No Label

I'm finally getting around to posting about our visit to No Label Brewery during Father's Day weekend!  I can't believe we hadn't tried this place out sooner.  We had an awesome time with Emily, Grant and a few of my work friends and their kiddos.  It's good, cheap fun for adults and kids....and you can't beat that!

We all gave No Label Brewery an A+.  Here are a few of the reasons you should go too!

It's only a 10 minute drive from pretty much anywhere in Katy.
There are food trucks with yummy food and sno-cones!
There's a live band (William was in love).
You can bring your own chairs, food, blankets, etc, etc
They have shaded areas.
They have picnic tables.
You get a great deal on 4 beers (and they're yum).
The kids can run around, get energy out, dance to the music, relax in their chair and have a snack.....you get the point....it's an awesome way to spend your Saturday afternoon!  If you're in the Houston area make sure to check it out.

• Hanging with our friends, listening to some tunes!
• Getting some Aunt Em time in.  
• Family Fun!
• Dancing with his favorite little lady.
• These two kiddos love each other so much!  Just taking in some live music while they enjoy a lollipop.  

Cheers friends!

Independence Day

On the last day of our trip to the JW we said goodbye to our sweet baby boy so he could go to CampNanaPapa!  William stayed in San Antonio with my parents another night before heading to West Texas the next morning.  Leaving William in San Antonio made things a little easier since I knew there was so much entertainment at the JW.  I still cried my eyes out on the drive home to Houston.  Unfortunately, Gordon had to leave town that week for business so this momma was on her own.  I was pretty disappointed about how the scheduling all worked out....but I ended up having a fun few days alone....happy hour at Perry's, went to see Maleficent, did some shopping, got my hair done, got a mani/pedi and when I got up in the morning for work I was out the door within 15 minutes!
 

Lunch Date!

Thursday afternoon we headed to West Texas for the July 4th weekend and to get our baby.  :)  Before heading to the airport we had a fun lunch date at Benjy's.  Thanks Nana and Papa for taking care of our sweet little buddy.  It was great to have some "ME" time.

{Playing with Uncle D} {Living the Good Life} {Fireworks!} {Watermelon with Skye}

We had a great weekend just relaxing at the house.  We hit up some of my favorite lunch spots, got to visit with my Grandpa and GG, took some long naps, stayed up way too late talking the night away, and got lots of pool time in.  We even did a few fireworks with William.  He couldn't decide if he loved them or hated them.  He would cry "bye bye" and a minute later tell you "more".   

{Feeding the baby goat at Pop and GG's} {SO happy to see our baby} {Lunch with D and Skye} {He had a fun weekend with Nana and Papa} {love} {Summer Mummers} {Watering with Nana} {Bubbles!}

Saturday night we got a babysitter so we could go to Summer Mummers.  It was a last minute decision so we didn't have the best seats.  I'm so glad we decided to go because we all had the best time!  You can't beat laughing the night away with your family while drinking beer and throwing popcorn.  

{To say he loved the Polaris is an understatement} {Learning from the best}

We even made time for shooting while we were in town!  Fun times.  I always hate leaving but luckily we'll be going back in September.  Until then I'll harass Gordon about moving back to this beautiful desert town. :)

Mini Vacation

The last weekend in June we had a mini vaca in San Antonio at the JW Marriott.  The last time Gordon and I were there I was 6 weeks pregnant with William.  We were so excited to take the little buddy to this fabulous resort....and we got to meet up with Nana and Papa! 
Getting to the JW is a breeze from Houston.  It's a short 3 hour drive with a Bucee's in between!  The first day we were there we rented a cabana.  It's definitely the way to go if you have a large group of people.  All the chairs get taken up super early in the morning so having the cabana with lots of seating all together is awesome.  You also get a mini fridge stocked with drinks, a shaded area (a plus if you have little ones so they can nap), and you get four lounge chairs in the water (again, perfect for little ones).  During the day we soaked up lots of sun, lounged on the lazy river, did the water slide 100 times, had one or two pina~coladas,  and just chilled.  In the evenings we got to listen to live music and play outside.  William loves music and watching people play the guitar so he was in heaven!  If he could talk I know he'd tell us this was one of the best weekends ever.  There was even a food truck outside that served food and adult beverages!  It was in a big, open, grassy area where kids could run around, throw ball and be as loud as they wanted.  A parents dream.  :)  

Last summer we stayed at the Hyatt Regency in San Antonio.  It's on the other side of San Antonio (closer to Sea World) and super nice as well.  The two hotels aren't much different in price, both have lazy rivers and both are kid friendly.  Here are a few things about each that we liked.

JW Marriott San Antonio:  Not only kid friendly but fun for adults too.  They have a huge bar with TVs everywhere.  Perfect for football season!  The kids pool was just right for William's age (slides, splash pad kinda stuff).  The BIG slide will be fun years down the road as well as the arcade room they have.  

Hyatt Regency San Antonio Hill Country- The Hyatt had a more outdoorsy feel to it.  It was surrounded by lots of trees and even had a nature trail that we walked through.  I don't remember there being much of a splash pad but they were in the process of building some big slides.  They did have several sandy "beach" areas off of the lazy river.  William really loved it last year!  I think you could even bring your own cooler with food etc into the pool area.  That may have changed by now?!?!?

Both places are fantastic!  They both offer child care/day camp for children 3 and up (that are potty trained).  It would be a great way to have some adult time and for your kiddos to meet friends and get some energy out for several hours.

Cabana Time  |  Squirt toys are the best  |  "Front roll, Mama!"  |  

Can you tell W wants to get down and run?  |  Relaxing  |  SO much fun!

My parents kept William one extra night in San Antonio before driving him back to Midland with them.  Leaving our sweet little buddy was so hard but I knew he was in good hands and would have a blast with his Nana and Papa!  They danced the night away after Gordon and I left.  Thanks goodness for pools, guitars and live music.  :)  

Ducks and iPads

I was looking through pictures last night and ran across William feeding ducks for the first time while we were in Texarkana in April.  William has seen lots of ducks but we'd never actually fed them before this.  He thought it was pretty fun!

  My brother got attacked by a duck in preschool.  I'm still a little leery of the quacking waddlers (is that even a word)!?!?!  I'll admit, I was a little anxious about William getting close to them and/or falling into the nasty water.  #nurseproblems.  Which leads me to another crazy "being a nurse problem".  Salmonella.  Tiny little reptiles, like turtles, that live in this murky water are natural carriers of Salmonella.  Yuck.  I've started IVs on a couple kids recently that had Salmonella due to touching these little creatures.  Kids are so bad about touch their face/mouth so you have to be careful.  #handwashing 

While I'm on the subject of ducks I thought I'd mention our favorite iPad/iPhone apps.  They are made by Duck Duck Moose....which goes perfect with today's post!  

  These apps are fabulous!  We really try to keep the TV/iPad time to a minimum but these apps work perfect on road trips and while Momma is trying to get showered and dressed!
  The top three are great for babies and the bottom three for toddlers and preschoolers!  Here's something I love about each of them.....
Itsy Bitsy- besides the singing there is counting and a cute fly that gives you facts about the sun, clouds, and caterpillars.
Old MacDonald- again, great singing plus learning animals and the sounds they make.  You can even change the singing to a different language.
Wheels On The Bus- this song is a hit in our home!  Each scene has something interactive plus the words of the song so they can read too.
Musical Me- this one includes a memory game, rhyming, learning about music notes, and you can play different instruments.
Trucks and More Trucks- perfect for little boys!  Lots of colors and fun sounds.

Happy Monday y'all!!!!

Father's Day Weekend

As you can see, the ol' blog got a face-lift!!  There's still a couple of things left to do but otherwise I'm loving the change.  We've been traveling a lot lately....hopefully things will be a little calmer the next few weeks so I can catch up in the blog world.  Here's a little peak into our Father's Day weekend.

We had a weekend full of fun for Gordon's 3rd Father's Day!  On Saturday we tried out the local brewery with some friends and family (Grant and Emily).  We had the BEST time.  I can't believe we hadn't tried No Label Brewery out sooner!  I'll do a post on it soon....hopefully!

That evening Gordon and I had date night.  We decided to go to the movies but didn't end up seeing what we had planned.  The movie theater's system messed up and sent us to The Fault In Our Stars.  If you read my blog you probably already know I'm a pediatric oncology nurse.  Of course I wanted to see this movie.  BUT, it needed to be when I was ready, when I was emotionally prepared, with the right person (the ladies I work with) and with a glass of wine!  I'd planned on reading the book and then going to see the movie with Stacy and Anna.  Well, that didn't happen.  Maybe God thought Gordon and I needed to see it together.  Regardless, it was a great movie.  I cried The. Entire. Movie. No joke.  Ask Gordon.  #nurseproblems

Sunday went pretty much as usual.  Church, swim, nap, playing outside, and movie night.  I did cook breakfast for our special daddy and we let him pick our lunch spot.  Wing Stop.  YUM!  WE had a great day hanging out at home.  How precious are these pics of baby boy eating watermelon with his daddy?!?! These are the days that make me happiest.  :)