The Summer O' DONE

Do you remember about 12 WEEKS ago, when I announced the beginning of the "SUMMER O' FUN".  I was all EAGER. ANTICIPATING. FULL OF ENERGY.  I even made a logo.  

It is cute.  And listen.  It WAS fun.  LOTS of fun.  Lots of laughs.  Lots of new adventures, lots of old favorites.  Lots of sunscreen.  And pool time.  And pictures. And memories made.  It was one for the books.  (Or the blogs, if you will.) Our Summer 'O Fun lived up to all my expectations and I even though I feel exhausted, I look back at what all we squeezed into 12-ish weeks, and I'm more exhausted! 

I never recapped Week 11, but we went out with a bang, and one of them probably won the "Activity of the Summer Award".....

And that was the Dallas Firefighters Museum.  Located in the old Fair Park Fire Station that was built in 1907, this place is truly a historic jewel and TODDLER fantasy, if that makes any sense.  It is filled with antique firetrucks and equipment downstairs, and amazing memorabilia upstairs. (There is also a little kids theatre upstairs that shows darling little safety videos!) 

There is a full "locker room" of kid-sized fireman jackets and hats and the kids are free to climb aboard the firetrucks! It was seriously a dream come true for all our little people! 

Does it get ANY CUTER THAN THIS, PEOPLE?

Admission is free to the museum and they do tours, most of which we didn't get to catch, but would love to in the future.  The gentlemen hosting the tour is a former firefighter and was actually on duty when J.F.K was assassinated. 

Everyone in the museum was SO friendly and they even gave all the kids little goodie bags with badges, coloring books, and fire hats. 

They also have a wonderful gift shop full of perfect things for your little firefighter.  We got a book and we read it EVERY NIGHT.  Sometimes twice. 

    The museum was such a treat and we will definitely be back!                       

On a whim last Saturday, we headed to the Dallas Farmers Market in downtown. And oh my goodness, we LOVED IT! I can't believe we've never been here before! Definitely marked this one on in the "Surprise Finds" in the Summer 'O Fun category!  

Along with the traditional outdoor Farmer's Market pavilion, there was a huge indoor pavilion with amazing food vendors and boutiques! 

Only at the the Dallas Farmers Market will you find large chandeliers. 

We ate the most delicious pizza ever!

And swooned over the macaroons! 

The following Tuesday, our Summer 'O Fun officially ended as we did meet the teacher and had our 2nd Annual Mother/Son lunch afterwards at Mcallister's across the street.  (They have the best $.99 kid's menu!) 

I am happy to be back on a schedule, and even Greyson kept saying he was "Ready for Schooltime!" Looking back over all of our Summer 'O Fun posts though, it's hard to pick favorites! We loved our trips to Mississippi, the beach, Greyson's first trip to the movies, the arboretum with Dad, lots of time with friends, G's first trip to the Stockyards, Sandy Lake, Rainforest Cafe, and so on! If you wanna catch up on all of our summer outings...you can find them here:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Weeks 5, 6, and 7-ish
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10

I hope you had an amazing Summer! As we were out and about, I still found even MORE things to put on next year's list! So when that time comes....Summer 2018, I'll be ready for ya!

Until then....this Summer is 'O Done! 

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....; ) 

Goodbye to July....

Well, I reckon now that we're a week into August, I'd better recap July.  : )

We had quite the busy month of summer fun here at home and traveling too!  

We kicked July off with the most darling 4th of July parade!  

We visited some sweet friends...

And came home with her Easter bunny ears....

Greyson was VERY INSISTENT on them.

We brought fanny packs in style.....

I figured if ALL THINGS 90's are coming back in style, why not fanny packs? Seriously, the plaid shirts, the mom shorts/jeans, the hightop, THE OVERALLS....goodness gracious, the OVERALLS. 

We spent a lot of time in the pool!

And took an amazing trip to the beach! Even though Greyson had been to the beach with me for a short trip when he was a tiny baby, this was our first family beach trip! You can read all about it here!

After a week with the family, Mama snuck away to to Destin with some girlfriends...and it was glorious.  Also my first Mamas-only girlfriend trip.  

We were still super excited to be back home and reunited with our friends.  

Isaac and Greyson are big buds.

We got dived right back into the Summer 'O Fun schedule complete with a Banana Split party, and a very exciting trip inside the Nordstrom dressing room.  Read all about Summer 'O Fun weeks 5, 6, and 7 here!

The fun continued into Week 8 with trips to a few malls, indoor play spaces, gourmet grilled cheese, and a very rowdy version of Storytime! 

We found a new favorite Mexican restaurant complete with live music! 

And attended Superhero Storytime at Barnes and Nobles with our Dallas Moms Blog playgroup! He's the cutest superhero I've ever seen. 

"With great power comes great responsibility." 

And that was July! WHEW! We are two weeks away from "school" starting up and squeezing all the fun we can out of summer! Just a couple more posts and it'll be THE SUMMER 'O DONE.  ; ).

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!