First Weekend At the Lake!

We were finally able to spend our first full weekend at the lake house! After our tenants moved out at the end of February, I made a day trip down to meet with a house painter and a flooring installer to get quotes for new carpet for the three bedrooms and painting the entire interior of the house. It was so exciting to have that all finished and have a new feel to it. We ended up going with the same wall colors already on the main walls, which is Sherman Williams Sterling (#1591) in eggshell. I actually picked out a few different samples to try, but ended up really liking the original color much better. For the bedrooms and two bathrooms, I decided on a grey color (??) which was one of the samples I brought. It really looks great and is a good compliment to the main wall colors. For carpet in the three bedrooms, we decided to go with a neutral color that includes tan, grey, and some black. It was one of the least expensive options, which we figured would be good for the lake and yet it would fit well with the wall color (and blend in any spills that may happen).

Finally for the weekend we chose to go down, it ended up being the best weather of the year! It was sunny and in the mid-80s the entire weekend and the girls actually had that Friday off from school, so we left after lunch. I had my last USTA tennis match that morning against Mira Vista Country Club, which is out in West Fort Worth. After the match, I showered, and the four of us grabbed lunch before returning to the house for our clothes and Buddy. Buddy was very uncertain about what exactly was happening, especially since he saw all of our bags being packed up! He was just excited to be going with us.

Once we arrived, around 4pm, we had to work at setting up the beds. We actually had to take the wood bunk beds apart and move them from our room upstairs to a bedroom downstairs. It was a lot of work, but came together well. We then put together our two twin beds to make a king bed upstairs, where we decided to have our bedroom. The other two twin beds went into the other guest room and we decided to wait until the next day to set them up. We were all starving, so we headed to dinner. Our first real at the lake! We used yelp to decide on Hector's which is only about a 10 minute drive from our house. It was really busy but we were able to get in to a table after only about 15 minutes. The food was good! It was all delicious and really hit the spot!

After dinner, we stopped by Walmart to stock up on food and supplies. We ended up picking out a sheet/comforter set for our bed upstairs, as well as toothbrushes and toothpaste, which I completely forgot to pack. We also bought a much-needed vacuum cleaner since the new carpet is very messy and needs at least a good vacuuming! We also had to buy dog food for Buddy, since I forgot to pack that too. After our shopping spree, we returned to the house and got the girls tucked into bed. They were SO excited and couldn't get settled for sleep. The next morning, they told us they were up until just after midnight! Sofia is used to staying up late, but I can't imagine how Olivia did it, especially on a Friday night. She is our girl who is excited to go to bed at 8pm! Needless to say, they didn't stay up that late on Saturday night!

On Saturday, I woke up first and walked Buddy down Lake Drive, which makes a perfect loop. He stayed on his leash since I know there are a lot of dogs and he loves to explore yards. After everyone was awake we made biscuits and scrambled eggs and bacon. We ended up eating outside, looking at the lake while sitting on our steps. We bought a table and chairs for our deck, but haven't put them together yet. The biscuits were from a mix, and not the homemade ones CK usually makes, but they turned out fine. Not as good as usual, of course! After breakfast, Olivia and I put the table together, which actually came together very easily and only took us about 30 minutes. Sofia wrote and drew in her journal and Buddy just hung out on the deck like he'd been to the lake house every weekend of his life! Then, the girls changed into their swimsuits and were in the lake in no time. CK headed to the hardware store to buy more supplies, including a shovel and wheelbarrow for our fire pit project. We didn't get around to digging it, but will on a future visit.

After CK returned, he and Sofia towed the non-working jet ski to the boat ramp so we could load it onto our neighbor's jet ski ramp and CK could take it in for repair. I took both girls back on the jet ski and put it back in it's cradle. After CK returned from dropping off the jet ski, we headed out for our first boat trip! I was a little nervous, since we are both totally clueless about how to operate a boat, but it went great! CK filled up the "Hot Dog" and we tested it out in the middle of the lake. Sofia loved it and I ended up riding with her when Olivia declined. Buddy actually enjoyed sitting on the boat and was very relaxed, until I was out on the Hot Dog and then he whined and cried for me. CK put on his life vest (another Walmart purchase) since we were a little afraid he might jump in! Olivia was reluctant to get on the Hot Dog, but it was also 5pm and she was hungry and tired.

We headed in and made spaghetti for dinner and got to eat our first dinner at the lake house on our new table outside! It was perfect! Our internet provider also installed our internet (but no cable) earlier on Saturday, so we were able to use our phones. The girls went to bed without a fuss at 9pm.

On Sunday, we all slept in a bit and then had donuts that CK and Olivia picked up from Snowflake Donuts. The donuts were good and really hit the spot. We then took the boat out again and had fun on the Hot Dog. Sofia and I ended up falling and it knocked the wind out of Sofia and really shook her up. She kept saying how thankful she was for having a life jacket on! Unfortunately, she never really regained her confidence and wanted CK to go slow and not to make any turns. I know she needs to fall off one more time so she understands that won't happen each time. Olivia got on the Hot dog briefly but didn't want to go over 6 mimes an hour. Then she wanted off. She'll warm up to it. We were super hungry and headed to Chili's for a burger. It was delicious and really hit the spot.

We returned to the house and organized before we closed up everything to head home. It was such a fun weekend and we are all really looking forward to spending a lot of summer at the lake this year!

The view from our back deck. So beautiful and relaxing!

Buddy surveying his domain!

Enjoying the view with a cup of coffee - the best!

Breakfast!

The girls drawing, making up stories and talking! Love it!

Buddy and the house

Tada! The finished table!!

Sofia writing in her journal

Olivia reading

Grilled cheese lunch on our table

Selfie!

The girls are ready to swim!

At the end of our dock

Buddy!

Pulling the jet ski to the boat ramp

Ready for our first boat ride!! Exciting!

Waiting to get started. CK is on the phone with the former owner asking questions before we set off

Our life vests and swimsuits after a super fun day

Our first dinner at the lake - spaghetti! It was delicious!

Our living room and Buddy has found his spot in it!

Buddy and Olivia on the boat. He was perfectly comfortable

Papa driving the boat

Sofia gets her life vest on

The Hot Dog!

Sofia and Olivia on the Hot Dog. Olivia only rode it for a few minutes. She much prefers the boat.

Olivia's First Grade Field Trip!

Today Olivia and her fellow 1st graders had their field trip to the Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch in Pilot Point, just over an hour drive from us. Originally I had a conflict with a tennis make-up match in Fort Worth, but was able to ask another player to play for me. Yesterday, I told Olivia I wasn't able to go and she completely lost it and cried and cried. I decided that at the end of the day it was more important for me to spend the day with Olivia on her field trip then play yet another tennis match. It is Olivia's only field trip for the year and I didn't want to miss out. She was so excited when I told her I would be going with her!

Today started out cloudy, cool and a little rainy, but the forecast promised it would be in the low 70s. I ended up joining Stacy and Casey, with Stacy driving her new car. It took us over an hour to get to Sharkarosa, which was really in the middle of nowhere. Shortly after we arrive, the school buses arrived and we connected with our kiddos. It rained the entire drive up, but thankfully stopped for the entire field trip. However, it was COLD! It was in the low 50s, a little windy and cloudy. Several of the kids forgot jackets and were in their short-sleeved shirts. I had both tennis jacket and my rain jacket on over a long-sleeved shirt and was still freezing! I ended up giving my tennis jacket to Poppy, who looked so cold and pathetic. I couldn't even imagine only wearing a short-sleeve shirt in the weather! Olivia wore her pink zip up and I brought her heavy windbreaker/rain jacket that barely fits her, but was essential today. She wore them both zipped up!

The field trip started with a ride on the tractor-tram, which was open to the air and very chilly. Our tour guide drove us to see the horses, which we could pet, through the zebras and deer, which we couldn't pet and then to see the camels which we were allowed to pet. It was pretty fun, although chilly. Of course, Olivia was "starving" so I gave her a bag of pretzels on the sly. It still didn't improve her mood much and I knew she was cold and miserable when she said "I just want to get on the bus and go home." I overheard one boy say "I'd rather be at school doing math problems!" Ha! That kid must have really been cold!

Finally our tour was over and we headed to the main pavilion where we were given a talk about an alligator and were allowed to touch one that had it's mouth taped closed. It was a beautiful alligator and I took a cute photo of him with Olivia. After, our guide took us to the kangaroo enclosure and gave a short talk on the kangaroos and explained each one to the kids. Thankfully, after that we were able to eat lunch over by the bears. The bears are super cool to watch play, stretch and wrestle together. I sat by Olivia, who ate every bite of her lunch. After, she wanted snacks from my backpack! She was very hungry! Once she had some food in her belly, she was more interested in playing and ran to the playground to play with most of her classmates.

After they had a chance to play for a bit, with some of the boys getting pretty muddy when they jumped off the merry go round, we headed back toward the pavilion. The kids pared up and rode on the tractor-pulled train. Olivia joined up with her buddy Cora, who is really one of the sweetest kids in the class and a lot of fun. While they headed off on the train, Hala and I went into the gift shop to look around, and mainly to warm up! I hadn't felt my hands in an hour and was still very cold. I bought each of the girls a stuffed animal key chain - a giraffe for Olivia and an alligator for Sofia. They were really cute. Of course, Olivia noticed the gift shop as soon as she got off the train and we returned to look at all the gifts on offer. She wanted a kangaroo and we picked out a small stuffed snake for Sofia.

We headed out and visited the porcupines, monkeys and the adorable ring-tailed lemurs that had an adorable baby on one of the mom's backs! So cute! They all looked as cold as we felt. Unfortunately the petting zoo wasn't open but the kids were able to stick their fingers through the fence and touch some of their little goat noses.

Since the weather was so crumby and there was really nothing left for the kids to see, the kids loaded onto the buses 45 minutes early to head back to school. We were more than happy to climb into Stacy's warm car and get feeling back in our fingers and toes! Of course, Stacy teased us since she grew up in Michigan and the weather was fine to her! Casey and I just didn't grow up with many cold, dreary days! The field trip was fine, but Sharkarosa wasn't as interesting as it could have been. There wasn't much to do and there was little to no educational or hands-on activities. Some of the kids were overhead saying they would "rather be at school doing math." Yikes! In the end Olivia enjoyed it and it was fun to spend the day with her!

A cold smile as our tour begins

Feeding the horses and zebras

The deer and zebras. There was a baby zebra that was absolutely adorable!

The camels

Listening about the alligator

Olivia with the alligator

Such a cool animal!

Playing on the merry-go-around after lunch

Olivia and one of her best friends, Cora

Ready to ride the train together.

The Renaissance Festival!

Yesterday we did something that we've never done before (and didn't think we would do)! We went to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie! It was actually super fun! Sofia's buddy, Liam, told Sofia about the Renaissance Festival a few weeks ago and she's been pestering us about it since then. We actually planned to go with Liam and his family last Saturday, but had to change plans and go yesterday after Meeting instead. Liam and his family have gone for years and actually went to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival last Saturday. So they had the festival grounds map and schedule and knew their way around already! Thankfully it was a cool and sunny day and perfect to walk around outside the whole afternoon.

After Meeting, we stopped at Torchy's Tacos and each got a breakfast taco, thinking we would eat something at the festival. Then, CK decided he needed another layer, so we stopped at Old Navy and he ran in and bought a windbreaker. It was a windy and cool day, in the high 60s or low 70s, very uncharacteristically cool for this time of year. Mikaela, Liam's mom said that the festival is in a thick group of trees so it is protected from the wind and isn't as hot. Of course, shortly after we left Old Navy, both girls decided they needed to go to the bathroom! We stopped at McDonald's and grabbed a drink while both girls went to the bathroom. Finally we were on the road to Waxahachie, a short hour away.

We ended up arriving at the Festival just as Liam and his family arrived! I'd bought the tickets on-line so we were able to walk in. From the moment we parked the car, it was obvious we were in for a very different cultural environment! Lots of people walking into the Festival were dressed up in their renaissance finery! It was excellent people-watching!

Once we got inside, we took a picture of all the kids together and looked over the map to figure out where we wanted to go. Olivia and Amelia wanted to visit the mermaid grotto and I wanted to be sure we stopped at the "World According to Mark" ceramic shop. Ironically I'd bought two ceramic mugs from a shop in Durango, Colorado when we visited two years ago and I'd recently broke one. When I finally figured out which shop I'd purchased it from, there was a link to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival! I figured I would buy it there, if I could, or order it on-line if they didn't have it at the Festival.

As we started to explore, we came across a woman selling beautiful flower headbands, and Olivia was desperate to have one. Thankfully, CK had cash with him and let her pick one out. It was beautiful and she looked so adorable wearing it. We continued walking and came across two men who we later learned are pretty normal to see at the Renaissance Festival...one was wearing a full-skirted dress and had a parasol while the other man spoke in a crazy British accent and explained that his friend had lost a bet. Sofia and Olivia were totally confused and not sure how to react to these guys. We finally broke away and headed on our way. We came across a pair of camels and wanted to ride the one that was available for $5 each. I gave the girls money and away they went. They loved it, although they said he "smelled bad."

We continued on our way and made it to the food courtyard. The buildings are all pretty permanent and well made and the festival space is huge. The girls were drawn to a dragon! They couldn't get enough and wanted me to take a bunch of pictures with the dragon. Of course, the dragon and his owner had dragon eggs to sell and Olivia was desperate to have one. We told her we would think it over since Sofia hadn't bought anything yet and we didn't want to spend all our money within the first 15 minutes of being there. We decided to find some food since Liam and his family were a little hungry. Sofia and Olivia decided to split a large pretzel, which a big beefy guy carried around on a tall stick. It was actually really cool. Meanwhile, CK found a funnel cake - a favorite of his. We took a break for the kids to eat and then we continued on to the sword shop! Liam has bought a few swords over the years and they knew the best shops. CK took Sofia inside and she was in her element! They had beautiful handmade wood swords as well as gorgeous metal swords! Sofia picked out a wood sword and leather belt to hold it in and was so over the moon! She was so excited! After food and a new sword, we headed to the mermaid grotto!

Obviously the girls were way more interested in the mermaids than the boys, but we walked through the grotto and met a few mermaids sitting in their little pools of water. Of course, each of the mermaids want a tip for pictures. It was really well done and the girls loved it. After mermaids, we continued on to the ceramic booth. They had the ceramic mug I was looking for and I was excited to replace my favorite evening tea-drinking mug! After the mug purchase, we watched some trapeze artists who were really good together. They were a Canadian couple who were great entertainers. As we watched, CK found another sword shop and ended up buying a really gorgeous handmade ax! It was almost too beautiful to use. From there we headed to the stage on the far side of the festival to watch the belly dancers. One of Mikaela's friends is one of the belly dancers and it was fun to watch their talent!

After the belly dancers, we returned to the courtyard and the girls picked out two wrist dragons. They were SO excited to get their new dragons and both girls named them immediately and were busy making elaborate stories. We watched some people sword fight and try to break balloons tacked to their shoulders. It was pretty crazy.

Finally it was time for our final event - the Birds of Prey show, which included hawks, a bald eagle, falcons and a vulture! It was very interesting and informative! The show was great and the kids were all so excited at the end when they could "meet" each of the birds. They were both really in love with the bald eagle. It is a majestic bird and so much bigger close up! It was great to be able to get so close to the bald eagle. The girls loved it. After the Birds of Prey show, we took a family picture and then headed for the exit.

As we left, we decided to meet at a local Mexican restaurant that CK had visited before and said was pretty good. We sat outside on the covered patio and enjoyed dinner all together. The kids had a great time at the far end of the table and Sofia and Liam are such great buddies and have so much fun together. After dinner, we said goodbye to Liam and his family and headed home. It was so much fun and even CK said it was a great time. Look forward to visiting again next year!

One of the fairies outside the entrance

CK and his girls

The whole crew: Sofia, Olivia, Liam, Amelia and Gabriel

Olivia with her beautiful new flower headband

Talking to two questionable men, one of whom is wearing a dress....

Riding a camel!

Meeting a dragon! The dragon even had eggs to sell!

Papa and his funnel cake!

The sword shop!

Sofia's new sword and sword-belt and Olivia's dragon egg!

Mermaids!

Watching the belly dancers!

Wrist dragons, what every little girl needs!

Olivia with her dragon egg and wrist dragon

Sofia and her wrist dragon

Two happy little girls with their dragons and stuff!

This girl is totally in her element

Selfie!

Liam and Sofia deep in conversation while waiting for the Birds of Prey show

The show begins!

The Bald Eagle - the picture doesn't do it justice!

The kids and the bald eagle

Papa and his new ax!

The family photo before we head out!