Afternoon at the playground

One day after school, I took the girls to a nearby playground to get their wiggles out.

Violet is very good at the monkey bars.  I miss the days of not being bottom heavy.... have you ever tried doing monkey bars as an adult? It's kind of painful!

Lucia the kitty cat with a runny nose.

At one point some neighbor kids show up in a little jeep.  Violet got to ride and drive the jeep, and instead of getting jealous and upset, Lucia decided to be a bobcat and chase the jeep.  

These little girls sure are a lot of fun!

Dallas

A few weeks back we took a quick trip up to the Dallas area to see the other Texas Toblers!  Our initial plan was to drive up on a Saturday and spend 8-9 hours at the Six Flags in Arlington, which is less than an hour away from where Jeff and Amy live.  However, once we got out of the Houston area, the weather drastically changed and Oh. My. Goodness. We were totally unprepared for the 30 degree temperature change.  You'd think by owning smartphones we would regularly check the weather of whatever city we may be visiting. Nope. We only packed shorts and t-shirts for the trip, so we made a pit stop at Costco about 10 miles from Six Flags so we could purchase some pants and sweaters.  Thank goodness for Costco.  We ate lunch, bought some clothes and filled our gas tank all in one stop.  

 

(Just a quick aside, I didn't bring my DSLR because I didn't want to leave it in a hot car all day while we ran around riding rides....and go figure it turns out to be a chilly weekend. )

 

Never, ever visit Six Flags on a weekend.  It was sooooooo busy. We probably only spent 6 hours at the park but lines for every ride were incredibly long and we only had time for 4 rides.

Clark really liked the Texas Sky Screamer, a swing that lifts and spins you 400 feet in the air.  Notice the dinky chain right behind Clark's right hand.  A couple of these chains are what suspend the chairs in the air.  I was terrified that our chair would break off and we would go flying across the park to our deaths!

 

The last ride of the night, the Mr. Freeze Reverse Blast! Over very quick as you are shot out of the station at 70 mph, but it was a ton of fun!

 

Presley is such a sweet girl.  It has been just under a year and a half since Clark and I last saw her, and it's amazing how much she's grown! Also, at just under 3 years of age, I think her vocabulary is better than mine.  

She really liked trying on Uncle Clark's hats. Oh and notice her cowboy boots?  On the wrong feet of course, but she was prepared for a day at the pumpkin patch.

Entrance to the pumpkin patch permitted us feed for goats and steers.  

We walked through a maze.....

And Presley practiced riding some bulls.

Presley was adamant that Clark go on the barrel ride with her.  She insisted he go, in spite of him being of larger girth and all.

He kind of had to shove himself in, but we got a thumbs up from the both of them so I guess all was well.

The whole time Clark had his arms bent and braced on the edges of the barrel to make himself a little more comfortable.

Presley gave the nice wooden pilgrim a big hug after the barrel ride.

And this cute little thing? Emersyn was so good, sleeping through our entire outing at the pumpkin patch.

 The next day we had to get back to Houston, but not until after we ate at a fabulous establishment in McKinney.  An amazing dessert waffle was shared at Spoons.

Emersyn slept for most of our visit.  I don't blame her.  But it was so nice to snuggle a little baby again!

Thank you Jeff and Amy for your hospitality and for showing us a good time in McKinney! We had a blast visiting you all, meeting gorgeous Emersyn, and playing with adorable Presley.  Next time we visit we promise we won't be tempted to go to Six Flags prior to arriving at your home :)   

Tea Party Extravaganza

The other week we were able to fulfill one of Violet's wishes: to have a Fancy Nancy tea party at which Clark and I would be the guests of honor.  Apparently the Fancy Nancy books are very popular with little girls, teaching them about what kinds of things can be deemed fancy or not.  Thus, everything prepared for this party had to be fancy.  We prepared desserts and drinks from cook books Grandma Jan and I had previously given the girls.  Funny thing is, the recipes in both cook books were nearly identical. Violet and Janet selected fancy yet realistic desserts to prepare for the party. 

 

Setting up for the tea party the next day. Janet and I thought it would be safest to lay down a pink table cloth under the table to prevent any huge messes.  Very smart idea, indeed.

The mini butler holding his own private tea party. No boys were invited to the tea party.  To keep it simple, Violet and Lucia were each allowed to invite one friend. 

The big butler and the mini butler looking so fancy.  Clark said the holes in his socks really complimented his fancy attire. 

Janet and I also got all dressed up for the occasion, princess crowns and all.

The "guests of honor" / help. More help than honored guests in my opinion. ;)

The Fancy Nancy tea party in progress! The girls waiting to be served their tea.

Sparkling drinks.

Fancy open faced sandwiches.

The crowning jewel of the party: the pink princess cake.

Fruit tarts and decorated ice cream cones.

The mini butler taking a play break.

The big butler looking so dashing in his bow tie.  

Clark the big butler serving the tea. Lucia liked it so much she finished her first cup before everyone had been served.

This is how Lucia does fancy.  Kitty cat ears and a bow tie, winter gloves, and a gator purse.

The girls sipping tea at the same time.

The butler now serving the first course of open faced sandwiches.

The mini butler now taking a snack break.

Violet was so happy! She looked so fancy in her peacock dress with bright red lipstick all around her lips!

Yeah, this butler really didn't help at all, but he sure looked cute!

The girls admiring the bright pink princess cake.

After all the food and drinks were served, Janet helped the girls decorate butterfly wands.

Awwww, the girls had so much fun!  I hope that Violet and Lucia can come to appreciate all their mother does for them in the years to come, as they mature into teenagers/young adults.  Janet makes so many occasions super special just because she loves her kids that much! 

It was fun to participate in this event, but Clark and I were exhausted afterward.  It's possible that we took a little nap that afternoon.

Cutest little kittens

Janet came home from the dollar store with some fun accessories for the girls one day.  The girls immediately put on their ears, bow ties and tails, and transformed into the world's cutest little kittens!

Giving the camera some kitty sass.

Now really getting into character roaming the tile on all fours.

MEOW!!!!!! Luckily, this did not turn into a kitty fight. There could have been major tears.

 

 No joke, I think Lucia wore her kitty ears for two days straight.  And today, she even wore her ears and tail to school.  Maybe the best $2 Janet has ever spent at the dollar store?

But the best part of the kitten transformation was when the girls started licking our faces completely unprovoked.  Clark and I put the kibosh on that pretty quick even though it was hard to tell the cute kittens to stop.

Gosh, they're cute.