Visit to New Braunfels

Last weekend we took our first trip to visit family of the summer. We spent a few days in New Braunfels with Alyssa's family and had a lot of fun!

Our first stop on Friday was the San Antonio Childrens Museum , which offered three stories of great, imaginative exhibits. Our first stop was the ball room, where kids could put balls into various baskets and tubes and watch them zoom all around the room.



All of the balls ended up in a big container and when it was full, the balls rained down!



Another favorite place was the airplane, where Cade told us he was flying us to Georgia. That is the only place he has ever flown and I think he thinks that is the only place airplanes go! We MUST go on another trip somewhere :)



The other exhibits were really fun too, but I was having such a good time playing with Cade that I stopped taking pictures. If you're ever in San Antonio and need some indoor entertainment, we highly recommend this place!

Our next stop was the Rainforest Cafe. Cade loved the roaring tiger and moving elephants!



Afterwards, we checked out the ducks on the Riverwalk. We'll definitely have to come back here on another trip, because there is so much to do there!



We visited Grandpa Wommack in Seguin and after Cade warmed up to him, he was happy to scare Grandpa with his roaring.



The next morning, we went to Landa Park to feed the ducks.



We also rode the train through the park.



That afternoon, Oma and Opa's pool was very refreshing!



Look at those eyelashes!



Saturday night we went to Great Oma's house. My mom made a delicious chocolate pie for Alyssa and Chance's birthdays, and Cade was happy to blow out our candles.



Various animals always travel with us, and at this visit, a rhino watched Cade eat his ice cream.



Cade is always happy to help Great Oma water her plants.



Our last stop on Sunday was a family reunion. It is always fun to see extended family members and look at old pictures.



Cade thought the fishing pond was very fun, especially when he caught a water gun!




We are so thankful for our jobs that allow us to take weekend trips like this!

Swim Lessons and Bribes

Our afternoons the past two weeks were spent having swim lessons with Miss Brooke. She is one of the most encouraging and patient women I've ever met, and Cade did a great job in her lessons! I can say that the lessons were great now that they are over... they didn't exactly start out that way. Hence, the title of this blog :) This was the first time Cade took swim lessons without Chance or me in the water. He was not too excited about that, so we implemented a reward system. Here's our progress:

First day of swim lessons - warming up to Brooke and the two other boys. Cade did pretty well with his kicking and strokes by the end.



By the 2nd day, he was feeling pretty proud of himself and made sure we were watching him every time it was his turn.



End of the first week - ice cream treat!



Week two of lessons - getting more adventurous! Cade loved splashing Brooke when he jumped in.



One of the things we worked hardest on was Cade putting his eyes in the water. Here is proof that he can do it!



Cade has entered the "I want to buy.... (fill in the blank with anything from the Animal Planet line at Toys R Us)" phase. He has made a wish list of items that he wants that hangs on the fridge. We promised that if he followed Brooke's instructions every day at swim lessons that he could choose one item off of his wish list. So, we are now the proud owners of a very large dragon. I really don't know where Cade's obsession with dragons started, but he loves them maybe even more than dinosaurs. He even smiled for the picture!!



In the above picture, Cade divided his animals into plant eaters and meat eaters. He loves categorizing his creatures and we often hear him ask from his room if a certain animal eats meat or plants or both so he can know what group to put it in.

Another meat eater that Cade loves is sharks. It is hard to part with them when it is naptime, so sometimes the shark sleeps with Cade.

Family Pictures

Right before Cade's 3rd birthday, we had family pictures taken by the fabulous Sarah Giles (her blog, Butterfly Chaser Photography, is on the right side bar). We never know how these photo sessions will go since Cade is, shall we say, mildly opposed to getting his picture taken :) Well, Sarah worked her magic again and we were blessed with wonderful pictures and memories! We love how she perfectly captures kids' personalities in the pictures.

Our photos started at the Dixie Chicken. We realized how much our lives have changed when we arrived at the Chicken at 7:30 am on a Friday morning to take pictures! We like the rustic backdrop and the back porch was a fun place for Cade to explore. For those of you that are familiar with the distinct smell of the Chicken, we can tell you that it is just as potent at 7:30 am as any other time.



Look! Something orange at the Chicken!













Once Cade got bored with this location, we went to Research Park, where she took some pictures of us doing one of Cade's favorite things, feeding ducks and looking for turtles.









I especially like the above picture because Chance and I had an engagement picture taken on this very same bridge. Here we are, almost 10 years later, walking with our little boy! We love how our lives have changed.

First Week of Summer

Have I said already that I love summer? Having all of this time at home with Cade is so special, and we are very lucky that Chance is still able to be home in the afternoons and evenings with us even with all of his extra work responsibilities.

Here's what we've been up to:

Day one of summer vacation, 8:20 am - Cade emptied the 4 largest toy buckets in his room. Why? So he could line them up to "walk the plank".



Tuesday - Summer Movie Clubhouse - How to Train Your Dragon! Cade's favorite movie on a huge screen! For $1!



Cade has been asking for a "super big dinosaur" ever since we saw one at my friend Jennifer's house in April. I finally caved and bought one for him on Thursday. The big dino's feet inspired us to make dino tracks with paint in the living room.





Everyone loves the big dino, even Sarge!



On Friday, we met Kelsey and Natalie at King's Orchard to pick blueberries. It was about 10,000 degrees outside, but we had a great time with our friends! This is the only picture I have of Cade actually picking blueberries.



He preferred to eat them.



Once he found out that he wasn't supposed to eat them, the rest of our time there went like this:
Cade: Mama, can I throw this stick?
Mama: No, Cade, please do not throw that stick.
Cade: Natalie, want to throw sticks with me?
Natalie: No, Cade, I am picking blueberries.
Cade: I want to go home.



Miss Sass with her blueberries!



We ended the day with a picnic lunch in the shade!



On Saturday, we went to Nana and Papa's house to celebrate Chance's birthday. Cade had lots of fun in Papa's shop using the air hose to spray away sawdust.



He also made a little balance beam for himself with spare boards.



Nana made a delicious dinner and chocolate pie for Chance's birthday! Happy birthday, Chance!!

Family Vacation

We just returned from a great family vacation to Moody Gardens in Galveston! It was such a relaxing and fun way to start our summer. Cade was such a grown up boy the whole trip, and did a great job with listening, waiting in line, and even breaking off from his beloved daily routine a few times. He really loved seeing everything!

Moody Gardens recently underwent major renovations following Hurricane Ike, and it was a perfect place for our family to stay. We went to the Aquarium, Rainforest, and Discovery Pyramids. While we were there, Palm Beach (small waterpark) and the Dinos Alive exhibit opened. This was really a dream come true for Cade... within 2 days, he saw sharks, dinosaurs, three 3D movies, and swam in a big pool. He also lived on a steady diet of chicken tenders and ice cream. No wonder this was the first vacation that he didn't want to leave!

Here are a few of our favorite pictures. More of them are in the video at the bottom.


(tasty dinner, less-than-thrilled boy in a picture)