Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Texas Bluebonnets!

Back in April, we headed out to Ennis, TX for the Annual Bluebonnet Festival. Ennis is famous for several miles of winding roads that have the most picturesque Bluebonnet fields during the spring. Since we've lived in Texas, and ESPECIALLY since we've had a child, we've picked up on the memo that the Bluebonnet pictures is a THING.  Like big deal. And ya'll know what I do about a big deal. Especially when it has to do with a photo opportunity for my child. Point me the nearest pumpkin patch or petting zoo and I'M IN.

I didn't think that the Mr. would approve of paying a photographer though, and honestly, Greyson always acts like a sugar induced jungle monkey in front of professional photographers. It's like HE KNOWS. Stresses me out people. 

So I took my big girl camera and had my sister edit the photos. I must say, I'm a little obsessed with these PRECIOUS DARLING pics. Listen, if you are not interested in 57 of the same pictures (from a different angle, that is) of my kid standing in a field, you need to close your browser now. 









We had the best time playing in the field and driving around the old country roads! I definitely feel more like an official Texan now that we have a photo in the Bluebonnets. Must be magical. ; ) 

If you're local to Texas, you should definitely check out Ennis next spring. You can read more about the Bluebonnet Trails and 2017 Festival here

HAPPY TRAILS!

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Summer O Fun Week 4

We're rolling right along through June folks! Week 4 of the Summer O Fun was a little less busy, but just as fun.
 
One of the items on our summer bucket list is to visit all 5 of the Plano libraries. This week, we visited Davis library for the Three Little Pigs puppet show. Although Greyson loves the book at home he was not a fan of the puppet show. Nor was I. I think the wolf scared him and there were no songs. Toddlers need songs people. Jeremie asked when he came home if the little pigs got eaten. He thinks the pigs NOT getting eaten is the politically correct version. And I'm like... well babe, you can be the one who deals with the emotional aftermath when our child witnesses a wolf eating the little piggies. Anyway, it wasn't a wasted trip, because this library had some great toys that Greyson enjoyed.
 
 
Later that week we randomly ended up at a free trial "Tiny Tots" class at ASI Gymnastics. A friend invited us and honestly, I figured it would be a fun one time experience. But let me tell you, my child had a BLAST. It was like someone unleashed his inner joy. We've tried a couple of other classes but this was definitely more "motor skills" oriented and he loved every minute of it. He was running across the trampolines, jumping into the foam pit and rolling down the wedges. He even did a "floor routine" to the music. The class lasted 50 minutes and the instructor was super fun and incorporated some developmental activities and intro gymnastic skills. It was so much fun. We'll probably be signing up for weekly classes this fall. I definitely recommend trying it! 
 
On the parallel bars.....

I guess he though little Sarah needed a spot....

 

Friday we checked off Celebration Park/splash pad in Allen. This park is HUGE! There are like 3 or 4 amazing jungle gyms to play on. One is completely wheelchair friendly with ramps, which is awesome. Greyson did enjoy walking up and down those, but he's still a little too small for the bigger ones. I'll be honest and say there's not a ton of shade so it was HOT. It'll be perfect for us in the Fall.
 
 
We had a great time with "Aunt Jorie" and Preston!
 Official splash pad review: Nice. It wasn't huge nor did it have the soft, non-slip surface, or toddler area like the Campbell-Green splash pad.  


I'm definitely more tired at the end of the week during the Summer O Fun. And not because of activities.....even if we stayed at home the entire day, I'd be just as tired because Greyson DOES NOT STOP. (I'll definitely cherish Mother's Day Out and Bible Study a little more when it returns in the Fall.) But I'm having such a blast and I feel like a kid again...... like summer is an actual season!

Excited about our adventures for Week 5!

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Summer O Fun Week 3



Summer O Fun Week 3 was a success. Everybody stayed healthy so we got to check off some more things on our Summer Bucket List. We showed up at Tom Muehlenbeck Rec center all ready to go and for the SECOND time we were there when the pool was not yet open. I gave the ladies at the desk a BIG OLE EYE ROLL because it was completely their fault that I didn't check the hours, right? (At this point I could hear my hubby's voice in my head: "Katie-did you check the hours before you went?" Mamas: ALWAYS CHECK THE HOURS BEFORE YOU GO SOMEWHERE. Because getting a toddler in and out of the carseat needlessly will make you wanna cuss.)

Anyway, we rolled with the punches and hit up another splash pad in Richardson that we've been wanting to go to. This was our first splash pad experience and I was nervous, because Lil G won't even run through the sprinkler in the back yard..... even though he's obsessed with it. BUT, it was a huge success! He LOVED it!

#stud

 
Next up was CooCoo's an indoor bounce house place in Plano. And I will have to use Google Images because G was terrified of this place and the enormous bounce houses. I forced him to "face his fears" and took him down one of the big slides. Let's just say we left right after that. The only thing he REALLY wanted to do there was ride the "choo-choo" which I had told him about earlier and even put a "choo-choo" shirt on him. Well guess what, the choo-choo was out of order. BIG EYE ROLL to the young lady working the counter about that too because I'm sure she single handedly broke the train. (Think I need a convoy with the Lord about my attitude?) This place was actually great, and is perfect for kids a little older. It was just a little too big and scary for G.
 
The only thing I wanted to do was sit in the random massage chair in the middle of the room.... don't think I had enough quarters though ; )
 
Never EVER EVER promise your child a train ride unless you are 100% sure it's gonna happen.
Not wanting to waste a car seat exchange, we walked next door to Jumpstreet, which is one of those indoor trampoline places. They had a nice little area in the back for the little ones. It was less of a FAIL that CooCoo's was, but I wouldn't necessarily called it a WIN. G was interested in the trampolines, but MOST interested in the car toys, that of course take $76 of change to operate. So essentially, we could've just gone to the mall and at least I could have gone to Macy's.

 

There were a couple of smaller bounce houses with tunnels which G did not go near because he still had PTSD from CooCoo's.
Both activities still earned him a LONG nap, but we made it to the library in time for the puppet show that afternoon! (One of our bucket list items is to visit all the Plano libraries, there are 5.) And they have the most amazing activities like Storytime, Puppet shows, etc.
 
Greyson LOVED the puppet show, especially the Guinea Pig who moderated the show.
On Friday, we had our "regularly scheduled program", our Square One playdate, which is every other week. My friend who hosted has a girl and a darlin girly play area in her house. And just look at who was enjoying it the most.
 

 
We shoo-ed them into the backyard where we had a pool and popsicle party!
 

Greyson and Claire seemed to be in cahoots the whole morning. I feel like they'll be stirring up trouble soon.

 
Friday we made a trip to Trader Joe's to get some appetizers for dinner. (We call it "App Night" here at the Wells.) I knew they had the little kid buggies so I went mentally prepared that the purpose of this trip was for fun. I did a quick run down the appetizer aisle with G in my buggy then let him down and have his own buggy while I followed behind. This was a good plan because I already had what I wanted so I could just let him go. He did much better than I expected.
 
 
In my head I was picturing Indy 500 with him crashing into people and shelves. Not SO! He casually strolled his buggy up and down the aisles and actually picked out some apple sauce and put it in his cart! It might as well have been my heart he picked up off the shelf because that just melted me and made me realize how fast he's growing up! When we got to the check-out he put his applesauce up on the counter!!!! 
 
 
The Trader Joe's trip was not on the official bucket list but it was so much fun; I love when the random things are the biggest hit! Although I'm worried that I just had beginners luck and next time will probably be a complete disaster and meltdown.
 
Saturday we went with our neighbors to The Lot, a neat restaurant in Dallas. They have a ton of outdoor tables surrounding a huge sand lot that the kids can play in while you eat. AMEN TO EATING WITH TWO HANDS! Can I just say all these years Jeremie and I have taken for granted a restaurant outing. I love how all the hip young singles and unmarrieds look at us like "YOU'RE CRAZY, you should stay home people"....... and yes, with kids, it is more complicated, but you know what, you still gotta live life.  And places like this make it easier. THANK YOU, THE LOT. Even though our child was CAKED with sand sealed with water from the misting machine, we got to eat our entire burgers and carry on a conversation with the other adults at the table.




Superman got sprayed down with a water house we found in the back of the building before we put him in the car. He got a bath in the Wal-Mart pool before his nap.
And we're still enjoying our backyard in the afternoons! I got Greyson some golf clubs and you see whose hogging them.


This week the heat index hits 100, so here we go Texas! 

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Stranded: Netflix Series

Today, I'm linking up with two of my favs, Shay and Erika for a new series they're doing called "Stranded"......so here's the premise...


Today's topic is "If I were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 Netflix series would I take with me"....assuming there's Netflix on this island.  I guess if this were really a true situation I would need to be watching Gilligan's Island! Or Cast Away. ; )

Oh how I love Netflix! I mean, what's better than watching only shows you LOVE without commercials OR having to wait 6 months for a new season???

So here we go.....here's my top 3 Netflix series:

The Office 


The Office was the first series we binged watched on Netflix. And I was SO HOOKED! This is the most hilarious show! Michael Scott's awkwardness is simply the BEST! 

24

The rate at which we binged 24 probably constitutes biblical laziness. I'm pretty sure we finished all 8 seasons in like 8 months. (Each season has 24 episodes...you do the math....) I will defend myself in the fact that I was pregnant during the time we watched the show so I was making a human in my stomach people. This show is SO SO SO good and suspenseful! I was literally on the edge of my seat half the time! I feel like Jack Bauer is the Chuck Norris of this generation.  I do kinda feel sorry for Keifer Sutherland in real life, because really, after you play a role like Jack Bauer....you're career is really done at that point. (Kinda like Carlton on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.) I mean, after you SAVE THE WORLD from ending eight times, what are you gonna come back with?

Merlin


Okay, I'm almost hesitant to even list this one, because it sounds weird. I'm typically not into the fantasy-magic type shows, but oh, it was SO good!  It was a BBC show based on the Merlin the Magician/King Arthur story. 

So there's my three! It was hard to narrow it down to three, so I feel like I need some 
"Honorable Mentions": 
  • Parks and Recreation
  • Everybody Loves Raymond
  • Hart of Dixie (watching now!)
  • Blue Bloods (watching now!) 

And here's some that were "Fails" for us! The plot descriptions sounded perfect for us, but for whatever reason, we just couldn't commit: 
  • Alias
  • 30 Rock
  • West Wing
  • House of Cards
I'd LOVE to hear any recommendations you have! 

Monday, June 6, 2016

Summer O Fun Week 2

The Summer O Fun bucket list is being checked off one by one! (A sinus infection and bronchitis was NOT on the list, but sadly, that was reality for us last week.) So I'll catch ya up on the week before! 

I was SUPER excited about the "Strawberry Shortcake Party". And by "party" I mean some Wal-Mart shortcakes, Ready Whip, and strawberries. I was SURE that Greyson was gonna go nuts over the Ready Whip and he was pretty much terrified. Total FAIL. Whatever. Worked out for me since I got to eat like 5 shortcakes.

I love how he's looking a his delicious treat in total disgust and disbelief.
We also hit up the KIDZ indoor playground at Prestonwood Church. This place is AMAZING! The picture is terrible, but Mr. Tinypants wouldn't slow down to let me take my time. There is a huge foam "hill" with tunnels they can climb up and through and then the left side is like a 3 story jungle gym. I didn't think G would be able to navigate it, but when I turned around after chatting with my friend, I found he had successfully reached the second level. So I high-tailed it over there and followed him up to the top. (His new little friend, Stella, was also leading the way.) The only way down is a choice of 3 slides. G chose the spiral one and LAWD HAVE MERCY it went round and round for 3 stories down. I completely thought I was gonna have vertigo afterwards. G seemed to love it! I HIGHLY recommend this place. Prestonwood also has it's own full service cafe, so you could make a whole play date and lunch out of this place! It's great! 


Henry's Ice Cream is a famous Homemade Ice Cream place that has been around Plano over 30 years. Everyone says how great it is, so we had to check it out. And oh my goodness, it was divine! I had Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl in a cone. Jeremie shared a banana split with Lil G who was not super impressed with ice cream. He took about three bites and was over it. WHO IS THIS CHILD. 

We still had a great time and plan to go back since they have Hirsch's hot dogs for $1 for lunch! 



We also had "service projects" on our list for the summer. Clearly, G doesn't grasp the concept yet, but it's never too early to serve! We found an awesome ministry called "Hands and Feet" that does activities designed for 2-5 year olds. This weekend we brought food and help pack lunch bags for kids who may not get lunch during the summer since they usually eat lunch at school. G did enjoy coloring the bag and throwing the food items in there!


In the meantime, we are spending lots of time in the backyard! 

The Redneck Riviera!
Greyson is clearly enjoying his pool!
Can't wait to report on what we check off this week!

Thursday, June 2, 2016

May Days

May has come and gone! I LOVE May-it's not 564 degrees yet, and it holds our anniversary, Mother's Day and the start of summer time! I hear that May is super stressful for mommies of school-aged kiddos though, so we'll see how I feel in a few years.  

We kicked off this month with a Mother's Day Tea at Greyson's Mother's Day Out program. (He goes on Tuesdays from 9-2 and he LOVES it!) 

This wasn't a huge production or anything, but for me, this is the stuff that just fills my mama heart. 


His teachers sent us home with a little coaster that had their hand prints on it. Pretty sure I'll cry over this every Mother's Day as his little hand grows. 


Daddy took off half a day and joined us at the arboretum....


And in EVERY SEASON I'm always amazed at how beautiful and different it is! It is always perfection! This is our happy place!


On a completely unrelated note, we have a new love of Papa Murphy's Take and Bake pizzas....WHY have we not discovered this yet? On Friday nights, you can get a $5 Large! AND I just so happened to have a coupon for their S'mores pizza. A S'MORES PIZZA ya'll. I didn't even try to control myself.


We also took a field trip to Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch about 45 minutes away in Pilot Point. It was a large zoo-ish type place with a random mixture of animals like camels, goats, lemurs, zebras, kangaroos and a couple black bears. 


Can we all take a moment to LAUGH OUT LOUD at the pot bellied pig with his tummy dragging the ground?
They have a tram that you ride around the property. G was DYING to go on it until we got on it, of course. Then he kinda shut down. Perhaps it was the camel who was ALL UP IN OUR GRILL.


He was literally running after our tram!
Mother's Day was the next day and we celebrated with hamburger steaks that Jeremie cooked after church. Nothin say's "We love Mama" like some french fries with brown gravy. Amen, Praise the Lord. Then I rebelled apparently against all motherhood and spent the afternoon by myself. (Mamas-you know a little alone time is what you really wanted...I was just brave enough to claim it.) So with my alone time, I did something I've never done before...I went to a movie by myself! To a movie called...you got it....Mother's Day. I hit up the Studio Movie Grill, where I indulged in a fabulous Ghiradelli Brownie Sundae all by my lonesome. When I got home my boys had planted some flowers for me. : )


I couldn't believe this was my second Mother's Day with my Lil G. Being a mom is seriously the biggest joy and dream come true for me. Please excuse the bare feet--I had already shucked the wedges immediately after church!
We also celebrated our 7 year anniversary, HOLY MOLY. I can't believe it's been 7 years. We didn't take a trip this year, so for our anniversary meal, I tried to emulate some of our favorite dishes that we've had on our big vacations. This included a charcuterie board, truffle fries, pulled pork nachos, and blueberry pie. I know, it was random, but it was GOOD. I printed out pictures from each of these vacations and it was fun to reminisce about each one while we ate.


Our official anniversary dinner came on Saturday since Nona came to town! We ate a delicious dinner at III Forks and then went to see the Wicked production, which I've been wanting to see for YEARS! It was FABULOUS!

We're all FANCY! I wish you could see a close up of my darling sparkly shoes, but I'm not quite transparent enough [yet] to show you a close up of my feet.....but they were darlin!

We started the "Summer O' Fun" which you can read about here

Sadly, the Summer O Fun is on a break this week due to Mama and Daddy being down with sinus infections and bronchitis. That was NOT on the Summer Bucket List. Such is life.
We wrapped up with Memorial Day and this little guy in his adorable muscle shirt.



This is what he does when you ask him: "Show me your muscles!" 
 So that was May! Bring on June!