busy bee...

I have quite the busy, and fun, past couple of weeks.  It started two weekends ago with a wonderful trip to Orlando, Florida with my mom.  We met up for a mini-vacation with my grandma and two aunts.  Mom had a conference being held at Disney World, so we had a free room for part of our stay!  Before heading down to Florida I didn't really think we would spend any time at the parks.  I mean...we are all grown women, it would look pretty hilarious for all of us to be parading around Disney without toting kids around.  BUT, to my surprise, everyone wanted to go to the parks.  So parking we went.  Saturday was spent at Epcot, traveling the world while conveniently staying safely inside the Disney World resort.  We had churros in Mexico...a delicious fried treat my aunts and grandma had never tried.  Aunt Nancy kept exclaming "I would like one of those chimichangas, or chalupas" after having one.  To which I replied, "they are called CHURROS."  Saturday evening we went to Magic Kingdom for the light parade and fireworks.  My grandma has seen the light parade on tv several times, but has never seen it in person.  She was very excited to see it...and we had front row seats, right on the curb.  The parade was wonderful..a the characters were aglow with lights.  It was truly magical.  The fireworks following were also pretty spectacular.  Fireworks are always great..even if there is no special occasion.  Sunday was going to be spent at "Disney's Hollywood Studios" (Formerly MGM Studios)...but apparently when MGM went, so went many of the attractions.  Disney's Hollywood Studios=a bust. So instead, we journeyed through Animal Kingdom.  We passed by "The Tree of Life," went on a Safari, ate at an African "outpost," and saw "It's Tough to be a Bug" in 3D.  f you haven't ever seen the Tree of Life, it's a really huge, awesome fake tree with lots of animals carved in it's trunk, branches, and roots.  My grandma and aunts left Monday, at which point my mom's conference started.  I slept in a little, then went out and laid by the pool for a while.  Monday afternoon mom and I went to Magic Kingdom to go on some of my favorite rides.  These include, but are not limited to:  Pirates of the Magic Kingdom, the Swiss Family Tree House (even though it isn't a ride), Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain.  Mom was such a trooper.  She doesn't like roller coaster's...or heights...but she went on the rides with me anyways and we had a great time.  Tuesday was departure day, and though it was sad to leave the fun and family behind, it was nice to get back to Dallas..and most of all my Joshua!

I didn't have much time at home with just Joshua because on Friday Megan and Kallie came to visit!!  Megan is a teacher and her spring break is this week, so she called me up to see if she could come visit...and of course I said YES!!  They were my first friends to visit Dallas and we had a great time, despite the disgusting weather.  I have to applaud them because they spent 12 hours getting to Dallas, a drive that should only take 8 or 9 hours.  The girls got in late on Friday so we just picked up some pizza and drinks for a relaxing evening in.  Saturday there was a huge St. Patty's Day parade on Greenville Ave, which I happen to live approximately 100 yards from.  So, after sleeping in a little, we decided to go check it out.  We loaded our cooler and walked down to the end of my street where we caught the end of the parade.  There were many odd characters and some wonderful costumes as well.  After the parade passed we just decided to follow along and see what there was to see.  I've decided that St. Patty's is like a belated, mini- Mardi Gras.  Beads are thrown...and alcohol is consumed.  The rest of the weekend was spent showing them around the city.  We went to the West Village, a trendy spot in town with some boutiques and shopping. I drove them through part of Highland Park, with huge houses and designer shopping center.  Then we headed back to the apartment for a little down time before dinner.  We went to Cuba Libre (because Chuy's was packed) for dinner and drinks and then back to the house.  Sunday was going to be our day at the museum...but we again, slept in.  So instead, I drove them around downtown (which I'm not very familiar with) and then we went grocery shopping for dinner.  I thought it would be fun to cook at home and have a nice meal in.  I made individual baked tortellini dishes and mom's delicious salad with home-made balsamic vinaigrette, spicy pecans, strawberries, and blue cheese.  Monday I had to work so they spent the day exploring Dallas and then Josh and I took them to Burger House!  The best/our favorite burger place in Dallas.  After dinner we went back and watched tv and just hung out.  It was so nice to have friend here and be able to spend so much time with them!

This week, in comparison has been pretty slow (after the girls left).  Work is completely dead because all of the kids are on spring break, which means all of the families have gone on trips.  I am, however, looking forward to a slow, relaxing weekend.  It will hopefully be nice out so I can go to the lake or lay out by the pool!

I'll upload pictures from all of the adventures later.