Sunday, June 26, 2011

The First Annual Shelton Summer Vacation

We decided to take the kids on our first vacation as a family. We have gone on a few extended weekend trips with friends and the big family reunion trip with my whole family, but we had never attempted a solo Shelton family trip. We had the BEST time! The kids were beyond excited to have us all to themselves, and we soaked up plenty of quality time enjoying the water and playing together. Since New Braunfels went so well last year with the Wilhite Family Reunion, we decided that would be a good starting point for us. We rented a cute two bedroom condo right down the street from Schlitterbahn and started the festivities. We got there Sunday afternoon and took it easy the first night. The kids had to share a room so they were having a little trouble falling asleep with no big tiring activity for the day. Hannah ended up having to sleep in the pack-n-play in the bathroom for the first night, because they just couldn't calm down enough to sleep.

We woke up bright and early the Monday morning and hit Schlitterbahn for tons of water park fun! Here are some highlights from our first day. We started off at the Blastenhoff section of the park, and Hannah immediately took to the big slides with no fear. Greyson was more cautious (which is so nice) and decided to hang out with Daddy on the River Rapids ride (kind of like a lazy river but with big waves). We then headed over to the Original Schlitterbahn portion by bus which has tons of great little kid areas. One of Greyson's proudest moments was when lady bug landed on him. He completely loves them, and he was thrilled that this one chose him :-).We came back late in the afternoon, and Hannah passed out for a nice long nap. Mommy was WAY too tired to cook so we went and had the yummiest pizza place. We decided we'd go for the gold and take the kids swimming at the pool at the condos to really wear them out. It worked, and both kids slept in the same room with no problem at all.

We headed back to Schlitterbahn Tuesday morning and decided to start off at the Surfenberg portion of the park to change it up a bit. There is just nothing bad I can say about this place. We LOVED it! They have so many kid friendly attractions and fun things for adults as well. Greyson and Hannah had so much fun playing on the pirate ship and submarine. We ended the day by going back over the Blastenhoff to see if Greyson would give the slides one last try. He saw Hannah go down a few times, and he decided he was finally ready to give it a whirl. He was over the moon happy when he made it, and he played on them for a while after that. We took the kids back swimming and enjoyed more family time before crashing early since we were headed to Sea World in the morning.
Sea World is such a great place, but it was a little more difficult that we had anticipated. It had stormed for the better part of the night so James and I had not gotten much sleep. The kids were cranky and tired so they weren't feeling the whole wait in line and go see shows thing. Once we scrapped that plan all together and high tailed it to the water park, things were GREAT! We have decided that our kids are just so much happier in the water, and that's where we're going focus our efforts in the future. We had lunch at a cute little cafe in the water park and saw a dance show with Shamoo and penguins. Hannah had to get a shot with the penguin, but she thought Shamoo was a bit much. Overall, we had such a great day, and we're ready to go back again soon :-). The Wilhite family reunion is back in New Braunfels so we'll be enjoying the same activities in another month.


Happy Summer, and happy travels!

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

End of the Blast Ball Season Party

We had the best time at the end of season party for Blastball this year. Dave and Barb (Kim's parents) were gracious enough to open up their home to us for a fun pool party to celebrate a great season. The kids were SUPER excited to get their trophies and play in the pool together. Here are some highlights...
It needs to be pointed out that Hannah HAD to hold the trophy and pretend it was hers :-). Bathing suit tops are highly overrated :-).

New House

With our expanding family, James and I made the difficult decision to sell this house and look for new digs. We searched high and low at existing homes, but we ultimately decided to build our own dream house :-). It's been so much fun so far, and we're looking forward to seeing it all come together. We'll be moving to Frisco which is not too far from our house now, but we'll have almost twice as much space! WOOHOO! Here are some pics of the house in process. We are supposed to move in at the end of July, and we are in the final stages of selling our current house so things are pretty busy here in the Shelton household. It's time to PACK!

This is how the house looked when we picked it out. It already was in process, but we were able to get in at just the right time so we could pick out everything from paint colors, flooring, counter tops, cabinets, doors, etc! It's going to be gorgeous, and we can't wait to spread out and make room for baby :-).

I thought these would be fun to show the kids some day so they could see what our house looked like before it was fully built on the inside. It's got a ways to go!

I went by two or three days after the above pictures, and they had already almost finished bricking. It's crazy how quickly they can get things done. More pics to follow as we follow the progress at 1108 Gentle Wind Lane :-).

Special Greyson Time

James and I took Greyson to a Frisco Roughriders game a few weeks ago with a big group of friends. We decided to leave Hannah behind, and we made a day of just spending time with our big boy! It was a big treat, and we indulged in EVERY baseball snack imaginable while we were there :-).
I also ventured out to Northpark with just Greyson for a special Cars tour promoting the new movie. It was almost 100 that day, and the line was CRAZY long to get your picture taken with Mater and Lightening so we made the best of the situation with some ghetto photos taken from afar. I took him to the Disney store, let him pick out a toy, and then he decided he needed to pick out something for Hannah which was super sweet. He picked out a water bottle and a shirt for Hannah which she absolutely LOVES. He's such a good big brother, and I can't wait to see him blossom with his next little sibling. I feel like he will be such a great helper, and I know he'll enjoy it more this time around now that he's more aware.


School's Out For Summer!

I can't help thinking of that old 70's tune when I pick up Greyson on his last day of school. I need to get that on my Ipod so I can play it on the way home next year :-). Greyson finished another great year at First Place with an end of year program. He was quite the singer and dancer! It was so cute, and we can't wait to see him start Pre-K next year. It's hard to believe that we almost have a kindergartner. I am just not ready for that *tear*. He l0ved his teachers this year, Ms. Sandy, and Ms. Samantha! They were great, and he had a great time in his class of 11 boys and 3 girls :-).

Friday, June 3, 2011

Hooray for Easter!

Easter was full of new surprises this year and the start of new beginnings for our family. We found out a few weeks before Easter that we were expecting another Shelton baby! We are beyond excited to be expanding our family :-).

Greyson was especially interested in the story behind the holiday, and it was fun to hear his version of the Easter story. He informed me that "Jesus wakes up and comes out of a rock." I guess that's one way to put it :-). We celebrated Easter a few times it seems. Hannah went to an Easter playdate at our friend, Colin's house, while Greyson had his big Easter egg hunt at school. She had fun with all of the kids looking for eggs and finding magic candy inside. I told her she could only have two pieces, but of course, she kept sneaking off and opening TONS of candy to eat. Gotta love that girl!
Easter morning, James and I surprised the kids with Easter baskets of goodies. They were beyond thrilled, and they think the Easter Bunny is just as cool if not cooler than Santa. We had a hunt in the back yard in our jammies before heading over for the big festivities at Grandma's and Grandpa's.
The kids all had such a great time at Grandma & Grandpa's house. They hunted for eggs, played like crazy, and rode in the cars out in the green belt. Grandma's house is just the coolest as far as the kids are concerned.

Springtime at the Arboretum

We decided to take our annual trip to Dallas Blooms at the Arboretum this year on the perfect Spring day! Tammy took the day off work so she and Cody were able to come with us. We brought a picnic, stopped and smelled the roses, and ran like crazy! It's such a beautiful place, and we love visiting every year. Here are some of the highlights. Enjoy!

Spring Fun

Spring time was beautiful here in Texas as always. We started off with a trip to Sandy Lake Amusement Park. We took them both last year, but this year was even more fun, because Hannah was big enough to ride the roller coasters so they could enjoy things together! They had a blast, and we can't wait to go again soon. It is so nice to have this place so close to the house and so affordable :-).

James took the kids to one of our friend, Pierce's, 2nd birthday party. They had a petting zoo and pony rides, and the kids had a great time getting in touch with their inner farmer ;-).
James took Greyson on a special Daddy/Son outing to ride go-karts for the first time. Greyson LOVED it, and he was a pro from the first lap!
I took the kids for their first swim in Grandma & Grandpa's spa. It was far too cold to swim in the big pool, but the kids were happy to just be in the water. I will have to get a comparison shot from my Mom, but the bathing suit Hannah is wearing is one that she wore when she was 4 months old (it was a little big then and a little tight now), but it's so cute to see how grown up she is now. We've since graduated to full summer swimming mode, but that post will have to come later.
More updates to follow!