Dallas, Texas

Welcome to the crazy season. The next few months are jam packed with adventures. The first up was a work trip to Dallas.

I started off spending a few fun-filled hours with my friend Monica. I only managed to catch a pic of their cute new addition. Any thoughts on his lineage? He's the size of a very large lab & doesn't sit still for photos - look at that tail wagging like crazy.

The conference was in Dallas. We spent a lot of time inside hotels and convention centers. But, we got a sneak peak at the Dallas Art Museum. I hope the Chagall exhibit comes to Denver - it was closed during our reception.

We went to the wrong reception at one point but still managed to snap a pic from the 48th floor before heading out.

When we come back to town with the kids, I would visit the Dallas World Aquarium.
Part aquarium/zoo/aviary, the kids would have fun exploring the facility.
I think we should have adopted a sloth rather than a puppy.
There were no sign near these guys, but who knew penguins would be happy living in the Texas sun?
We had a big weekend adventure & Nick is getting ready to head out for his work trip this week.
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Great Wolf Lodge - Dallas, Part 4

On Day 3 of the Dallas trip, we headed to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas - a water park chain.  By this time, the twins were exhausted!

The Lodge is very watery/non-camera friendly. And, the emphasis in this 20 hour window was on playing , not taking photos so please excuse the camera phone pics.

First Impressions from the kids? This is going to be AWESOME!

Second Impression from the room? This room ROCKS! Any parent that has shared a hotel room with kids knows how hard it is to go to sleep at 8 pm when the kids need to go to sleep. With the "cabin" built into the room, the kids had enough darkness that we could stay up, sit on the little deck & watch TV without disturbing them.  

The only improvement would be a set-up with three top bunks - Greta lost the coin toss.

For dinner, we ventured off hotel property & into Esparza's.  The corno-a-rita was an experience!

The water park adventure was expensive, but memorable. The kids played non-stop for hours.  Ella & Nick rode every slide at least once. The twins went down the big slides a few times, but had a great mini-slide play area where they were very happy. 

You have to be a guest at the hotel to use the park and with a hotel stay, you get access on check-in & check-out day.  Needless to say, by the time we headed to the airport, everyone was exhausted!

Fabulous Fort Worth (Dallas, Part 3)

Before our last Texas adventure, Monica & crew took us to the best tourist attraction ever.

Josh has been to the rodeo before & his bull was ready to put up a fight. Ella was ready for more.

Charlie was all business, but Lucas was ready for some adrenaline!

I'm sorry to say Greta didn't have any fun at all.

It was hot, hot, hot.  When Nick ordered a drink, I put a request in for a fried pickle.  He ignored me.

We used up all of Monica's spare quarters waiting for the main event.

After a little play time, we were ready for the Longhorn Parade.

Everything is bigger in Texas!

These animals were so pretty.

And they were on a mission to get to the end of the road. No stopping to visit, just marching forward.

As we left the bathrooms, something was brewing in the courtyard.

A trio of outlaws were causing some trouble.

The situation turned tense.

And it got loud.

Our little law men were brave & visited the outlaws after the show.

What a tremendous visit we had in Fort Worth! Thank you Markleys for opening your home - we had a fabulous visit! We can't wait to get our families together again.

Fabulous Fort Worth (Dallas Part 2)

After a quick trip with GG, we headed to Fort Worth to visit my friend Monica & her family. We have been friends since law school & trekked across Europe (with Christy) more than a few years ago! I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see these boys in person! I was in Portland for Monica & John's first date. Ella was born just before they got married. When Ella was about 9 months old, we were in Portland. Monica visited us in Salt Lake City just before I had the twins. But, this was the first time the kids were all together.

Nick is a Rangers fan. He was thrilled that the Markleys were up for meeting us all at a game. 

It was Texas hot.

We found ways to keep cool (baby wipes: not just for babies).

Thanks to Monica, we had awesome seats.

It was an exciting game. 

Lots of home runs.

Lots of celebrating. The kids all made it through the game without complaining. That is what you call a successful outing!

After cooling off, we took the game on the road. It was really impressive to watch Josh in action. He is undoubtedly the most athletic kid I've met.

And Sammy. So silky soft & happy. Hogan would have loved to meet you.