Vacation

Last weekend we went on our first (and last) family vacation as a family of four. We went to Grapevine Texas, where we went to the mall, the rainforest cafe and met a friend from high school and her husband and their new baby. The next day we went to the Great Wolf Lodge where we had a blast playing at the water park. Our girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and they were on their best behavior the whole weekend. It was a wonderful vacation full of many happy memories that I hope our girls will cherish. The weekend was better than I expected. It was really hard for me to wrap my brain around the next time we go on vacation we will have another baby. That brings all kinds of feelings up, but I know the new baby will only add to the joy and fun of our family.
We rode the train at the mall. This train actually rides around the mall. It was a lot of stop and go though because it was tax free weekend so there were many, many people there.

We ate dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe. We sat right next to the elephants. Abigail was pretty apprehensive about it. She kept asking if they were real so I told her they weren't. But she wasn't convinced since they moved around so much. Sarah didn't seem to mind though, in fact, I think she felt right at home.

The balloon man and the highlight of the dinner made Sarah a puppy, which she held on to much of the weekend.

Abigail had a princess crown made and she loved wearing it back to the hotel.

At the Great Wolf Lodge the girls would pass this big bear on the way to the hotel room and they would always have to hug it as we would go by.

Sarah did not enjoy the slides very much but she liked relaxing with Daddy or playing in the shallow water. Her favorite part of the waterpark was the outdoor park. I think she liked it because it was warmer and there was more space for her to move without water splashing in her face. She was so easy going and happy on this trip. I would ask "Do you want to take a nap?" and she would reply "yes" and we would go back up to our room without her resisting. When it was time to leave she didn't need any convincing. She was ready to go! At the end of the trip I was following Sarah around in the baby pool and she took my hand and lead me out of the pool to a chair and told me to sit. I guess I was embarassing her or I was in her space. I sat down and watched her and she had fun playing make believe all by herself.

Abigail on one of the jet skis.

Abigail on one of the slides.

Abigail loved going on all the slides. Josh and I would take turns taking her on all the them. Abigail never slowed down making sure to get in as much fun as possible. I think she thought she owned the water park because she would just take off and leave us in the dust. She never minded if there was water in her eyes, and of course she would make friends whenever she could. I was surprised that once we rode one slide Abigail had no fear about riding any of them. I could see that she was really proud of herself and that she felt really old.

A day of art projects

The final product. A mosaic butterfly.

Sarah concentrating very intently.

I forgot to post this a few weeks ago. Since it had been so hot we did some art projects inside. As you can see Sarah refused to wear a shirt while she painted. Abigail did not paint long but she did love putting stickers on a jewelry box that Aunt Kim had bought her for Christmas. They both sat at the table for at least an hour and a half. It was a very relaxing morning. I was impressed with how well they kept their attention focused on the task at hand.

Fun in the Sun

The girls enjoyed popsicles and playing with Landon's Escalade tonight. I love the way they propped themselves up on the hood of the car and ate their ice cream. Look at Sarah's leg...maybe magazine covershots are in her future.

Here is a picture of all the neighborhood friends, that the girls love to play with. Every night they can't wait to finish eating so we can go outside and play. (It is the only time I will go out with them even though right now it is 105 degrees which is not very appealing to me.) The girls will pass up Cherry Berry or anything else to go play outside with their friends. This night they were playing garbage man, which was going around picking up trash (toys) and putting them in the wagon that was attached to Landon's Escalade. Sarah loves driving the Escalade. Although she is a little scary at the wheel, she is getting better everyday. I love having such wonderful friends as neighbors who help brighten our days.

Sarah and her puppies

Sarah loves her puppies. She is always carrying one around either cuddling with it or dragging it on a leash. She has always loved animals and she even dragged one on a leash to Abigail's school almost everyday. Sarah also is inclined to line items up and to collect items. The other morning she found all of her puppies, lined them up and was reading and singing songs to them like they were her students. It was so sweet. As you can see Sarah has a lot of puppies but don't tell her that because she loves each of them and she knows when she is missing one.