The Summer 'O Fun Weeks 5, 6, and 7-ISH

Well hi there and Happy Hump Day! I feel super behind on our Summer 'O Fun posts because vacation prep, actual vacation, and the return, about whipped us. It takes me a little bit to recover and redeem our home and regular schedule.  

So let me BAAAAACK up and catch up. 

I had big dreams for Week 5, but essentially all we did was shop and pack for vacation.  As I mentioned in my last post, once I started trying to pack, I realized we ALL needed ALL the things. Shorts, swimsuits, shoes, underwear, everything.  My little buddy was a TROOPER and literally ran errands with me the entire week.  This is seriously the only picture I have of that week.  

Bless it. He was such a good sport and really only begged for this Iguana, which he said was going to be his "beach buddy".  He also remembered this toy jigsaw ALL WEEK LONG (he had spotted it in Target that Monday), and I finally took him back to buy it with his "chore money". And yes, the noisy jigsaw came on the plane with us too.  Sorry, fellow passengers.) 

Week 6 was spent in the glory of the sunshine and sand in Orange Beach with Jeremie's family, and then Destin with my friends for a couple of days. You can read all about our fabulous Beach Vacation here. 

So imagine my disappointment when one day, my toes are in the white sands of the Emerald Coast, and the next, they're in a toddler sandbox in the Texas heat. #backtolife #backtoreality

I will say as much fun as we had, we are always happy to be home and back to our regularly scheduled programming.  We've still got a lot of checkmarks to put on the Summer 'O Fun bucket list, so we threw our laundry in the wash and got right to it!  

Our first stop in Week 7 was the Dallas Famous Northpark Mall. I know, if you're local, you are thinking it's BLASPHEMY that I've never been to Northpark, but I haven't. It is a pretty decent little drive and we have great shopping in Plano...but WOW. This mall is lovely and fun and has some really great stores.  I will say most of them are a little out of my league (every picture I snapped of G had stores like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, or Cartier in the background), but regardless, it is just a beautiful mall to even walk around in.  (I had several people tell me about the little playhouses on display, and there were several, but FYI-they don't let you play in them anymore; they are just for looking) : ( 

A great feature is that Northpark has a library INSIDE the mall, and they do all types of activities, like story time, in the atrium.  (Check out all their activities here!)

Me and my neighbor Lindsey took the kids and they had a great time! 

This exhibit was G's favorite. The men actually move their axes up and down, and Greyson's STILL doing it! 

The kids LOVED the famous turtle and duck pond! This is a small feature, but super cute and you know kids get the biggest kick out of stuff like this! 

Greyson was also OBSESSED with sliiiiiiding down this curved wall, which I could tell was QUITE the popular pastime for all the kids! 

We had lunch in the foodcourt and on the way out, I swung into Nordstrom to see what all the fuss is about this "Blardigan" (blanket + cardigan) that one of my favorite bloggers, Sheaffer, raves about. 

Let's just say it was worth ALL THE RAVING and I immediately pulled out the birthday cash and purchased it. And even though it's 175 degrees outside, my house always feels like a meat locker, so I'm already wearing it.  

Greyson had a BIG TIME in the BIG dressing room with the adjustable mirrors.  In more shocking news, I've also never been in Nordstrom but I was SUPER impressed with their dressing rooms and friendly Sales Staff.  They swooned over me and Greyson and even gave him a balloon. I REALLY appreciate a friendly Sales Staff at any store.  Some places make you feel like a big inconvenience/annoyance when you're shopping with your toddler. But hey, sometimes Mama's gotta shop. Looks like some more Nordstrom trips will be in our future.  

On Friday, we were scheduled for a playdate with our Square One friends.  We all couldn't decide on a place (we vetoed any outdoor activity), so at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, I committed to everyone coming over the next morning for a Banana Split Party. Why I can't be normal and MUST slap a theme on EVERYTHING, I do not know. It's the burden I must carry. Luckily, my floor had been sweep in the last 48 hours and I actually had a lot of random goodies that made a pretty decent Banana Split bar. 

Mamas, THIS IS WHY I have an entire cabinet full of seasonal paper products. After seeing what a cute theme this was, I realized, with more time, you could do A LOT with this! The toppings are endless!  This is really the perfect Summer 'O Fun party theme!

Since we were scrimpin' though, I ended up with Neapolitan Ice Cream, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, MM's, Butterfingers, pecans, fudge syrup, and of course, cherries on top! 

I'm pretty sure Greyson is the only one who ate a full out Banana Split with all the toppings, but HEY, SOMEBODY WAS. Plus, I got the leftovers. ; ). 

It was great having all the little ones over to ransack the house play. I love having a full home with lots of chatter and laughter! This group started out when all the babes were newborns; we'd all bring them in their carseat carriers and just set them on the floor! Now, they're like a pack of wild bobcats, and most of the mamas have had #2! 

So that's our past 3 weeks!  The clock is ticking away at the Summer 'O Fun; only 4 weeks until "school" starts back! These last few weeks will probably seem the LONGEST and the HOTTEST, but we're still enjoying checking things off our list! 

Hope you're Summertime livin' is easy and you're having a great one! 'Till next weeks, folks!