Everett turns 4

Somehow (not quite sure how) Everett is 4! We had a great time celebrating his birthday this past Wednesday and he had an incredible time with his friends from school and church at Pump It Up (a bounce house place) at his birthday party on Saturday.

Everett's request for his birthday breakfast was donuts. That kid can eat 2 kolaches, a regular donut, and 3 donut holes! And yet we have to cinch up his pants.


A quick learner at the scooter from Nana!

Pirate dress up clothes from us, I love his pirate earring!


This kid loves bounce houses!


Everett not wanting anyone else in the birthday chair!

All of us in the birthday chair.

#27 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Go to the State Fair of Texas. Growing up in Houston I never heard about the State Fair of Texas, but we did go to the Houston Rodeo a few times. Lee is a pro at visiting the State Fair and I love going with him every year. Here is our with kids battle plan. Arrive before 10 am (this year they even let us in at 9:30 am!) and head straight for Little Hands on the Farm. The kids love being farmers!


Then, the children's barnyard and on to the Food and Fiber building for the $2 milk, see Elsie the cow, and enjoy all of the free samples (this year it was ice cream cones!). By now it is time for the first backyard circus show. This year Madeleine was chosen as the tightrope walker and Everett was a lion!





A movie of Everett as a lion. It is hard to tell which lion is Everett, but he had so much fun.

On our way to lunch we stopped at the Hall of State and enjoyed the Texas history exhibit, it is the 175th anniversary of Texas Independence! Then on to a dollar dog for the kids (seriously, they are $1 hot dogs - best deal ever!) and corny dogs for us. So yummy!

Then a wander through the car show, this year Madeleine tried the rock climbing wall and did great! Enjoy the movie of her climbing.




Lee and Everett were wandering through more of the car show while Madeleine rock climbed so Madeleine and I were able to visit the Komen truck and get free Komen stuff!

Next we stopped at the DAR building for $1 water and also visited Homes of Tomorrow. Pretty cool, innovative stuff!

Next was the ferris wheel ride. This was Everett's first trip and he was a pro.




Next stop was the green house next to the ferris wheel with the man dressed up like a tree (so cool!), the pumpkin carver and pumpkin painting.



Madeleine sporting her new Komen hat thing.


Everett thought his pumpkin was a football.

By now we were pooped. So, we headed back to the car stopping to try the fried buffalo chicken flapjack (best taste winner). Lee said it was spicy but good. We also stopped at the McDonald's truck, they were giving away free mango smoothies, and we stopped at the dairy truck. The kids loved milking the cow. We also stopped at a science table with students from one of the area colleges. The kids loved playing with all of their science experiments.


Unfortunately, our 6 hours at the state fair was not enough! So, we are going back and this time we will see the butter sculpture, the dog show, the acrobats, milking of the cow, birds of the world show, a midway game for the kids, a midway ride for the kids, and I must try the fried bubble gum (most creative winner).

A week in Vegas

Last week I went with Lee to Vegas. Lee went to a Conference and I explored Vegas and its amazing art, read three books, laid by the pool in the shade, and took a day trip to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon! When Lee got back from his meetings we would go eat delicious food and then come back to the room where Lee had to do the work that he was missing while being at the Conference. For me it was a relaxing, refreshing week! I enjoyed the free stuff in Vegas, the fall of Atlantis show at Caesar's Palace, the Bellagio fountains, and we did gamble... once. We were on our way to the airport and I said that we had to gamble once, so I took 4 pennies in my wallet and headed to the penny slots at the hotel. However, they only took dollar bills! We lost the first time and then won the second time. I quickly cashed out with the six dollars that I had won!

Vegas felt like a different world, when you were inside the hotels you felt like you were outside (the ceilings are painted like the sky). We stayed at the Palazzo where you could go on a gondola ride (for $64 for a private ride)!



I was amazed at all of the art in Vegas. The Bellagio hotel lobby adorned with a Chihuly glass ceiling was breathtaking.

the Bellagio

The Chihuly Gallery at CityCenter was amazing, just amazing. And free!

the ceiling of the Venetian hotel.


Great places that we ate at in Vegas.
Todd English's Olives in the Bellagio
Emeril's Table 10 in the Venetian
Mon Ami Gabi in Paris. We ate here for dinner and I came back for breakfast.
Hash House a Go Go or breakfast in the Imperial Palace.
Serendipity 3 outside Caesar's Palace. Best $10 frozen hot chocolate milk shake!
Wynn hotel buffet. Incredible dinner & okay breakfast. No blueberry muffins!

us at the Wynn

my dessert plate at the Wynn. marshmallows dipped in chocolate were the best!

My day trip to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon was such fun. I signed up in the hotel and definitely did not get a great deal but had a great time. Some people recommended calling 1800-2-canyon next time for a better deal. Next time... I was so glad to walk on the skywalk and had a wonderful time.


The skywalk was so scary (we were 4,000 feet above the canyon), but the view was so breathtaking. No cameras, cell phones, or bags were allowed because people had dropped them and I was so glad. For about 30 minutes I just looked and did not worry about trying to capture anything with my camera. God is amazing.

eagle point by the skywalk. Notice the eagle in the rock over my right shoulder.

The Grand Canyon is just awesome.

On our drive back to Vegas (about 2 1/2 hours) we stopped at Hoover dam.


I loved seeing the Hoover dam and also the incredible new Hoover bypass bridge.

I made a lot of great friends being by myself!

this sums up my week in Vegas.

#26 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Attend the annual WRR Labor Day Picnic at Northpark mall outside in the CenterPark. We heard a Rhythm and Blues Band from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, 5 Second Rule, and the Dallas Wind Symphony. It was free, it was not 100 degrees, we ate outside with the wind blowing in our hair, and the kids ran around, twirled in circles, and had a great time. This was the 17th year for WRR to host this Labor Day concert, it was awesome!

It doesn't get much better than ballerinas (advertising the nutcracker ballet) telling you to go hear the concert!


Folks dancing!


My children running circles around us as we sat on our picnic blanket. No one cared! It was wonderful!


The kids had a blast!

#25 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

See Critterman! This past Saturday we went to the weekly 2 pm Saturday show in Northpark Mall with Bookmarks library to see Critterman. Every Saturday they have awesome folks come in to entertain the kids and it is a great way to stay cool and have fun. You can click here or here to see upcoming shows. My daughter Madeleine even was called up to touch a hedgehog!



and then out came the snake! It was long and this brave boy let Critterman hang it on his shoulders too!




and he also had a lemur!

#24 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

See the Declaration of Independence at the Downtown Dallas Public Library. I know that I already posted about the awesomeness of the Downtown Public Library, but did you know that on the night of July 4, 1776 a limited number of copies were made of the Declaration of Independence. Today, there are 25 surviving copies and 1 of them is at the downtown branch of the Dallas Public Library! It is also the only original copy west of the Mississippi. I took Madeleine to see it and I learned that this document is the first time that the name United States of America appeared in print.

The copy of the Declaration of Independence is in there! There was no one around, we had a private showing!

I took a picture...

The Dallas copy was found in storage in Leary's Book Store in Philadelphia in 1968 when the book store closed after 132 years in business. It is thus deemed "The Lost Copy." It was bought at auction.

There is also the original 1623 volume of Shakespeare's First Folio. According to the informational pamphlet, Shakespeare died in 1616 without publishing any of his plays and 2 of his friends published all 36 plays that they believed to be authentic to Shakespeare. Without this First Folio, plays like The Tempest, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, As You Like It, or Twelfth Night would have been lost to obscurity. The Dallas Public Library copy belonged to a cleric on the Isle of Man in the 1700s and to a Philadelphia banker in the 18002. It is one of 250 copies that exist today.


and of course you have to visit the ipads on the children's floor!

#23 Thing to Do in Dallas with Kids

Visit the Crow Collection of Asian Art. First, it's free. Second, it's right across the street from the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Dallas Museum of Art. Third, the art is amazing.

I love the origami crane hallway! When I visited Hiroshima when I lived in Japan I saw the 1000 cranes for the first time and learned about the Japanese legend that promises "anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true. This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family." (from wikipedia)

I was truly blessed when I lived in Japan with a student's gift to me of 1000 cranes which have hung in each of my kid's bedrooms.

And all this week, Tibetan Buddhist Monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in Atlanta are constructing a mandala sand painting. According to the website, "During the week, millions of grains of crushed marble are painstakingly laid into place in this ancient spiritual art form to generate energies for global healing." We saw it a day after they started...


and Friday, August 26 the mandala will be dismantled to remind us of the impermanence of all that exists.