Play Ball

It is that time of year again...baseball season! Harper is playing his first round of CAYB Spring Ball. He played in the Fall, but it was totally different. Spring is very serious...even for a 5 year old. We had try-outs and a then a draft. Cam is the assistant coach and Harper is loving that one on one time with his daddy.

He is learning to make new friends because his buddies are all on different teams this year. We can't wait to play LSU and Texas A&M!!

Harper is on the Florida State Seminoles which is calls the "Cinnamon Rolls!" SO SO sweet and  innocent. He played short stop in his first scrimmage and game. They have won both of their games by a significant amount. I hope they keep this up for the rest of the season. Most of these pics are from Opening Ceremonies. There was a carnival fundraiser before all of the scrimmages. Huddy got to tag along and LOVED spectating!!

With practice two days a week plus a game during the week,
ya'll know where to find me this spring......

Rodeo Round-Up

Giddy about Rodeo Round up!!

Sneak Peek

The Houston Zoo

We ended our Spring Break with a trip to the Houston Zoo.  My parents have been wanting to take the boys for a while now and it finally worked out. We were a little apprehensive about going over Spring Break because we thought all of Texas and Mexico might be there. We were pleasantly surprised with with the crowds.

Overall the kids were pretty good, they just love there Addy so darn much. Hudson cried the first 45 minutes at the zoo because she could not hold him. She is having some shoulder trouble from holding him so much while we were on vacation... I might need to put these boys on a diet! He at a meltdown at the entrance and laid on the ground. Like a very mature parent, I took pictures.

He finally calmed down when I popped out the animal crackers.  We walked around for about 2 hours and checked out the different exhibits. Harper enjoyed everything especially the cotton candy and dippin' dots! The boys couldn't see much from the strollers, the fence seemed to always block their view.

We stopped and had our delicious lunch of uncrustables on a park bench. I love that the zoo lets you bring in your own food so that you don't have to stand in long lines and pay $7.50 for a bottle of water. My favorite exhibit was the giraffes, there was a baby giraffe! Oh my goodness it was tiny, only as tall as my expedition! It was seriously so cute!

Before heading home we rode the train around Hermann Park. This was probably everyones favorite part. Thanks A & P for a fun filled day!!

Great Wolf Lodge

We started our Spring Break a wee bit early. We surprised Harper on Thursday morning and had our bags packed ready to head to Dallas. Harper got to play hooky from school and he was so excited!! As soon as we got in the car he began asking, "How much longer?!" I think he would now say that the trip was worth the 4 hours in the car. We hit the jackpot in Fairfield, TX. There was a Sonic with a HUGE playground....SO awesome. It was gated and had a covered pavilion with picnic tables. We played there for over an hour and ate lunch. The boys were exhausted and napped the rest of the way to Dallas.

We arrived at Great Wolf Lodge around 2pm and our room was ready! Check in was not until 4 but you can use the water park at 1pm. We were excited to see our room and then headed straight to the pool. The park is an 84 -degree indoor water park. The kids splashed around in the kiddie area and wave pool until about 6. It was a little nerve racking the first hour. It is hard to keep your eye on 4 kids in the water!! Since the kids didn't get a full nap we ate dinner and then put them to bed at their usual 7pm bedtime. I stayed in the dark room while Cam and Harper went to the arcade for an hour. Then we switched and I took Harper to the water park until it closed at 9pm. We had so much fun, just the 2 of us. I can't tell you the last time we did something this fun, alone. We swam 50+ laps in lazy river, it had just enough current that he was able to "swim." I could hardly keep up. My feet were raw the next day from pushing off of the bottom! We all slept great that night!!

The next morning we woke up and headed to meet the Beals for breakfast. We opted for the sprinkled donuts, don't judge, we were on vacation!! They have 3 girls and we have 4 boys, so SEVEN kids between us!! We lived next door to them when we first got married and lived in Waco. We have always kept in touch and usually see them throughout the year, but #3 and #4 have slowed us down a little bit!!

We spent the rest of the day splashing around in the pools with our kiddos. Harper and Brookelyn hit it off immediately and had the best time in the wave pool. Before we left the lodge we took turns watching all of the kids while the couples went and rode the Howlin Tornado and Alberta Falls. It was fun to get some kid free time even if it was only for 10 minutes.

We left the lodge and drove to Lucas where Courtney and Bailey recently moved. We couldn't wait to finally catch up and actually talk. I told Cam it felt like we hadn't really talked with them yet, (even though we spent the entire day together) we were just "talking at them." I guess that is what happens when you are responsible for seven kiddos!

I love Courtney and Bailey for so many reasons, but they are probably one of the only families that we could go of vacation with and it still feel like a vacation with all of our kiddos. The kids were SO SO SO good and we even lost an hour of sleep because of daylight savings. They played really well together which made it really nice. We stayed at their house for the rest of the weekend and played with every toy inside and outside! My boys were in heaven with so many new toys to explore.

The Beals were gracious hosts, super cooks, and had the most precious girls!! We left their house completely turned upside down!! It was certainly a sign of a good time! Until next time...