SeaLife Aquarium & Legoland

This past weekend we got to keep the boys for a couple of days while Jason & Kristin headed up to Washington D.C. for the weekend with her family.  Originally we wanted to take them to the dinosaur exhibit at the Museum of Nature and Science but then realized it was opening weekend of the State Fair and didn't want to battle those crowds.  We had also talked about taking them to the SeaLife Aquarium and Legoland at Grapevine Mills sometime and figured now was as good a time as any!

We started the day at the SeaLife Aquarium which was pretty neat.  I wish we could have spent alittle more time looking at things but I guess a fish is a fish so it may not have been too exciting for them.  I felt like I was stuck behind my camera the whole time so we'll have to go back another time without the boys and check it out for ourselves.  Here are a few pictures from SeaLife...

They had tons of these bubbles in the aquariums where the kids could get inside.

This is the 360 degree tunnel.  Andrew would not walk across without the help of his Nay-Nay.

Aaron in front of a big skeleton

These are small tanks where the kids can touch real sea creatures

(mostly starfish and small crabs)



After SeaLife, we grabbed some pizza at the food court then headed over to Legoland.  Now, I have to admit, I may have been more excited about Legoland.  Ever since I was little, I have had this love of legos.  My brother had 4 huge tubs filled with legos that we would dump on a blanket, scrape through and build stuff.  He was the more creative one that didn't use the instruction booklets, where my Type A personality took over and I followed the instruction booklets step by step.  I have always told Shane that if we had a boy, his room would probably be decorated with legos at some point.  I am also excited because they now make pink legos!  I can't wait to get a box of my own!

When you first arrive they make you wait in this small area before going into the Lego Workshop where a guy sort of walks everyone through the steps of making legos.  After that you go on this ride where you sit in a cart and try to shoot different screens and objects to get points. Once you're in Legoland, it's a free for all on various activities including a big playground area, a 4D movie (which we didn't see), miniland (a huge room filled with miniature versions of buildings in downtown Dallas, Grapevine, Arlington, etc), a race car area where you can build your own car then race it down these ramps, and other places to build items with various lego pieces.  They also have another ride where the faster you peddle, the higher you go.  The boys definitely seem more entertained in Legoland so we spent a couple of hours there.  They force you to walk through their store on your way out so we picked up another bucket of legos to take home and let Aaron pick out a keychain and little Lego man.  Here are a few pictures from Legoland...

Waiting to go inside

Riding a Lego motorcycle

  

Both boys on a Lego giraffe

We had a great time with our little Booger and Peanut this weekend!

September Recap

Wow!  I am really behind on my blogging.  September has been uneventful but filled with many birthday celebrations.  Our family is overwhelmed with birthdays this month so it is probably in our best interest to not have a child in September or they could get overlooked.  :)  The birthdays started on September 13 with Shane (that is also the same day as my cousin, Casey's, birthday).  Our parents chipped in to get him a new infrared grill and I purchased a few utensils and supplies to go with it. 

My sweet nephew, Aaron, celebrated his 5th birthday on September 21.  He had his first birthday party with friends at Main Event this past weekend and I tagged along to get some pictures.

 Birthday Boy



Andrew "Kingpin" James

He had the highest score!

Blowing out his candles

Mom and Dad with their grandsons

My birthday was Saturday (which I share with my grandfather who celebrated 95 this year).  Shane got me a couple of Vera Bradley hipster purses and the first 3 seasons of the show "Parks and Recreation" for my iPod.  Saturday night we went out to celebrate all of our September birthdays at Nico's Cocina (and watched a disappointing Aggie loss). 

This weekend we get to keep my nephews for a couple of nights so we are planning a day at the Museum of Nature and Science and the Children's Museum complete with a trip on the DART rail and possibly lunch in the West End. 

Next month we are taking a trip to Georgia/Alabama to see our little princess play soccer at Jacksonville State and plan to spend a day at the Texas State Fair stuffing ourselves with fried foods.  Hopefully I will have more to blog about in October!  Happy Fall!

The Dragon in my Life

Today is Shane's first day at his new school!  He is really excited to be working at Southlake Carroll High School teaching GT English I & II.  On Friday I was able to go up to the school to see his new room and go to lunch with some of the teachers he will be working with this year. 

This is the first time in 18 years he will not be coaching soccer.  In fact, he has hung up the cleats and "retired" from coaching soccer all together.  It will be a huge change in our lives since we will not have to schedule everything around January - April or club games/practices throughout the week.  It's going to allow Shane to focus on finishing grad school plus we'll be able to spend more time together!

Go Dragons!

Renovation Update #2

Our front landscape border was finally completed last night!  The hot weather and the rain (believe it or not) delayed the installation the last few weekends.  It really makes the front yard look alittle cleaner and more organized (which I love).  All we have to do now is add some dirt and plant a few flowers around the tree and in between some of the existing bushes. 

Before

After

Shay's Wedding

This past weekend Shane and I went up to Reno to see my little cousin, Shay, get married.  The weather up in Reno was a nice change from the heat of Texas.  It was in the low 60's in the morning, mid 90's in the afternoon and then a nice mid 70's in the evening.  We tried to spend as much time outside as we could just so we could enjoy the cooler temperatures.

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner so we got to spend some time with all of my cousins.  They have all grown up so quickly!

 Tara (14) and Brooke (16)

Me and Shay

The wedding was Saturday night at this country club just south of Reno.  The view was beautiful!

Dusek Family 

Shay and Morgan



It's hard to believe Shay is married.  We spent alot of time together growing up so I always remember him as this little boy that I babysit during the summer while our moms went to work.  I am so proud of the man he has become and know he is going to be a great husband, and father one day.

Christmas 1987



Renovation Update

Project #2 was completed yesterday with the installation of our new shower door.  There was not anything wrong with our other shower door, but we tried to replace this small piece that had worn down and they apparently did not make it anymore (or after several attempts at various stores and online we could not locate the part).  After some discussion and deciding that we absolutely despised the brass color, we decided to replace the entire door.  We felt it was a change we eventually wanted to make so we might as well pull the trigger.  Shane called a few places and got some quotes before settling on a company out of Frisco. 

All in all, we love the new door!  It is alittle taller than the other shower door and the opening to the door is flipped so we can easily get to our towels hanging on the hook.  Slowly we will start to change out all of the fixtures and bathroom accessories over the next few months to match the brushed nickel finish.

                 Old Door                                                                   New Door

One year and counting!

It's hard to believe, but just one year ago today, Shane and I were signing the papers for our new home.  Despite the obstacles and challenges we faced with purchasing this house, it was all worth the two moves, living out of boxes for 4 months and the constant fear that we would be without a place to call "home".  We can't thank my parents enough for allowing us to "crash" in their house during our limbo.  If we didn't have a place to stay, I'm not sure what we would have done.  I know Aspen appreciated having a pool during the hot summer months last year (I think he wishes we were staying there again this summer!)

Since it's been a year, we felt it was time to do a few home improvement projects that are not necessary but something we wanted to do since it will be our home for many, many, many years to come.  :)

First we had to replace the roof.  Note: this was not something we wanted to do, but needed to do because of the many rain/hail storms during the spring.  Apparently the roofs in our neighborhood were not of the highest quality when the homes were built 10 years ago so the last few months we have seen over a dozen homes getting a new roof.

Next we replaced the front and back doors.  Prior to moving in, we learned that both doors had been kicked in by the prior owners because they forgot their keys on several occasions.  This left the door jams in bad condition and required alot of pushing and pulling to get them open and locked/unlocked.  We also decided to add a storm door to the front to help with insulation and storm damage since our patio is so shallow.

This next week we are getting a new shower door in the master bath and shutters put on the back door.  We are also getting paver stones along the flower beds in our front and back yard.  After that we are going to replace all of the door knobs throughout the house with brushed nickel (they are currently brass) and then look into replacing all of the bathroom fixtures with brushed nickel.

I hope to have updated pictures of our "renovation" progress to show everyone once all projects are completed.  Until then, here's a shot of the house we had to go through hell to get and couldn't be happier! 

I have to point out that our yard looks ten times better than this photo (even though it doesn't look that bad).  The house sat empty without much yard maintenance for 9 months so it was in desperate need of some TLC.  Shane has spent numerous hours pulling weeds and crab grass since the spring.  It does take alittle longer to mow than Cemetery Hill but Shane seems to enjoy the yard work.  He definitely has the green thumb in this relationship!