Nay Nay and Papa's Visit

Nay Nay and Papa came to Texas mid-April, and we had lots of fun adventures together.  Although I send them almost daily pictures of the kids, I know they cherished the time they had with Brooke and Colby.  California is just too far away!

We spent a LOT of time at the park.  It is just so darn convenient to walk out the front door and across the street. 

Papa loves to tickle Brooke and I love Brooke's expression in this picture.  It has been fun seeing my Dad transition to "Papa".  He always loved to play and tease us as kids, and it's no different with his grandkids. 

Colby had his first popsicle, and as evidenced by his death grip, he wasn't so sure about sharing.

Mom is an early riser, and most mornings she would sneak into my room when she heard Colby so that I could continue sleeping.  She truly is a gem :)

One day we headed up to the Sea Life Aquarium in Grapevine.  I didn't have super high expectations, but it was actually really great.  It's no Monterey Bay Aquarium, but it was the perfect size for a toddler outing, and we practically had the whole place to ourselves.

They had a really cool section where you could touch a starfish, sea sponge, etc.  You had to put your hand pretty far into the water, so I think Brooke only touched one critter, then she was content to watch me touch everything.

We enjoyed a little food court lunch, which included Brooke's favorite thing: milkshakes!

I guess this can be expected when I am 4 months behind in blogging...but Colby looks so little!  Mom loved every minute of holding this cute boy.  

We had a few more park outings, which I miss right now.  It has been 100 degrees for what feels like an eternity.

Brooke was excited to show Nay Nay how she can crack those eggs.  It's always a mess, but I love that she wants to be right there helping out.

We headed to Fort Worth one afternoon to watch the cattle run.  I have wanted to do that ever since we moved to Texas, but for some reason have never checked that off the list.  This seemed like the perfect opportunity. I knew that they had longhorn outside the rodeo hall, so as we made the drive, I asked Brooke if she wanted to sit on a long horn.  She said that she did, but I really figured she would change her mind once she saw the size of the beast, haha.  But, my girl surprised me. 

Brooke had the perfect seat to watch those longhorns march down the street.  

Then it was on to the petting zoo.  Brooke just kept surprising me.  She was fearless when it came to feeding the animals, even though they were slobbering all over her hands.  She was laughing and having a great time.  The lady in charge counseled me to keep the cup of feed behind my back so that the animals couldn't get to it, and there really were goats and llamas that would lean way over the fence and try to grab it from my hand.  Towards the end, when we were about ready to leave, I put the cup out for a goat to eat from, and from behind the goat, the llama grabbed the cup from my hand, tipped his head back, dumped all the remaining feed into his mouth, and dropped the cup back over the fence.  I was dying laughing, haha.  He's clearly done that before!

It really was a great week with my parents and I wish more than anything that they lived closer.  I keep asking them to move to Texas, so maybe one day my wish will come true.  In the meantime, I will cherish their visits and the time we are able to spend together.