Fun Week with Cohen

We picked up Cohen on Wednesday morning and kept him for a couple of days while my sister was in back-to-school training. First on our agenda, a tea party! Luckily the birthday girl had an older brother Cohen could hang out with!

Lilia turns 5 in a few weeks and her Mom threw the cutest backyard tea party. They girls ate fancy food on china, made a craft together, pinned the tail on the pony, and wacked a pinata.

On Wednesday afternoon we cooled off in the pool and for a while were the only people there!

On Thursday morning, we went swimming with friends and then went to the mall for lunch and to see Turbo. It was cute and the kids liked it.

Our dinner on Thursday night was a bust, so we loaded up and went to Mighty Fine for burgers. Abby and Cohen loved washing their hands there and sharing a chocolate milkshake!

Friday morning, we met Granpa and Jacque at Main Event and took advantage of their summer pass program. Cohen beat us all in bowling!

And then, Jacque beat Cohen in rock wall climbing!

Cohen went home with them on Friday afternoon. Our weekend was pretty low key and we don't have much this week which is nice. We have been jam packed every day!

Cousins Road Trip: Brenham and Houston

 My sister and I decided a few months ago that we would take a little road trip with all three kids for Spring Break. We planned a tour of Blue Bell's factory and then the Houston Zoo. We left Monday morning and came home last night. It was lots of fun and I know the kids will remember it for a long time!

We had to wait about 20 minutes for the Blue Bell tour, but they had such a cute and educational waiting area. Spring Break is their busiest time of year. For a 45 minute tour and a scoop of ice cream, it is well worth the $6 I paid.

These old ads were on display...

They even had cute little hats for the kids :)

You can't take pictures on the actual tour to protect the privacy of their employees, but we saw them mixing ice cream, big vats of milk, and the bakery where they make the baked goods that go inside the ice cream, like brownies! They use milk from 60,000 cows each day. Wow!

We also learned the top five flavors are: Homemade Vanilla, Dutch Chocolate, Cookies and Cream, The Great Divide, and Neapolitan. We also learned although they don't sell to all 50 states, they are the #3 ice cream company in America.

We left Brenham and drove to Houston. We checked into the hotel and walked around the Galleria Mall. Everybody did a little shopping and we had a really late lunch in the food court. The older kids then decided they wanted to go swimming despite the fact that the pool was not heated and it was 60 degrees outside.

It didn't last long and they were taking hot showers to warm back up!

We woke up Tuesday morning, grabbed a quick breakfast in the food court and popped in Old Navy before heading to the zoo. It was packed which made it not nearly as fun as last time, but we did get to see all that we wanted to see.

One of my favorite zoo moments.... Tiffany, Kyleigh, Cohen and I noticed an odd looking animal like a horse with zebra stripes on his hind area and a longer neck. We went to read the sign having no clue what this hybrid animal was. Abby then notices it from her stroller and proceeds to say, "Look an okapi. I love okapi with their long purple tongues." Stunned and impressed! Thank you Diego for sharing animals with Abby!

The elephants were fun. They were throwing hay on their backs to cool off (it was mid 70s) and we saw two small baby elephants, about 3 years old.

Silly kids!

We left the zoo about 2:45 and thanks to light traffic and the HOV lane, we were home about 6 last night. 

I hope we take a road trip with the kids annually- it is what childhood should include!

Fun with Cousins

We had our cousins Kyleigh and Cohen here for VBS! It was crazy working, having three kids at home, and trying to be at VBS each morning by 9 AM, but we did it and everyone survived!

Since Sunday was Father's Day, we did lunch and yummy frozen yogurt after church. Don't you love Abby's maxi skirt? I loved the Gymboree $13.99 and under sale!

Cohen loved his iPod touch. He won it at school! I think it was for being the top math student in UIL. 

We took them to our favorite lunch spot near church, Newks. They loved sword/breadstick fighting just as much as I thought they would!

We also went swimming one afternoon. The blue slide behind Cohen was closed and it made everyone sad!

We had a super busy month of June and it will surely slow down in a few weeks!

Mini San Antonio Vacay

Abby and I spent the beginning of the week with my Mom and nephew in San Antonio. My sister is a teacher who has 2 work weeks after school is out, so my Mom wanted a little trip in the middle of her 2 weeks with Cohen. We met in San Antonio at my favorite hotel on Monday afternoon and went non-stop until Wednesday when we departed for home.

The highlight of our trip was Morgan's Wonderland on Tuesday. I had sent a message out on FB asking for something to do with a 7 and 3 year old that wouldn't cost a fortune and this was suggested by numerous people. It is an all abilities park with museum and amusement park like attractions included. It is just $15 for adults and less for kids. The park was built with all kids in mind- the rides were equipped for wheelchairs, they had swings for kids with challenges, no gravel, and lots of shade. You could tell it was designed by parents- you were allowed to bring in your own food and everything in the park was included with admission- fishing, remote control boats, etc. Many of the park workers were special needs as well.

Here are some pictures from our adventure....

this screen was inside the museum area and the blue/green lines chased your movements from the screen

the butterflies on the screen would land on you if you could stand still for long enough :)

the water works area allowed you to shoot water to make things move and redesign pipes to move water around

this is one of four playgrounds on the property, it is near the wharf area with water guns, real life fishing (catch and release), and remote control boats.

Cohen drove the go kart and Abby and I enjoyed a leisurely ride in the back seat

Nana and Abby hanging out... there was a butterfly theme all around the park

near the wharf, we found Captain Hook and I burnt the back of my legs trying to get a picture with him. The bench had a metal trim that was HOT!

Inside the fake supermarket, Abby bought groceries and other kids there checked her out. When they asked for money, she didn't know they were still pretending and looked really sad. I had to give them $1. Abby bought all fruits and veggies :)

At the hotel, we spent most of our time outdoors. Cohen was our smores maker and he learned quickly that Nana and I do not want ashes in our smores!

Cohen went on this water slide 20 times at least. Abby and I went once, but she really enjoyed watching him slide more.

Someone has two fair skinned parents and someone does not :)

Yea me for catching the big jump at the right time! 

Snacks are always best when eaten in your swimsuit!

This girl was worn out on Tuesday and fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner. She slept on my like this for 30 minutes. I had a moment where I realized at 3.5, she may never do this again. So, I let her sleep a little and captured her baby face taking a nap on me.

On the way home, we visited with a college friend of mine and Abby got to run and play with her little girls. She had the most fun and I got to catch up with Alison and admire her decorating skills. I want to be her when my house grows up :)

It has been a busy two weeks with Kyleigh and Cohen and we are now back to a more normal easy schedule... until VBS starts on June 18th!

Second Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my Mom and sister's family on New Year's Eve day. It was so pretty outside that the kids were able to kick the soccer ball and swing. Loved the weather last weekend!

Since they had to drive to me, I made them all lunch. We had salad and girl scout casserole. Plus, we ate birthday cake and ice cream in honor of Ms. Abby Lu!

We opened presents after lunch- we bought Cohen a new game for his Nintendo DS.

And, Kyleigh got a new shirt, scarf, and hat. She is definitely a normal 10 year old girl, she wants new clothes!

Since learning that Marcus can wear a youth hat, we've had lots of fun! I love that he plays along with me :)

Mom and Tiffany spoiled Abby with some fabulous things including this really cute cape. My sister made both of my Christmas gifts and I love them! She is becoming a really talented on the sewing machine. She made me a cute apron and a messenger bag!

Abby refused to take pictures, so here is my Mom with her more cooperative grandkids :)

The tree is now done and most of the gifts are put away. After all, we have a birthday party coming up on Saturday! Hooray!