Snow World

Sea World has a "Snow World" celebration each winter, and we decided to try it out!  Kids loved it, and we all had a ton of fun!

We just happened to be walking by the Sesame Street stage when the characters had a few minutes for pictures with their fans.  This was probably R&R's favorite part of the whole day.  And, for those of you who know Rhys well, it was a BIG deal for her to take this picture.  She has always had a love/hate relationship with characters.

We were also able to get a picture with Abby and The Count.  I think both of the twins were scared of The Count.  He kept trying to get one of them to stand in front of him.  Rhys kept pushing Rhett that way, but this is what we finally agreed on.

We saw a real reindeer!

And we loved looking at all the fun decorations.  Here was a tree made out of boots.

And another big tree made of poinsettias.  It was my favorite!
 

Rhett asked to take a picture with the white bear.

We also ran into Shamu Santa and a cute little penguin that sang and danced.

The big attraction is "Snow World," where kids can ride a tube down a snow hill and also play with snow.  Here we are waiting in line.  We ended up waiting in line for over 2 hours!

Still waiting in line and daddy entertaining Rhys.

Still waiting....

As the line moved along slowly, we figured out that the reason it was taking so long was because they were only letting in a certain number of people at a time.  Those people would go in, play for 15 minutes, and then they would leave and the next group could enter.

While we waited, the kids ran around, ate snacks, and did great!

After our long wait, we finally made it into the tent.  The kids wanted to do the ride first.

 Here is a video of Rhys on the tube.

The kids rode the snow hill 3-4 times, and then played in the snow a bit.  It was cold and fun!

We also got to reach down into this huge tub of ice and make (and throw) snowballs!

The lights were so pretty in the evening.  We were about to leave the park (with 2 very tired kiddos!) and we saw the Candy Cane Forest ahead.  We had to stop and take a couple of pictures.

Aren't these lights pretty?

Thank you Sea World!

Living with Twin Three-Nagers

Dealing with a toddler in the THREE year-old-age range can sometimes be challenging.  I have heard parents using the term "three-nager" to describe their spunky toddler and liken their behaviors to those of the dreaded teenage years.  Like anyone that has ever had a three-year-old knows, life is pretty interesting when you live with these beings of three years.  It is crazy.  Chaotic.  Demanding. Unpredictable.  Exhausting.   Exhilarating.  Hilarious.  Ridiculous.  Trying.  Fun.  Draining. Humbling.  Rewarding.  Sanity-Stealing.  But one thing it is not--boring.

This picture was taken 10 minutes after "nap" time had started.  Three year olds are free spirits.  They are really into nudity.  And add in jumping on the bed?  Pretty much their idea of a really fun time. 

Three-nagers have their own sense of style.  They have a deep desire to be independent, to dress themselves, and to do just as they please.  They do not understand the difference between playing dress up at home and getting dressed to go out of the house.

This was how Rhys dressed herself before we went to run errands one day.  I swear another mom at Target (also with a three-nager in tow) gave me that understanding head nod that us moms need sometimes.  If you have never lived with a three year old, don't judge.  Just go with it.  Today I went to the bank with Elsa and a firefighter ninja.  Sadly, I have no picture to report.

Flip flops in January because your big toe told you it was not cold?  Sure, three-nager, just get in the car.

Here is a bunny that needed to go to HEB to buy some carrots.  True story.

When three-nagers get an idea, it is very difficult to persuade them otherwise.  Why, yes there is a shopping cart full of baby stuff in the truck heading to Home Depot.

I was told there was a "bad storm" coming.  I did not argue.

Rhett saw that daddy was watching football and insisted that the Aggies were winning and he needed to wear his Aggie clothes.  We tried to tell him that it was a different team called the Cowboys that was playing.  Guess who won that argument.

Three-nagers do not keep a neat room.  And can destroy any space in about 8 seconds.

Not even sure what to say about this one.  Let's just say this "game" went on for a solid 10 minutes.

You might buy your three-nager a nice, "big kid" bed, but they will sleep on the floor 50% of the time anyway.

These three-nagers are creative little dudes.  A baseball bat can easily double as a telescope.

They are moody.  You never know which emotion will pop up at any given second.  Here is Rhys crying because I painted her nails.....after she asked me to paint her nails.

I'm not even sure why Rhett was crying here but I can tell you that I only take pictures of crying kids when it is because of something funny.  And I included a crying picture of Rhys, so we need to keep it fair.

Even though these three-nagers are a lot of work, they sure are adorable.  They are loving, sweet, and so innocent.  I adore the smiles, laughs, hugs, and perspective they bring into our home.

Living life with twin three-nagers and learning how to LOVE life with them!

Fiesta Farm Pumpkin Patch

Want to have some serious fun with your kids?  Go to Fiesta Farm!  My mom, sister, and niece were in town and we decided to take the kids out to enjoy the nice weather we were having.  We wanted to go to a pumpkin patch that had other activities for the kids to do.  This was just perfect.  This was actually our 2nd time to go, and I think it was just as much fun the second time around.

We started out by feeding the rabbits some carrot shreds.  Rhett wanted to make sure that all 25 rabbits each got a piece of "snack."

Even our shy Rhys loved feeding the animals.

The environment at the farm is so very relaxed and casual.  There are animals just walking around.  You never know when a goat or peacock might wander up!

Ana checking out a goat!

Rhys and Rhett especially loved feeding the goats.

Some of you know that my mom, "Sugar," LOVES donkeys.  She could not resist feeding all of her food to this little guy.  Rhett was helping her by picking up all the little pieces of food that were knocked down on the ground.  

Fiesta Farm also has pony rides for the kids.  The first time we went, neither of the twins were interested in riding.  Rhett was super excited to give it a try this time.

While Rhett was riding, Rhys was giving herself a pep talk with Sugar.

And then, to everyone's surprise, Rhys decided to ride!  And she loved it!

Even sweet Ana took a ride on the pony.

Our attempt at a picture of all the cousins together!

Besides the animals to feed and ride, there are also several different play areas for the kids.  R&R really liked climbing all over these tires.

And there are nice places to just walk around and explore.

Look at this precious little Ana with her Sugar.

So much fun spending the day with her!

Tim was pretty much a baby hog the whole day.  Who can blame him?

During our visit, one of the girls that works on the farm came up and handed Caydee a baby goat.  She told us he was 6 days old!

Rhett couldn't wait for his turn to hold the goat!

Rhys couldn't be bothered with a baby goat.....She was busy playing in the large sandbox they have!

We visited the farm in October, so they also had a pumpkin patch.  We took a hayride through the pumpkin patch, which was a lot of fun.  

They also had several places for fall photos to be taken.  Would you believe this is the only picture I took with a pumpkin in it!  (Let me mention that our main goal was to get pictures of the kids in the pumpkins together.  OOPS)

I especially love the way the staff treats the guests like they are part of the family.  They were continually walking around telling the kids stuff about the animals, giving them more food to use, or asking if we needed anything.  Guests are allowed to just wander around at their own pace.  We will definitely be going back to the farm again!  

One funny memory about the trip that I want to remember is that Tim was really into taking selfies with all of the animals.  I'm not sure why it was so funny to me, but it was!

Here he is posing with a little goat.

And the selfies I stole from his phone.  

A fun day!  Can't wait to go back again!