The Summer 'O Fun Week 10!

We are down to the wire here people and just rounded up week 10! This week (Week 11) is our LAST "official" week of the Summer 'O Fun before school starts! I can't believe it! We have had an absolute BLAST, but it's about to be the Summer 'O DONE.  Time to get back to a routine, people.  

Anyway, we checked out a couple new places on our bucket list during Week 10, but also did some repeats!  

The Little Elm Beach went on our list pretty quick this year because a lot of my friends had mentioned it! We finally got around to visiting on a cloudy day, which was actually pretty fabulous since it wasn't blazing heat.  This beach is adorable! It has a large sandy area, beach volleyball, and I think you can rent kayaks. There's a couple of restrooms and stations to wash the sand off your feet before you get in the car! There's also a little cafe that is super reasonable and smelled great! (We didn't eat there, cause we planned to go to Hula Hut!) 

This place totally quenched our beach desire here in Texas! As far as Greyson was concerned, we were at the real beach! He enjoyed playing in the sand, and the water was actually really nice too! On the same property (within walking distance) is a darling playground too! Little Elm has really designed this park/playground well and there's SO MANY Events and Activities to check out on the beach like Movie in the Park, Autumn Fest, Christmas at the Beach, and a Kids Fishing Tournament.  You can find all their events here! We will definitely be back!  

About a mile down the road, and situated on the other side of the lake is the most darling Austin based restaurant, called Hula Hut. 

As you know, I'm a sucker for atmosphere, and this place certainly has it! It's the wildest combination of Mexican and Hawaiian.  In fact, on their website it's called "Mexonisian". The decor is laid back and fun and there's an awesome outdoor area you can walk around with ducks, a volcano and dolphin fountain.  SUPER ENTERTAINING for the little ones. Our waitress even gave Greyson some duck food because he was melting down being so charming.

We didn't have to wait, but there's some cute stuff out front if you did! Our food was really good and the overall experience is just super fun and family friendly! I definitely recommend it! 

The next day we made another appearance at Sandy Lake Amusement Park with our friends. This place just never disappoints! So fun and charming! 

They had even opened up the "Rocket ship Ride" which Greyson rode THREE TIMES.  He had to experience from the driver's seat AND the shooter's seat! 

That afternoon, we headed over to my friend Jorie's house for lunch, nap, and play! I totally forgot that Preston has transitioned to a toddler bed, so I had no idea what G would do.  MUCH to my surprise, he laid right down and napped like normal! This helps me wrap my brain around transitioning! I had to get a picture when he woke up! He looked like such a big boy! 

After nap time, we played on Preston's new and very exiting water slide! G was a little apprehensive about this, but they had a good time.  Of course I went down it and thought it was a blast! ; ) 

Later in the week, we joined Dallas Moms Blog on their Playdate tour at Polka Dot Party + Play. They had ALL the fireman gear, so guess what G did for an hour and half.  He ESPECIALLY enjoyed reporting the "Emergencies" into the play walkie talkie.  

And yes, those are Paw Patrol slippers.  We bought them at Target earlier that day and he REFUSED to take them off.  I resigned to the fact that he's still young enough to wear slippers in public and people still think it's cute. 

And finally, we took lunch to Daddy's office! This was on our Summer Bucket List and we've done it maybe 2 other times this summer.  We really love seeing him during the day, and he says it definitely brightens his day, too. And even though Greyson doesn't fully understand, I think it's good to expose him to Jeremie's office and see where he is all day. Eventually he'll catch on and understand that this is "Work."  (It also reminds ME how hard he works every day!)

At one point during lunch, Greyson was playing with an unplugged phone, but Jeremie got a real phone call....and I had to snap this picture....

Working lunch....

This is definitely something I want to do more all year round! 

And that's it! Week 10 is in the books and next week will be my LAST Summer 'O Fun post! We're trying to finish strong and stay sane! I'll let you know how that goes next week....; ) 

The Summer 'O Fun Week 9

Well here we are in Week 9 folks.  And although we're having a blast, I can feel myself getting all angst-y for a routine.  There's only so long you can keep up the "care-free/schedule-free" state of mind.  There comes a point where it's time to send these little cherubs to Mother's Day Out and have a hot minute to yourself.  

BUT....I'm not quite there yet...we are still kicking the list and taking names and last week was no different.  

Monday, we headed to Altitude (the trampoline park) for come bouncy time with our buddy, Ford. I have no pictures from Altitude because Greyson was like keeping up with a real live Tigger.  G wants me to be INVOLVED with ALL THE ACTIVITIES, perhaps so I can get the full experience of what he's feeling. If I had to describe our time with a word picture, it would look like this...

OR THIS..

I'm just sad because I had to pay $2 for the "special socks" and I haven't been able to talk to my Mommy friend the whole time.

So I became one with the trampoline, and the ballpit, and the balance beam, and he was even trying to talk me into the zip line....."You COULD do it Mom..."...almost like he was daring me. And I ALMOST fell for it.  

Listen, unless your child is great with "Independent Play Time", this is not the place you're gonna be able to chat it up with your girlfriends. 

We did get smart afterwards and took them to Chipotle...nothing will make them be still like a little Blaze and stuffing quesadillas down their mouths. And finally, the mamas got a real conversation. 

On Thursday, we joined the Dallas Moms Blog Playdate series at Jungle Joes in Frisco. This place is really a Mama's dream..they have wi-fi, coffee bar, full cafe with snack and lunch items, and a room full of indoor jungle gyms and play areas.  Greyson had a blast. Of course I had to navigate the jungle gym with him, but this one was small enough that I escaped down the slide and he actually stayed up there by himself for a while!  I didn't get too many pictures because I was actually able to chat with some friends while G played in their toddler area.  Super cute place! It was actually on LAST YEAR'S Summer Bucket List, and we never made it!

On Friday we headed to one of my FAVORITE places in DFW, Sandy Lake Amusement Park. This place is older, a lot of my Dallas original friends say they went there every year for a school field trip.  But it looks like it's had a little makeover and I think it's SO CHARMING. There's several little rides nestled under some trees and even swimming pool and splash pad on the other side of the property.  We stuck to the rides, that was about all we could squeeze in before nap time. I had several friends that were supposed to go, but everyone backed out that morning for one reason or another.  (#momlife) We certainly missed our buds, but I did enjoy my solo time with my boy.  I just let him go wild and pick whichever ride he wanted next for however many times.  With 2 weeks of summer left, I soaked it up....

He LOVED the race cars again....

And the boats....

But this time he was brave and rode the fishy ride and that is the new favorite! I think he rode it 4 times!

He was even big enough this time for the mini-roller coaster, which I was SHOCKED he wanted to go on! But we had a blast! He kept calling it the "Dino-Coaster"...a nod to a Blaze episode. I guess Blaze will single-handedly teach my son how to count and be brave. 

The coaster actually had a little speed to it!!!

For you locals, Greyson was able to ride 5 of the "rides" PLUS the pony ride, train ride! I don't know exactly how tall he is, but he's average 2.5 year old height! So there's just really a lot of options for the kiddos here.  (Especially if you make time for the pool!) There's also paddleboats and goofy golf. Most of the rides take about 3-4 tickets (tickets are $.50 each) I bought a book of 44 tickets for $20 and we still have about half of them left. On the back of the $20 is also a voucher to get into the park free (for up to 6 people) next time! (Admission into the park is $2/per person.) Their tickets NEVER expire too! I used some leftover from last summer! There is a concession stand with your typical pizza/corndog/chips stuff or you can bring your own lunch! I also love that this place is shady! If you haven't been, you should totally check it out! (P.S., This is totally not sponsored, I just love this place!) 

On Saturday, we were gonna do our regular pool thing, bug Jeremie got to looking at what was left on the Bucket List, and the Forest Park Minature Train Ride in Fort Worth was still un-checked! So he said Let's Go! 

                         

This place was adorable and more bonus points for mostly being in the shad the entire time! This train ride is a decent length-like 30-45 minutes long with some great views of Fort Worth! Greyson LOVED going under all the bridges....he's obsessed with "Tunnels" ever since going through the one in Mobile on the way back from the beach! 

I love train rides, because they seem to keep the kiddos so entertained, yet SO STILL. PRAISE THE LAWD.

Greyson has never been to the Stockyards before, so we couldn't resist heading to Exchange Avenue to watch the Cattle Drive.  (I swear, I'm not promoting Blaze, but it just so happens that a new episode called "Cattle Drive" came out last week...so Greyson was all the more excited to see a real one. Now I'm going to stop talking about a Nick Jr. show on my very riveting blog.) 

Greyson loves the idea of a cowboy, but WAS NOT a fan of this one. He's just not big on characters in general.  We tend to strike out with Santa, the Easter Bunny, and most CERTAINLY, the Gecko at Rainforest Cafe. 

His name was "Tex" (duh), and I thought he had a pretty striking resemblance to Kurt Russell when he played Wyatt Earp in Tombstone. 

RIGHT?!

Anyway, I still can't believe we found ourselves standing on the blazing streets of Fort Worth in the dead of summer to watch a handful of Longhorns walk down the road, but there we were. And of couse it was fun. If you've never been, you should definitely go to say you've been. 

I just love the Stockyards in general, because my grandfather "Big Jack" was a cattleman in his younger years, and hauled cattle and donkeys to the stockyard countless times.  He even taught himself how to be an auctioneer and that, along with managing a stockyard, was his lifetime career.  He would DIE LAUGHING to know that the Stockyard is totally a tourist attraction now.  

Especially to see the mini "gunfight" skit! It's been the same every time I've gone, but it's always a hoot. 

And that was Week 9! We're narrowing down the list and days left of Summer! G has even adapted a "Summertime" little song he sings, and when I mention school coming he says.."But it's STILL Summertime!"...and YES, YES IT STILL IS. ; )