Cameron Park Zoo

Today we met our friends Nabeel, Julianne, and their kids Naser, Nadia, and Naila in Waco for lunch and a fun trip to the Cameron Park Zoo.  Nabeel and Julianne live in the north Austin area so it was about an hour and 15 minute drive for both of us which was perfect for meeting in the middle! 

 

Cory and Nabeel met their first semester at Texas A&M and have been great friends ever since.  We don't get to see them very often so we were excited when we were able to coordinate our busy schedules and spend the day together at the zoo.  We could not have asked for better weather and the kids had a great time hanging out with each other.  What a blessing that they all get along so well!

I have never been to the zoo in Waco and I was quite impressed.  It is smaller than the FW Zoo but still had all of the normal animals you would see at a larger zoo (elephants, lions, giraffes).  They also had several unique animals like bison and pelicans.  The boys liked the snake exhibit and all 6 kids loved the aquarium.  They only animal they didn't have a lot of was monkeys, which would not have been a problem except that Lily has been talking about the monkeys for days.  Every time I mentioned going to the zoo, she would tell me she wanted to see the monkeys, so I felt sad that she did not get to see very many of them.

Halfway through the park, we stopped for a little break and treated the kids to a Lemon Chill.  My kids have never had one before and although it was their first, I'm pretty sure it won't be their last! 

One thing I loved about this zoo was that it had lots of areas where the kids could stop and play and take a break from walking.  There were slides to go down, animals to climb on, and ropes to swing from!  The zoo was big, but not too big.  Perfect for a few hours of fun!

It was such a fun, family day!  The kids were all on their best behavior (even Lily, who had to miss her nap this afternoon) which always makes for a good day!  I'm excited that we have found somewhere halfway to meet Nabeel's family and look forward to doing this again with them soon! 

Halloween 2012

Halloween turned out completely different than we had planned this year, but we still ended up having a fun evening and got way too much candy that I'm having a hard time not eating! 

Cory took off work early so he would be home in enough time to go trick or treating with the kids, but it turned out it didn't matter.  He came home from work with aches, chills and a fever of 102 degrees and went straight to bed as soon as he walked in the door.  My parents have relatives from Ohio visiting all week so that left ME to take the kids trick or treating. 

The kids were so excited about their costumes this year- Spider-Man, Snow White and Dorothy.

After an early dinner, we got dressed and headed out to the Trunk or Treat at a local church.  We've never been to this particular Trunk or Treat but I've heard that it gets crazy as the evening goes on, so I wanted to get there right when it started.   It was already busy when we arrived, so I pleaded with Parker and Eden to stay close to me so I wouldn't lose anyone.  I have to give them a lot of praise because they were perfect!  They stayed right with me and never wandered off and obeyed every time I asked them to do something.  It was stressful, but not nearly as stressful as I thought.  They enjoyed walking around to each trunk to get candy and then we went inside to play some games.  Surprisingly, they all participated in the games without any tears and were so excited about some of the prizes they won!  I was most excited about the whistles they all got, especially when we got back into the car! Ha! Ha!

 Nothing says Happy Halloween like a llama!

Fishing for treasures

After the Trunk or Treat, we went to a few of our friends houses.  I think the worst part of the evening was getting the girls in and out of their car seats by myself so many times.  It's amazing how annoying those costumes can be when trying to buckle a carseat! 

In the car, Eden practiced really hard saying "Trick or Treat" instead of "Shrick or Shreat" but finally chose to say "Happy Halloween!" to our friends.  It got her some candy, which in the end is the only thing that mattered!

Lily couldn't decide which piece of candy to eat, so she just chose them all!!!

We ended our evening at Granna and Granstan's house.  The kids and I were sad that Daddy didn't get to come with us, but we ended up having a fun evening together!  I was proud of myself for surviving the night without any help and have gained a huge admiration for single parents who do this on a daily basis.  The evening didn't turn out as planned but I wouldn't change anything about it!  Now if I can just stay out of the candy bowl!!

Eden's Community Helper Fair

Today Eden had her Community Helper Fair at preschool.  They have been learning about community helpers all month and they always end the unit by dressing up as a community helper (she dressed up as an optometrist, of course!) and pretending to do some of the jobs that can be found in their neighborhood. 

 

I was not sure how Eden would react to the different stations (because let's face it- we all know that she is not always a willing participant in new activities!), but she did GREAT!  She got to be paired with one of her favorite classmates, Noah, and had a fun time with him at the fair.  Not one tear was shed and it was nice for me to get to see her interact with other students in a school setting.  She is thriving in Miss Tammy's class this year which is such a comfort when you have a child who is painfully shy. 

 Some of the "jobs" that she enjoyed today were grocery shopper,

 construction worker,

 garbage collector,

 musician,

 baker (which she told me was her favorite!),

 and dentist.

She looked so cute in her almost-too-small, hand-me-down Cleburne Eye Clinic scrubs.  I'm so thankful she had such a great time at the fair!  What a fun way to end community helper month!

Trip's Birthday Party

This past weekend was Parker's best buddy, Trip's, birthday.  Parker spent the night with him on Friday night and then enjoyed celebrating at his birthday party on Sunday.  Trip lives out in the country on 6 acres of land with lots of trees, which I think is every boys dream!  He had so much fun playing with Trip and his other good friend, Cole, at the party.  They ran, climbed trees, rode 4 wheelers, and used plastic swords to fight each other. Trip's mom commented that she didn't even need the pinata (which Parker loved!) because they kept themselves entertained the entire 2 1/2 hours we were there.

The Three Musketeers (Cole, Parker & Trip)

I am so thankful that Parker has already made a few really sweet friends.  I hope that they will remain good friends throughout the years.  Happy Birthday, Trip!  We hope you had a great day!

Gerard Fall Festival

Last Friday night was the annual Fall Festival at my school.  We've always taken the kids to support my school, but this is the first year that I had to be there because I signed up to work the booth in Parker's classroom.  Parker was spending the night with a friend so he missed out, but I'm pretty sure he was having a great time at Trip's house and didn't mind missing it!

 

My shift was from 7-8, so Cory and I decided to take the girls early to let them play some of the games before Cory took them home and I stayed to work my shift.  They were very excited before we left the house and even let me take a picture of them together, which doesn't happen often these days. 

I knew Lily would try all of the festival games, but you just never know with Eden.  Sometimes you can catch lightning in a bottle and she will participate, but she usually just cries and wants you to hold her.  Luckily, we caught her on a good day and as long as I was standing close by, she willingly participated in all the games!  It is so much more fun taking her places when she has fun! Some of their favorites were the lollipop pull, digging for treasures, and fishing. 

For the first time since I've been teaching at Gerard, I participated in the silent auction and WON!  The kindergarten teachers auctioned off "Bedtime Stories with the Kindergarten Teachers", where they will come to our house one night and read Parker, Eden and Lily a bedtime story.  I know they are going to love that, especially Parker!  Who wouldn't have loved their teacher to come to their house when they were little?  Plus, that means I don't have to read bedtime stories one night.  Sounds like a win/win to me!!!

Buddy Walk



Last weekend, we went to the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk in Arlington.  Aunt Emily had to help in a booth with the company she works for, so I took the oldest 4 kids around for some fun and games.  There were bounce houses, games, and nachos for lunch!  Parker, Addison, and Aubrey all had a great time.  Eden spent most of her time crying and begging me to hold her.  She didn't want to play any of the games or even jump in the bounce houses.  I finally got her to find her "happy heart" after offering her a piece of candy. 

Emily's company brought a fire truck and let the kids use the fire hose to "put out a fire".  After lunch, Parker, Addison, and Aubrey enjoyed exploring the fire truck and shooting the hose.  Eden wanted nothing to do with that and was perfectly content to sit and eat her nachos.

Despite the meltdowns by Eden, we all ended up having a good time while supporting a great cause!  The weather was nice and the kids enjoyed hanging out with each other.  I am glad Emily asked us to join her for a fun day!