As another activity, Kimberly Brittany and our families went to the Dallas Zoo. We've never been there so it was fun to explore a new zoo. It was much smaller than the Fort Worth Zoo, which was fine by me. We were able to still see plenty.
Watching some birds
Look, it's a giraffe!
Giraffes and zebras
Watching the gorilla
He came right over to the glass
We ended up splitting off from the rest of them and went around with Tyler.
Tram ride to see more animals
Love those silly faces :) Tyler was really good with the kids and a good sport even though you could tell being at the zoo was not his favorite thing.
Wiped out!
Another tired kiddo (not Tyler though)
That night we had a spread of snacks to enjoy for New Years Eve and threw a little party.
We played a video of a countdown at about 9 pm so the kids could do it. They had noise makers and then went outside to make more noise.
After the young kids were in bed, the adults and older kids played apples to apples. (Not everyone was in a good mood so it wasn't the funnest New Years Eve we've ever had. I ended up just going to bed earlier than the rest.)
We had so much fun tubing yesterday that we talked Tammy, Nathan, and Maryn to go tubing/sledding with us early this morning. (Plus, after all that hassle to get all the snow clothes, we had to put them to use again!)
Emmalyn all bundled back up again. She wasn't too happy about it again.
Max and Maryn were very excited! We went to a big hill just a couple minutes away from their house. It was basically a big field, so there was only frozen dirt underneath the snow/ice to "cushion" you.
The adults had no problem getting into the fun too. (Although we tended to like the inflated tube rather than the plastic sled!) I went a few times but I'll be honest, it made me quite nervous. I was so scared each time I got to the bottom that I would bounce off with every bump and break something. (that rush isn't as appealing at it was 20 years ago)
Max took about 2 minutes to get over his initial fear of this big hill and then was ALL about it. He went down by himself a few times and went with everyone else but by far, his favorite was to go with Uncle Nathan. They were a good partnership.
Emmalyn all positioned to go down (from halfway up)
Video - Emmalyn and Maryn going down together. Emmalyn was not enjoying it.
Aunt Tammy racing Mawell and Uncle Nathan
Emmalyn playing a little bit with the snow. She didn't want to participate much after a few runs down the hill.
We made her go down with daddy though. :)
Partners! Nathan was so great to keep going with Maxwell... over and over... and over and over... I can only imagine how bruised his tailbone was that night!
Maryn, Maxwell, Nathan, and Tammy
Maxwell had to basically crawl up the hill on all fours to avoid slipping back down.
Nearly there...
...Made it!
Video - Maxwell going down all by himself and wiping out at the end. (You know, that moment when, as a parent, your mind flashes through all the possible injuries that could have just happened and you almost hold your breath as you run to your child to see if they are okay...) Luckily he wasn't too hurt and quickly recovered.
He would have kept going for hours and was really upset when we had to wrap it up and keep going with our plans for the day.
We stopped at the store and picked up stuff to make lunch at Sharee's house for everyone. Not everyone was home at her house but Maxwell had a really fun time hanging out with Quaid. Emmalyn fell asleep in the car on the way here so Peter stayed in the car with her while she slept. (He's such a trooper and played nap chaperone in the car multiple times during this trip.)
Emmalyn snuggling with Aunt Sharee
We really enjoying visiting with Paris, Willow, and Sharee. It stinks that we live so far apart.
After we left Sharee's, the family was hungry (sort of) so we stopped at Cafe Rio for one more visit. Plus we ran around returning the snow gear to my high school friends (so grateful for their generosity given that we haven't seen each other for 10+ years). After that we went to Katherine's to see Nana and Katherine's girls - Ari and Adi.
Adi, Emmalyn, and Ari. They were both sweet and loved to mother her.
Maxwell and his favorite One-Eyed Jack Nelson!
I was impressed with Maxwell's coloring job on this. He usually just scribbles all over the place (because he doesn't care to color and would rather just get it over with) but he did a nice job with this one with staying close to in the lines.
He was wiped out and fell asleep in the car on the was to Alex's which worked out and I stayed in the car this time with the kids while Peter went in to pick up the pizza's for our New Year's Eve party at Alex's.
Fun with Aunt Aja!
And now fun with Aunt Tawny!
Mr. Grumpy Pants
And now fun with Uncle Alex! (see the pattern here? she's very popular) :)
Tackle uncle Alex!
Outside to watch the fireworks (it's now legal to shoot fireworks in the air in Utah which was NEVER allowed when I was growing up!) Maxwell loved the fireworks, which isn't normal for him.
I then took the kids home to go to bed and left Peter there to hang out with his family.
I put Emmalyn to bed while Maxwell played a little more with Maryn, Uncle Nathan and Aunt Tammy. They played glow in the dark bowling with these pins (water bottles with glow sticks)
When midnight came (and both kids were in bed), we did a confetti cannon
Wife, Mom, and Career Woman. Trying to succeed at all three. Enjoy cruising, time with friends and family, and sleeping. Busy life doesn't leave time for as much fun as in the past but that's okay, it's still a good life.
