Fun at the Arboretum

May 2014

The day after the birthday fun, Grandma and Grandpa were still in town and Tommy was at an autocross race.  It was a beautiful day, so we decided to head down to the Arboretum in Dallas.  I enjoy it much more than Tommy does, and I knew it was something my parents would enjoy, too - but not before a leisurely morning of cuddles and smoothies:

We got to the Arboretum made our way through the flowers to the new kids section.  Summer season was just beginning, so it hadn't quite gotten hot enough yet to kill all of the flowers:

Livi had to see if they smelled good:

It reminded me of the pictures we took of her big brother on his first trip to the Arboretum just a few years earlier.  Please, time, slow down a little!

You can't see them in the first picture, but Olivia was super cool in her sunglasses:

Here's the whole crew, minus the picture-taker.:

Of course, we had to stop and get some pictures of my little boy, too.  I love these ones my Dad took in front of the fountain.  I can't believe how old he looks!

Finally, we arrived at the Children's section of the Arboretum.  As I mentioned, it is fairly new and we had never been before.  I was really impressed.  It was so well-maintained and had so many fun activities for my kids.  We started out in the little kids play area, filled with things to climb on and explore.  Here they are on a giant spider:

Livi rides a bumblebee:

And crawls through a tunnel:

While Jack balances on a giant egg:

And they both squeeze inside of one together:

They ran through the garden maze with Grandma:

Played in the sand pit:

And generally just had fun (and looked pretty cute doing it!)

Each play area had these computer monitors with several different learning games that both kids really enjoyed:

We moved on from the little kids area to a section designed for kids who were a little older, but that still had some really fun activities for my kids.  Here, they took a long strip of paper and stamped different pictures of a plant in various stages of growth:

When they were finished, the stuck it in the round container near my arm and spun it around to make it look like the plant was growing.  Pretty cool!

This was a giant flower that we "created" by sticking each of the petals and leaves into holes in a metal stand:

There were many other activities we didn't get pictures of, and a fairly large section we didn't even get to.  We skipped the puppet show when Miss Livi decided that the giant puppets were just a little too frightening.  At this point, it was getting late in the afternoon and we were all pretty hot and pooped out.  Could there be a better time to enjoy some popsicles in the shade?  Jack and Livi thought that was a pretty good idea:

And so did Grandma and Grandpa:

We really enjoyed our day at the Arboretum.  I had been wanting to bring my parents there for quite some time, so I was glad to finally have the opportunity.  We all loved the new kids area - I'm excited to bring Tommy back and explore everything we missed!

A Bubble Guppy Crawfish Boil

May 2014

The weekend after Livi's birthday arrived and it was time for the big second birthday party.  We invited a couple of kids from school, the McCarthy cousins, grandparents, and Mommy and Daddy's closest friends to help celebrate the big day.

Of course, the theme of the day was Bubble Guppies.  Miss Livi looked adorable in her Bubble Guppy shirt and bow and pink skirt.  Grandpa and Daddy got a few cute photos of the birthday girl before the party started:

And one of Grandpa and his girl:

We had Bubble Guppy balloons:

Mommy searched on Pinterest for good ocean-themed party ideas, but I'm afraid I'm just not as creative as all of those Pinterest moms out there.  These croissant crabs were about as creative as I got:

As usual, I couldn't have gotten it all set up without my Mom:

When the party got started, some people hung out in the kitchen, around the food:

While the kiddos headed upstairs to play in the game room.  Livi made drinks for everyone in her kitchen:

The boys had fun with the ball pit:

And Livi moved on to the bouncing zebra;

Others decided they wanted to be outside near the crawfish and beverages.  Tommy boiled some tasty crawfish:

He called this photo his "Cajuns in training."  Livi absolutely loved the crawfish.  She would come up to someone, usually her Daddy or Mommy, open her mouth, and wait for them to peel a crawfish for her.  Daddy was so proud!

Jack ate a few pieces of crawfish, but he and Lincoln had way more fun playing with the mud bugs!

Livi hung out with her buddy Jacob from school.  His sister Julie is in Jack's class and we're so glad they could be there to celebrate with us!

Then, it was time for cake - pink and bubble guppies, of course!

That looks like a BIG wish!!

And some delicious cake:

Big brother thought so, too:

And so did everyone else:

Finally, it was time to open presents.  For some reason, all of the kids love to gather when there are presents to be opened:

Livi got so many cute clothes and fun toys from everyone.  It was wonderful to have so many close friends and family there to celebrate with us - she is truly a lucky girl to be so loved by so many people!

Of course, after getting so many presents, Livi chooses to immediately put on the fairy wings that Grandma picked out on a whim out of the dollar bin somewhere. Here's my pink princess and fairy loving girly girl with an attitude - I love you, Olivia Grace!

And not to be left out, the boys may not have gotten any presents, but that didn't stop them from having fun:

Everyone took a bag of party favors as they left - bubbles, and a bag of blue and white chocolate candies (the ocean) and some gummy Swedish fish - thanks again Pinterest!

Happy Bubble Guppy Birthday, to my big two-year-old girl!