A trip to the Zoo!

We decided yesterday when we woke up that since it was such a beautiful day out we should go some where and enjoy the warm weather! We had told Rilan a few weeks ago that we would go to the aquarium but we though the Fort Worth Zoo would be a better place since the weather was so beautiful.

We got there around 2 and it was PACKED! I have never been to the Zoo when they have closed the front parking lot and had to open up a huge field across the street. As soon as we parked, on the last row, they had to close that parking lot! It was crazy! 

Once we got in we headed to see the monkeys first. They always seem to put on a show and make Rilan laugh! Zoey even acted like she liked the silly monkeys!

Rilan was sitting on a rock watching, he looked at me to tell me something and I snapped a photo. Once he realized what I was doing he quickly turned his head back the other way! Stinker!!

Next up was the cheetah. They are usually pacing back and fourth making me nervous wreck, but this time there was just one laying were all could see him! Rilan loved getting a good look.

Dax was trying to show Zoey the cheetah.

The zebras were next. Rilan gets so excited every time we see the zebras because Dax's mom loves them!

Not very often anymore will Rilan let me take a photo of him, so to say I was thrilled when he let me take his photo with the elephant was an understatement!

Zoey got to take a ride of Daddy's shoulders.

When we got to the tiger exhibit it got a little crazy, there was one that kept on making noises and roaring. Rilan freaked a little, but I assured him that we were ok. 

One of the tigers got on a ledge and Rilan was sure it was about to jump towards us!

Right after the tigers we saw the lion and lioness.

All was good when we got there, the lioness was in and out of sleep, the lion was pooping, sorry TMI! ha Then all of a sudden the lion went to the corner and started roaring, loud, it woke up the lioness and she started roaring. The lion exhibit has 2 levels and she was on the top, he was at the bottom, after a few intense minutes of them roaring at who knows what, the lion got up on the top level with her. I have to say at that point I got really nervous, I wasn't sure what they were going to do next so we quickly hurried off to the next thing!

 I didn't get a photo of both together because at that point I was trying to make sure we could RUN if something crazy did happen!

We have made LOTS of trips to the zoo and not one time have I ever heard the tigers or the lions make any noises! The tigers usually are playing and the lions are usually sleeping so to see them up was neat and a little scary at the same time!

We went a looked at the penguins, birds, fish, kangaroos and who knows what else before making our way to ride the train back to the front and head home. We had a fun day and thanks to the tigers and lions a pretty exciting day!

Happy 30th Birthday!

Yesterday Dax turned 30 so we did a little celebrating by going to have dinner at Kobeya in Southlake and we had cake here at home. Red Velvet to be exact, YUMMY! We are going to have a party next weekend when some friends can come over to help us celebrate.

Dax also got a promotion at work which was announced yesterday as well! He is so good at what he does and I have never been more proud of him. Congrats on becoming a Creative Director, babe! I love you.

Super Easy Meatballs

I am always up for a super easy meal now that we have 2 kids. I am usually the only adult around when it comes time to fix dinner each night as Dax usually isn't home until around 7 or so. Here is a recipe I hope you will all enjoy. 

Meatballs:

2 lbs ground beef

2 cups minute rice

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

Milk

Heat oven to 375*

Mix 2 your ground beef and rice until it is well combined. I usually add my seasoning in at this time as well. I always change it up. My mom actually puts in small diced onion in her meatballs, I usually just put minced onion. 

Then you make into balls and place in a 9x13 pan. I always make different sizes. Sometimes I use all the meat sometimes I have a little left over. 

Once I have made all the meatballs I mix 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup with one can of milk and pour mixture over the entire dish making sure to cover each meatball.

I place a piece of tin foil over the top and place in the oven for 50 minutes. Remove tin foil and place back in oven for 10-15 more minutes and your done!

I forgot to take a photo when I was done! oops!

Hope you enjoy!

I'm not sure I live in Texas anymore

What a crazy 2 weeks we have had here in North Texas! We got tons of ice and a little snow last week and it actually caused Dax to only be able to get to work one day last week! Even all the schools were canceled Tuesday through Friday!

 After a few days of being locked up in the house we had to venture to the grocery store to get a few necessities and take Zoey to the doctor. She had a terrible cough, I knew it was croup and tired to treat it at home as best I could but it just wasn't working so we made our way to Grapevine to make sure it hadn't settled into her chest. Poor girl still has a runny nose! 

On Friday it actually snowed quite a bit and we were able to go out and play for a bit. The snow was such a dry powder it was hard to really do anything but walk around but we had fun anway, well until Dax threw snow down my pants! (Momma wasn't thrilled about this at all!!)

We are now inside again today with the next round of snow/ice! I am so happy its not suppose to be a week long thing again, I am ready for some sunshine!!

ONE YEAR!!!

I can't believe its been a whole year since we welcomed our sweet baby girl into our family. Its been quite an amazing year and has gone by far to quickly.

Zoey, you have been such a blessing to our family and I can't even remember what life was like before you, nor do I want to. You have such a cute, sweet, sassy personality. You aren't afraid of much and you LOVE to laugh. You were just what we needed to complete our family. 

 At one year you:

• You weigh 19lbs even.
• You are 28in long.
• You wear a size 3 diaper
• You are wearing most 6-9 month and 6-12 month and occasionally you wear 12month depending on the brand.
• You LOVE to eat table food, you will not eat anything that closely resembles baby food anymore.  You still take a bottle about 4 times a day. One when you get up and the one before each nap and one at bed time.
• You are still drinking formula and will not drink anything with whole or soy milk in it. Could you please start, baby formula is breaking the bank! :)
• Sleep time has gotten better again, thank goodness! You are usually in bed by 8:30 and wake around 7am and take a bottle. Most of the time you go back to sleep for another hour, sometimes you don't! 
• You absolutely LOVE Barney. Daddy never let Rilan watch it but he lets you and even watches it with you. Its very sweet to see you sitting in his lap watching TV in the mornings.
• You LOVE holding your baby, Barney, or a stuffed animal and "loving" on it. You hold it up to your head and lay it on it while you hug it. It melts my heart.
• You learned to wave and nod your head yes.
• You have also started waving and saying "Hi Dad" when you see Daddy. Its precious and melts my heart, I can't imagine what it does to him! 
• You are walking everywhere and even starting to try and RUN. There is NO slowing you down. 
• You wear me out far more than your brother ever did but I love how active you are. You keep us on our toes! 
 

 I can't wait to see what the next year brings. You are precious baby girl. Mommy loves you.