Spring Break 2016

When the kids' school closed for spring break, we headed down to Austin for a week full of fun. 

We were able to make it down on Saturday in time to celebrate Henry's fourth birthday, and the Ninja Turtles-themed party was so much fun!

Cupcake: 1. Clothes: 0. (I feel the same way about cupcakes, buddy.)

Then it was time to settle in at Bunny and Nello's house.

We spent Sunday playing at Grampsie and Nana's house… 

Before heading back to Bunny and Nello's to enjoy the last bit of daylight outside with a ride on the tire swing hung by her great-grandfather more than 20 years ago. 

And as Av and Ry were headed to bed, I joined some friends for drinks and a lovely dinner at Gusto. 

On Monday and Tuesday I had to work from the Austin office, and my parents watched (and spoiled) the kiddos. 

Monday with Bunny...

And Tuesday with Grampsie...

Bless them.

I was even able to meet up with Lauren on Tuesday night for tapas (and lots of talk about Baby Girl Reach!) at Barlata.

On Wednesday, my Mom and I took the kids to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, which was amazing! It is basically the Texas Hill Country version of the Dallas Arboretum, complete with a new family garden area. Bonus points for amazing weather during our little adventure. 

The best bluebonnet pic we could get. What can you do?

The Wildflower Center is such a cool place, and I would totally become a member if we lived in Austin.

By far the coolest part was seeing this poster, painted by my Nanny, still on sale in the gift shop. 

After a little nap, we headed back over to Grampsie and Nana's for dinner. And dessert…because: grandparents.

On Thursday, I headed back to Dallas and my Mom kept the kids for two more nights (if it wasn't already clear, grandparents are seriously the best). 

Bunny and Aunt Bee took them on an outing to the Austin Nature & Science Center, which brings back such wonderful childhood memories.

Meanwhile in Dallas, I was dealing with a dishwasher install fiasco; air conditioner repair; and lots of hammering, measuring, and hanging.

But don't worry, we managed to have some fun as well. 

Exhibit A: Date lunch on Friday at Ida Claire.

Exhibit B: A lovely 3.5-hour nap, which was much needed after all the crazy hours at work lately.

All of that plus a relaxing weekend at home with the kids made for quite a fabulous spring break.

Dinosaur World Field Trip

Each month the kids' school focuses on a different theme, and the theme for March was dinosaurs (which has only increased Rylan's fascination with the creatures). To kick off the month, they organized a field trip to Dinosaur World in Glen Rose, Texas.

We started off our visit by taking the "dinosaur walk," which featured 150 life-sized dinosaurs around the 20-acre property. The kids loved pointing out all the different dinos, and it was truly amazing to imagine those large creatures roaming around back in the day.

Then it was time for a fossil dig.

Followed by a little picnic lunch.

Then the kids ran off some energy on the fun prehistoric-themed playground.

Finally, we made our way through the fossil museum, which also included several animatronic dinosaur displays.

Rylan legit thought that these dinosaurs were real!

Despite the 1.5 hour drive, we had a great time, and I definitely recommend the trip for your dinosaur-loving kids. And between Dinosaur World, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, and Dinosaur Valley State Park, you could even spend a whole weekend in the cute little Texas town.