The week before Christmas, Uncle Tom (Bev's brother) and his son Robert made a trip out to Texas. Prior to their visit, Bev had emailed the family to let us know what they had planned, and that we had open invitations to any and all activities. We were able to meet up with them at the Dallas Arboretum and had a really nice day together. The displays for the 12 Days of Christmas were pretty amazing, each day featured in its own gazebo. The kids had fun dancing to the music, and Colby kept wandering behind Tom as he was trying to take pictures of each one.
The weather was perfect, and the gardens were looking beautiful. I tried to get one picture with the kids with White Rock Lake in the background, but Colby was being a nut, so this is what we got.
Brooke loved the red trees, so we took a picture "so Daddy wouldn't feel left out." She really is so sweet to always think of him since he misses lots of the fun!
We parted ways for a bit so that I could take my kids to the Children's Adventure Garden, and it was WAY better than the last time we went. I don't know if it was due to all the rain the few days prior, but we were literally the only people in most of the gardens. Last time, it felt like a zoo with all the field trip kids, which is probably why I wasn't overly impressed with the place. But when you have it to yourself, and can actually spend time learning about wind/water/solar power, tessellations, how plants grow, and animal tracks, it's pretty great.
Brooke's favorite thing was what they call "The Texas Skywalk". You take stairs up what looks like a giant tree, until you are above the whole Children's Garden. You can then climb the nets like a little monkey, and really feel like you are so high above the ground and everything below. They have netting that goes overhead as well (for safety, of course), but it makes for a pretty cool adventure. Brooke asked me for help as she got started, but I encouraged her to first try it by herself. She totally moneyed her way to the very top, and the look on her face as she realized that she did it completely on her own, was priceless!
Then naturally, Colby wanted to try it as well. I kept a hand on him, but after a few steps up he said, "I nervous." I love that he has a lot of courage and wants to try everything that Brooke does!
Colby's favorite part was probably the Nutcracker exhibit. After the Children's Garden, we met back up with everyone and had a quick bit to eat. They had already wandered through the exhibit, but were willing to go back with us. Tom (somewhat jokingly) said, "My entertainment is going to be watching you keep Colby from touching all the displays." Nothing was behind glass, all 4,000 nutcrackers were placed throughout this old estate. Colby actually did better than I expected, and we made it through without breaking anything, haha.
We definitely enjoyed our time together, and I learned more about Tom as we chatted over lunch.
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