Family Day at a Festival with a Few Firsts

The City of Irving had a food tasting festival today. We didn't go for the food, but for all the kids activities they had (for free). Makena got to go on her first pony ride!

We arrived when the event started so there were no lines. Makena was able to ride the ponies more than once. She's taken a liking to horses lately, so this was pretty exciting for her.

Kyle got to go on his first pony ride too. He loved it! Look how cute his little pony is!

Makena played on a huge inflatable slide while Karis got to try out bungee jumping for the first time. They have one of these contraptions at the mall and she has begged me to try it. I thought she'd be too light for it and didn't want to pay for her to try it and be right. But since it was free at this festival, it was the perfect time for her to try it. I was wrong and she surprisingly did pretty well on it! 

  

Daddy gave it a shot too! 

After his flips, he was done. His stomach didn't agree!

Daddy and Kyle played on the playground while I took the girls to get their faces painted.

 

We also got a flower bracelet balloon for Makena and a butterfly balloon for Karis.

    

By this time, it was getting hot and crowded and Kyle was tired, but we got talked into letting the girls try out the zip line. 

We ate some pizza and then headed home to get out of the heat!

First Time Fishing

We took the kids fishing today at Bass Pro Shop. They provide all the equipment and let you fish in the river in front of the store. It was a great introduction to fishing. Karis was super excited as she's been wanting to fish for a long time

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Kyle wasn't too sure what was going on.

Karis quickly caught her first fish! Makena held the pole but once she saw the fish come out, she lost interest. She was quite squeamish (see her in the photo below). She caught one fish but didn't stick around long enough for me to take a photo.

Kyle tried too. He was more interested in the button and reel. 

Another fish! This one was squirmy!

Kyle didn't want to get near the fish.

Waiting for Daddy to catch a fish.

He caught one!

Since Makena lost interest, Nana took her into the store where she spent most of the time jumping in and out of ATVs. She had a much better time doing that than fishing!

Afterwards, we went to Chik-fil-a for lunch and then Nana had to catch her flight back home.

Butterflies!

Nana is in town so we decided to do something a little different for family day. We went to the Texas Discovery Gardens where they have a butterfly house, outdoor gardens and lots of bugs on display. 

 

Karis learned about caterpillars and butterflies in Pre-K. She watched four of them transform in their classroom. She was excited to see the butterfly house!

Karis really wanted a butterfly to land on her (we all did!), but unfortunately it didn't happen. 

  

Karis really wanted a book on insects so we purchased one in the gift store. Daddy read about a few of them as we hung out and relaxed in the garden.

We had lunch in Dallas and then headed back home for naps. Everyone had a great time!

Easter Fun

Last Saturday, we took the kids to a local church's Easter event. We were all excited to spend some family time together. Daddy worked a lot this past week in preparation for Easter, so we didn't spend as much time with him as we would have liked. 

Kyle participated in his first egg hunt. He was excited to pick up eggs and fill his bag (I forgot to bring the kids' Easter baskets!). He didn't even know the eggs were filled with candy!

 

 Kyle was excited to show off his goodies. 

The girls decorated cookies while waiting for the older kids' egg hunt. 

I loved how someone shared with the kids the Easter story before the egg hunt. They used Resurrection eggs and Makena got to open the last egg. It was empty -- He is risen!

It was a very windy day, so the girls' hair covered their faces in all their pictures of the egg hunt.

Afterwards, the girls did a scavenger hunt and got to take home a prize. 

Kyle happily played on the playground during the scavenger hunt. 

My crazy kid!

There was a small petting zoo at the event and that was our first stop. Makena was disappointed that there weren't any bunnies. Right before we left, I found out they had a bunny inside the church. She loved it and now wants a pet bunny. Look at that face!

There were also crafts, popcorn and bounce houses. I love taking the kids to small events like these. They have a blast and we don't have to drive far, fight crowds or pay a lot of money. It was perfect!