Easter

We hosted Easter Dinner again this year with the family (we missed the Youngs).   I had a fun time setting up the table- Target was a gold mine of cute cheap things for the dinner in their dollar section.  

I also loved having fresh blooms on the table and talking to my kids about how they represent new, fresh life and fresh starts because of the Atonement of Jesus.

We had some family (Gardners) from California, who just moved here, join us and it's been fun to have them around.

Off on the hunt!

Color Run 5k!!

Last weekend Brynlee and I ran the Dallas Color Run 5k with Cher & Aria, Aunt Nikki & Cruz, and Aunt Kendall.  We had a blast!! There was a lot of fun stuff going on, but I was surprised by the many many walkers, these races have become more about the fun and not at all about time or racing- lol there wasn't even a clock or timer there.  We were able to run most of it though and I guess anything that gets people out and moving is good right!

Running (errr stroller riding) buddies!

Bryn's got her game face on!

Sisters!

We took several of these shots and none of them came out quite right with us all in the air, but still fun!

After party with music and dancing and a GIANT beach ball!

Bryn got her first medal, which she was quite proud of and couldn't wait to show her daddy!

Spring Break (part 3)

Our last stop was near Austin at the Natural Bridge Caverns, we hiked through underground caves and saw stelagmites and stelagtites the were hundreds and even thousands of years old.  It was really neat!

Spring Break (part 2)

 Next stop was Sea World in San Antonio.

Feeding the Sea Lions

Riding a few rides.

Seeing some characters

And of course watching the shows

I was super excited for this day because we just saw dolphins in the wild and I was all pumped up to show my kids dolphins up close that they could touch.  Well they're changing a few things and unfortunately the dolphin cove was closed.  Even the dolphin show is less about the dolphins and more about the crazy acrobatics- kind of like a Cirque De Sol.  Still cool, but different than the Sea World I remember as a kid.

Our favorite was the killer whales.  Before the show, a few of the smaller whales were out swimming around in the stage pool.  I just couldn't get enough of them.  They were adorable and being so playful.  They had Sea World worker/ushers down right next to the tank probably to keep people from getting right up against the glass, but the whales kept splashing them and spitting water at them.  The workers tried to ignore it, but they couldn't stop smiling either. So funny!

We sat in the soak zone and after a few playful splashes during the show, it seemed we wouldn't get too wet.  Well we were wrong, the very last part of the show they send the whales out to basically create a tsunami.  We were drenched.

Poor Brynlee was not expecting it and basically took some big hits of ice cold water to the face over and over again.  I tried to turn her and shield her but also had Emee in my arms and it was just a big mess.  

She maybe didn't like the whales too much after that haha. 

That night at the hotel we took advantage of the indoor pool being open late and traded in our salty water hair for chlorine water soaked hair.  

And the kids loved it every bit!

Spring Break 2016: Explore more Texas (part 1)

For spring break this year we decided to stay (somewhat) close and explore some of the fun things Texas has to offer.  We drove down about as far as you can go to Port Aransas and then made our way back up with a few stops here and there.  

Port Aransas near Corpus Christi was a super fun little beach town.  We got a pretty dumpy hotel there, but it was right off the beach so we pretty much spent all day everyday out in the sun, sand, and "surf".  I am always amazed at how much my kids love the beach- they last hours and hours and never tire of running into the water and playing in the sand.  

Watch out for sharks!!!

The sweetness of these tots just about kills me.

Poor Jase had a few run ins with some large blue and purple jellyfish that would get washed up on shore every once in awhile.  No one else seemed to be bothered with them, but Jase got stung twice- it didn't stop him from enjoying the water though.

Baby even took an easy nap under the shade

Then she woke up and discovered sand the best way she knows how- straight to the mouth.

We were all quite fascinated by the seagulls who could catch our food mid-air when we tossed it up.  Seriously we did this for quite awhile and I don't think they let a single piece fall to the ground.

But it was Ryan who got the best catch of the day!  A beautiful mermaid washed up onto the shore!

The next day there, we rented a golf cart to drive all around the town, the littles still had to be in car seats, which was kinda funny looking, but I think we all enjoyed being out in the open fresh air!

We drove to this rocky pier the jutted way out into the ocean and took a stroll along its path.  There were tons of fisherman and lots of fish for all- even the dolphins and pelicans!  We got to watch a whole pod of dolphins enjoying their breakfast that morning.  It was so fun to be that close to them in the wild.  If you know me, you know I was absolutely giddy about it!