Fleeting Family

The Fleeting Family - Are they still alive? Are they really boring people? Why have there been no updates? I’m sure nobody is asking these questions but if you are - yes we are still alive, we are not that boring, and we have just been too lazy to post updates. Maybe 2016 will be the year for us to update more or maybe not. Either way I’ll do a recap of 2015 for our family.

Starting with January I turned 30 - woo-hoo! We celebrated by spending the weekend in Dallas, Texas. We visited my favorite place ever, Medieval Times, where we all have a blast and the food is awesome. Before hitting up Medieval times we went to the top of Reunion Tower and checked out the awesome skyline Dallas has to offer. The kids really enjoyed the live cameras all over the city that you could interact with. The next day we checked out the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. This was a really nice museum with plenty to do. They have a nice planetarium which we were able to check out a show on. They have a dinosaur exhibit, oil exhibit, and cattle exhibit. It was a very interesting museum and we all enjoyed our short visit.

Rachael turned double digits this year in February and we celebrated by going to Houston for the weekend. Rachael was dying to visit an American Girl store and pick up the girl of the year, Grace, and get her doll Rebecca’s hair done. We also ate at the Bistro in the store where Rachael was able to decorate her own birthday cupcake for her and Rebecca! While in Houston we checked out the NASA museum which we really enjoyed. We were able to take a tour of mission control, see Saturn 5, check out our weight on other planets, drive a remote control car, and saw a few videos about NASA. It was a great experience and we were really glad we went!

Chase’s birthday was in March and we threw an awesome party for him. We rented out a theater at Alamo Drafthouse and let him and 7 friends play Super Smash Brothers and Mario Kart on the big screen. Can’t have a party without food right? Nope! Alamo provided a cereal buffet for the kids with all of Chase’s favorite sugary cereal. We also brought in lots of cookies and brownies from Austin’s best - Tiff’s Treats! The party was a huge hit and Chase has no clue how he will ever top it.

We also had my father visit us in Austin at the end of March so we hit up the Sherwood Forest Faire (a renaissance faire). We went 2 years ago and enjoyed it but wanted to visit again. It’s a nice, small Faire that includes archery tournaments, jousting, sword fighting lessons for the kids, a mud show, juggling, jesters, great food, and much more. Grandpa bought the kids a dragon tooth necklace and took them on the swings. It was a great day trip out to McDade, Texas.

In April, Rachael’s class took a field trip to San Antonio where James and I volunteered to be a chaperone. We went to the Alamo, a local theater to watch a video of the Alamo, and the Institute of Texas Cultures Museum. Her class was learning about the Alamo around this time so the kids favorite part was the movie and walking around the Alamo. But the museum was also interesting to see. Afterwards we took Rachael to the Riverwalk to eat at one of her favorite places, The Rainforest Cafe.

May is always free comic book day so we headed to a local comic store, Dragon’s Lair. The kids really enjoyed picking out lots of new comics and seeing so many cosplayers. We also all put on our Avenger masks and went and saw the new Avengers movie at Alamo Drafthouse. Chase got to be in a play at school for theatre and ended his school year in band playing the French Horn with a concert!

The year is half over, y'all are done being busy right? Nope. But we did take June off and did not do anything very interesting. Except we did make one huge decision this month - we decided to move.

In July we picked up the busy time again. We spent the whole month packing and selling many of our items. James and the kids spent the 4th at John’s house blowing up lots of fireworks. We made a trip to Schlitterbahn and remembered why it’s voted the best water park in the country! We also spent a day and went to Hurricane Harbor in Dallas so Rachael could spend the day with her friend. Made a weekend trip back to Wichita Falls/Lawton to visit family and eat at Meer’s one last time! We checked out the Texas Capitol for the first time (which is pretty awesome). And our favorite part of July - Classic Games Fest. The kids loved playing all the video games both old and new, virtual reality games, and seeing lots of cosplayers. We also bought a new system that plays Sega, NES, and SNES with plenty of games to get started.

When August rolled around our huge move came. We decided to travel 2,000+ miles north to Boston, Massachusetts. We had never visited Boston (or even close to Boston) but decided that it was the perfect move for us! We took a week to travel there so we could see some sights on our way. Our travels are featured on http://bostonyo.com, if you want to see all of our fun! We visited Little Rock, AR, Nashville, TN, Saint Louis, MO, Cleveland, OH, Syracuse, NY, and finally arriving in Boston, MA. On our way to Nashville we stopped off at Gus’ Fried Chicken in Memphis which was some awesome chicken. In Saint Louis we went on a river cruise and up to the top of the gateway arch - which had some awesome sights. In Cleveland we went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, saw Lake Erie, and our favorite - went to the Christmas Story House and Museum. After being in Boston for a week we had to get out of the house so we hit up the Museum of Science with their Pixar exhibit. This is an awesome museum so we had to buy a membership so we can visit again. We also went to Singing Beach in Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA to experience the Atlantic Ocean for the first time! It was busy but a pretty fun month!

In September, we checked out more of Boston and went to the local Aquarium. It’s small but a really nice aquarium. We enjoyed the penguins and the huge tank that goes up all the levels. Since we bought a membership we will be able to go back as often as we want. We also went to the Boston Local Food Festival. We tried so much local food like fresh cows milk, caffeinated peanut butter, fresh granola, cranberries, apples, breads. There was so much great local food to experience. We also hit up one of the Cheer’s locations as it is one of James’ favorite shows! The kids also started new schools which they seem to be enjoying.

October started off with James and I going to see Epic Rap Battles of History live! It was awesome! The whole family then hit up Six Flags New England for Fright Fest. It’s much smaller than Six Flags Over Texas but we still enjoyed ourselves; so much that we bought season passes. We took a quick trip to Salem, MA for their Halloween event. We checked out the Salem Witch Museum, Pirates Museum, Witch Trials Memorial, and the Witch Dungeon Museum. We also went to a magic show and did lots of shopping. We really enjoyed the day trip and Salem knows how to do Halloween.

In November, James and I went to a Boston Bruins hockey game. In reality James went because his team, the Minnesota Wild, were playing. Unfortunately the Wild lost. The highlight of the month was seeing Piff The Magic Dragon live; the show was hilarious and James got to hold Mr. Piffles… Rachael was pretty jealous.

December was another busy month exploring the area. We made a quick trip to Portsmouth, NH for their Vintage Christmas parade and events. We ate at The Friendly Toast, saw some extremely creative gingerbread houses, enjoyed the parade, and went to the Strawberry Banke Museum. This museum is full of historical houses which you get to tour and learn about the people who lived there. It was interesting and we liked how they had people dressed up from different eras walking around the “town” as well. Later we checked out Boston Common to see the Christmas Tree and watched people ice skate in the rain. We also did our yearly Christmas trip to Great Wolf Lodge but this time in Fitchburg, MA instead of Grapevine, TX. The new lodge was a shock at first due to how much smaller it seemed but in the end we did enjoy it and would go back. We went on most of the water slides, floated the lazy river, hit the wave pool, played and finished Magiquest where the kids got knighted, saw Santa Claus, played lots of air hockey, and attempted the rope course. The kids also got everything they wanted for Christmas plus more. We ended the year on a high by seeing the new Star Wars movie; well James saw it for the third time and Chase for the second.

2015 was a great year for our family and we are hoping 2016 is even better! Hopefully we will keep up with the blog this year but if not always check out our Facebook or Instagram pages to see what we are up to.

Friday would make our last full day in California. Our plans were to go see the Hollywood Sign, Griffin Observatory, WB VIP Studio Tour, Pacific Ocean, Santa Monica Pier, and Hollywood Blvd. We headed out pretty early as we were unsure of traffic and had tickets for the WB VIP Studio Tour at 1015am. We ended up getting to Los Angeles fairly fast so we went straight to the Griffin Observatory; they of course were closed but we were able to see the Hollywood Sign and Los Angeles pretty well! We explored the grounds for a bit and it seemed like it would be a great place to visit in the evenings to see the stars! We then headed off to the WB Studio for our tour. We chose this studio because they are one of the only studios to allow children under 10 on the tour - since Rachael is only 9 this had to be a must. 

The studio tour ended up being very interesting! We got to see an area where they recreated Central Perk from Friends with real props including the last couch they actually used on set (they used 3 throughout all the seasons). We then got to see some of the Batman vehicles and the kids got to activate the bat signal. We also went to their museum which was loaded with Batman and Harry Potter artifacts. We were able to try out the sorting hat and figure out which house we belonged to. Rachael got Hufflepuff after a few deciding moments, the sorting hat went back and forth on Chase and he eventually got Gryffindor, and very quickly did it decide on Slytherin for me. We then were drove around the lot to see many of the different housing sets, the lagoon, the forest, and some tips were given to us on how they shoot different things. We then walked through the actual set of "The Fosters" but were unable to touch anything or take pictures. We also got to see the set of '2 Broke Girls" but since it is a live audience set we only got to see it from the audience chairs. We were then shown some more streets - including their facade buildings, a new street being done for a movie, and their Chicago rail. We also got to see the water tower before we were taken back to the studio tour building. In the end it was a very interesting and fun tour!   

We then stopped off for lunch at Islands which was recommended by a friend; which btw was very good food! After lunch it was time to hit the Santa Monica Pier! We made our journey across town to Venice beach and conveniently found close parking right by Muscle Beach (which is part of Venice Beach)! After letting the kids change and check out the scenery we headed straight to the pier. We had decided at Disneyland that if we could only ride 1 Ferris Wheel we wanted it to be at the beach so me and the kids had to buy tickets for it. The kids have never been on a Ferris Wheel this large so after getting on they both became a little scared. However, the view was amazing and they both enjoyed it even though they hated being up on the top! We then headed on over to the water to let the kids play some. We didn't have towels so getting fully wet was off limits so instead the kids just jumped waves, which is what they enjoy doing the most anyways, which of course meant they got more wet then we had wanted. After the sun started setting we cleaned up a little bit and decided to drive to the Hollywood Blvd area. 

Since it was becoming late and everyone was tired we did not get out to walk, which we now regret, but instead we drove down Hollywood Blvd seeing all the theatres and Rodeo Drive - which btw have actual chandeliers hanging in the middle of the streets. We then grabbed some KFC and went to our hotel. We had a very early flight and wanted to get some rest. 

At 3am our alarm clocks went off to wake up. Our plane was scheduled to leave at 6am and we needed to be there 2 hours early. Luckily our hotel was right next to the airport! We all woke up, got dressed real fast, grabbed our bags, and headed to the airport. First we needed to drop off the rental car - luckily it was quick and easy and they provided us with a shuttle to the terminal. Getting our bags checked, up the escalator, and through TSA was pretty quick and easy. None of us were scarred and we had plenty of time left to grab some breakfast. For the kids and James it would be their first plane ride and my first large plane ride so we were all pretty nervous. Boarding was easy though and we all had seats together. It was fun looking out of the plane and seeing the world pass us by. In the end we all survived the plane ride and we were glad to be back home and sleep!

Thanksgiving Day would be our last day in the Disney Parks. Our plan for the day was start off at Disneyland - get Anna & Elsa fast passes, hit up Fantasyland, walk through the castle, ride Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain. We would also make very good use of fast passes as we did not do this the first day. The rest of the day could be filled with anything else from either park. Today we woke up on time and got to the lines just seconds after the gates opened; short lines so we were ready for some fun! Unfortunately the lines were moving VERY slow and it took us 30 minutes to get through the line. Once we were in the park me and Rachael ran off to get fast passes for Anna & Elsa in Fantasyland;  moments later James calls me telling me to go back towards the front because they want to see our tickets and hotel keys (seriously we were already in the park and already showed these once). After showing some random CM our tickets/keys we were all on our way to the Anna & Elsa line. James kept telling me over and over it would be okay they surely wouldn't pass out all the fast passes before the park is even open to everyone else - boy was he wrong. They ran out of fast passes 15minutes before the gates opened and we barely even got them. 

Next the kids and James' grandma rode the carousel and then it was time to hit up all the other rides. We did Peter Pan's Flight, Snow Whites Scary Adventures, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Pinoccohi's Daring Journey. Of these Peter Pan was our absolute favorite ride! We were able to meet Captain Hook, Fairy God Mother, and saw Peter Pan walking around with some kids in tow. We then headed off for Indiana Jones fast passes and then to the Haunted Mansion! The haunted mansion was very cool and had the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay since it was the holidays. It was then time to ride Indiana Jones - AWESOME! We then took a ride on the train; I was to get off in Tomorrowland and hit the monorail as we forgot our picture pass in the room and everyone else was going to main street for some character meet and greets! They were lucky enough to meet Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck! After I got back to Disneyland we decided to have lunch at Hungry Bear Restaurant. We chose this place as it was close to Splash Mountain and we needed to get fast passes. 

After lunch it was Ana & Elsa fast pass time! As we waited in line Olaf sat on the roof talking to people who passed by occasionally. This meet and greet was Rachael's favorite one of the whole visit. They only let one family in at a time so its pretty private and your allowed a decent amount of time with the two girls (they also had a photographer at this event as well). 

It was then time to ride Splash Mountain (which the kids rode twice) and we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad while James and his grandma watched the parade. Me and the kids did catch some of the parade and it looked very cool! After this we decided to try Innoventions - which unfortunately everything was scheduled at the same time; so after seeing some of the Iron Man suits we decided to go swimming at the hotel while it was nice. The kids enjoyed going down the monorail slides and even though the water was a little chilly it was still nice. It was then time for showers before heading back to the park for dinner.

We had dinner reservations at Carnation Cafe on Main Street so off to Disneyland we would go again. Dinner was good and the atmosphere was awesome; everyone dressed up in old-timey clothing and the restaurant matched that style. I was however a little disappointed in desert - they had pumpkin pie only. After dinner we decided to go back to Innoventions to see if we could catch anything since it was an hour before closing but we were also not informed that everything we wanted to see was already closed. Chase was a little disappointed but he played some games and soon got over it. We wanted to do Space Mountain again but fast passes were over and the line was long so instead we got in line for the last ride that the kids absolutely wanted to do - Matterhorn Bobsleds. It was fun riding this at night but it really jerks you around; both kids agreed next time we would skip it even though it was fun! At this time it was getting pretty late so we headed back to the hotel for some rest - after doing some last minute shopping of course!

Wednesday was early entry into California Adventure so thats where we would spend our day. Our plan was to get there 15 minutes before the gate open and rush to Radiator Springs Racers, as we've heard they get VERY busy, but we were once again dragging a little bit. We showed up right after the gates opened and we followed the swarm of people to the back where the racers are. After being in line for about 40 minutes we were able to ride! These cars fit 6 people and they fill up every seat - period, so we rode with two other kids. This ride was our favorite of the day and one of our top 5 rides period. It starts off as a slow drive around Radiator Springs seeing the sites, then your car gets an upgrade, and your ready to race! After we were done with this ride the park was opening so I ran to get fast passes for Radiator Springs for later. I got our tickets by 815 and our return time was 1100 - they were completely out of fast passes by 10 and the line was always 90 minutes long; we were glad we had that extra hour today! 

We finished the rides in Cars Land - Luigi's Tires and Mater's Junkyard Jamboree and headed off to Bugs Land - flik's flyers, Drive Em Buggies. We then started to head towards Monster's Inc Mike & Sulley to the Rescue - taking one of the trolly's - and exploring Hollywood Land. Some of the things we did in Hollywood Land was visit with characters, Sorcer's Workshop, Turtle Talk With Crush, and the Animation Academy. We all really enjoyed Turtle Talk With Crush! It is a small theatre with a screen where you will see Crush; all the kids sit up front and a cast member is present in the room to help assist. When Crush comes out the kids can interact with him, ask questions, and Crush can see what everyone is doing. It is very interesting and quite entertaining for the kids! We then headed on over to the Boardwalk as we had lunch reservations for Ariel's Grotto today. We hung out in the area, saw a few characters - Daisy Duck, watched a parade go by, and rode some rides. One ride the kids really enjoyed was Ariel's Undersea Adventure and Toy Story Mania - which we were fortuanate enough to get a fast pass for earlier in the day! Toy Story Mania was a good ride but no where near as fun as Ariel's. 

We then headed off to lunch to meet Ariel herself; we were also lucky enough to meet Rapunzel, Snow White, Belle, and Aurora. The food at Areila's Grotto was not horrible but was not great either. For starters you get either soup or salad, then we had the tri-tip with mashed potatoes, followed by a sampler of deserts. The desert I would say was everybody's favorite. As we were eating the princess would walk by and visit with you and then your pictures with Ariel, which you meet her upon arrival not at the table, is delivered. It was a great experience but we were ready for some more rides. 

We had fast passes for Goofy's Sky School that we had to use so off we went. This ride was just me and the kids and we really enjoyed it. It is not a big rollar coaster but instead lots of turns, dips, going up etc. In the end you understand that Goofy finally learned to fly and you land safely back at the deck! After Goofy's and doing some shopping we headed back to Hollywood Land so we could see Aladdin in a little bit. We were able to see Mickey roll by in the Trolley and see a few other characters as we walked by. Aladdin was a really good show and we all enjoyed it - Chase however was upset that Abu was not in it. The genie was awesome and of course had updated jokes - which confused the kids so we rewatched the movie after returning home. 

After Aladdin we decided to head back to the hotel to get some swimming in. We finished almost everything we wanted to do at California Adventure and the other things we wanted to had long lines or were to late (World of Color). The pool was a little chilly so we did a quick swim and played in the hot tub. Then we ordered room service and feel asleep very fast after a long but fun day!

First day of Disneyland! Since our hotel was onsite we were able to enter Disneyland 1 hour early on this day. We got up early and got to the gates shortly after they opened. During this extra time we hit up Tomorrowland and our very first ride was "Star Tours." We had a 5 minute wait and then boom we were on the ride. This ride is one of those 4D adventure rides where you watch a screen, the chairs move, and you seem to actually be traveling in space. In the end this was a great first ride and we all enjoyed it! Next up - Space Mountain! This ride was awesome - no big drops, just steadily moving, but you don't know if your going up or not due to all the lights and darkness. The kids really enjoyed this ride! We then tried out Astro Blasters which would end up being one of our favorites! We spent the rest of the day enjoying the Disneyland Park and meeting characters before our dinner reservations (with a quick lunch break at Earl of Sandwich). Some of the characters we met this day was Mary Poppins, Goofy, and Minnie Mouse. Some of the rides we enjoyed were: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, "it's a small world," Jingle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the monorail. We also caught one of Jedi Training Shows which we all enjoyed. 

For dinner we had prior reservations made at Goofy's Kitchen. So we headed back to the hotel via monorail and headed to the restaurant that was located at our hotel. First up we got to meet Goofy himself, again, then we were taken to our table. We unfortuantly had a booth in the corner and it was pretty dark but we still got to visit with all the character guests. For this dinner we got to meet Minnie Mouse, Chip, Dale, and Pluto! The food was decent okay but was a buffet. Rachael loved Goofy's PBJ pizza and wants to recreate it herself! 

Our original plan for after dinner was that me and the kids would go hit up some more rides while James and his grandma found a firework spot for us. Unfortuantly it was very crowded and Fantasyland was closed so we just all grabbed a spot in front of the castle to watch the firework show. We all enjoyed the fireworks, and the way the castle was all lit up, but unfortuantly there were some issues with it. They had a delay at first and we soon realized that only half of the fireworks were going off. You could tell this was the problem as fireworks were only coming from one side of the castle 90% of the time, so it looked very off balance. It was still a great show and we just wish we could have seen the full working show to see how awesome it would be! After fireworks we practically had to drag the kids back to the hotel and put them to bed - a clear sign of a good day!

Day 3 started very early for us. Our train pulled in to Union Station in Los Angeles right on time at 6am! This station btw is very large, and completely covered even though it was not raining. We made our way up to the waiting area and got the kids and James' grandma settled in with all of our carry ons. Me and James then went to go stand in line for our luggage - it luckily only took about 10 minutes before they dropped the luggage down and all we had to do was look for our Spongebob ribbon. Union Station has many different restaurants so breakfas was easy to find and then off to wait for our rental car. Around 745am we were heading out of Union Station; our destination - Legoland in Carlsbad, California. The one thing about this ride that I enjoyed most was all the scenery! It was our first time in California and seeing all the hills was just beautiful; then half way through our trip to Legoland we go to drive right next to the Ocean - stunnning!

We made it to Legoland shortly after gates opened around 10am. We loved seeing all the lego sculptures as we drove in and loved seeing the hotel as well - to bad we werent staying here a night. Once we entered Legoland we rode the first ride we saw - the "Coast Cruise." We actually enjoyed this ride as we all got to go on it and it took us around to see many lego sculptures. They have an octopus band, mini land is near by, many small boats, and animals. Overall it was a fun relaxing ride. We then signed up for a Mindstorms class and then went on the "Lost Kingdom Adventure" ride. This ride was the typical point a gun at targets ride so not horrible but nothing special. We then did a short stop for lunch for some burgers - which I will say were pretty decent. Me and the kids then hit up "The Dragon" and the "Lego Technic Coaster" which was probably our favorite. It was then time for the Mindstorms class. James has been trying to get the kids inerested in Mindstorms for awhile now and this class totally hooked them on it - now to buy one for home! It was already past 4pm and the park closed at 5 so we went and got their famous Granny Fried Apples - which were delisious - and walked around the rest of the park. Many people have told me that you only need 1 day at Legoland especially when you have older kids. We spent the entire day there and yet we got barely anything done - in fact we only did 4 rides. Of course there wasn't very many other rides we would have wanted to do but the other ride the kids did want to do was a 2 hour wait so we could not wait. I also had heard of many other rides and either they were closed due to winter or we just never found them. Overall we did enjoy our time at Legoland and glad we got to check it off our list but its definitely something to skip next time.

  After hitting up the gift shop we made the 90 minute drive to Anaheim to check into the Disneyland Hotel. This hotel was a surprise for the kids and I believe they both enjoyed it! When we walked in both of the kids immediately found the tv area and the tea cup chairs to hang out in. Check-In was fast and easy and everyone was very polite. We then headed up to our rooms and we were amazed at the view. Since we were in the Fantasy Tower we didn't get a Downtown Disney view but we had a view of the pool area which we all enjoyed. 

Day 1 of our vacation was not scheduled to start until 6pm. We spent the morning packing, going to Rachael's last volleyball game of the season, and eating lunch in Austin. Around 5pm we had a few friends come get us and we made our journey downtown to the Amtrak station. Our train was scheduled to arrive about 630 and we wanted to be early to get seats together. The train ended up being late and not arriving until 8pm - it also had started to pour shortly before the train pulled up. Austin's train station is very small and it is not covered so we had to drag all of our carry on luggage, and ourselves, all the way to the last train in pouring rain. Once we got on board we looked for seats; unfortuantly the train was already quite full and we were close together but scattered. Our seats were a little bigger than we imagined and were not completely uncomfortable - they reclined some and had a foot rest if needed. We did remember our blankets and pillows - even though some were wet from the rain - so we all got comfy and our trip was officially started! We got to San Antonio around midnight and would be stationed here until about 4am. The kids woke up a few times and enjoyed watching our car back up to hook up to the train that we would finish our jouney on.

  Day 2 we woke up pretty early and decided that we should try out some breakfast in the restaurant car. The food was decent but not great and very expensive - but it was better than granola bars and muffins that we had brought with us. Our first long stop of the day would be El Paso around 1pm MST so we spent the morning in the sightseeing car and we played some games. Around 1200 CST we headed back to our seats to rest since we thought we would be in El Paso in 1 hour. We forgot about the time change and our train was running late so our short nap became longer and we were pretty hungry. We finally arrived to El Paso and even though our stop was cut down to 15 minutes we all jumped off real fast to visit with James' sister and her family - and they brought us McDonald's! Once the train signal was given we hopped back on and continued on our journey. Our next large stop would be Tucson Arizona around 7pm and we were scheduled to be there for 1 hour. The have a cafe next door so this was our original plan for dinner - however the train was still late and we got there after the cafe closed. We were able to get off quickly at this stop though (even though it was now only a 20 minute stop) and the kids played on some old train equipment in the station! They enjoyed it and they enjoyed stretcing their legs. It was now bedtime and we would be arriving in Los Angeles at 6am. We also were able to rearrange our seats since many passengers got off so we were all nearby each other. This made sleeping a little easier (except for the noisy couple behind me talking all night).

  These 2 days of our trip were spefically there to give us something to do this weekend, check off riding a train for 36 hours, and to relax before our busy vacation would actually start. It was not 100% as we imagined it but we would definitely ride Amtrak again. This trip we had very few sights to see as it was always the same view - desert, maybe some mountains, and small towns with nothing. Next time we ride Amtrak we will do a trip up north with hopefully better views and we will definitely get a sleeper car (which includes all meals) to give us some privacy and an actual bed. Overall though we really enjoyed the train ride and the kids still keep asking to go on one again!

Over Thanksgiving we went on our first real vacation since our Mexico Cruise in 2010. For this trip we would travel 1400 miles out to Los Angeles and enjoy Legoland, Disneyland, Santa Monica Pier, and the WB Studio. We would travel by train, plane, and car. We even invited James' grandmother along for the fun! 

This trip took almost a full year to plan. Our original trip was slated for August - but then got moved to the week of Thanksgiving. We originally were going to fly out on a Monday morning and enjoy the sites of LA. But after a short train ride in March, which we all enjoyed, we thought hmmmm why not take a train out to LA. So after some research we found out that Amtrak does leave Austin, goes to California, would arrive on an early Monday morning, and the price was pretty good. So yup we would be traveling out to Los Angeles by train! 

Zilker Botanical Garden

I’ve been trying to get out more and explore Austin with the kids this summer. One of our first stops we made this summer was the Zilker Botanical Garden. It was a very nice experience and their is a lot to see there. 

As soon as you pull in your stopped at the gate for payment. Children under 12 are $1 and adults are between $2-$3 depending on if your a resident of Austin; parking onsite is free. We then walked into the gift shop to pick up a map of the gardens. 

Our first stop on the walk was the Rose Garden’s. This area seemed to be very thin at the moment but would probably look very pretty and colorful when everything is in full bloom. We however, did see some pretty flowers in this area. 

My son wasn’t very fond of the entire idea so to make him happy he was in charge of the map and making sure we were going the correct way. Our first stop was the butterfly area since that was the main thing my daughter wanted to see. There were not many butterfly’s hanging around but we did see a few and she enjoyed it. There were also butterfly benches in the area that made great picture spots while resting. 

We then walked over to the prehistoric garden area which was the only spot my son wanted to see. There was a waterfall, a spot with a dinosaur, and a lot palm trees. It was a very beautiful green area with lots of shade and water running. While walking over to the oriental garden we then walked through the rose garden again seeing the back half of the area. 

Our favorite part ended up being the oriental garden area. A lot of different walking paths and different types of plants. The children enjoyed the wooden bridge, ponds, and seeing lots of bamboo. Their is one spot on this side of the botanical gardens where you have a good view of downtown Austin; there is even a bench in this exact spot to enjoy it all. 

On our way out we followed some more trails, saw the cactus circle, and stopped in the gift shop for a drink (no food or drinks allowed in the garden areas). It was a hot day but we still spent about an hour out there and some parts we rushed through because of the heat.

Wow have we really gone 6 months now without updating this website? So I will do a quick recap of the last 6 months and then I will make sure to post 1 thing a month from here on out. 

So some of the things we have done this year so far is:

Imagine Dragons Concert

Austin Steam Train Ride

Roller Derby

SXSW Gaming Expo

The Lego Movie at Alamo Drafthouse

Summer X Games 

Great Wolf Lodge

Round Rock Express Baseball Game

Rachael Turned 9

Chase Turned 11

Chase completed elementary school

Jimmey Kimmel Live in Austin

Rachael played Volleyball

Bob Bullock Museum

The kids enjoyed the SXSW gaming expo and were both able to try out the oculus - which they both thought was amazing. Me and James were able to get Jimmy Kimmel tickets during SXSW and had a blast - you could even see us on the taping of it! 

We spent a few hours at the Bob Bullock Museum earlier this year and it was pretty damn large. We can't wait to go back when they get the La Belle Ship exhibit. If you ever go to this museum have a few handy hours because it takes time to tour it. 

Rachael held her 9th birthday party at a local kids salon and spa and very much enjoyed being pampered. She also received tons of monster high things for her birthday. Chase had a sleepover for his 11th birthday party and opted for a new 3DS XL and some games.

For Christmas we bought the kids tickets to see Imagine Dragons. It was a late show on a school night but it was really good. Chase fell asleep towards the end so I woke up for his favorite songs but he didn't really enjoy it to the full extent we had hoped for. Rachael of course stayed awake and sung as many songs as she knew and danced for them all!

In March we had family visit so we took a trip on the Austin Steam Train out to Burnet, Texas. It was a short trip but we all really enjoyed the ride. We enjoyed it so much that at the end of the year we are taking a Amtrak train out to California instead of flying! 

In April more family came to visit so we went to all the amazing restaurants we love: Salt Lick, Hula Hut, Kirby Cafe, and also checked out a Roller Derby match. Took some time to understand the rules but in the end it was an okay event to do. If we go back we will probably enjoy it more.

Rachael played volleyball and she LOVES it. She loves it so much she decided not to do cheerleading and just stay in volleyball. The summer season starts on Monday and we are all excited!

We took a weekend to go spend some time at Great Wolf Lodge with more family. The kids enjoyed having their cousins there as they are all similar in age. This of course meant me and James were mostly on our own while they just did their own thing - James did not like this because it means they of course are getting older. 

Of course shortly after coming back from GWL Chase officially ended his time in elementary school. We have a kid now in middle school - what is wrong with this world? He finished his elementary school years by getting on the A honor roll, getting an award for kid of the year which his peers voted for, and being placed in the Talented and Gifted Program. He is looking forward to middle school and will be playing the french horn in band and is hoping to be in theatre. 

Just last week the Summer X Games were held here in Austin, Texas. So we went on saturday to check out some BMX, RallyCross Racing, and Moto X. BMX was good, RallyCross racing was awesome, and Moto X was cancelled. We also passed on seeing Kanye West - which was probably good because many many people didn't get in to see him anyways. We actually left early in the day due to the extreme heat and we all got burnt - besides Rachael who has an awesome tan now. We got so burnt that both me and James are still recovering. 

The final hours of 2013 is creeping up on us and like many others we want to reflect on the past year. For us 2013 was actually a pretty good year. We moved to Austin, Texas just days before 2013 started, I officially became an RN and started a new job, James started a new job, the kids met plenty of new friends, and we had a blast this year. Living in Austin has been great for us. We love being able to do new things and we have been able to entertain ourselves a bunch this year! Some of the things we did around the Austin area were checking out Pinballz Arcade, The Main Event, Austin's Park, Jumpoline Park, Round Rock Express Baseball games, and an Austin Toros Basketball Game. Since we rarely eat at home we of course tried many new places. Some of our favorite local restaurants are: Trudy's, Hula Hut, Moonies, and The Salt Lick!

This year Chase did great in school making one again straight A's. Shortly after starting 4th grade in January he won a prestigious award at school. You get this award for being a great student with a great attitude. Only four people in each class a year get it and he got within the first few weeks of him starting a new school! He also was the first one to receive the award in 5th grade as well. We wanted Chase to try some physical activity so he did baseball for a little bit. Unfortunately he did not like it but he gave it his all and thats what matters! He has also met some great friends that he spends a lot of time playing games with online and talking with over Skype! 

Rachael had a pretty good year as well! She of course enjoys school and has met plenty of new friends. Just recently she won an award at school which is something she has been working really hard to achieve. She tried out a tumbling class as well and hopefully we will find a gym so she can start doing it in 2014. Rachael really loved that she saw one of her favorite bands, Fun, live this year at ACL!

Since i graduated nursing school at the end of 2013 I was able to take my NCLEX to get my RN license this year. I was able to pass the first time around and landed a job working at the Austin State Hospital. I loved my 7 months there and the people I met; but I was worried about losing my skills so I took a job at Cornerstone Hospital and learning a bunch! 

James spent most of the year working for Crane West until a job opportunity came available that he could not resist. He is now working for Monkee-Boy out of Austin, Texas. This past year he also volunteered for SXSW for the first time and also checked out plenty of movies during it. He really enjoyed volunteering and did such a great job that he will be doing it again in 2014 as a stage manager! He also took the kids to ACL Music Festival where they listened to plenty of bands. 

As a family we were able to get season passes for Sea World and went many many times. We also went to the Sherwood Forest Faire in McDade, Texas, to the Dallas Cowboys Stadium for an MSU football game, spent a day in Corpus Christi, went to Lego Kids Fest in Houston, made a couple trips back to Wichita Falls and Lawton, and spent 4 days at Great Wolf Lodge over Christmas. We also were lucky enough to have some family come to town and we went to a July 4th Frontier Days Celebration in Round Rock and took a boat out on Lake Austin. We kept ourselves really busy this year but we enjoyed being able to do so many things together as a family. 

With 2014 being hours around the corner we are getting even more excited about what it will hopefully bring. Our current goals are to go to the Imagine Dragons concert, get season passes to Schlitterbahn water park, visit the NASA Space Center in Houston, make a trip to Big Bend National Park, spend Christmas at Great Wolf Lodge, and go to California to see Disneyland and Legoland. We will also be doing many other exciting things around Austin to keep ourselves occupied. 

2013 was a great year for all of us and we do miss many members of our family. However, we can't wait for the new adventures 2014 will bring us and hope we can enjoy some of those adventures with our family!

Its almost August and I'm just now starting our 4th of July weekend post but one day we will hopefully get better with updates. 

James' sister and her family came down on July 4th to visit and have some fun. The kids loved seeing their cousins as it had been a few months since we last saw them and are use to seeing them pretty often. We had lots planned and had lots of fun. 

Thursday July 4th: Round Rock was having a Frontier Days Celebration that ended with fireworks. They had a foam pit, hamster ball, live stunt men show, watermelon, lots of food vendors, skydivers, fireworks and so much more. The kids loved just being able to be outside and play for many hours but the firework show was definitely the thing we loved the most. It was a fun but long night. 

Friday July 5th: After a long night we all had to wake up early and drive 2 hour to Sea World. This was James' sisters first time there as well as her kids first time there. We made sure to start the day off by seeing all the shows and leave everything else to the end of the day. Shamu was our second show to see and we were able to sit pretty close so we could see the whales in the tank but that also meant we got soaked. The show was actually a little different this time so that was fun too. After the shows were over we were going to do some water rides and have the kids play in the water area; the water rides both had a 90minute wait so we just let the kids play in the water. We ended up heading back to Austin early this night and ate dinner at Trudy's North Star - our favorite mexican restaurant in town. 

Saturday July 6th: For Saturday we had rented a pontoon boat to go out on Lake Austin. It was a little agitating as James' had never driven a boat before but only a few mishaps. We drove around for a little bit and then stopped to let the kids get out in play. Their favorite thing to do was to jump out of the boat constantly and get the floor soaking wet. After driving around a little more we tried stopping again to let them swim but as newbies we were all having problems trying to find spots away from others and get the boat actually anchored correctly; so in fear of hurting anyone we just drove around looking at all the nice houses out there. The kids did enjoy standing at the end of the boat and yelling "thank you" at passing boats due to their waves. After we were done with the boat we ate at Abel's On The Lake for the first time. They had really good food and since they are on the lake an awesome view! After lunch we headed to Jumpoline Park; we knew this place would be a hit for Alexis and she stunned some of the employee's by her constant flips. The boys all really enjoyed playing dodgeball as well.

Overall we had a fun-filled weekend with family. Rachael absolutely loved seeing Alexis and Chase loved being able to see his favorite aunt that he is constantly bugging with text messages. We just wished they lived closer so we could have more fun weekends like this one!

Since we have fallen behind on keeping this updated I have decided to bunch the last part of June into one post.

On June 22nd we headed out to the Rock'N River Family Aquatic Center in Round Rock. They have 2 slides, lazy river, and a kids area; the only thing it was missing was a wave pool. It was fairly busy but for the low price it was worth it. Chase's favorite part was the slides while Rachael's was the kid area!

On June 25th we headed out to the Dell Diamond in Round Rock. They were showing The Sandlot as part of the 25th anniversary tour of the movie. This was the first time the kids saw the movie and they really enjoyed it especially since we were sitting out on the field. The kids still keep talking about "the beast" and Squints acting like he was drowning. 

On June 27th we decided to head into Austin and walk around Lady Bird Lake and let the kids play in the Liz Carpenter Fountain at Butler Park. It was nice walking around Lady Bird lake some and look at so many people out on Kayak's. We have already been talking about renting a Kayak and this just helped make up our minds even more. The kids also enjoyed playing in the fountain. At night there are lights on the fountain that brighten it up but we didn't stay that long but hopefully one day we will check it out at night. 

On July 1st we headed back out to The Main Event for some bowling. It was a pretty busy night so we didn't get to do much of anything. Due to how busy it has been the past two times we will not be heading out there again until September. Our bowling scores however were:

Chase - 94, 87

Rachael - 85, 87

Melissa - 82, 84

James - 77, 94

  Overall June was a great month and July will hopefully be better!

Rogues Gallery Comics had their third annual All Ages Awesomness on Saturday which includes having several comic book artists on hand to talk to the kids, sign comics, do sketches, etc. We had a pretty busy day but wanted to make sure we stopped by.

Rachael got a My Little Pony sketch from Tony Fleecs who has done covers for My Little Pony Friendship is Magic and the artist for the micro series. We also picked up an awesome Tony Fleecs My Little Pony print.

Tuesday June 5th we went out to the Dell Diamond and watched The Round Rock Express Baseball game. We are really enjoying having a local baseball team to watch especially when they have half-price nights. Baseball games can always be a little slow but The Express does lots of small entertaining games when they can to help the night go by a little faster. We also all indulged in some Dippin' Dots this time which were something we have not had in awhile; even though it was not even a hot night. In the end The Express had 2 home runs and beat The Sounds 6-2!

Monday June 3rd was our bimonthly Main Event outing. We started our evening out with two games of bowling, headed over to do some arcades, hit up lasertag, then some glow golf, and then back to the arcade. We had never done the arcade before and since it was a very busy night we bought an arcade card and let the kids have some fun. Both of the kids had a blast and tried out some new games we have never played before. Rachael loved all of the motion rides where your on rollar coasters or in a racing game. Chase loved racing with my uncle Jeff and spent most of the night doing just that. When we played lasertag it was a free for all since there was only 14 players. These were our scores:

Rachael - 560

Chase - 4980

Melissa - 1960

Chase was VERY happy with these scores because he was ranked #1 for the game! 

Our bowling scores for the night were:

Chase - 66, 94

Rachael - 77, 86

Melissa - 94, 79

James - 97, 94

We had a great night and hopefully it was a great birthday night for James!

Since I was sick on May 6th its been a month since we have been to The Main Event. Being our first time back in awhile we decided to just bowl the whole night. With that being said we were able to make some awesome improvement and break 3 personal records.

Rachael - 71, 87, 83, 64

Chase - 76, 69, 76, 69

Melissa - 72, 70, 94, 99

James - 81, 81, 111, 119

  Broken Records:

Rachael's high score went from 83 - 87.

Melissa's high score went from 86 - 99.

James' high score went from 108 - 119.