Back to LegoLand. The place was divided up into different areas.  There was an area for movies, two areas for rides, a toddler play area, a climbing area for bigger kids, a build and race area(which the boys were glued too) and a princess area:

Inside the princess area were some pink tables set up with a bucket in the center filled with “girlie” legos. Everything she needed to create her own lego castle…I was sure she would love being in this area, not so much. Go figure…

The race and build area was where the boys took root. They immediately began creating their race cars.

Then they would climb up to one of the raceways and let ‘er rip…

Then they found the racetrack for drag racing..JACKPOT!!

This was definitely the place to be…

While the boys were all busy building the better race car.. Sister found her spot.  The giant legos in the toddler area.. she would build a while and then go slide on the slide a while, and then back to building. She could have stayed there forever if we’d have let her….

 

Ever have one of those days when nothing goes as planned? I mean N-O-T-H-I-N-G. Then when something does happen, it is something you never in a million years envisioned happenning? Well, that’s how our Saturday went. We had big yard plans, the hubby and I.  We got through our morning of basketball games and were chompin’ at the bit to get outside and enjoy the day and get stuff done!  The boys had friends come over and the sister pestered them as best she could.  The first sign of the downward spiral of our day was the lawnmower decided not to start which sent J. on a small journey to Sears and back.  He left frustrated and returned the same. When he got home, I took off to a neighbor’s house to deliver some cookies.  While I was there J. called. Well, I decided not to answer mainly b/c I was talking to the son of these folks who had bit hit by a van on the highway while cycling back in September and this was his second day home!!! Next thing I know, J. is pulling into their driveway yelling out the window “We’ve got an emergency at home with Dutch!” I abruptly ended the conversation apologizing profusely and jumped into the truck and got the rundown of what happened.  The kids got out the fishing poles and one of the poles had some catfish bait on it.  Well, Dutch is notorious for eating catfish bait(among other gross and disgusting things that I shall not mention here.) He grabbed the bait and in the process got the fish hook hooked into his tongue.  J. had tried to get it out but couldn’t. That’s when he called me and that’s when I didn’t answer. So that’s when he can to retrieve me. When we got back home, all the little boys and girl were standing around Dutch looking at him and he was sitting there very calmly looking back at them wagging his tail. I pried open his mouth and looked but didn’t see a hook anywhere.  Not good. We combed the ground looking for the hook.  No hook.  Checked his mouth again.  No hook.  We thought surely he didn’t swallow it. I called the local vet to get some advice on what to do next.  They were closed and reffered us to the Emergency Animal Clinic in the next town over.  So. We decided the best thing to do would be to get an xray to determine if he did in fact swallow it or did he projectile vomit it out.  We get the kids squared away with friends and off we go. They take Dutch back for the xray and bring us in to see the results….

Yep. There it is. Wonderful.  So we then proceed to talk to the ER Vet about our options: surgery to remove it, or do nothing and risk the dog dying from internal bleeding due to the hook puncturing his stomach or intestines. We were just about to give her (the vet) the go ahead for surgery when she  mentioned another option. Inducing vomiting in hopes it would bring the hook back out the way it went in. Yes, there was a risk of the hook damaging something, but we were already staring that risk in the face.  So, we opted to try that first.  We stepped out and let them get busy.  Within 5 minutes, the vet opens the waiting room door and walks out with a big grin on her face!  Success!!  J. walks over and grabs the hook from her hand:

It still had the small amount of fishing line  and the plastic lure attached to it.   We decided to keep it as a souvenier and take it home to show the kids.  After a few minutes of holding that nasty hook, J. said something to the effect of, “I just realized I’m holding something that has been inside my dog’s stomach…”  and with that, I paid the bill and we headed home.  That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it….

 

Next on the agenda after the aquarium, was Lego Land. It’s not on the same scale as the one in SanDeigo. This one is inside  the Grapevine Mall. Its actually called Lego Land Discovery Center. It’s not an amusement park, but the line to get in was like one would be….

Once you got inside the doors, you had to wait a couple of minutes for the factory tour. They had a pit of legos on the floor for the kids to play in while waiting. That would have been more helpful in that longer line we had been in…

One of the first things we saw after the tour was the Dallas skyline made entirely out of Legos….. it was really neat because the overhead lights would fade in and out to create day and night. When it was night time, all the buildings lit up just like in downtown!

Texas Stadium. made. entirely. of. Legos!!!!

More of the skyline during “day”…

There were also models of Ranger Stadium, DFW Airport complete with planes, SouthFork Ranch, Great Wolf Lodge, Ft. Worth Stockyards, and even more I just can’t remember! The kids were darting back and forth and marveling at how everything was made from Legos. It was really fun to look at!  The attention to detail was amazing. If you haven’t been…go.

We took the offspring on a little surprise weekend trip to Dallas last week. I have started calling it “The Trip That Almost Didn’t Happen..” Here’s why: We kept it a secret from them and I spent the day on Thursday getting everyone packed. Not an easy task I assure you. Anyhoo, as we were winding down that night with our nighttime routine of bath and before bed snack of fruit or yogurt, there suddenly came the loudest crash followed by even louder wailing and screaming.  Before I got to the scene, I knew it was Big D.  Poor kid. I swear everything happens to him. As he was descending from the bench  of our kitchen table to the floor, somehow the bench flipped on its side and slammed down on his big toe. When I finally got to him he was on the couch screaming and writhing around like an earthworm that has been plucked from his dirt hole and thrown on the ground. We finally got him calmed down and figured out what happened.  J. took him to after hours clinic and got the blood drained from under the toenail. When they got home, he was still hurting quite a bit. He finally fell asleep around 1 a.m. The next morning we went to get an xray to be sure it wasn’t broken.  It wasn’t, but I’m telling you, it looked awful. Since it wasn’t broken we made the executive decision to go ahead and go on the trip. So, we told them what we had planned and everyone was soooo excited.  We loaded up the troops and set off.  We folded the seat down in front of D. and put a pillow on it and he rode the four hour trip with the gimp foot propped up. As seen here: (along with some Pringles..)

We rode around downtown the night we got there and there were quite a few “oohhhs and ahhhs” coming from the backseat.  I took several pics. but they really didn’t turn out,so they didn’t make the cut for the blog.  Our first stop the next day was the Dallas Aquarium. Very cool place.

Davis and the sloth having a staredown….I believe the sloth won.

Peek a boo….

I have an urge for some Fruit Loops right now….

How bout I leave you with a cute kid pic….

 

We got the pinata strung up and ready to go.  This was the pull string kind.  I wasn’t too keen on little girls weilding bats inside my house, so this was the perfect choice!

Unfortunately, it was a dud.  All the strings got pulled and no candy.  I finally had to open the bottom and shake all the candy out.  I say the pinata was a dud, I’m sure the fact that no candy came out had NOTHING to do with the fact that the little princesses didn’t really pull with all their might….

As everyone knows, the pinata is officially the unofficial signal that the party is over.  But, in all actuality the party was just starting!  Here is where we found the boys who were sentenced to outside time due to their high levels of exuberance… those silly boys were playing in the overflowed edge of the pond.

They were having the best time running through the water and splashing each other.  A few of the adults commented on how much fun it looked…

In fact, one of the “adults” just couldn’t stand it any longer and…..

Yep.  That was one of the “grown-ups”… fun times!

The royal refreshment table complete with doilies.  I like doilies.  Shhh…don’t tell anyone. The goblets are my favorite things though.  I searched everywhere for goblets.  I couldn’t find “just the right ones” and then….I spied these little beauties on the bottom shelf in the party section at Hobby Lobby. I grabbed all they had.

The princess cake was pink on the inside as requested by you know who….

My next favorite thing was the HUGE, gaudy “diamond” rings I put on the cupcakes…

She’s all about the icing…

A princess dress-up party is hard work.. you have to stop periodically for a small sip to quench the royal thirst…

 

The candidates for princess were then led upstairs to complete their training so they could be crowned and become a “real princess”. So, up they went…

Curtsy Class 101….

The candidates lined up on the stairs to await their turn in the crowning ceremony.  It was quite a big deal folks!

Each candidate came before the Queen..aka me… and was tapped once on each shoulder then given a crown and a septor. After that, they were truly little princesses….

After all the princesses were crowned they gave the traditional wave and retired into the dining room for some royal refreshment..aka..cake and juice.

 

Are you ready for even MORE dress-up pictures?  These girls changed dresses over and over. Which is good, that was the idea….