Snuggle Time

It makes me so happy to see the sweetest two children I know cuddled up together under a blanket.



Wait! Which one is the "real" Nicholas?!



I just love this blanket. It was a Christmas gift from Stuart and it's one of the best gifts I've ever received. Check them out at Photoweavers.

Behind The Scenes Tour at Kroger

Nicholas' Cub Scout Den had their "Go See It" at Kroger this month. We met up with our very friendly hostess, Ms. Denise, who took the boys all over the store.

We started in the floral/balloon department. There was lots of excitement and antsy-ness in the boys. You would have thought they had never been to a grocery store before, despite the fact that I know I take my children to this very store just about every other day.



Next we visited the bakery and produce sections. Ms. Denise asked the boys some questions and I was surprised that Nicholas wanted to answer because he usually gets shy in situations like this. Maybe the antsy-ness did something to his jitters.



Seriously, they were all chatting up a storm and giggling and asking crazy questions of Ms. Denise. I don't know what had gotten into them but can you imagine being a customer and seeing this gaggle of busy bodys in uniforms behind Ms. Denise as she walked through the entire store.



Even I thought it was cool to get to go behind the "Employees Only" sign into the store room areas. We saw pallets and pallets full of various products. Oh, is that Pepsi there? I had not noticed.



Nicholas had great fun being on the other side of the milk shelves. He has occasionally seen a hand moving around behind the row of milk jugs while we are picking out our milk. It was kind of neat to see things from the other perspective, to be on the inside looking out.



The boys got to chat with the Seafood Guy for a moment. The Seafood Guy even pulled out a live lobster for the boys to touch, with banded pinchers, of course.



We visited the Pharmacy where the boys got stickers and coloring books. Ms. Denise wrapped up the tour by giving the boys cookies...like they really needed the sugar rush!

Thanks Kroger for welcoming our Den to tour your store. We love you and plan to visit you again tomorrow....because I just can never seem to get everything I need in one trip!

Cub Scouts Visit Lake Cities Printing

Each month, Nicholas' cub scout den has a "Go See It" where they take a field trip to a local place. This month we got to take a behind the scenes tour at Lake Cities Printing in Lake Dallas.



Doug Gryder invited us into his shop and showed us the printing process from beginning to end. It starts with creating the graphic then transferring it to a negative.



Next we got to see the giant printer!



Mr. Gryder taught us about the ink that he uses and how to put the ink in the printer.



He only uses 4 colors of ink - red, yellow, blue, and black. With those colors and a handy "recipe" book of mixes, he is able to create any color that he needs.



It was pretty cool to get a look at it up close and it was all we could do to keep the boys' fingers off the knobs and buttons.



The boys were fascinated with the equipment and the sound of the printer. It's so different from the printers they usually see at home.



Doug Gryder, owner of Lake Cities Printing, has over 20 years experience as a press operator and printing specialist. We appreciate that he took time out of his busy schedule to meet with our cub scouts.



Lake Cities Printing is located at 209 Main St. in Lake Dallas. Their office hours are M-F 9:00-5:00. For more information, please call them at (940) 497-7468 or visit the Lake Cities Printing website.

A Day Out With Thomas

We were given four tickets to A Day Out With Thomas by my favorite local organization, Playin' Around Town. A Day Out With Thomas is a fun family event that takes place in Grapevine every year. The usual train has a Thomas the tank engine attached to it so it seems like you are actually riding on the Thomas train!

We excitedly watched Thomas as he pulled into the station! Yippee!



Although Nicholas loved Thomas the Tank when he was little, we never made it out to this event. I wish we would have brought him sooner because he was pretty excited about it even at 6 years old. But then again, who doesn't love riding on a train?



Nicholas' window opened but Rachel's was locked closed and we couldn't get it open. Nicholas loved being able to look out and all around.



Rachel was so excited when the train finally started moving down the track.



Rachel was entranced as we passed trees, houses, and farms.



Stuart got a little adventurous and stuck our camera out of the window so that he could get a better shot of Rachel at the window. Neat!



Nicholas definitely had a great time. Look at the wind blowing his hair back!



Eventually Rachel got jealous that Nicholas had an open window so they had to trade seats. I guess there's just something about the wind blowing in your face that makes a train ride even more fun.



Rachel excitedly told Daddy about all the things she saw out of the window.



The conductor was fun. He let Daddy wear his Conductor hat and acted silly as he punched our train tickets.



My kids are so curious. If there is an open window, they must stick their head out of it.



I love to watch my kids laugh, especially these big full-of-joy kind of laughs!



Rachel loved her spot by the open window...



Nicholas just sat quietly staring at his window and then asked if it was time to change seats again.



Happy Boy!



Daddy enjoyed pointing out neat things that he saw out the window as we passed by.



Ahh, what a perfect train ride on a perfect day...until....Um, I think Rachel is trying to come over for a visit...



No Rachel. It's Nicholas' turn at the window. Why don't you come sit with Daddy?



Then she became Limp Noodle Girl and tried to flop herself away from Stuart.



Apparently Rachel thought that if she couldn't sit at the window seat, she would at least stick her foot out of the window while accidentally kicking Nicholas in the process.



Fussy baby sister out of the way + keeping the open window seat = Happy Boy again!



As the train was pulling back into the station, Rachel got one more chance to sit in the open window seat.



Ahh, the joys of wrangling a two year old!



Even with the last few minutes of the train ride being tarnished with a toddler meltdown, we still had a great time on Thomas.







Outside the train station, there were lots of food vendors and activities for the kids. Of course, they had to play in the bounce houses.



There was a huge model train display. Rachel loved seeing the trains weave their way around on the tracks.



Thank you, Playin' Around Town for the tickets for Thomas and a super fun day!

All Wet

Rachel is usually rather timid and hasn't been a big fan of the in-ground water fountains that most kids love to run through.

However, somewhere along the way, she must have gotten rid of that fear because today she got ALL WET!







What fun!