Happy Tuesday and Happy August 1st! Excuse me while I ponder on HOW it got to be August. 2017 is FLYING! I will admit, as much as I hate time to fly.....we ARE about to fly right into my very favorite portion of the year! Even though is still 182 degrees here for a while, school season brings FOOTBALL SEASON which means at least we have some good entertainment while we wait on the Fall season to eventually come around! I can't wait for cooler temps and mums and jeans and boots Halloween and G's birthday, and then we find ourselves in THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR as they say. (Also a personal favorite!).
Now that I've chased that rabbit trail, let's come back to reality and recap Week EIGHT of the Summer 'O Fun. We got a HEAVY dose of swimming and ALL THE THINGS that come with prepping a toddler for swimming during our beach vacation. (Seriously, applying sunscreen to a toddler is like baptizing a cat.) So we took a little break from the water activities and checked off some indoor fun since it is the dog days of summer here in the Lone Star State.
Our first stop was Stonebriar Mall in Frisco, and BOY OH BOY do they offer a plethora of things to do besides shopping. First, we hit the new and improved play area. It's perfect for your little ones to climb, crawl and run! (Locals tip: You can park at the Sears entrance, which is never crowded and walk right through Sears into the play area!)
Be ready to empty your change jars in the little rides outside of the play area. I will say they had some really cute ones!
After all my cash was completely depleted from my wallet, we headed to some "free stuff".....
The train table in Barnes and Noble was a big hit! I also hear they have story time at 11 everyday!
Then we browsed around Build-A-Bear; Greyson has never been and he was amazed at the machine that does the filling. We didn't make anything, but I'm thinking about doing this for his birthday if he still seems interested. I am a TOTAL SUCKER for stuffed animals. I had a HUGE collection as a kid and they all had names and personalities.
Another fun fact: When Jeremie and I were dating-he did an internship in New York for 6 months. When I went to visit him, my friend and I went to the Build-A-Bear on 5th Avenue and I made a little bear named "Bearemie".....you know they have you make a wish on the little heart you put in the bear....well, I wished that me and Jeremie would get married! So Build-A-Bear is running on a good reputation for me....I hope Greyson doesn't wish for a pony or something crazy.....
We also hopped into the Disney store and G was ENAMORED by the castle. He's really into "building castles" by stacking up the pillows on my bed, so this was really probably his imagination coming to life. I mean, to scale, that is really like a real two story castle to him....
The Disney Store also has some free activities like movies, coloring, and a parade, but you'd have to check their schedule.
We did NOT get out of Pottery Barn scotch-free because their backpacks were on sale and I got a great deal on a little rolling suitcase for G. But he was TOTALLY into their little boys play area. I did not expect the Pottery Barn store to be one the biggest hits, but he loved the toys and trying out all the "big boy beds". (Which I feel like we are around the corner from and that makes me very sad.)
We of course had Chick-Fil-A in the Food Court and much to my disappointment, Greyson did not want to ride on the carousel. : ( Pretty sure Mommy wanted that more than him.
On our way out, we stopped in See's Candies for some samples, and Greyson's face cracked me up.
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| It was a specialty chocolate, filled with something different, and I think it surprised him. Pretty sure he thinks all chocolate taste like M&M's. |
We had the best time, and this was randomly one of my favorite little summer dates that we've had. I definitely recommended adding Stonebriar to your list! (Thanks Holly, for the head's up on all the freebies!) We went by ourselves, and I will say it'd be a tough thing to do with other friends, as you are in and out of a lot of stores and going along with your kiddo's preferences. So keep that in mind and maybe just meet up at The Cheesecake Factory that's in the mall! ; )
Also on the Bucket List was an indoor play facility called EQ Kids Club. If you're familiar with Playstreet Museum, it's very similar. SO ADORABLE and I loved the Safari theme. They had a great variety of little buildings and toys! There were playhouses and campers and produce stores and train tables...pretty much ALL THE THINGS! Greyson had a blast with his buddy Ford!
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| He definitely looked the part with his Safari vest and "noculars"...{binoculars} |
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| PEEKABOO! |
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| Greyson and Ford would've bounced until the sun went down. |
NOT SHOWN is the stuffed gorilla that was bigger than me that Greyson REALLY ATTACHED to. I was like #NOPE. Talk about a monkey on your back.
Afterwards we headed to Cheezie's, a gourmet grilled cheese cafe that I've been wanting to try. (Safe to say that this bucket list activity was more about ME than Greyson.) This place was HEAVEN between two slices of bread. They have all types of grilled cheese...even one with brisket on it. I got a chicken something or another and GOOD LAWD. Life is complete now. (And probably shorter from all the cholesterol I consumed.)
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| Greyson does appreciate a good grilled cheese, so it was a WIN for both of us. |
On Thursday, we headed to Prestonwood for a summer story time, and decided to go play at the Indoor KIDZ area beforehand. EVERY TIME we go I have these high hopes that Greyson will be big and brave enough to navigate the labyrinth of a jungle gym on his own. And EVERY TIME I find myself pirate climbing a rope or swinging from a wrecking ball or going down the slide with 12 toddlers. This place is exhausting for me. But goodness he has such a blast!
Storytime was a much calmer environment which my child was clearly NOT ready to transition to. Little Ford to him to "SHUUUUSH, IT'S STORYTIME!", and Greyson quickly rebutted: "I WANNA TALK, IT'S TALKIN' TIME!" Okay. So he's my child. We managed to make it through and there was a darlin' craft time afterwards. If you've read this blog at all, you know our history with crafting. This particular day, we made "Oceans", complete with hair gel that was dyed blue. Somehow I ended up with hair gel all over my hands and Greyson ended up with a stapler. So there's that.
Since I had halfway lost my mind, I decided to just really dive off the deep end and take my wildcat to The Shops at Willowbend for lunch afterwards. There was also this program called "Thursday Summer Series" going on, and this was the last day of it. It was on the Bucket List, and I was bound and determined to mark it off. The Summer Series had a different "act" every week from magicians to kid-comedians. I'd also heard about their little $1 Lunch cards, so you can't beat that.
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| The show seemed cute, but was really hard to hear and Greyson was about wiped out by this point. |
The Meal Cards WERE amazing...there were probably 6 places in the food court that offered a $1 Kid's Meal (Chick-Fil-A, Sonic, pizza place), and then also $1 offers for the ice cream shop, Wetzel's Pretzel's and, and Great American Cookie. After lunch, I let G pick out a cookie (sugar cookie with sprinkles) and he was one happy AND exhausted kid. That morning earned us a LONG nap time!
We'll definitely be back next year for Thursday Summer Series.
HAPPY SUMMER!
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