Hamburgers and Margaritas with the Kendricks and Kathryn and John

We got back late today from Dallas so we had the Kendricks and Kathryn and John over for a casual dinner. Sanders picked up stuff for hamburgers and SK brought over their margarita machine. It was just what I needed after 2 non-stop days in Dallas! The kids ran around and had fun as you'll see . . .

Hannah came out in Sanders' pajamas. It was too cute

Mae came out in Sanders' boxers! I'd say they are a little big on her

Then Hannah came out in Mae's dress which was really cute on her!

So cute!

Next, Mae puts on the pink dress, her sunglasses and adds the umbrella!

And finally, Hannah comes out in the butterfly tu-tu and the boa. It was all too cute!

We ended with bathtime!

Mae's end of the year party

Today was Mae's last day in Ms. Dee Dee's class. We will miss her and Mrs. Wendy. They have both been so sweet. They had a little party for everyone that morning. I was with Little Sanders in Dallas so Sanders went to the party to be with Mae. They played outside for a little while and then came inside and had some treats. Thanks to Alexis for taking pictures for me! Mae has two weeks off of school before she will start Mrs. Elaine's class. Hopefully we will find some fun activities to keep us busy!

Playing outside on the playground

Two peas in a pod!

I think they are singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Mae and Sadie with Mrs. Dee Dee and Mrs. Wendy

The Circus!!!

We had conquered the Great Wolf Lodge so it was on to the Circus!!! It was playing at the American Airlines Center which worked out great since we were already going to be in Dallas. A sweet former co-worker who is still the promoter of the Dallas market gave us some free tickets and a parking pass which made it even more appealing to go.

I was excited to take Sanders to the three-ring show because it is 10 times more exciting than the one ring show we get here in Sheveport. It has everything you could ask for in a circus! We woke Hannah and Sanders up that morning and told them we had a surprise for them. We gave them a few hints where we were going but we didn't tell them until we were talking in the arena. They were so excited!

The show was great! They had tigers, horses, zebras, elephants, a dog show, the double cannon, the double wheel of wonder etc! Sanders and Hannah sat in amazement throughout the entire show. It was so neat to get to experience that with Sanders since the circus was such a big part of my life for 6 years. I love being on the other side of things with my own child getting to see the excitement the circus brings to him.

Of course we got suckered into buying them something from the concession stand during intermission. Sanders picked out the light spinner and Hannah picked out a pink purse with a pony. We also got Mae a present since she didn't get to come. We got her a blinking tiara which she loves!

After the Circus was over we loaded up in the car, picked up some lunch at Potbelly's and headed back to Shreveport. It had been a fun 2 days for the kids and us moms were worn out!

Here are some pictures from the show!

Arriving at the American Airlines Center

The aerialist act

they are hanging by a sheet

the dog act

they were hilarious. It is always one of my favorite acts

the Chinese acrobats

the high wire act. These guys always amaze me

it was right above our head

jump roping on the high wire

now on the bike

Hannah and Sanders are in awe

the double cannon. This is a married couple

Intermission - we went and bought a light spinner from the concession stands

The elephant act was up next - everyone's favorite!!

Now the next favorite act - the TIGERS!

The Double Wheel of Wonder

The finale

After the show Hannah and Sanders put on their silly circus hats

They are so adorable!

Our trip home from Dallas. They were worn out!

Our trip to the Great Wolf Lodge

Today was finally the day for the Great Wolf Lodge trip! Sanders had been counting down the days he was so excited! He ran down the stairs that morning and the first thing out of his mouth was "is today the day we are going to the water park?" He couldn't wait any longer!

We left early that morning and got to Dallas around 1pm. The Kendricks rode with us and Holly and Paige rode in the other car. Sanders and Hannah did great in the car. They watched half of Bug's Life and then Enchanted. Once we got to the Grapevine area we stopped at Chik Fil A for a quick lunch and then headed to Great Wolf for a day of fun on the water slides! The kids were jumping for joy they were so excited. Once we checked in we quickly changed into our swimsuits and headed for the slides. They measured all the kids when we first got to the entrance to see what slides they could ride and poor little Sanders was the only one who wasn't tall enough to ride the big slides. Thankfully he didn't catch on to that - he said "mommy they told me i could ride all the rides right?" so i said "yes honey, you can ride them all" - and that is all he needed to hear. We started with the small slides but they quickly moved to the "middle slides" which even the mommies took a ride on. We all got water dumped on us but that was part of the fun! Next we moved on to the lily pads which Sanders LOVED! We did those a few times. He was a little frog getting across them. Cameron, Holly, Paige and Grant went and rode the bigger slides while SK and I took the kids to the outside water park. It was almost more fun than the inside! Maybe because they had frozen daiquiris for the adults but they also had an entry level pool with lots of fun things for the kids to do. They ran around and played great together! Hannah did have a little fall and scraped her chin but the lifeguards patched her up with a band-aid and she was right back out there.

After 5 hours of the slides, we decided to head up to the room to shower and get ready for dinner. Sanders and Hannah watched cartoons in their "Kid Kamp" bunk beds while SK and I got ready. They needed a little rest since they had been going strong all day.

We all met up at the Rainforest Cafe which was the perfect place to entertain the kids while we ate. They had animals, fish tanks, waterfalls etc around our table that kept them intrigued. That place does it right! They had a guy come around to our table that made balloons animals for all the kids and they had blinky cups for the kids' drinks! They loved it all! We got through dinner without too much craziness and came back to the hotel. The mommies were definitely exhausted from a busy day! Somehow Sanders and Hannah didn't fall asleep until after 10pm - I guess they were on their 10th wind of the day or just excited to be sleeping on the same bunk bed but FINALLY they fell asleep!!! It had been a full day.

Their first time on the slides:

Sanders on the jet skiis

Sanders going down the slides

I love the grin on his face

Hannah going down face first on the slide

Moving on the to the bigger slides. Holly takes a turn at going down!

Cameron takes a turn down the orange (fast) slide!

Grant takes turn down the slide

Here comes Sanders

He did it!

Here comes Paige

Here comes Holly again!

Cameron is having a ball!

Here comes Hannah! She wasn't too sure about going at first but ended up loving it!

Sarah Katherine . . .

Moving on to the lily pads

the little frog

Cameron takes a turn at the lily pads

She didn't quite make it this time

Hannah's turn

Moving to the outside water park and putting sunscreen on

There were lots of fun things for them to do in the outside pool!

Sanders and Grant splashing around

I wonder what they are talking about

Hannah

The three amigos

Sanders and Hannah playing in the water fountains

The "GROUP" getting ready to go to the Rainforest Cafe

Sanders and Hannah

Outside the Rainforest Cafe

Goofing around while we wait for our table

Me and Sanders

SK and Hannah

Holly and Cameron

Paige and Grant

All the mommies and their kiddos! It was a fun group.