Escape from our routine.

If our kids could pick anything to do, it would be to go to the park. Luckily there are quite a few around here so we frequent them often.

Last week Ryan had some time off...we have been anxiously waiting this as his vacation days are very few. We didn't have much planned but we had a lot of fun spending time together. I had a lot of things I wanted Ryan to do around the house but as the week went by I realized the kids needed the time with him more. As a result there are still pictures that need hanging, bins to go back in the attic, a fence that needs staining, and walls that need mending (due to Jacksons love of crashing cars into them.)But instead we have precious memories of time we were able to spend together because there is some things that just won't wait. The kids love animals so we decided to take them down to Fort Worth to check out Cabellas and view some of their outdoor creations. The kids were fascinated for the most part, Jackson was a bit terrified of the huge moose they had though. We also took advantage of the Dallas Zoo tickets we got at the silent auction a few weeks back and the kids had a great time. I am a big fan of the zoo but it is so exhausting especially with three small kids. I'm not sure I could ever support season passes to that place, at least not at this stage of our lives. We also spent a lot of time at the park; having picnics, flying kites, playing ball, climbing on play sets, and ultimately attempting to exhaust endless supplies of energy. I wasn't to good at capturing all this on film as I often forgot the camera...I know me forget something! :)




Wow... are we really that photogenic!


We were really impressed by our experience at the Dallas Zoo. We haven't been to a ton of Zoo's in our lifetime but we were really impressed at how close you could get to the animals. We really like the Phoenix and Utah Zoo's but I think this has topped our list for now, we still have to check out the Fort Worth Zoo. Here is some pictures from our expedition...


Bryton spent most of the day like this.

This carousel is strategicaly placed in the enterance of the Zoo, so the entire day Madison is asking when she gets to go on the ride. In an attempt to pacify her Ryan tells her that it is broke and that they are trying to fix it. As you can imagine it was fixed before we had to leave and Madison got her 30 second ride for a mere 2 dollars. I'm still not sure who had more fun, Madison or Ryan? Jackson decided to for go his experience in order to get a treat and because he was a bit intimidated by the whole thing.

The sun was way too bright for picture taking I guess.

Wouldn't you know they were more entertained by a squirrel eating some cherrios then by any of the animals.






I think the excitement is wearing off...

Exhaustion! After five hours at the zoo they were asleep before we even left the parking lot.

Anyone who knows Jackson knows that the boy loves to eat. He is constantly saying, "But Mommy, I am so, so hungry...I starvin." The kid is certainly not starving because he eats non stop. We haven't decided whether the harty appetite is a result of his constant energy or if he just has a passion for food. Either way he was not about to let go of his food no matter how tired he was.

Just a better view...food in the hand and all. I think he just may come by this habit naturally. :) After all there were M&M's in the bag too.

To wrap it up, it was a great week and we hated to see it end especially since Ryan is starting his transplant rotation and will be gone a lot this month.