Grocery Shopping with the both of the kids can be challenging. I think it is boring for them and so they find ways to entertain themselves that are not entertaining to me. It's fine if I just have one, but put them together and it can be a little chaotic. Fortunately we have discovered that the Starbucks puts chocolate milk in mini coffee cups, which they think is the best thing ever. It's not foolproof, but it does keep them entertained for a little bit.
We went to dinner last night at Izzo's Illegal Burrito. On Mondays kids eat for 99 cents and they have face painting. It doesn't get much better than that!
I really don't know if Addison could have a better big sister. They have their moments and Regan will definitely push Addison's buttons when she is in a mood. But she watches out for her and is nurturing to her. I don't even know how to explain what a good big sister she is. She just is and I'm thankful.
Lunch
Exhausted after a full day!
Okay, so the real reason we went to Dallas was to go to the American Girl Place. I think Matt and I like it as much as the girls (he's a really good dad). I know I do! I'm worse than them. I want to buy everything in the store, only the cost holds me back. And even then.... I know that it is high quality stuff (the doll stuff anyway, the little girl stuff doesn't seem to be as good a quality), because my girls love to play with my cousins American Girl stuff when we are at one of my aunt's houses. We did mostly make them spend their own money (because they still had a lot left over from birthday and Christmas and Regan is about to have another birthday). The big thing that they wanted was matching pajamas for Kit and Ruthie, which they bought. There was a little drama, because Addison's Ruthie pajamas had to be ordered. I payed for Kaylee and Ruthie to have their hair done (Kaylee was in major need). And I had to buy them a hat, mittens and gloves for their trips up north this fall and winter. We couldn't have them with bare heads. They might catch cold! Ruthie also got some glasses to match Addison's. It was the highlight of the trip and I think the girls have worn the matching pajamas every night since.
You know you're on vacation when mommy lets you order a milkshake with your dinner.
Story time
When she finished she said "I did it without Mommie's help!!"
Who can argue with a free popsicle on a hot (and I mean hot!!) day
We decided to do something a little different for vacation this year. As you probably already know, we usually go to the beach in the summer. But we have had one to many summers of being at the beach and our children wanting to be at the pool the whole time. And they think that all beaches have pools. I think that Regan would play in the sand if that was all there was, but Addison has very little love for sand. She has definitely improved from when she was a baby, but it's still not her idea of fun. That is not to say that we won't go back to the beach next year, but we decided to try something different this year. Variety is the spice of life, right? So we went to Great Wolf Lodge. It's a resort with a water park inside. It was fun for the kids, although we were probably there one day to long. On the last day Regan said she was tired of the water, which are words that never pass my children's lips. I think it will be more fun when they get older. I think we'll definitely go back in a few years, but we'll try to go with another family. Addison was to young to do most of the stuff, which was fine with her because she has no interest in big water slides. She says they'll make her dizzy. She even does a motion with her body to emphasize her point. She does, however, enjoy a good lazy river. She particularly liked the one at this place because she could stand up in it. She and Regan also really liked the wave pool. Addison loved diving into the waves, which gives me hope for the future in regards to the beach. Poor Regan was forced to ride the slides with Matt and then with me. She was a good sport about it but by the end she told Matt that she didn't want everything she did to be on a slide. I particularly liked riding with Regan, because while I was whoo hooing she was providing a running commentary on what was coming next. We only used the outdoor pool once, because it was unbearably hot. The ground literally burned the skin off your feet and I had to completely cover the chair to be able to lay on it. Which makes me think next time we'll go in the colder months. The lifeguards do walk around frequently outside and give out free Popsicles, but that still didn't make it appealing for the kids.
I couldn't help but compare this water park with the water parks that I went to as a kid. This one was highly regulated with lifeguards and red/green lights to let you go when it was safe. I know there were lifeguards at the one that my cousins and I went to, but I don't remember ever seeing them. There were definitely no red/green lights. We would purposefully load up together and fall on top of one another. Much more fun than the regulated way, but not as safe. Ah the good ole days!
Matt looked up the final results for the last swim meet that Regan did. She was the fastest 6 year old in the butterfly. She was the second fastest 6 year old in the breast stroke. I guess she likes the hard strokes best.
Addison continues to make the lifeguards at the pool nervous. She's so tiny that when she jumps in the pool I see the lifeguards grab their flotation device and look like they're planning to jump in to save her. Addison is also a very friendly and outgoing kid that lately is making friends everywhere she goes. A grandpa came up to me at the pool and told me that she was playing with his granddaughter and how much they enjoyed her and couldn't get over how well she swims. I think he was ready to sign his granddaughter up for swim team.
We have had a busy, busy summer so far. The first few weeks were a little to busy for my liking, but we have since settled into a good routine. I'm practicing tennis with my new team and playing in a summer league. Regan is enjoying her piano lessons and they are both still doing swim team. In-between we are meeting friends at the pool and having lots of play dates. I think we've struck a good balance.
We had a really good Fourth of July weekend. On the third we went to a local firework show. They had pony rides and face paintings. For the first time ever Regan didn't want to get her face painted. She said she was to hot. Which was fine with me, because the lines were long. I think the line was a deterrent for Addison. She barely made it in the line for the pony. We set up our chairs early and had an excellent view for the firework show. Afterwards they had a dance party with their friend while we waited for the traffic to die down.
On the fourth we cleaned and organized the girl's room and the playroom. That night we went to dinner as a family at one of my kid's favorite restaurants, Carrabas. They call it the dough place, because they give them dough to play with. Before we even sat down Addison said to the hostess "Can we get some dough, please.". I also got the nicest note I've ever received from a complete stranger.
Please ignore my foot in the picture.
