Perot and Pizza (Spring Break day 5)

Our last full day of Spring Break we headed to downtown Dallas to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.  It is a great childrens' museum with floors full of experiments.  The first hit of the day was a computer simulation where you are a predator or prey and you have to try to pick adaptations to help you survive.  Your opponent also picks their adaptations and you see who would survive.  John and I had fun playing the game and then the kids had to give it a try a couple of times.  
Other experiments that we enjoyed were the earthquake simulator, the musical stairs and an experiment where you could race against a dinosaur, cheetah or an olympic sprinter.  The kids did this experiment many times and also enjoyed getting to race against each other.   Ella also loved the room with all of the gem stones in it.  It was a great and educational way to spend our day. 
After the museum we went on the recommendation of a friend to a restaurant called Fireside Pies.  It was definitely our favorite food stop in Dallas.  Fireside makes delicious wood oven pizzas.  I had a pizza with heirloom tomatoes and basil that was amazing!  We also really enjoyed a salad that John, Ella and I shared.  It had four blends of delicious cheese and a spicy dressing.  It is three months later and John and I are still talking about the food!  I couldn't go to Dallas and not get a Sprinkles cupcake.  Since we were stuffed from dinner we decided to just get some to save for later.  I had never been before but had seen them featured on the Food Network and many of my friends' facebook pages.  I will say that they were also very yummy (I had the strawberry and tried a bite of John's lemon) and it is a good thing we do not have a location close by our home.  It was a great last day in Dallas.  

My pizza at Fireside Pies! 

Someone is happy to get a cupcake! 

John and Sam inside the museum with a view of downtown Dallas. 

Ella learning about the weight of a bowling ball on the different planets. 

Playing on the predator v prey simulator. 

Ella loved the gems

Watching the pieces of wood move to match her body movements. 

Ella and Sam racing the t-rex. 

Dallas Arboretum (Spring Break day 4)

This day was the part of the trip I had been looking forward to most and it did not disappoint.  The kids and I woke up early and they got in some last minute swimming before our check out at The Great Wolf Lodge.   Then we all headed to a yummy breakfast at a place recommended to us by Uncle Jono; The Original Pancake House and then we headed to another place he and Laura recommended, The Dallas Arboretum!  The Arboretum was absolutely beautiful!

I was already taking pictures of a few tulips in the entry way and people were kind of looking at me strangely.  That is because I didn't know the vast amount of tulips that were waiting for us inside those gates.  We met a nice old man who introduced himself to us and told us what a great family we had.  He then got us into the arboretum for free and we didn't have to pay parking because of a pass he had.  He was so sweet and helped us find out where to get a map of all the gardens we would want to see.  It was so kind and a great way to start our visit.  

John and I were amazed at all the flowers.  I could have stayed there for days just looking at everything and taking pictures.  It was tulip time and they had thousands of tulips in bloom.  The cherry trees were also blooming which is another one of my favorites.  The kids did grew bored after a while of John and I stopping and looking and discussing all the things we were seeing.  Luckily, the arboretum also has a children's garden which is more like a science museum with lots of experiments that the kids loved.  After a few hours of playing there they were able to tolerate John and I enjoying the rest of the gardens.  

Ella enjoyed classifying the rocks. 

They loved this tornado simulator. 

Learning about the power of water.

Sam at The Original Pancake House.

Cowboy Stadium (Spring Break day 3)

One thing I thought both kids would love when deciding where to go for Spring Break was a tour of Dallas Cowboy Stadium.  Sam has always wanted to go there.  Especially to see the huge jumbotron.  When it was built it was the largest stadium screen.  It is no longer the largest but the screen is still huge!  Ella is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and loves to watch the Making the Team tv show that features girls trying out to make the squad.  The kids loved the arena tour and John and I enjoyed it too.  

After the tour and a late lunch we headed back to The Great Wolf Lodge for some more time in the water.  We rode the family ride a few times and John and Sam hit the ride that Ella wasn't quite tall enough for, to her disappointment.  She and I took many laps of the lazy river though which she really enjoyed.  We all played some water basketball and swam in the wave pool.  

After our time at the water park Sam and I went to get us all some dinner at In and Out Burger.  Since he has decided he likes hamburgers now we have been having them at places around town and he is working on finding his favorite.  We do not have In and Out in Missouri so this was his chance to give it a try.  He liked it but it didn't make it's way to the top of his list.  We were all tired after our day so we went to bed early so I could take the kids to the water park in the morning before check out the next day. 

Heading to Dallas (Spring Break day 2)

The kids were up nice and early the next morning so we decided to take a walk around the Pogemiller's neighborhood and get a better look at some of the beautiful old houses while John slept.  There are truly some amazing homes there to see.  After a long walk we packed up and went to another place the Pogemillers recommended called Waffle Champion.  I will say the food in OKC was delicious!  I had homemade waffles with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream.  Sam loved his waffle that he got with candied bacon!  It was another hit restaurant.

Then it was time to take the drive to Dallas.  I love to look at college campuses and Sam loves to look at sports venues so we convinced John to stop at The University of Oklahoma so we could look around and take a few pictures.  It was a pretty campus and I love all the space they have for their athletic facilities.  After that stop it was time to head to the hotel for the first few days, The Great Wolf Lodge.  We had never stayed at a Great Wolf before but many of our friends had and their kids loved it.  There were kids running around everywhere and the place was packed.  Our kids were ready to get on their swimsuits and hit the pools so that is what we did.  They enjoyed the slides, lazy river and all the water activities.  It was a great way to get out energy after two days of car rides.  

My delicious breakfast. 

Sam at the OU football stadium.

One of the play structures at The Great Wolf Lodge. 

Oklahoma City

We headed out on Monday to start our Spring Break Vacation.  Our first stop was Oklahoma City.  Ella enjoyed our little bathroom break at a rest stop/tourist information center on the way.  There was an old woman inside with a grandson about Ella's age and she just wanted to show Ella so many things.  Ella left with a handful of maps, books, etc. to keep herself and Sam entertained for many more hours in the car.  

When we arrived in OKC we were a little early to meet our friends, so we drove to the Capitol Building which is near their home and walked around and snapped a few photos.  Then it was time to head to the Pogemillers.  We were going to eat dinner with them and stay at their house.  They have this great little apartment attached to their garage that is the perfect place for visitors.  It was so great to see them and their boys.   

For dinner, they took us to a great place called S & B Burger Joint.   I would highly recommend it.  I had a bleu cheese stuffed burger that was amazing and some yummy sweet potato fries.  Everyone loved their meals!  Then we went on a small tour of downtown OKC.  We drove by the Chesapeake Arena where the Thunder was playing a game that night.  Then we went to the Oklahoma City National Memorial.  It is such a beautiful memorial to remember those who lost their lives that tragic day.  Next, we drove around Mark and Ellen's neighborhood.  They live in an historic part of town and their neighborhood is full of beautiful old houses.  After a full day it was time to rest up for our drive to Dallas on Tuesday.  

Everyone enjoying their dinner at S & B! 

Ella didn't want to be in the picture at the Capitol building but decided to photo bomb at the last minute. 

The Memorial is even prettier than the picture captures. 

Each of the chairs represents a person that lost their life that day. 

Springfield

We got to spend two weekends in a row with Dana and Hannah.  They came up to Columbia to take one last look at the University of Missouri before Hannah made her college choice.  Unfortunately for us, she has decided to go to the University of Arkansas.  We know she will love it there and are so proud of her for all of her accomplishments thus far we had just hoped we would get to see her more often.  While they were here we went to our first Mizzou softball game.  Hannah plays softball so we thought it might be something she would enjoy and though we have watched a few games on tv we had never been.  It was cold but a fun night.  
The next weekend, we headed down to the Lowe's house to stay for a few days before heading on our Spring Break trip.  It was nice to see the rest of the family since we hadn't seen them since our ski trip.  We had fun hanging out together, bowling and eating at one of our favorite restaurants, Lambert's.  It was a great way to kick of spring break week.  

At the softball game!

Bowling pics!

Waiting for their turn to bowl. 

Getting stuffed at Lambert's! 

Birthdays

FIrst, let me say that I know I am way, way behind on this but my plan is to try to catch up...

Ella and Sam celebrated their birthdays together with my family.  It is so much easier for us to go to Kansas City then to have everyone come to us, especially with two babies under one year.  So, they had their party at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  We were so glad everyone was able to make it and celebrate with them! 
Sam chose a golf theme for his party this year.  He is really interested in golf lately and is always wanting his dad to take him to the golf course.  Ella's theme was American girl dolls.  She was super excited about finding some stickers at Michael's that we used for her banner and a sign she made for her special day.  It was a special day for them both.  We are so lucky to have such amazing family! 

The birthday banners

Of course the American Girl dolls had to make an appearance at the party. 

Ella's birthday sign

Sam, with his cupcakes and cookies

Ella with her birthday cupcakes.

Uncle Jono helping Cameron "walk".  This was everyone's entertainment for the afternoon.