Thursday, December 23, 2021

Megan Visits!

My niece Megan visited us for a few days before Christmas and we had so much fun together! I've been trying to get her out to visit us for months and was so excited that she finally found the time to spend some time with us. She arrived the day before CK's birthday and we had a bunch of fun ideas of things to do during her visit. Of course the first thing Olivia had to do was show Megan how much fun they could have on the trampoline. 

On CK's birthday, CK went flying and Megan, the girls and I decided to test out rock climbing at Summit Climbing. Megan suggested it since she has recently started climbing at home and enjoys it. Megan gave the girls some pointers and off they went. Sofia actually had a great time and was surprisingly good at it. Olivia got frustreated at not immediately being good at it, but she kept at it. The three of them climbed every wall they could at least once, so after about an hour or more, Sofia was sprawled out on the ground and Olivia was completely done! Sofia said her forearms were already super sore! After fun at the climbing wall, we drove down Main Street in Grapevine to show Megan how cute the area is and originally planned to stop somewhere and grab a snack, but there were so many cars and people that we could barely drive down the street! We headed to Southlake Town Center where we ended up grabbing a snack at TruFire. It was just what we needed before heading home. 

We celebrated CK that night with one of his favorite meals: grilled steak, roasted brussel sprouts, and roashed potatoes. After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to CK and he blew out his candles. He opened a couple of gifts and had a good birthday. 

The next day Sofia wasn't feeling great so we left her at home and took Megan to see Bass Pro Shop. Once inside I noticed that the line to visit Santa was completely empty! We used to take the girls to visit the Bass Pro Shop every year but haven't visited in years. I asked the assistants when the next "time card" was available to visit with Santa and they laughed and told me that they haven't used time cards in years and have switched to an on-line time reservation system! They then said that Santa didn't have anyone to visit with and let Megan and Olivia go up and tell him what they wanted! So sweet!  We walked around a little longer and then headed to the Red Door Escape Room to do our very first escape room!  Megan has done them before several times and it was really helpful to have her experience or else I don't think we would have made it past the first room!  It was a ton of fun and very interesting!  We didn't escape but we were minutes away from getting out and it was such a fun thing to do.  Sofia would love it! 

After the Escape Room experience we decided to take Megan to the most wonderful store in Texas....Buc-ee's!  We told Megan all about Buc-ee's and she just had to go.  We got a package of sour cherry candies (the best) and Olivia got a snack as well as chocolate chip cookie dough balls.  We all decided we were hungry so we also got a brisket sandwich each! So delicious.  We headed home and ended up ordering pizza since the three of us weren't hungry for dinner. 

The next day, Sofia was feeling better and Olivia headed off with her friends Hannah and Marisa on the Polar Express.  We headed into Ft. Worth to watch the Longhorns walk down the historic downtown area followed by lunch at Joe T. Garcia's.  Of course, before that Sofia and Megan had to take turns "riding" the longhorn. It never gets old and it was the first time for Megan.  We also stopped at the H3 Ranch bar to sit in the saddles and have a drink.  We all decided the saddles aren't actually that comfortable, but you have to do it when visiting Ft. Worth!  We sat outside at Joe T. Garcia's which was lovely!  The food is delicious and the weather was decent, but the heat lamps provided the perfect temperature!  So much fun!

After lunch, we drove over to the Ft. Worth Water Gardens, which is always a great place to visit.  We walked around, took some photos and then headed to Summer Moon Coffee Shop for the best coffee ever!  Then home.  Megan left the next day and we had so much fun with her! We hope she comes back in the summer so we can take her to the lake house and enjoy some water time.  She also said she'd love to have one or both girls visit her in California for a few days.  Sofia thought that was the best idea ever!  Maybe this summer we'll see the girls' cousin again and hang out!  Such a fun visit!

Olivia, Hannah and Marisa at Grapevine's Polar Express.
Sweet friends.
They have their tickets.
Best friends!
With Santa!
Megan and Olivia jumping on the trampoline.
Megan is ready to show Sofia and Olivia how to rock climb.
Off they go!
Sofia climbing to the top!
She made it to the top!
Down she goes!
Megan and Sofia climb together!
Sofia loved it but was also exhausted!
Olivia wasn't a huge fan....
Megan showing the girls how it's done!
CK's birthday dinner!
Make a wish!
Megan and Olivia at Bass Pro Shop!
We (almost) escaped the Escape Room!
At Buckee's!
Watching the Longhorns in Ft. Worth.
When at the Ft. Worth's Stockyards....
Having a drink in Ft. Worth.
At Joe T. Garcia's for lunch.
At the Ft. Worth Water Gardens.
Sofia in a nut shell!

Friday, November 26, 2021

Family Photos!

While CK Sr. and Connie visited over Thanksgiving week, we were lucky enough to get Annie to take professional photos of us all and as our immediate family! We haven't done professional family photos in years and Annie is the absolute best! We wanted her to take photos of us infront of our house, but it ended up being too sunny so she decided to set up so our driveway was in the background and the leaves of our trees were just perfect. It really is a remarkable view and the photos turned out amazing! The girls and even the dogs cooperated and Annie was able to capture a bunch of great photos. It was hard to actually decide which ones we wanted. Here they are: