I See a Trip to SplashTown in Our Future!

Considering the heat of Texas in the summer, and Ava's love of the water, we're always looking for fun, water-related activities to do to stay cool while still exploring the outdoors. This looks like it is right up our alley, AND, they have a great deal for families right now! Check it out:

SplashTown San Antonio is 20 landscaped acres of cool, clean water excitement!

Location - Just 3 minutes north of downtown San Antonio

Information - This Family Waterpark has something fun for everyone!!!

    * Over 50 Rides & Attractions

    * FREE Life Jackets

    * Covered Public Picnic Area

    * Restaurant & Concessions

    * Dive-In Movies

    * Lockers for Rent

    * Professionaly Trained Lifeguards

    * FREE Parking

    * Restrooms with Shower Facilities

    * Souvenir Shop

    * Special Events

Splashtown Accepts Discover, Master Card, Visa, American Express and Cash.

Save $7 Off Admission!!
Print coupon and save at the gate!

Wordless Wednesday: My Twenties, By the Numbers.

When I was twenty, I graduated from The University of Texas with two degrees, the first person in my family to do so - it was a very proud day :) (less so for my hair...)

At twenty-one, I bought my first (and favorite) car on my own:

Twenty-two took me to NYC for a year, and was the year I bought my home, an accomplishment that still floors me to this day:

I lived on top of this bar (a dangerous idea for a 22-year-old!!)

And two blocks from Central Park, where you can find one of my favorite places, the Literary Walk:

My house, shiny and new! To this day, I adore this house :)

Twenty-three was the year I met David:

Twenty-four, we moved in together, and my house became OUR house:

Twenty-five, we gained another household member when we welcomed our sweet baby girl:

At twenty-six, I was surprised by a beautiful proposal one May evening:

At twenty-seven, I married the love of my life, and the father of my beautiful baby girl:

I can hardly wait to see what wonders twenty-eight has in store for me! :)

Capital of Texas Zoo

Last week, in a desperate effort to entertain four small children who are already out of school, we hopped in the car and drove the twenty-something miles east of Austin to the Capital of Texas Zoo, located in Cedar Creek, Texas (near Bastrop).

While the zoo was overall extremely small and limited, I will say that we were quite impressed that they had both a white Bengal tiger and a black panther, two things we have yet to encounter at either the Houston, San Antonio or Cameron Park (Waco) Zoo!

He even growled at for us!

We also managed to time our visit perfectly to get to see the newborn baby zebra! The calf was born Tuesday, and so we got to meet him/her when he/she was only three days old! Pretty huge for a three-day-old, right?

The rest of their animals, however, were limited, with the most prevalent being the guinea pigs (to which Ava delighted the two other people there by screaming "Bevo!!!" longingly at them...), goats, deers and an assortment of monkeys. Maybe we've just been spoiled by the larger zoos that we've visited in more urban areas, but I definitely was expecting more. We still managed to have fun, though, and it was a great way to get out of the house and to avoid the dreaded, "I'm bored!".

Here are some more pics from our little day trip:

I loved that this mommy had a baby stuck to her, esp. since I was carrying Ava at this point :)

One thing you should know if you choose to visit the Capital of Texas Zoo is that it is VERY rugged terrain. I was seriously wishing I had skipped the Maclaren umbrella stroller in favor of something more all-terrain, because I was getting stuck and having to use all my might to push, all while carrying Ava half the time. Needless to say, I got a workout that day!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Tie Dye Fun!

It will likely come as no surprise that we went from this: 

To this:

Texas Mother Friendly - Promote Breastfeeding-Friendly Working Environments!

I recently received an email from a company promoting breastfeeding-friendly working environments. As you well know, I'm a HUGE breastfeeding advocate, and so I happily agreed to pass along the information that they're working hard to distribute. In this day and age, mother-friendly workplaces should be a right, not an amenity, but it will take hard work and activism to ensure that this becomes the case.


Here's what they had to say:


As the nation celebrates National Women's Health Week, it’s a perfect time to remind mothers, families and employers about the important role breastfeeding can play in the health of mother and child. Mothers who breastfeed according to medical recommendations (six months exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding through at least the first year of life) protect their child from illnesses and reduce their own risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and ovarian cancer.

While 75 percent of new moms in the United States start breastfeeding their babies, few continue after they return to work.  Many worksites lack a private location and adequate facilities for pumping and storing breastmilk, and mothers worry about the attitudes of their supervisors and co-workers if they ask for the small amount of break time they need to pump breastmilk during the workday.

That’s why the Texas Department of State Health Services encourages all Texas employers to consider developing a written worksite breastfeeding support policy and to pursue designation as a Texas Mother-Friendly Worksite. The agency also has launched www.TexasMotherFriendly.org as a resource for parents and employers.

I encourage you to visit the website, make a pledge to support working mothers and share this important information with anyone you feel may benefit!

Meet Our Bunny!

Now introducing: Sundress!

Note: We let Ava name the bunny, in case that wasn't obvious. Thankfully, I think Sunny is a pretty cute nickname, or even Sunny Bunny. We're also reasonably sure the bunny actually is a girl, so that name fits! It's growing on me.

Anyhow, we recently took the rest of the bunnies to be rescue bunnies at the petting zoo we frequent. It seemed like the perfect solution - they'll be happier and we'll still get a chance to see them, not to mention that they'll be making other little kiddos happy as well. How can you go wrong? Anyhow, we did keep one, since we'd all gotten attached to them, and that one is our sweet little Sundress.

We're still working on domesticating her fully, but of all of us, she seems to love Ava the most! She lets Ava hold her (though Ava is more persistent than anyone else, so that's a part of it!), and Ava is able to catch her a lot easier than we do! Sunny is definitely Ava's bunny :)

Welcome to our family, Sunny!

Vacation Week Recap.

It's Friday night. You know what that means? Time to par-tay! Wait. No. That's not it. Maybe five years ago, yes, but tonight, well, I'm holed up on the couch, laptop, phone and remote all within reach. I'm catching up on the season finale of Scandal (side note: if you're not watching that show, you NEED to be. SO GOOD!), sorting through pictures, and eating leftover wedding cake. And you know what? That's about the best Friday night I can imagine :)

I haven't been the best with posting this week, and for once, I can't say anything about being too busy. In fact, I've been on vacation from my "main" job, and I let that mindset carry on into my screen time as well, mainly unplugging. While I'd like to say that was mainly my idea, part of the reason I've been unplugged is because last Friday, while in the parking lot of a Chuck E. Cheese to attend a four-year-old's birthday party, I slammed my finger in the door of my car, breaking it and causing a huge (and incredibly painful) build-up of blood underneath my fingernail, all of which has made typing difficult, to say the least. Thankfully, a doctor's visit, a finger splint and a week have made a big difference, and the pain has mainly subsided.

We had a great week off, even though I still had to work afternoons at my second job. It was so fantastic to be able to not have to get Ava out of bed before she's ready in the mornings, and to not be rushing constantly. We spent many a great day hanging out in the backyard, enjoying the fabulous weather and our awesome new backyard sandbox, as well as had a chance to host playgroup at our house (an experience that was not in line with my vacation mindset and will not be repeated my next week off - ha!). Check out some pics of this week:

Hosting playgroup (with twelve children!):

Fun in the sun!

We caught up with our old friend Bevo at the Tiny Tails to You petting zoo story time:

We also said goodbye to three of our four bunnies that day, when the petting zoo agreed to take them in as rescues :) We're so happy they now have a good home, but we were sad to see them go! We did keep one, though. More on her later!

Ava rode around on her bike. In her swimsuit. In our kitchen. Whatevs.

We did a bit of swimming, one of our faves!

All this vacation-ing left someone a wee bit sleepy :)

All in all, we had a fantastic week! There were a few hiccups - the broken finger, followed by an allergic reaction to an antibiotic I was prescribed that left my tongue swollen to the point of being blistered and my gums and lips numb, but at least it wasn't allowed to get worse and I was safe :) Those two things aside, though, this week was simply lovely. The only bad part of vacation is when it's over, and I'm definitely feeling a bit of the back-to-work-blues. Oh, to be able to stay at home. Someday....

Hope everyone had a great week as well! Back to regular blogging and blog reading this coming week!