spring break

On Monday of Spring Break, I really needed to make a Costco run.  That definitely doesn't seem like a very exciting thing to do during a break, but I decided that if I present it as a lunch spot after visiting the pet store, everyone would be excited.  And guess what?  They were!! Brooke has told me numerous times how unfair it is that I take Colby to the pet store while she's at school, but she also doesn't love running errands after school, so she's out of luck. The pet store is just a bonus while we are out and about, but today, we made it a special outing.  We stayed for what felt like an eternity as they watched the 18 dogs in the doggy daycare. 

And perused the toy aisles...

When we finally left, we had pizza at Costco, then quickly shopped for the essentials.  I'm used to running errands with only one little critter, so I wondered if having them both in tow was gonna make things interesting.  But they were both wonderful and we were in and out in no time.

Tuesday we met up with friends at the Dream Park in Fort Worth.  We went last year when Jeffrey and his family were in town, but I feared that it would be crazy busy since it was Spring Break. Kevin suggested that I have them wear bright colors, and that was probably the best thing I could have done.  We arrived about 20 minutes before our friends, but it gave Brooke and Colby a good chance to just run around together.  I had talked to them about the importance of staying together to help keep each other safe, and they did such an amazing job of following that rule. It wasn't too busy when we arrived at 10, but by 11:30, the place was crowded!

Luckily, my kids had already taken a turn on this awesome swing and had the chance to ride the zip line at least 6 times with their friends, Lucy and Adelaide.  Once the area became more crowded, we took a break for lunch and then kept the kids all in one area so we could watch them more carefully.

Adelaide, Brooke, and Lucy...

After the park, we headed over to Crumbl Cookies, which people RAVE about.  I was honestly pretty excited to try them and see what all the hype was about. They looked amazing, but I was pretty disappointed!  We bought a box of four cookies: mud pie (with "dirt" and a gummy worm on top), salted caramel cheesecake, frosted sugar cookie, and chocolate chip.  The mud pie (Brooke's pick) was by far the best one, but Colby seemed to really enjoy the salted caramel one (his pick).  The sugar cookie was second best, and I didn't even like the chocolate chip.  That cookie had nothing on warm Market Street chocolate chunk cookies.

It was a great day with friends, but man, I was worn out by the time we made it home that afternoon!

On Wednesday, we met up with more friends (Kiley Lundeen and McKayla Parr) at Country Critters in Alvarado.  We went last year during Spring Break and absolutely loved it.  The weather was much nicer this year, so I imagined that it would be pretty crowded, but it was the exact opposite. I have no idea why exactly, but that made it super convenient for us!

We started our with pony rides because I was sure that the crowd would be showing up at any time!  Naturally, Brooke picked the pony with pink accents on her hair.

Colby picked this cute guy...

Once we finished the pony rides, the kids hopped aboard this adorable train and rode in circles around the property.

Poor Jack was crying by the end, but they all had fun at the beginning :)  I guess it was a little too bumpy, and he was in the final car.

We spent time in the petting zoo area, but they wouldn't let us pet or hold the baby goats this year. That was a definite highlight from last year, but I guess the babies were born only a few days prior, so they didn't want them in contact with people yet. But they were ADORABLE!

Colby bonded pretty quickly to this chubby bunny, and didn't want to leave his side for a solid 15 minutes.

Brooke, on the other hand, loved the donkey.

Oh, and this puppy.  I feel sort of guilty when I see her interacting with dogs because I have zero interest in a dog, but I also feel like I would literally hate it.  So, maybe I can just be the thoughtful mom that takes her to play with other's peoples's animals, right??

McKayla had to leave around 1, but Kiley and I stayed for another hour and chatted while our kids played in a somewhat dirty inflatable bounce house/slide combination. They were having the time of their lives, and since it was such a beautiful Spring day, we soaked it up as much as possible.

That afternoon, we had also planned to meet up with Jen and Brooks Taggart at the new PlayGrand park in Grand Prairie. I was feeling a little crispy from our morning adventure, so I sprayed sunscreen on all of our arms.  My back was also partially exposed, but I was worried about running my shirt by spraying sunscreen, but that was a big mistake. I was fried by the time we got home!

But the kids had fun playing together, especially Colby and Brooks.  They usually but heads a bit, so this pairing kind of surprised me. They played forever together, and Brooke would kind of pop in and out of their play.  She also ran into a boy from school, so she had fun playing with him as well.  But since they weren't always together, I was more paranoid about watching them separately.  The park was huge, so it didn't feel overly crowded, but the sheer number of people sort of worried me.  How easy would it be for someone to grab my child?  Just the thought of it makes me get a pit in my stomach.

I'll just try not to think about that, and instead leave you with a picture of these buddies...

On Thursday, we met up with Tracy and Danielle and their kiddos for a fun adventure at the Cedar Ridge Preserve.  We had never been before, despite it being only 20 minutes from our house, but we will definitely be going back.  We chose a trail about a mile long, and the kids all did really well.  Little Finley wanted to be carried a lot, so poor Tracy really got her workout.  I offered to help carry him, but he only wanted his mama or big brother, Cooper.

The whole crew...

Brooke, Nora, and Colby...

We made it to the top and the view was beautiful!!  Texas is so flat, so it's nice to gain a little altitude and see far into the distance.

I also snapped a quick picture of Tracy and her crew.  I guess Danielle had Brookie take their family picture :)

Then we started our descent. I liked being in the back of the pack and observing all those little ones just marching along.  Hearing their conversations was also pretty adorable.

And of course the minute I asked my kids to take a picture, this is what I get.  But jokes on them because I still really love the picture, haha.

The trail led us to a little lake, which of course intrigued the kids.  They played with sticks, threw rocks, and wandered around the perimeter of the small lake.

On our hike back, we stopped at a little stream and the kids waded around in the water.  It was pretty muddy at parts, but that didn't stop them from playing.  Brooke just found a spot to sit and eat grapes, and I didn't blame her.  I don't think she wanted to put shoes and socks back on wet feet, haha.

The hike back up was a little harder (naturally), and Colby asked me to carry him a few different times.  I told him that I really couldn't since I also had on a backpack, but he was able to power through, which made me proud of my little buddy.

Brooke hiked like a champ, complete with her little clutch.  She was SURE she needed to bring a few things on our hike, and since it matched her hat, it was "perfect."  (Those Tic-Tacs actually did come in handy to motivate the littlest hikers!) When she was sick of holding the clutch, she hung it off her stick, which was pretty ingenious if you ask me :)  But she did look like a little vagabond.

When we made it back to our starting point, we found some picnic tables, laid out a blanket, and enjoyed a beautiful picnic together. I love these girls so much, and it was nice to just sit and chat while the kids all played together.  I literally could have stayed for the rest of the day.  Perfect weather and even better company!

On Friday, we met up with the Funderburks at the library. I loved all our time outside during the week, but it was REALLY nice to have an indoor activity on a rainy day. We spent probably 4 hours there, which meant that the kids had plenty of time to play with each other, check out the games on the computer, and select gigantic stacks of books.  I had lots of time to chat with my friend Mandy, so it was a win for everyone! 

While we were at the library, I received an email stating that due to the novel corona virus (COVID-19), schools were going to be cancelled for the next two weeks in an effort to help "flatten the curve". The virus has already taken the lives of thousands of people in China, where the virus originated, and cases were starting to pop up in the US. We also received an email from the Church stating that church services would be cancelled for the next few weeks, so this whole virus thing was starting to get pretty real. 

I wasn't feeling scared about everything, but I was really curious about how long this would all last!