Family Fun in Dallas

My mom and little sister came to Dallas July 1-7th. We had a great time with them, but no matter how long they stay it never seems long enough. We had a very full schedule, and we barely even brushed the surface of the list I made so they will just have to return soon! And maybe Cal can come this time... and Katie, David, and Peter.
They kept Brieleigh for us two days (Thursday and Tuesday) while we worked which was great and so sweet! Mom did laundry and Maddy vacuumed during that time. Thursday night we played games and ate ribs, corn, and zucchini cakes. Friday, we girls went out for breakfast at Main Street Bistro and Bakery... YUM- for instance, I had nutella french toast with strawberries and Maddy had strawberry romanoff crepes and of course I had a coupon. :) We ran errands to Target, the eye doctor, and Sprouts then went home and got ready to pick David up for the rehearsal for Wes and Katie Baker's wedding. We dropped David off at the winery in Grapevine (after tons of traffic fighting) then I dropped Maddy and Mom off at the outlet malls to shop while we Willers went to the rehearsal dinner (through much more traffic and a torrential downpour). The dinner was at La Hacienda Ranch. Brieleigh did great, and as usual she drew lots of attention. We then went the the hotel where most people were staying for cookies and Blue Bell. Mom and Maddy came as well. We got home late, and David got home even later after the bachelor "party" if you can call it that.

Saturday we had to get a wedding present then pick up David's tux (yes, he waited until the day of- miscommunication) far far away.
Madeline and Brieleigh laughing at "Frankie the Fish" and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Brieleigh thought he was quite entertaining. We should have bought him. He was on sale for $5.

We then at lunch at a random country restaurant/diner we passed called Norma's Cafe. We dropped David off to get his hair cut with Wes while we went to Sam's for samples, browsing, and lots of giggles.

This is Brieleigh in a big box of pillows in Sam's. She would make a good commercial for promoting these.

We went home and got ready for the wedding. David left before us for pictures. Unfortunately we have no pictures of the wedding. :( I think Maddy has one of her and I dressed up? It was a fun wedding. Our babysitter's daughter got sick so Brieleigh got to come too and Madeline kept her in the lobby during the actual ceremony. I was so releived not to have to leave Brieleigh anywhere. I have never left her at night except with David. She usually screams for him and want sleep. She likes her night nursing a great deal. So it made it much more relaxing to have her with us. We ate, talked with friends and old friends, danced, ate some more, and had alot of fun. It was of course another late night.
Sunday we went to church where David and I had nursery. Sadly, we couldn't sit with our family, but they survived without us. We ate fresh tamales for lunch at home then all took long naps. Brieleigh and I got up before everyone else and went to the park. I made a sausage casserole for supper, and played Settlers of Catan while it was cooking. We packed limeade, cookies, and watermelon and took it with us for a picnic dessert to the Richardson fireworks which was at a park. We rode the shuttle and had front row seats on the lake. Brieleigh loved crawling around on the blanket. Maddy has some good pictures of her outfit which said "Little Firecracker". Brieleigh was fasinated with the fireworks, and kept trying to keep playing but kept having her attention drawn back to the awesomeness. Best fireworks I have ever seen, Period.

Mesmerized!

We had to wait about an hour-ish for our turn on the shuttles, but thankfully Brieleigh conked out for that. We got home around midnight again!
The next day we got up and tried to go to a bakery for breakfast which was closed for July 4th, so we got mom coffee at McDonalds and just headed straight to the zoo. We got there a little before 11. I LOVE the zoo and was so very excited to take my little girl. The Dallas Zoo just opened up a Savannah area which has all the cool elephant and looks very nice.

We were trying to see how far we could jump. I think I was a grasshopper along with David and Maddy. Mom was a rabbit or something.

Brieleigh got to pet the goats in the petting zoo. She loved it when they stopped eating to pay her some attention.

An albino crocodile!

Elephants are my favorite hands down.

First family trip to the zoo

Hot and tired but still oh so cute!

Look how close the giraffe is!

"Rest Rooms: Everybody gotta poop somewhere" :)

I LOVE the baby chimp! So adorable.

We left the zoo around 2:00. It was getting a little hot and we were hungry! We ate at Cantino Laredo for lunch then went to Central Market to get some snacks to take to the Rangers game for supper. We came home took a short nap and packed our supper. The Rangers sadly lost, but we had a great time. Mom bought Brieleigh a little infant Rangers hat which she now wears to the games. PRECIOUS! We got free taco coupons too since the Rangers scored in the taco inning.

My two Rangers fans. Brieleigh loves her Daddy!

Mom and Maddy- we took the elevator to get up this high so that Mom didn't have a nervous breakdown.

We got home around midnight again that night. (Are you noticing a pattern here? Fun, but super exhausting week!) Tuesday, I worked. That night we grilled out and played Nertz and maybe Carcassone. Wednesday, we girls got pastries, swang and ate them at a park and talked about old days, visited Emma, picked David up for lunch at Celebration Cafe, then took the family to the airport, and cried. Ok, so it still isn't easy living in Dallas even after almost 3 years. I give up! We had so much fun! Come back soon because Brieleigh has learned so many new tricks for y'all to see!