Sea World...more like Tear World

We'd been planning a getaway down to Austin and San Antonio for some time to see the Land clan as well as Avo.

The boys had been sick the previous two weeks and weren't quite up to snuff before we loaded up the car.   We felt that the sight of Shamu or a penguin would surely cheer them up.  Like so many other parenting assumptions, this one was terribly off the mark.

From the get go, Ethan was bringing his emotional "A" Game.  His first fit was at the Sea Lion exhibit when we told him that he couldn't get in and swim with them (I KNOW, right?!?!? We're awful parents).  

Then we headed over to the dolphin show...all kids love dolphins, right?  Ethan thinks dolphins are stupid!

Zoe wasn't too sure about the them either:

Then we decided to bribe them with frozen lemonade and got a few cute shots:

Noel digging the frozen lemonade

Ethan cursing the Shamu Roller Coaster's  38" height requirement

Avo and Ethan

The mood peaked when Ethan laid spread eagle in the middle of Stingray Alley and threw a fit of fits.  When all was said and done, we clocked in 87 minutes at Sea World and made our way back to Austin vowing not to return for at least two years.

Here's to precious family memories!

In the words of Sammy Hagar: I Can't Drive 5.5!!!

Well, 6 months after getting their awesome Mini Coopers from Ronnie and Joanna, the boys are finally tall enough to reach the pedals.

After watching a quick tutorial on driving (while getting some fashion and hair tips at the same time), we took to the back alleys of Highland Park for some high-ish speed adventures.

Here's footage of Noel chasing down Ronnie:

And Noel quite fancies the way Ethan drives:

It took Ethan a while to understand he had to keep the pedal pressed down.  What resulted was a series of whiplash-esque movements that Noel found hysterical.

(Really) Early Spring - First Swim!

A little delayed post, but a good one nonetheless.

Avo was in town in early April and the weather was pretty amazing. In fact, it was so amazing, the boys bypassed our chalkboard activity and went straight into the pool.

I was the only one interested in drawing

I didn't put on a swimsuit thinking they'd put their little feet in the water and jump right out.  I also didn't expect them to turn on the hose and spray me tip to tail with cold, cold water.

Testing out the water temperature

Noel Distracting me while Ethan gets the hose

Noel testing out my lower back strength.

Avo's first 2012 visit!

Spring came early in Dallas, and Avo came up to enjoy some time with us and the boys.  Check out a few pics below:



Having some frozen yogurt before bedtime - Red Velvet & Cake Batter
were the hit flavors of the night!



Avo and Ethan enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon.



Smiles all around!

 

Avo and Noel sharing some Cheddar Bunnies

 

 

 

Noel kept wanting more tulips, much to our chagrin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ethan practicing his best javelin throw!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing's better than Ethan flashing a great smile!

Miscellaneous Pics - April, 2012

Definitely doing some blog spring cleaning today . . . in addition to catching up on our posting, we've found some older entries that were never completed . . . and they're some good ones!  Here's an amalgamation entry with some super adorable shots:

Sweet Pea in a Pod! Ethan, who took over Brady's dog bed, while enjoying a day at Gramma and Papa's.

Do you like our new knick-knacks?  They don't exactly fit the decor, but I think we'll keep them!

Popcorn!!!

A watchpot never pops!

We don't see many of these days (posted 03/13), but the boys did love a co-sleep.

So much so that Noel apparently didn't mind the Ethan-influenced breathing hindrance.

Noel dragging Pai to the top of the Tower!

Now that we've almost completed the first full year of school, we've realized that there is a rotation of three or four locations for class birthday parties.  Luckily for this weekend, the boys were invited to another event at the Flight Museum, a favorite for both the boys and their parents.

Normally, we wouldn't post new pics for such a routine event, but we saw some new behavior from Noelly Canoli that was worth a post . . .

In addition to the normal Flight History and Southwest Airlines exhibits, there is also a large play area for kids that includes a multi-level "flight tower" that reaches 20-25 feet in the air.  Normally, we'd see Ethan tear after an opportunity like this, but Noelly decided to stake his claim to the best athlete title for this particular day, dragging Pai up the tower with him for extra security.  Here's a quick photo series:

First up, an adorable "before" shot with Noelly flashing some dimples:

Next up, Noelly screaming for Pai after making it to the first level on his own:

If you look closely to the upper right-hand corner, you can now see that Pai has entered (sandwiched himself in??) the tower . . . Noelly's little legs are at the top and that's Ethan in his lap . . . Ethan ultimately abandoned the climb, having achieved it in an earlier trip.



Almost at the top!  You can really get a perspective of how how this tower is in this pic, which really shows just how impressive the boys' respective climbs were.   Poor Pai is pretty sweaty by this point . . .

 



Great shot (if you look closely) of Noelly in the top of the tower . . . SUCCESS!!!!!!

And a final shot of the trip back down with Pai having a good chuckle at the level of ridiculous he's willing to achieve for the wishes of his children.  Impressive feat from Noelly, equally impressive parenting from Pai! 

  



Avo and Uncle Ronny in charge for Easter Weekend - Part 3: Easter!

However, the best part of the weekend was Easter Sunday where the family gathered and the boys were in for a special surprise:

 

Family shot:

Aunt Suzee came by for the festivities:
 

The boys see something outside and he "hobbles" like someone they know:

As they walked out they kepot saying, "That's Uncle Ronnie!!"  His cover was blown out of the gate:

The Easter Bunny leaving more treats:

Noel decided to let check Ethan check things out first:

But once he saw that Ronnie had treats he was all in:
 

Ronnie enjoying a post-costume break:
 

Avo and Uncle Ronny in charge for Easter Weekend - Part 2: Dallas Aquarium!

Next up was a trip to the Dallas Aquarium.  For those of you that have never been, you start out in the jungle up top and work your way down until you're underwater looking at the underwater creatures:

 

Starting up top:

 

 

Looking at some monkeys:

 

 

 

The boys are captivated byt he underwater tunnel where the sharks swim overhead:

Hanging with Uncle Ronnie:

Avo and Uncle Ronny in charge for Easter Weekend (Part 1)

Catching up on some blogs we never got around to posting:

 

We're incredibly fortunate to have such a wide support structure around us . . . not only do the boys have a great appreciation for extended family and friends, said extended family and friends allow their Dad and Pai to maintain a pared down travel schedule, taking a couple of weekend trips per year on our own.

In celebration of Pai's birthday and our 3 year wedding anniversary, we headed to San Francisco over the long Easter weekend to enjoy some time with Kitty and Mike Burn.  Avo and Uncle Ronny stepped in to own the majority of the boys' workload for the weekend . . . this is the first of three posts covering their activities for the weekend.

First up, Noelly and Uncle Ronny having a mid-afternoon cuddle . . .

Cute pic of the boys, posing with their new "just my size" chairs, courtesy of Avo!

Ethan with one of the boys' favorite toys, their trusty fire truck:

Next up, a completely adorable picture of Avo and her grandsons . . . all three of them look so charming in this pic.

Last up, Uncle Ronny showing us just how difficult it is to chase after a couple of two year olds over consecutive days!