#postedbymelissa

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.

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.