Spring Break 2013

Spring Break in Dallas took place last week and even though Mason is only two, we decided to make the most of it and pack his days with fun activities around Dallas! The weather started off a little chilly but the second two-thirds of the week were absolutely perfect. Hope it sticks around for another few months before it becomes brutally hot!

Monday was nothing new but was still fun. We went to the gym and then joined friends at Chick-fil-A where the kids can play. After his nap that afternoon we played around the house. On Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment and since Mason's school was closed for Spring Break, my mom came over to play with him while I was gone. They played outside the majority of the time and both had a great time! That afternoon we had a picnic dinner playdate scheduled with a friend at the park, but his buddy got sick at the last minute and had to cancel. We decided to play outside in the backyard all afternoon and then dined al fresco that evening!

Filling his dump trucks with dirt and then dining al fresco!

Wednesday is when the fun really started. We met a friend at Jump Mania in Plano and Mason and I both had a blast. The place is filled with huge indoor bounce houses with slides, obstacle courses, and all sorts of bouncy fun. After an hour and a half we were both ready to relax in the car on our way to meet my sister, niece, mom and dad for lunch in Allen. We met at Watters Creek, a pretty outdoor shopping and dining center. Mason and I got there early and walked down to the creek to play with his cars and sit on the metal ducks. After lunch (forgot to snap a pic), Madison came home with us to spend the night. We put Mason down for his nap and I got some things done around the house while she searched for lizards outside and watched a movie inside. When Mason woke up we all went out for sno-cones and playtime at the park!

He was moving so fast at Jump Mania and all my pictures turned out blurry! Shows how much fun he had.

Playing by the creek at Watters Creek before lunch

Sno-Cones, playground and dinner with his sweet and helpful cousin, Madison

I can't believe it took us this long, but we finally took Mason out to the new Klyde Warren park on Thursday. Its a five acre urban green space built over Woodall Rodgers Freeway, connecting downtown and uptown Dallas. It's great for kids and adults alike, and Mason had a blast in the kids play area. He spotted the water feature right away and immediately started taking off his clothes so he could play in it! Thankfully I had brought some back-up clothes. We met some of our friends up there with their kiddos and then grabbed a ride on the McKinney Avenue Trolley. All of the kids really seemed to enjoy this and were really well behaved on the 45 minute loop through uptown. When we got back to the park I was amazed at how packed it had become. It was a gorgeous day and food trucks line the park for lunch, so all the people who work around there joined all the spring breakers to make for a massive crowd. Sean's building is within walking distance to the park so he joined us for lunch. We waited a total of an hour for our food, but man was that a good burger! Needless to say, Mason was ready for his nap that afternoon. Madison did all she could to help keep him awake on the way home and he went straight to his crib for a lengthy snooze!

My sweet, pale baby at Klyde Warren park

Splash!

We'll bring swim trunks next time!

Fun on the trolley and then lunch from the food trucks with Daddy!

On Friday we had plans to meet a friend and her son at the zoo, but she had a last minute commitment come up so we went on our own. We left the house early to stop at the delicious Fuel City Tacos for breakfast and get to the zoo just in time for opening. It was crowded from the get go, but nothing that was too unmanageable. The zoo is pretty close driving-distance from Sean's office so he was able to meet us up there for an hour. He did not want to miss Mason's first visit! Mason loved seeing all the animals in person. He favorite part was taking the monorail around some of the African exhibits. That boy loves trains! After his nap that afternoon his neighborhood friend Beatrice came over to play, and then when Sean got home we took Mason and Beatrice out for an Italian dinner. They are such cute little friends and really seemed to enjoy their first date!

Playing with trains at the Giraffe exhibit

Admiring the elephant

Going on a safari!

Up close and personal with a cheetah, giraffe, and gorilla. Sean took him up high to view the gorilla.

Happy kiddos after a successful first date

He was so happy when we got home from dinner. He was just running around the front yard smiling and laughing!

We invited my family over for a cook-out on Saturday and sadly didn't get any pictures of this. Doug was able to come in town, and my parents and the Gadeks were here too. It was a wonderful evening with exceptional weather and delicious food. Thanks, Dad, for the venison sausage - yum!!!

We stayed around the house for the most part on Sunday and spent the greater part of the day outside. Mason has rediscovered his love for playing in the water hose so we stripped him down several times over the weekend and let him go to town. We wrapped the weekend up with a healthy chicken dinner to get our week back to reality off to a fresh start!

Next week we plan to go to Dallas Blooms at the Arboretum with my mom and The new Perot museum with a friend on Friday. Then a visit to the Dallas Museum of Art with another lunch trip to Klyde Warren is in our future! I love Dallas this time of year and have enjoyed taking Mason out to enjoy it as well!