really enjoyed the grocery shopping section.  The boys were thrilled to push the little carts - and it gave me a great chance to talk with them about healthy foods and the food groups.

Cash likes to shop Super Market Sweep style...

Stone is a bit more picky with his selections...

Uh, oh!  Cart jacking on aisle four!  We need a security officer please!

One of the really unique features of this museum was the ball area... there were so many things to explore and lots of lessons on cause and effect.  The boys had a blast!

And, of course, the true test to the fun-ness of the day... total crashing in the backseat on the way home.  Score!

He's like Superman

This daddy of ours is like Superman, he can do anything!  I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life and such and amazing daddy for my boys.  God really knew what he was doing when he gave us our family.  I couldn't do it without such an amazing helpmate - he does everything that needs to be done with such a joyful heart!

It's no wonder that these three cuties want to be just like him.  A goal that I wholeheartedly hope they achieve.  I can't think of a better thing to be than an amazing daddy!

A daddy that likes to teach by example...

A daddy who is patient, kind, loving and gentle...

A daddy who loves to teach you cool tricks on a skim board.  Tricks that will someday, most likely. be responsible for breaking your arm... but being just like this daddy is SO worth it!

Tot School Tuesday - On the Road

We're back from vacation, but we didn't let all of our fun in the sun keep us from learning!  

We spent one morning off the beach, visiting Sea Turtle, Inc. The kids had a blast exploring and even sat still long enough to take in a show about sea turtles and how we (as humans) impact their habitat and life expectancies.   This is not one of my kids dressed up as a turtle, but the boys LOVED watching him pretend to be a turtle!

Heath and I had a ton of fun showing our little guys these turtles.  We learned a lot about our environment and how to keep these sea turtles and other creatures safe!

And I'll leave you with some moments of total awe.  I love the faces in these!

There are lots more photos from our trip and I promise to get them up soon!

The perfect spot to snack...

We love to eat outside, so on our recent vacation to Dinosaur Valley we hiked up a huge rock to find the perfect spot to enjoy our yummy snack.

The boys were very patient, taking in the view whilst waiting on their snack.

The perfect spot for snacking!

Fossil Rim

Our last hurrah of the long weekend was a trip to Fossil Rim.  NiNi and Pop drove down to go with us, which was a special treat since Pop has been on several safaris in Africa and knew all of the animals.  We were immediately greeted by giraffes, who ate out of our hands!  

Some wildebeests stopped by and told Holden "hi."  All of the boys were into watching and feeding the animals.  Sometimes Cash gets a bit shy around animals and lots of people, but he really enjoyed himself and even fed a lot of the animals!

Most of the animals at Fossil Rim are exotic, but you can't enclose a bunch of acreage in Texas and not take in some deer.  In this case, some very friendly deer.

Our last stop was the zebra area.  How awesome is it to see a zebra up close?  You can't feed them out of your hand... they are quite snappy. One even chomped off a giraffe's tail.  Ouch!

Now we're off to unpack, launder and repack our bags.  We're headed out to our yearly trip to the coast with Nanny and Grandaddy.  This is the life!

Dinosaur Valley

Day two of our mini-vacation was spent in the actual Dinosaur Valley State Park.   We waded through dinosaur tracks and learned all about those large creatures who lived here before us.  There was lots of water involved, so the boys were, again, in heaven!

We took this trip to celebrate our daddy for Father's Day.  He's the best daddy in the world and we feel so fortunate to be his family.  We knew what he would want more than anything in the world was time with us (because, really, who wouldn't?) so we planned a trip away from it all!

While Stone and Holden swam with daddy, Cash stuck close to mom.  I took the time to teach him how to do laundry in the river... usable skills are the most important!

Cash DOES mind getting his hands dirty, and he wasn't shy about letting me know it!

On our way out of the park, we stopped by the full size replicas of a T-Rex (just like Buddy from Dinosaur Train) and a Brontosaurus.  It was a great learning experience for the boys, the size made a big impact!

Big Rock

We snuck away Memorial Day weekend to a little spot close to home.  Dinosaur Valley is tucked away in the North Texas Hill Country, just a smidge less than two hours from Dallas.  There are lots of campsites down that way, but we chose to stay at the super fancy hotel La Quinta (camping really isn't built for the potty training set), and we had an absolute blast!

There's lots to do in Dinosaur Valley, but one of our favorite places we stumbled upon by accident.  The pool at the La Quinta was rented out for a birthday party, so we asked the front desk if there was anywhere else to go in the area that was suitable for young children.  He suggested Big Rock, and I'm so glad he did!

Big Rock is a free park along a shallow spot in the Paluxy River.  It has rocks you can sit on, and rocks you can climb under.

Really, what little boy wouldn't be in love?

Heath and I felt supremely accomplished after entering and leaving Big Rock with three children.  The entering was easy, we just weren't so sure about the leaving, but we totally did it!

The boys were really great about holding hands and staying close to keep safe.  In all honesty, the boys were very well behaved the entire trip.  It was such a nice, fun experience!

There were lots of waterfalls at Big Rock.  Waterfalls flowing over rocks covered in moss - perfect for sliding!  Stone had the absolute biggest smile on his face the whole time we were at Big Rock. He even smiled when he fell!

If that's not perfection, I don't know what is!