Visit to the Perot Museum

After ABF on Sunday, we went with the Ogles to the Perot Museum of Nature & Science.  We stopped by Max's Wine Dive to grab some lunch, and boy was it tasty!  Their motto is - "Fried chicken and champagne?  Why the h(eck) not?!"  So, we ordered some mimosas and enjoyed a tasty fried chicken lunch.  Erin was sad she could not partake in the mimosas, but she will be able to soon!!

 

Afterwards, we headed to the museum.  We went through all of the exhibits, and learned about the planets (Did you know that scientists believe Saturn could float on water it is so light?), the weather (Erin makes a fabulous weather-girl!), dinosaurs (that were found on Texas soil!), animals, gemstones, the human body, sports, and on and on!  We even experienced a mock earthquake!

 {Lifting bowling balls to compare the weights of the planets;
watching Erin as the weather-girl;
a pre-historic turtle found near Dallas}

{Colin testing his reflex skills;

a wind-tunnel that creating a tornado;

a huge amethyst geode} 

It was a fun experience, and I would encourage you to go if you have not been.  Luckily for us, it was not too crowded, so we got to roam around at our own pace and enjoy everything. 

We finished the day with some ice cream sandwiches from Pokey-O's.  (We were too busy eating to get a picture.  Trust me - they were delicious!)

St. Louis & Kansas City Trip

Colin and I kicked off the 2013 baseball season with a trip to St. Louis and Kansas City this past weekend.

We left early Saturday morning, and made it to St. Louis.  We checked into our hotel and headed downtown on the MetroLink.  We walked to the Gateway Arch through a beautiful park and made several attempts at getting a decent picture of us under the Arch.  We finally found a lady that got the concept, even if she could not get the whole thing in the picture.

Afterwards, we walked a couple of blocks to Busch Stadium.  They were giving out replica jerseys that day, so we went ahead and jumped in line to make sure we got ours.  An hour later (yes, I really, really love Colin), they opened the gates and we headed in to snag ours.  We grabbed some lunch and headed up to our GREAT seats on the third deck behind home plate - slightly towards third base so we could have a great view of the arch.  The weather was perfect, and the Cardinals beat the Brewers 8-0.

 

The next day, we flew to Kansas City, Missouri.  We heard some guys on the flight talking to other people that they were from Austin and were visiting all the baseball stadiums and had been to a Cardinals game the day before.  We talked to them a bit and shared stories of the different stadiums we had been to, and then parted ways at the rental car depot.

 We drove towards downtown, and much to my dismay, we never crossed into Kansas!  (Visiting all 50 states is on my bucket list.)  We found our way to the Liberty Memorial, a World War I monument.  It was a beautiful park, but it was so windy, we could hardly stand up straight!

Afterwards, we made our way towards Kauffman Stadium to watch the Royals game.  We ran into the guys from Austin twice - once walking into the stadium, and again as Colin waited in line for his hotdog.  I wish I would have gotten their names or something so we could keep in touch to see what other stadiums they are going to this year!  It is just such a small world. 

Once we got our food, we headed towards our seats in the outfield next to the water fountains.  Unluckily for us, the wind caused us to get lightly showered anytime anything exciting happened that warranted the fountains to come on.  We did not get that wet though, and it was a great game to watch.  The Royals ended up beating the Blue Jays in the 9th inning!

 

We drove back to the airport after the game, but made sure to circle through Kansas so I could cross it off my list!  (I quickly realized not much was going on in Kansas, so yes, I am counting that as a 'visit.')

It was a whirlwind trip, but we crossed two stadiums (and one state!) off the list!

A Weekend of Celebrations

This past Saturday, we traveled to Austin (specifically Georgetown) to watch one of Colin's high school friends get married.  It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, but sadly, I only took one picture!

On Sunday, we headed to Denton for quarterly birthday celebrations with the Faircloth's.  Honorees included Gary B., Jennifer, Trav, Jill, Colin, and myself.  (Lots and lots of funny birthday cards being passed around!)  We had some tasty barbeque for lunch thanks to Darrell and Jennifer.

After lunch, we played our annual 'Mother's Day Croquet' since a lot of us will be out of town this year.  I think Emily's boyfriend, Steve, was quite surprised at how serious some family members take their croquet.  I warned him that Nonnie is the worst - she'll 'send' you without thinking twice!  I had a truce with Steve since we made just about the whole course at the same pace.  I ended up winning and ending the game - to the relief of many of the passive players.

No matter how competitive, we all had a good time celebrating birthdays, eating some tasty food, and spending time together!

Easter Weekend

This Easter, my parents came to town to visit.  We went shopping on Saturday, and of course, the girls outlasted the boys, so we sent the boys home to watch March Madness after lunch at Twisted Root.

We tried out a new place for dinner, Kelly's at Fairview.  It is owned by Aggies, so we knew we would love it!  It had a great atmosphere, and some DELICIOUS food. 

On Sunday morning, we met Ryan and Micah at church for a great Easter service, and then headed to our brunch favorite - the Cheesecake Factory! 

It was a great Easter weekend spending time with the family!