Sandy Lake Amusement Part - part two

We ended the day doing my most favorite thing in the whole wide world...bumper cars!!! I am fascinated with the thrill of weaving in and out, going as fast as I can without getting hit or stuck! Noah rode with Jody and Ava rode with Jennifer. At one point, Jennifer was stuck so I hit them trying to bump them out into the open so they could go but it didn't work and I'm pretty sure Ava was really scared after that move. Whoops. Beck rode with me and he must have loved it because once the cars stopped, I got out and he moved into my seat and put the strap around his neck in hopes of riding it again. Poor thing was so upset when Daddy came and got him. I was a little bummed too because I would have loved riding it again. We will be sure to ride it next time.

Before we parted ways, the kids jumped in Jody and Jennifer's rental and had fun making faces. They also enjoyed the back door opening and closing.

Poor little Kinsey was so tired...

I love this...

And, I love this...

Brent and I are a perfect match because we love showing our guns! Ha!

Good times and good memories!

Sandy Lake Amusement Park - part one

Several weeks ago, Jody contacted all of us via email saying he wanted to do a birthday celebration for Jennifer's birthday while they were in town. Kiki was at our house on this very same night the email was sent out and Brent and I had talked to her about going to Sandy Lake Amusement Park the next time we all get together. After reading Jody's email, we knew that going to Sandy Lake Amusement Park would be SO much fun for everybody...adults and kids!!! We couldn't wait to go!

The admission is fairly resonable to get in ($2) but it's the tickets you must purchase in order to ride the rides that'll get you! I have no idea how many tickets we burned thru that day but it was all worth it to see so many smiles. The kids had an absolute blast and the adults did too! However, it was VERY cold until about lunch time! Luckily, Kinsey had on a fairly warm outfit and Beck had on sweat pants but I sure wish I had brought a jacket for him and myself! Brent had a couple of t-shirts that he let me and Jennifer wear to help keep us warm.

We started with a train ride that takes you to a "Twisted" tree then we saw the alligator swamp, paddle boats and a peacock. The kids really enjoyed riding the train...so much that they rode it twice!

After riding a few rides, we ate lunch which included sandwiches and chips then we busted out the beautiful birthday cake from Society Bakery for Jennifer's birthday. She was so surprised!

Surprisingly, Noah wanted to ride the Tilt O Whirl so Jennifer rode it with him then she rode it again with Jeff! There's no way I could have done that due to a weak stomach.

Beck's all-time favorite ride at this place is the rocketship...I bet he rode it over five times!

There are little cars for the kids to ride...

and little boats...

and, last but not least...pony rides!

Brent, Brian and Jody couldn't pass up riding the Rock O Planes. Brent immediately had his carriage turned upside down before the ride started! These boys had a blast on this ride spinning the carriages round and round! Brian ended up with a little scratch on his head from hanging upside down.

Jill had to work today and we missed her...

Jeff and Marcus left before we all did and there really wasn't a whole lot for Marcus and Kinsey to do at this place...we'll have to go back when they are a little older.

More fun and exciting things/stories on our family outing in the next post...

Blue Chair

The Pottery Barn chair given to Beck from Kiki a couple of Christmas's ago seems to be a big hit with Beck and Kinsey these days! She loves to sit in it and Beck loves to get in it with her then they end up "wrestling". Brent and I get nervous when he rough houses with her but she laughs so we just sit back until she cries or until we think he gets too rough.

Sibling Get-Together

This does not happen as often as it should...Thursday evening, we went to Jeff and Jill's house to spend time with Jennifer, Jody, Noah, Brian, Katherine, Ava, Lola and Marcus. Jody had some business in the Dallas area so Jennifer and Noah also came in and we had so much fun watching all of the kids play! Jody set up the Sibling Get-Together several weeks ago and at the time this was the best night for all of us then Jeff found out he had a meeting at church. Luckily, his church is right behind his house but unfortunately, we were all packing up to leave by the time Jeff returned from his meeting. I could tell he was sad he missed hanging out with the family.

We brought the bounce house and ate pizza for dinner. It has been five months since we last saw the Mask family and I hope we don't have to wait that long to see them again. Another fun-filled evening!!!

Boat House

This is beginning to look like a successful pool year...After we got home from our anniversary trip, we spent some time with the kids then put them down for an afternoon nap. After they woke up, we blew up the boat house and both kids wanted to get in it. Yeah, I'm so excited! Beck actually took off his socks and the skin on his feet was so white because they never see any light!

Happy 6-Year Anniversary!!!

To celebrate our anniversary, I contacted Charles since he is a camping expert and asked him to suggest a few places somewhat close for some much needed R&R. He recommended a couple of places...Turner Falls and Glen Rose. I found a cute cabin to stay in at Turner Falls but they won't rent just one night during this time of the year. Then, I found a bed and breakfast in Glen Rose which overlooks the Brazos River and booked it.

Mom and Wendy showed up at our house Saturday morning and that's when our trip began. Brent didn't know where we were going so it was very exciting for me since I have never planned a get-away for us (he usually surprises me). We stopped at Freebirds which is a place that we love but don't visit anymore. We both got the infamous Freebird Burrito and a giant brownie to snack on later. Yummy!

Brent finally figured out where we were going and Glen Rose is almost two hours from our house. We ended up getting on this little road where a bunch of cows were running wild...it was crazy seeing them on the road! That's something you don't see everyday especially living in the Dallas area.

We also ran across this really old building and had to explore it...maybe an old gas station?

The owner of Cedars on the Brazos, Janice, was a very nice older woman. She showed us our room, gave us a quick tour of the property and recommended a few restaurants. We just wanted to relax and enjoy the scenary so we put on our swimsuits and headed down to the river. Along the way, we grabbed a couple of chairs and sat in the water enjoying the sun rays. Several people went by us in canoes which looked fun but a lot of work at the same time. Brent found a couple of logs that he wanted to throw in the river.

Do you have tickets to the gun show?

It was getting close to 4pm so we went back to our room to clean up and head to the square because it looked like an art festival was taking place as we came thru town. By the time we got there, it was gone but we enjoyed walking thru the really cute shops. One store owner said we didn't miss anything so that made me feel better. This particular store owner was very talkative and told us almost her entire life story. Anyway, we ended up buying lots of children's books from her because they were so cheap.

We started looking for a restaurant to eat dinner and found riverfront property for sale so we stopped to check it out. The sticker burs there are so much bigger than I've ever seen! We also saw a snake in the river but it was too hard to get a picture of it. The boulders surrounding the river are incredible!!! It was fun checking out the landscaping and we decided to pick up a few river rocks for our place. (Beck enjoyed helping Daddy place them once we got home. We put a few by our pool and he loves to play with them.)

We ended up eating dinner at Los Primos and the food was delicious! I love Mexican food! After dinner we drove around to explore what Glen Rose has to offer and there are actually a lot of kid-friendly things to do such as Dinosaur World, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center which is a place you drive thru and feed the animals while in your car and there's also a Dinosaur Vally State Park. I can't wait to go back when Kinsey is older and explore all of these places.

As I was taking a picture of this giant cactus, Brent decided to break off a piece. We brought it home and Brent planted it next to our gas meter so we'll see if it grows.

It was close to the sun setting so we headed back to the B&B for some yummy dessert. On the way there, Brent pulled over to get more rocks...big ones!

We parked our truck near the "chapel" where many weddings have taken place and the biggest wedding Janice help arrange was over 400 guests! I can't imagine how crazy the parking was for that event!

Janice has helpers that live on her property (100 acres) and I noticed two ladies working in the kitchen so I'm pretty sure they are the ones that made the chocolate cake and lemon pound cake that was offered for dessert that evening. Both were tasty but I think my mom could have blown them out of the water as she makes the best cakes/pies! We enjoyed sitting on the patio watching the water flow and listening to the cows. I was really hoping to catch one cross the river but the bugs were driving me crazy so we went inside.

My idea of sleeping in is getting to sleep past 7am which I did...I got up at 7:50, got dressed and went exploring with my cup of hot chocolate that I requested. I was on a mission to find a cow on her land but never found one. When I got back to our room, it was time to eat breakfast and Brent had already showered and dressed. The breakfast was delicious!!! We had scrambled eggs, thick sausage patties, a cup full of fruit and a big stack of pancakes! Yummy!!! I just wish my glass of oj was bigger. I love a big glass of orange juice in the mornings! And, I wish I had a picture of our wonderful meal. Before leaving, Brent started looking all over our room saying we needed to check and make sure we had everything but I just knew I had my stuff together and said, "I got it." I made no effort in looking...big mistake!!! I think we got about 10 miles from the Bread and Breakfast and as I was looking at the pictures on my camera I had a strange feeling that my camera bag was missing so I started looking for it...couldn't find it! We had to go back and I felt SO bad because I did not look in the room to make sure I had all of my stuff. The roads are curvy and parts of it are rocky so it's not an easy drive to make especially when you are in a hurry. The ladies had already stripped the sheets off of our bed and I saw my camera bag sitting on a little table. I was so relieved that it was still there and that I discovered it missing before we got too far down the road. Whew! I am the worst at leaving things behind!!! I have lost so many things while traveling with Steak & Ale and la Madeleine. I better listen to Brent the next time we travel which will be our big trip to Fake Florida!!!

We finally got home around 12:30pm and mom was ready to head back. She already had her car packed and took off as soon as we got there. She had to drive Wendy to her home then to Henderson so she didn't get home until 4:30pm. I am so thankful for Mom and Wendy watching the kids so we could have a fun little get-away! It was such a nice treat. I can't wait to plan our next adventure for our 7-year anniversary!