Sports Weekend in Dallas

There is a first time for everything.  I went to Dallas this weekend and attended THREE sporting events and a fair and only visited one retail establishment just to pick up something I had previously ordered.  You know what?  I had the BEST time with my boys.  I guess I am officially a boy mom :)

Jeff took off work Friday and stayed home to watch John Cole so I could go to Apple Day (see previous post) then I checked Preston out around 10:15 and we headed to Dallas.  I had to go pick up some fabric and curtain rods in Addison, but after that we headed to the Tech team hotel and checked in.  We hung out with Nana and Pop for a little while before Preston went to the Medieval Times for Landon and Kennedy's birthday party while we met up with KK and Kevin at the Rangers game.  John Cole did great at his first Major League game!  Of course, being in the suite REALLY helps but all in all he was  PRINCE. THANKS CTB!  And the Rangers won the game....

We were at the gate when the State Fair of Texas opened Saturday morning.  (See many previous posts about me being on a schedule...lol) I wanted the boys to get to do as MUCH as they could before the game started/rains came.  I was super impressed with how clean this place was.  And there was so much to do we only scratched the surface.  But I think the boys got a good sampling. We met up with our fam and did a few things together before the Tech game...which was delayed.....then we all got in the gate and...,

THE BOTTOM FELL OUT!  Thunderstorms and lightning.  Bad.  So we all (As in all of the people at the game) waited in the concourse for well over an hour for the game to start.  Jeff and Preston had all access passes and got to go down onto the field for kickoff--pretty cool.  And the game started and we were all settling in.....then they said the game is suspended AGAIN!  So we waited longer.  Then they started up again.  Then it was HALFTIME!  Then they finally got to play...but TECH lost unfortunately.  It's HARD to be a Louisiana Tech fan...but I will ever loyal be...

I like to do it ALL so we were happy to grab some desserts at the fair and catch the light/fireworks show to top off our night.  Then we went to the hotel with some tired boys(and girl!)

Sunday morning when I pulled the curtains back I could not BELIEVE how gorgeous it was outside.  Like picture perfect.  So even though we hadn't planned on it, Jeff had all the suite tickets for the 2:00 Rangers game (last of the season!!) so we decided to go.  We hit up the Dallas World Aquarium right across the street from our hotel and it was so neat.  Then we headed off to Arlington for lunch in the suite and a great game. And the Rangers WON so they play a game tonight to see if they get the wildcard...fingers crossed!

SO grateful for this family time and making memories with my boys.  Now, off to the laundry pile....:)

Apple Day at CES

I don't have a ton of great pictures because I was BUSY at "Apple Day" Friday, but I thought these were cute and kind of gave and idea of what this super fun day at Kindergarten was all about.    There are three K classes at Choudrant that broke up into 9 groups of 6 or so.  They were with kids from all of the classes and they rotated through 3 "stations" in each classroom.  They tasted apples, dipped apples in different toppings, weighed their apples, drank apple juice and of course did apple themed crafts.  I helped with the "Ten Apples on Top" craft based on the Dr. Seuss book and had time to read the book to each group.  I forgot to get a picture of that--cause I was too busy trying to supervise the paint dots--but it was super cute.  Loved getting to see Preston interact with the kids in his class and help his sweet teacher out.  Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall Routine

Just wrapping up a quiet weekend at home.  We have definitely gotten into a Fall routine around here and I for one LOVE it!  Early mornings--esp on Tuesdays and Thursdays when Mommy goes to give people medicine--but those lead to early bedtimes :)

Preston is doing GREAT in Kindergarten!!!  He brought snack for the first time last week and I thought his trail mix turned out pretty cute...and tasty :)  He is learning to read and learning simple math concepts daily--so fun to see him be excited about school.  And somehow his learning has inspired his artistic side.  He is asking to color and paint a LOT lately--so of course little brother wants to join in too!

Preston went to his Nana and Pop for most of the weekend so Jeff and I enjoyed spending yesterday with just John Cole.  He is pictured here with one of our neighbors Rhodes K.  Sweet friends!  John Cole is really growing up--22 months today!--and is just the best child.  He is taking an antibiotic for some gunk in his chest but hopefully will be 100% soon.

This last pic is Preston with Donkey from "Shrek" the musical that his Nana and Pop took him to see last night.  So happy that he loves musical theater as much as his Mommy!

Hope you have a great week and are settling into your Fall routine!

PS--Please keep praying for Gran. She is still in the rehab portion of the hospital and is terribly weak.

Football Field Pics

No peeking Pop or Grandfather!  So proud of these pics by the SUPER talented Sarah Jeffords.  Mommy has started her Christmas shopping with these pics....

Back to School Trip to New Orleans

It was a whirlwind but our little weekend family getaway to New Orleans was a LOT of fun!  We left straight from carline Friday, had dinner in Brookhaven and pulled into the Windsor Court with two tired boys.  Jeff scored us a deal of a beautiful suite--possibly the nicest room I've ever stayed in--and the extra room was so nice.

We were up bright and early to hit Cafe du Monde Saturday morning.  We were literally the first people seated so we could beat the rush (Y'all know this planner is on a SCHEDULE!) and the boys loved it!  Preston was eating hunks of powdered sugar...right up his alley!  Then, we headed to the St. Charles streetcar to ride to the Audubon Zoo.  It was, of course, the boys first streetcar ride--and John Cole was saying "streetcar" by the time we left today. Smart boy!

The zoo was HOT but FUN!  Many thanks to Katie C for telling me we definitely needed to hit the Splash park inside the zoo.  The boys wore their suits and then changed after at least an hour of nonstop water fun.  This is a MUST DO if you are in New Orleans with kids.  I was wearing my workout clothes and got SOAKED but it actually felt great.  We did all of the attractions there--dino exhibit, train, carousel, etc.  but were done around 2:30.  It took well over an hour on the streetcar/bus to get to the zoo so we took a cab home.  John Cole enjoyed his first cab ride!

We were all hot and gross so we decided to hit the pool before dinner.  The Windsor Court pool isn't exactly designed for the toddler set, but as you can imagine the boys were entertaining EVERYONE there.  After a while we decided to get ready for a family dinner out.

Our meal at Drago's was pretty good.  Preston LOVED his fried catfish.  (I think he was starving....) Jeff and I really enjoyed our grilled oysters.  After dinner we strolled around the Quarter (not going too far in!) and then had some Pinkberry for dessert.

Sunday morning we had my favorite meal of the trip at a little place called The Ruby Slipper.  Maybe this is the delicious mimosa talking--but it was a great breakfast!! I was so proud of Preston's choice of oatmeal when he could have had anything on the menu.  Jeff and I both had delicious omelets with shrimp and cheddar cheese (NO CALS THERE!) and we polished them off.

We were at the Butterfly Garden when it opened.  This attraction is also a MUST SEE!  Of course, Preston loves, loves, loves bugs but I really think kids of all ages would really enjoy.  And the butterfly garden was one of the neatest things I've ever seen!  We all had butterflies sit on our shoulders and they were just beautiful.  We will go back :)

Next we hit the Aquarium.  Don't get me wrong--it was fun.  But it was SUPER crowded and the boys were both just kind of overstimulated at this point.  We saw most everything...but quickly and in the midst of LOTS of people.

We had lunch at the first place we saw without a wait that was kid friendly-lol-because we were starving.  We were kind of talking about the rest of our day and Preston had seen a sign for a Swamp Tour and he REALLY wanted to go.  So we got on the list and headed back to the room for a brief siesta.

I was skeptical about the swamp tour....but it really was fun.  And luckily John Cole was hot and tired so he wasn't trying to jump out of the boat.  Or maybe(more likely!) God was smiling down and was helping us out. We saw four alligators up VERY close and even learned a few things along the way.  Preston of course enjoyed driving the boat.  We did the "Cajun Encounter" if you ever want to try one out let me know I can fill you in :)

Sooooo, long story short it took a LONG time to get back to the Quarter, so the kids had McDonald's and Jeff and I had room service Sunday night.  Yep, room service for dinner.  Too late to take the kids out plus we all smelled like swamp.  It was actually quite relaxing....

We had one more delicious breakfast this morning at The Fleur de Lis cafe, saw the 3D Shark movie at the IMAX (which was quite good), did a little shopping at the Shops on Canal then headed home.  I know we will treasure these family memories always....

**Prayer request**
I won't go into gory details but my Gran is suffering from C. Diff and is in the hospital in Alexandria.  Please pray the Flagyl gets the bacteria under control and she can begin to gain her strength back.  She is very weak.