texas trip and other randomness

bear with me...
i might be all over the place with this post.

first off, we went to texas.
i love texas.
no wait, i big huge squishy heart texas!
my 'rents are there!
love everything about it...
except...
except that it's a whopping 19 hour drive from home. :(
boooooo!
check out our sidekick gps... she'll tell you where it's at.

so we squished all three girls into the back, loaded up our gear and off we went.
baby H did surprisingly well.
i think what helped was flipping her carseat around to be forward facing.
yes, my 20 month old is still not technically heavy enough to be forward facing.
however, a 19 hour car ride is definitely deemed appropriate enough for her to turn around.
she could watch baby einstein DVD's to her hearts content.
and be in on the fun with her big sisters.
there were also insane amounts of snacks consumed by all three.
whatever it takes to get you to the next gas stop.
there was minimal fighting between the other two.
noticed i said minimal fighting and not 'no fighting'?
yes, there were still 'tiffs if you will.

we did our annual zoo trip except changed locations this time.
usually we hit up the ever popular forth worth zoo however this trip we finally tried the dallas zoo.
and it was a success!
apparently it's pretty old, built in the 1800's or something crazy like that but they've improved it a lot.
however, you can still notice some awesome mid century architecture from the last renos (probably in the 60's).
they've got a great kids zoo, a cool monorail (hello, mid century?) and an awesome new giants of the savannah exhibit.
the highlight of the trip?
seeing and touching the giraffes, hands down!
i definitely recommend a trip to this zoo if you're ever in the area.

M and i usually take one day to ourselves when we're down there.

my parents willingly (yes, i said willingly) take the girls and we go out on a date.

this year, lots of shopping (him more than me, surprise!) and a date lunch at Dickey's!

if you know my husband you know how much he loves this restaurant.

he would, no lie, eat here E.V.E.R.Y. S.I.N.G.L.E. day if he could.

he loves it.

and after 11+ years of marriage, he definitely doesn't need to impress me much anymore...

wait, that sounds bad, doesn't it?

ok, he doesn't need to woo me like he did at 5* restaurants anymore.

dickey's does me just fine too.

only a real man takes his wife out for a date to DICKEY'S!

ha ha ha ha!

lemme tell you, it's real fancy like.

you know, cafeteria style, keep the cup.

that's how we roll!

that same day we took the girls to a ballgame in the evening.
daddy does all that he would do with his girls that he would do if we had boys.
so off to a rangers game we went.
it was a lot of fun and the girls did great.
being the girly girls that they are, they even brought their barbies along for the ride.
they also begged and begged for those stupid foam hands.
really?
we TOTALLY need them?!
guess what?
we didn't get them.
boooooo... mean mommy i am, eh?

we got to celebrate easter while we were there too.
in my parents community there is a country club.
oooh, sounds so snotty, doesn't it?
it's actually more of a community club, with a private golf course attached.
during most of the major holidays, they have community events.
every year they hold a big easter egg hunt and of course, we participated.
each girl got to run and grab eggs in their very own age class.
i was the mom giving them tips on how to get the most eggs.
no, no pushing...
more like, run to the far side and make your way back.
atta girls... they listened and they filled their baskets up to the brim.
they also got to meet the somewhat creepy easter bunny.
and sit on a pony.
good times.

pre-kids we went out for dinner quite a few times when we visited my parents.

post-kids, it doesn't happen as much.

i don't know about you, but going out to eat with 3 small children (especially a year and half baby) isn't so fun.

but we always make it out at least once or twice.

this time we chose a happening spot, babe's.

we've been to another location before and it's always crazy busy.

you always have to wait.

but this time was no problem b/c this little town was super cute.

lots of little restaurants, tiny stores and quaint streets.

the girls had lots of fun!

once we got in we ordered immediately.

no menu... you choose either fried chicken or chicken fried steak.

i am no southerner, so i really don't understand this chicken fried steak business.

steak dipped in chicken fried batter?!

what the heck?

not getting it... and so, nope.

no chicken fried steak for me.

with our fried chicken came tons of mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, salad and biscuits.

good old home cookin'.

on easter sunday we headed to church.

of course there's the obligatory before easter service picture.

this might be the best one, although big k's eyes are kinda closed and my necklaces are hanging on my boobs kinda funny.

this is one of about 50, so it's gonna have to be alright.

once we got home, we were welcomed with our own easter bunny of sorts.
in our front yard, in one of our burlap covered beds, was a little family of baby rabbits.
we enjoyed them for a few days and then they left.
how cute is this little guy?

a few days after coming home it was back to the grind.
dance recital weekend.
i was one of the few lucky moms that had girls dancing in BOTH days of the recital.
they try to make every accomodation to put siblings on the same days.
surprise!
our girls danced on separate days.
so, basically we were at the theatre all weekend long.
oh well!
M loved watching each and every performance, by each and every dancer.
ha!
(i'm kidding, by the way)
both of our girls did great.
big K did two dances in the recital this year, a ballet piece and a tap piece.
and little K loved tapping at her recital.
this was her first year in dance class...
and will most definitely not be her last.
this girl lives to dance, i'm telling you.
weeks later she's still practicing her routine.

we were also greeted by some lovely weather within the first week of being back too.
doesn't that poor tree just look sad out the window?
wah wah!

that is all, for now.

this post was actually lost and i had to totally re-do it.

very annoying.

so, if i lose it again... i'm probably going to lose it.

watch out!

hopefully more posts will be coming shortly.

trying to get off of this unscheduled blog break!