Dallas trip

Since we missed out during the holidays, I took the kids for a little trip to Grammy and Papa's house for a week. the weather cooperated and we and a great time. We got to go new places that even I had never been and it was fun to explore and see new things. The kids had fun but missed their dad and got a little homesick for their own beds... I realized it was MUCH easier to travel when Caitlin was a baby and just bring her along than it is with 3 kids being uprooted and new schedule and new place. But it was worth it. They loved all the exciting things at Grammy and Papa's though, primarily the cats. They noticed there were dragons everywhere and kept asking why everyone liked green dragons so much?!

The plane trips were a source of major anxiety for me... first time to fly alone with the three. I'm happy to report it went amazingly. I was prepared with an ipad for both older kids and movies and lots of snacks and they were happy to watch them. We had a direct flight and we were seated close to the bathrooms. Nolan discovered the plane bathroom was pretty fun so he took lots of potty breaks which worked out well because I was afraid of him peeing his pants anyways. Caitlin was a great helper and treated the whole plane to a Frozen sing along as she watched in her ipad with her headphones (they worked so great she couldn't even hear herself). Maverick was a dream.... I had him in front of me in the baby carrier the whole time and he loved it. the constant snuggling was a win/win and he took some good naps and was happy and just perfect.

Some things we enjoyed:
-Dallas World Aquarium (Really should be re-named the rainforest museum because it was like a rain forest inside filled with all kinds if different animals all over the place. We got up close and personal with a sloth, monkeys, a black panther, and even a bird that bit Caitlin's finger!)

-hot tubbing every night (my parents just got a big hot tub for the backyard and we got in almost every night. It was heavenly!)
-Paddington Bear Movie, lunch and playing at Central Market
-Southlake Town Square (Had to run a few errands, visited the old stomping grounds and a few stores, then grabbed lunch)




-Texas Discovery Gardens (Gardens outside and a butterfly house inside! We saw lots of different types of butterflies and also listened to one of the workers and learned a lot about different types of butterflies and watched them get released! The weather was beautiful so after the butterfly house we walked around the gardens and had a picnic lunch.)

-wagon rides and playing with Papa (My dad watched the two older kids for a few hours while my mom and I went out. The kids were in heaven helping Papa in the yard and getting wagon rides. They took turns going down the big hill in front of my parents' house and did it probably a million times)
-Dallas Zoo (The Dallas Zoo was huge and a great zoo! We didn't even see everything there, but we did see lots of exciting things. My kids are 100% animal lovers and mixed with a beautiful sunny day it was wonderful! We had a great time walking around and exploring.)