Owen is Three!

Owen turned 3 this month! So here's an update on him + pictures of his party.

I know he's my kid so of course I'm biased, but he is seriously the smartest three year old I know. He can't read, but he memorizes books that we read to him. He picks up on everything and if he doesn't understand what's being said, he asks about it. Even his questions are smart! I love that he loves learning. He loves playing memory. Sometimes we help him or let him win, but other times when his parents actually try and win... he still beats them!

He's super coordinated and loves playing any sort of ball. He also loves any sort of rough house play. He has endless amounts of energy, it doesn't make sense to me. He loves Mickey Mouse, joy school, and making friends. I freaking love this little buddy of mine!

We've been really lucky to make so many little friends while living in Dallas. It was fun to have a bunch of them over for Owen's party. We did a wild animal themed party. The original idea was to do a "jungle" party, but come to find out... I'm an idiot and have no idea what animals live in the jungle. The decorations were just jumble of wild animals. So we're calling it a wild animal party.

 Our attempt at getting all the little crazies in one picture ^^^

*Side note- just something I want to remember. Gavin's parents came to town for Thanksgiving. They came early enough that they were able to make it to Owen's birthday party. It was really fun having them here!

Gifts
Parents- big orange work truck. Owen asked for "Will's truck" for his birthday. So we got him the same truck that his friend Will has. 
McCleary grandparents- mini trampoline
Scott grandparents- strider bike.
Spoiled kid!

June 2017

Bring the heat!
We actually did a ton of new things this month! Here's a few photos to prove it.

 The Katy Trail

 Six Flags Amusement Park

 Water Park in Grapevine

 Giant Bears in Highland Park

 Getting brave in our pool

 Found a "waterall" in Richardson

 Played at the Klyde Warren Park splash pad again

and explored Fair Park.

This month, the highlight was Gavin's family coming out! We love visitors! Gavin's entire family wasn't able to make it, but we had fun with his parents, sister, and her husband. I'll post about that next!

McClearys Take Dallas

We were so stoked to have my family come visit us in Dallas! I loved giving them a visual for our life here, plus it's always fun to have an excuse to play hard. I did a more formal post on their visit here, so I'll just do a quick photo & info dump on this blog. 

 Owen forcing a smile at the Ranger's baseball game after he got freaked out from the crowd cheering about a game-winning home run!

 Touring the cowboys stadium and me fan-girling in the cheerleader's locker room

We took a day trip up to Turner Falls, Oklahoma. Read more about that here.

More sightseeing...

 Fort Worth Water Gardens

 Arboretum

 Deep Ellum

 Playing & Exercising at the park

 Touring downtown

 Showing my fam where Gavin works

 Playing a "how well do we know each other?" game designed by mom.

Showing off the skyline

 and barbeque.

 And of course just soaking in being together.

Come again!

May 2017

May in Texas means that summer activities are already in full swing! So we spent a lot of time at Splash Pads,

 (Campbell Green Park)

 (Klyde Warren Park)

Escaping the heat,

 (Playdate Co.)

Eating popcicles,

Steel City Pops- of course!

And taking more trips to the Arboretum.

The heat in May is not too shabby. June - August is a different story, but we're grateful for the warm Spring and Fall weather. 

Of course our highlight of May was that our family came to visit us in Dallas! We LOVED having them here! Their trip deserves it's own post, so look for that one next!

April 2017

Here's a few moments from April that I haven't showcased yet!
This month, we played in rainy weather,

 and sunny weather.

We drove to Ennis to see their renowned bluebonnets.

We went on a giant group date to play laser tag.

I finished up another lacrosse season,

and we took another trip to the zoo.

One perk of living in a big city is Sprouts delivery.  Another perk is this new website called Pearachute. Basically what it is is you pay a monthly membership for however many classes you want your child to attend, then choose from a list of participating places which classes to attend that month. Because it's a new company, they are doing a lot of promotions right now. We signed up for 6 classes for $12! Through Pearachute, I took Owen to a swim class and an art class. Both classes, we were the only ones there! I loved the art class because it was a completely new experience for Owen!

On the way home from this class, Owen and I stopped at Ikea for lunch. He made us sit at the little table. Other than that, this man made a pretty good date!

Birthday and Earth day

Turned 27 this April, which is really weird because last year I turned 19. Hmm. The older you get, the harder it is to party hard for your birthday. Luckily, I had friends and family who didn't just let me waste the weekend away.
That night before my birthday, I coached a lacrosse game (we won!). Then I went with my girl friends to stuff my face with dessert from Chili's. They all pitched in a got me a massive McDonalds gift card as a gift. Hilarious. I don't eat Mcdonald's food, but I get a Diet Coke there every day. Soo... best birthday gift ever!

The day of my birthday, me and Haley and our boys went to Fair park. I've been wanting to see the butterfly garden there! I loved it!

That night, I had another game to coach. Gavin surprised me and came to the game! Then we went up to Knaras's to say happy birthday to Kinley! We played at a park up there and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Lake Lewisville. Unfortunately I don't have a picture that captures how pretty this night was.

I told Gavin that I would rather do something than get something for my birthday. So, instead of a gift, we planned a day trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park. It was a little less than a two hour drive to get here. I love going places that I've never been before!

The weather was chilly but that didn't stop Owen from wanting to splash in the water. There are fossilized dinosaur footprints in this river, and Texas-style hiking. It was fun to spend the day here. We will definitely be coming back when it's warmer!

Owen's into doing this thing where he will smile and say cheese for the camera, but he won't look at it. Stinker!

We ended the weekend with some good ole' shake shack and a relaxing Sunday. Here's to 27!