Man Cannot Live by Cashews Alone

Life seems to be moving in fast forward these days.  School is winding down and it's a good thing.  Last week I had to drive to Luke's preschool three separate times in a 45 minute time frame because I kept forgetting stuff. I think I'm losing my mind.  I'm just holding on to the fact that in a few short weeks, our outside demands will be significantly less.

I don't exactly love these super random rundowns covering long periods of time.  But like I said, I'm kind of going nuts, and can't sit down here often enough to make lots of  separate, concise posts.


In the last month we have had quite a few fun outings.

We went to Sea World at the end of April.

We stayed at the Wild Oak Ranch again and still loved it.  I swear one of these times, we're  going to skip Sea World all together and really take advantage of all of the fun things the resort has to offer.

Ava's one wish was to pet a dolphin.  She was a happy girl.

Thankfully the weather was perfect.

We enjoyed the shows.  Max especially loved the music in each show and spent most of their duration giving rhythmic thumbs up.

One of the best parts was this ride.  Ava and Luke rode with my parents the first time.  Luke was scared out of his shorts but wanted to do it again and again, which we did.  The sound of his screaming would have convinced anyone that he was on the brink of death, but time after time, at the end, he would beg for more.

They are on the front row in this picture.

We also went to the Dallas Zoo courtesy of Dan's work.  It was the 2012 Summer Picnic, so they paid for our tickets, parking, monorail ride, and carousel rides for the kids.  They also provided a free catered lunch.

Max still has a fondness for goats.

The birds were extra fun this time.

That place's HR department must be run by geniuses or something because they sure know how to deliver the perks.

We were also blessed with some cloudy/semi rain threatened weather which helped keep us pretty cool and the crowds at bay.

And then  last weekend we squeezed in our last camping trip of the season.  From here on until Fall, it will probably be too hot.

It was significantly easier getting ready for this trip because I assembled a camping bin last time.  So this time around, all I had to do was grab the bin, the tent, the sleeping bags, the camp chairs,  and pack food and clothes.

Alright, so it's still a lot of work, but Dan and I agreed as we were lugging stuff to and fro, that this kind of work is good for us.

Max downed 2 and a half Izze's, though I'm pretty sure only the half ended up in his belly.  The other two were dribbled down his front.

I forgot marshmallows.  So by the time I got them and returned, it was late.

And by the time we roasted them and ate s'mores it was really late.

And by the time we got the kids settled and laid down in the tent it was really, really late.

And by the time Max stopped wallowing around and whining and finally fell asleep it was really, really, really late.

Needles to say, the next morning came really early.

But when you're camping and you wake up with fuzzy marshmallow residue on your nose, you know you're doing something right.

Ava had a great time exploring our site.  We ended up across the path from our original, but this one had some fun differences.  It was slightly more private, there was an awesome fort/hiding place where the kids spent a lot of time, and Ava also discovered a snake.

She was pointing out what she thought was an animal's egg on the ground when I noticed a snake wriggling between her feet.  I panicked and picked her straight up into the air.  The snake slithered right under this log where he stayed with only a small part poking out.

For the next 15 minutes, Ava's kept asking me, "Did it get me?! Did it get me?!"


  We brought the kids scooters and instead of the 2.5 mile hike, they took a 2.5 mile ride.

They were quite tired and grumpy from our late night but they did it.  And when we got back to camp, our scaly friend had come out for a sunbath.

After some research, we are pretty sure our scaly friend is not so friendly, because he is a venomous Copperhead.

Not sure we'll be staying in that site again.

And now, here we are.

 Luke's school is done.  Ava has another week and a half.  Ava's birthday is tomorrow.  Dan's is this weekend.  I am trying to make our summer plans and hopeful that we can have a really fun time.  I just have to keep my head attached until then.

We are considering a few road trips, though I know those always sound better on paper than anywhere else.

I am holding out the tiniest bit of hope that my health issues may be resolved soon.  It has been such a long time and I am so tired of it.  I saw a new doctor last week and he was confident that we can figure things out.  Right now the signs point to some sort of autoimmune disease.  I am on week 4 of eating no sugar, no dairy, no wheat/carbs, and no fruit.

The good news is, it seems to be helping.  The bad news is, it seems to be helping.  You might be wondering, what does she eat?  And that would make two of us.

I eat vegetables. And some meat.  And when I can't think of anything else, I eat nuts.