All about the girls

Holland's swing set/playhouse is finally put together.  Kirk had to bring in dirt and work on leveling the yard before it could be set up.  The girls love it!  Holland wants to sell lemonade out of it.  Too bad it's been over 100 degrees this week so they have only played on it one afternoon.  

Britton has out grown the high chair.  She has been dying to sit at the table with Holland so this weekend, she was moved out of the high chair and into the booster seat at the table with Holland.  Britton felt like such a big girl.  At 19 months, she's feeding herself with a fork and trying to grow up way too fast.  My girls love their toasted bagels with peanut butter and jelly.  I can call them my girls when it comes to peanut butter since their daddy can't stand peanut butter. :) 

Jump 4 Joy...... Holland's turning 4!

Holland celebrated her 4th birthday at Jump for Joy. We used her favorite thing, Hello Kitty, as her theme. Holland and the kids had a blast playing! She had so much fun with her family and friends.

After an hour of playing, it was time for cake. Holland asked about the candles on her cake all morning.  She wanted to make sure she was getting four candles to blow out.  So, when it came time for cake, Holland couldn't wait to blow out the candles and blew them out before we could start singing "Happy Birthday" to her.  They were nice enough to relight her candles so she could blow them out again after the song. 

After eating cake, Holland couldn't wait to sit in the big chair to open her gifts.  Holland received so much nice stuff from family and friends.  Lots of clothes, toys, money, books, and we got her a wood gym/swing set. 

Finally, she got to put her hand print up on the wall.  She chose purple paint, which is totally out of character for her.

On the drive home, Britton passed out and Holland asked if she was four years old now.  We had to explain that her official birthday isn't until the 19th and that we just celebrated her birthday today. Why do kids want to grow up too fast!?!  I still can't believe she is four in a few days! 

New windows

We love our living room window so much that we decided to get the rest of the windows replaced. The windows were very old and weren't energy efficient at all. Kirk said that when the kitchen window was being taken out, one whole side was stuff with rags to try to seal it. That's insane! It's amazing how much road noise is blocked out with new windows. We used to be able to lay in bed and tell exactly what type of vehicle was driving by.... motorcycle, truck, semi, etc. Now, I can't hear a thing drive by the house. We love it! I can't wait to see if our energy bill will be reduced. So, here are before and after pictures.  Ignore the landscaping ..............  we are currently working on that project.

And more dinosaurs

As we get back from Glen Rose, we see that dinosaurs are coming to WF.  Holland was really excited.  Our Saturday started out at the Farmers Market.  They were celebrating Blackberry Day, so they were handing out free samples of blackberry cobbler.  Kirk and the girls loved it.  We bought some blackberries for GaGa to make us a blackberry cobbler.  And, I bought new potatoes and made roasted rosemary chicken and potatoes for supper.  The people there were so nice.  Holland got to plant a watermelon seed and bring it home.  I hope it grows for her.  After leaving the Farmers Market, we went over to the Dinosaur exhibit at the MPEC.  We all had a good time.  Thankfully for Kirk and I, it was indoors and air conditioned.  Holland loved pushing the buttons to make the dinosaurs roar and move while Britton loved to see the dinosaurs move.  Holland did the mine excavation and putt-putt with Kirk.  I didn't have one single picture of the girls looking at the camera at the same time.  I guess they both were very distracted. 

Rough Creek, giraffes, and dinosaurs... oh my!

After picking Holland up from her last day of school, we headed down to Glen Rose. I found this wonderful resort called Rough Creek Lodge and Resort. It's absolutely fabulous! It's where luxury meets country tranquility. We can't wait to go back! There is so much to do at this resort.... fossil digging, zip line, rock wall climbing, pool with lazy river, shooting, archery, golf driving range, hunting, fishing, spa, horse riding, ATV riding, and more. When we checked in, we received a welcome goody bag that contained fruit, candy, Barbie kites for the girls, and they even had room keys made for the girls with their names on them. Too cute! The restaurant has the best food.  Me being a picky eater figured there wouldn't be much for me to eat, but there was always something. The steak and burgers were the juiciest we've ever had, the desserts were like a work of art, the breakfast buffet was amazing, and the staff were the nicest and most helpful people you'll ever meet. The "go-to" guy, Larry, was the sweetest guy. When it was time for us to check out and leave, he hugged me like we were two old friends saying good-bye.

On the drive into Rough Creek.

View from our balcony.

So, we got there Thursday night and had dinner reservations. Dinner was over one and a half hours long and was three courses that were to die for. The girls did great sitting there for that long. Here they are before dinner.

After dinner, we walked around the property and checked everything out. 

On Friday, we did Rough Creek things.  Kirk golfed and rock wall climbed.  We took the girls to dig for fossils, to the petting zoo, jumped on the trampolines, and swimming. 

After cleaning up from swimming, we went into Glen Rose for ice cream and to find my great-great-grandfathers home.  A local lawyer has purchased the home and has restored it.  It was amazing to find the home and see how cool it was back in 1881. 

Saturday morning we checked out of Rough Creek and headed to Fossil Rim Wildlife Center. You drive through the 30 mile wildlife center and get to feed the animals.  Half way through the drive you get to the top of one hill and there is a restaurant, petting zoo, and souvenir shop.  Holland loved the animals but Britton didn't like riding in the truck the whole time.  Apparently a fly landed on her leg and freaked her out so she would panic anytime she saw a bug.  She is my daughter, for sure. 

After Fossil Rim, we headed over to Dinosaur World.  Holland has been wanting to see the dinosaurs forever.  She watches Dino Dan all the time and has a dinosaur book she refers back to.  Her favorite is the T-Rex.  She was like a kid in the candy store at Dinosaur World.  While you're there you walk through the Dinosaur displays, feed the fish, and then go for a fossil dig. 

Next on our list of things to do is go to the Dinosaur Valley State Park.  There you can see real dinosaur tracks and play in the water where the tracks are.  Holland loved getting in the water because the little fish nibbled on her toes.  I kept Britton up in the shade with me. 

Overall, it was a great trip and we all had a wonderful time. :)