Texas- Week 2

We had a busy week! One thing I love about Dallas is there are so many free, cheap, and fun things to do with the kids. There are also other families here with kids so we have been doing a lot with the other wives and kids during the day. 

Monday was rainy off and on so we went to the Irving Bible Church to play at their indoor/outdoor playground. I wasn’t really expecting much but it was a really nice play area. The kids had a lot of fun there. The church is huge and open daily until 9pm. 

Wednesday morning I went out for a run before Kyle left for work, Lennon came with me and rode his strider bike. We went just over 2 miles and it was so fun, he rides at a really good pace for me to run. 

Later that morning we went to the library for a program they had. The Dallas Zoo brought a few animals in and talked about them. Our favorites were the serval and the flamingo! (Fwingo, as Cope would say). Lennon liked the serval because it’s similar to a cheetah, it runs super fast just like him. 

Thursday we went to a really fun splash pad in Carrollton, it was about a 20 minute drive, not too bad. The kids had so much fun, there were water slides and everything. 

Friday the boys and I set off on our own to explore the Dallas Art Museum and Klyde Warren park. One thing about spending time away from home is that I end up doing things that make me pretty nervous, and then end up realizing it’s not so bad. Such as driving into downtown Dallas with 2 little boys. It’s a big city for sure. I was really nervous driving the freeways and parking and stuff but it turned out just fine. I can do hard things! (That’s my little hooray for me moment 👍🏻) we had so much fun at the museum, on the first floor they have a play room with toys and books for the kids, they also have a lot of hands on exhibits for the whole family. We spent a lot of time looking around and playing before going across the street to the park to play at the splash pad playground. (We also did all of this again on Sunday with Kyle because it was so fun and also free!) 

Saturday I was finally able to talk Lennon into a haircut! And by talk him into it, I mean I strapped him into the high chair while he kicked and screamed and cried.... Whenever Lennon gets upset so does Cope, so I gave them each a sucker to try and calm them down. Long story short- Lennon ended up with a semi decent at home haircut and Cope ended up looking like Chewbacca covered in sticky sucker and Lennon’s hair. 😐

Saturday night we had fun down at the pool bbq’ing and swimming with people and families on the team. It was truly one of the best times we’ve had out here so far. We love the apartment complex and the pools and we love the people we are here with. 

Irving, Texas- week 1

We have been here almost a week! We are near Dallas in a city called Irving. But we are in an area called Farmer’s Branch. Lennon is pretty confused by all that and keeps asking if we are still in America haha. 

Our apartment is really nice! We are so happy with it. There are two bedrooms, bathrooms, and walk in closets. So the boys have one side of the house and Kyle and I have the other. There are two really nice pools here and so far we have been going twice a day. Cope is already so comfortable in the water, he wears the arm floaty and paddles around. Lennon is getting a lot more comfortable but still says the edge is the safest place for him. 

There is also a huge canal right next to the apartment complex with a trail along it. We have been riding bikes and jogging out there a few times. Yesterday Lennon rode 3.5 miles on his strider bike! He says he’s ready to learn how to peddle his new bike now so we are going to start working on that. 

We also checked out the Farmer’s Branch Manske Library, it’s small but they have a lot of programs we can go to. It’s right next to the lake and has a fun playground. We played for a minute but it was really hot, we will try again, next time maybe at 6am so them temp is bearable haha. Saturday was the kick off for their summer reading program and they had a big party with games and a piñata, that was pretty fun for Lennon. 

Sunday for Kyle’s day off we did a little exploring, but not much. We are all still pretty tired of driving so we just went to see the Dallas temple and then the Mustangs of Las Colinas. Really awesome huge statues of wild mustangs crossing a river. Lennon was asleep in the truck by that time so I just walked over with Cope for a minute. We hope to go back again because it was really cool. 

Road trip to Dallas- Day 3

9:15 am 

We have been on the road for almost an hour. We are now in Texas and it is 100% flat. No hills at all, just a big huge flat land. But there are hundred and thousands of windmills! It looks so cool and Copelin loves them. He calls them “babybow” haha. I tried to take a picture but it doesn’t do it justice, there are just windmills as far as the eye can see in every direction. In the picture you can see how smoky the air is from the wildfires in New Mexico. Luckily we didn’t run into any issues yesterday but we did see signs letting people know that there could be road closures due to the fires. 

12pm (Texas time) 

We just left Amarillo. We stopped at Cadillac Ranch and then the 2nd amendment cowboy. Lennon LOVED spray painting the cars at Cadillac ranch, he could’ve stayed there all day. Cope had fun climbing around in the cars. Last time we stopped we were the only ones there and the place was pretty clean. Today there were quite a few people and soooo many empty spray paint cans and lids. I wish we would’ve had a trash bag to pick up a bit. Now we’re on the road again and hopefully will only have to stop once more before we get to the apartment!