Weekend Getaway - The Woodlands and Astros

This past weekend, we took a little getaway to Houston, Texas for some time with family and to catch an Astros game! In my search for water-related fun in the area, I stumbled across The Woodlands Resort and I'm so grateful I did! 

I'm getting a little ahead of myself, though. Let's start at the beginning of the trip, shall we?

It all began with a stop at Buc-ee's, as always!

Brayden looks forward to our Buc-ee's stops almost as much as the trip itself! When I ask if he loves Disney World or Buc-ee's more, his answer is always "both of them"!! 

Within a few hours, we arrived at The Woodlands Resort. Check-in isn't technically until 4 p.m., but guests are invited to begin swimming at noon on check-in day. To my surprise, our rooms were ready and they were placed right next to each other as I'd requested! Perfect!

Our previous water park attempts this summer were mostly rained out (we were 2 for 3 on rainouts), and I knew I wanted to find a place to stay that had more than just a swimming pool. 

This place was perfect and totally fit the bill! It wasn't a full blown "water park", but we still had a lot of options and had we had a blast, too!

They even had a few fire pits around for evening smores! So fun! 

Our rooms were nice and spacious and the balcony view of the woods was incredibly relaxing.

After dropping off our bags and checking out our rooms, we headed for the pool!

Brayden seriously wasted zero time and jumped right in!

I am so glad he has overcome his fear of enclosed "twisty slides". He loves them now!

There was even a lazy river at this resort, which we took full advantage of.

Midway through our float, we spotted another "twisty slide", so we paused to let Bray have a little fun.

That evening, we enjoyed a few smores by the fire pit. They were delicious!

I'm a huge fan of burnt marshmallows. Anyone else? :)

Notice my marshmallow stick - it was stuck! Hah!

The following morning, I enjoyed the sunrise from our balcony, then we checked out of our resort and drove to Ihop on the way to Minute Maid Park. 

Brayden thought it was hilarious that he had five pancakes for five years old! He ate them all, too! 

Strawberry banana pancakes is where it's at.

Meanwhile over at Minute Maid Park, we arrived just as the doors were opening! Perfect timing.

We also spotted our friend Mickey along the way!

Apart from last year, I have a photo like this with Brayden from every single Astros game we've been to since he was born. Such a sweet memory!

We also met up with my brother and sister in law.

Before long, it was nap time. I'm shocked at this kid's ability to sleep anywhere, and he got a good hour long nap in!

Ice cream in a helmet is always a must at the ball park. :)

They won!!

We had a blast and I so enjoyed this precious time with my sweet family!

On our way home, we stopped at - you guessed it - Buc-ee's again!! :)

Where will our next adventure take us? Hopefully to Great Wolf Lodge! We planned a trip there last fall, but due to Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta, we had to cancel our plans. Second time is a charm, right? :) (Let's cross our fingers for no more hurricanes!)

Have a great week!

Favorite Non-Running Hobbies

Today's Tuesday Topics Linkup is all about our favorite non-running hobbies! If you've been a blog reader here for a while, I'm sure you can guess mine! :)

#1 Disney and Traveling 

We LOVE going to Disney, but we also love seeing new places! One of the reasons we joined the Disney Vacation Club last fall is because it gives us the opportunity to do just that. Already, we've discussed the idea of visiting Hawaii in the future (I traveled there for my senior trip, but Jason's never been)! We are also taking a cruise this summer (non-Disney) with Jason's family to Alaska! This time, we will be sailing on Royal Caribbean. I am excited to return to Alaska and take in the wondrous beauty of it all. For this trip, we are planning on excursions we've never done before which include whale watching and visiting a musher's camp. I know Brayden is going to LOVE seeing the dogs! It should be an all around fun time!

#2 Family & Friends

Family and friend time is absolutely the best. I love being with my family and friends and spending time with them! Life is seriously so fragile - I see it every day. One thing about working in oncology is it has given me a better appreciation for LIFE and enjoying loved ones in the here and now. In the end, I want to be able to look back over my life and say that I truly took the time to appreciate my family and friends. Our loved ones bring such a richness and fullness to our lives and it's important to truly value that.

#3 Baseball

During baseball season, you can either find me at home watching a ball game or at Minute Maid Park cheering on my beloved Astros! I've been a fan since birth and love carrying the tradition over to Brayden! We also love visiting Minute Maid Park! It's almost opening day, y'all!! I'm SO excited!

#4 Volunteering

When I look back over my life, I can't remember a time that I didn't volunteer (because I truly love it that much)! At my church, I've been a volunteer with our Girls Ministries program since 2000 and once I started working in oncology in 2007, I also became a volunteer with the American Cancer Society. Over the years, I've also helped in various other areas, but these two have stuck the longest and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Giving of yourself and your time, especially with how busy life can be is truly rewarding, especially when you know you're helping to make a difference.

So, there you have it - when I'm not working or running or going to Orangetheory, those are the areas you'll find me! 

Join Kookyrunnerand Zenaida every Tuesday for the Tuesday Topics Linkup!

2.5 Year Toddler Update

I might be a month behind on this one, but better late than never, right?!

Last month, Brayden turned 2 1/2 years old and has grown, developed, and changed so much in just 6 short months! I'm not going to lie, I'm super sad that his baby features (chubby cheeks and thighs) are slowly fading away.

Clothing: Mostly 2T and some 3T
Diapers: Size 5 - working on learning to use the potty has been an interesting time!
Shoes: Size 7 and some 8's
Weight: 34 pounds (estimated)
Height: 36 inches (estimated)

In his last update, I mentioned that he hit a "word explosion" right before turning 2. Since then, those words have turned into more words which turned into phrases and he hasn't looked back for a single second. His current favorite phrase is to say "I want _____"! It's also hilarious to hear how he mispronounces things. Take orange pumpkin for example - "ooo-range pun-kin". I just love it!

His favorite place ever is the park. He also still LOVES the splash pad! Anywhere water is, that's where Brayden wants to be. We keep a pair of boots at both my house and my mom's house so he can splash in the puddles after it rains.

Like the rest of the country, he’s super obsessed with the “baby shark” song and it’s so cute to see the look on his face when the song starts. We’ve listened to it at least a million times!

He also LOVES his momma which of course melts my heart. I've heard before that there's just something about the bond between a little boy and his mom and "they" were right!

As far as food goes, Brayden loves it, especially "ice cream" aka frozen yogurt. Other favorites of his include pizza, spaghetti, tacos, waffles, chicken nuggets, cereal, chips, refried beans, french fries, fruit, and of course, candy (which is totally limited). He's not always open to trying something new, but once you convince him to take a bite, he will usually want more.

Favorite TV shows include Puppy Dog Pals and Mickey Mouse, but he now asks for Little Einsteins by name as well as "Paw Dogs" which is also known as Paw Patrol.

Landmarks are something he's picked up on as well. For example, he knows when we've made the turn to go to the park, my mom and dad's house, the frozen yogurt place, school/church, etc. 

Over the summer, we had all kinds of exciting adventures like swim lessons...

...seeing the 2017 World Series trophy on its tour...

...feeding the giraffes at the San Antonio Zoo...

...an Astros game...

...and Sea World in San Antonio!

Brayden travels really well in the car and we love going on new adventures and exploring new areas!

He LOVES animals of any kind, especially dogs! My dogs still aren't super agreeable to allowing him to touch, but we can convince them every once in a while with a little snack or treat!

Just like any boy, Brayden loves playing in the dirt. I ended up purchasing a giant plastic container that I keep topsoil in for him to play with. He loves using his shovel and bucket to repurpose the dirt (aka put it all over the backyard)! Another new fascination as of late has been dinosaurs. Being a boy mom sure is interesting!

Since moving up to the two year old class at school (where we also added an extra day), I've seen a huge change in the information Brayden absorbs. He knows his numbers of 0-10 and even surprised me the other day by counting to 10! He also knows his colors very well. We are currently working on letters and shapes, too! He's come a long way in just 6 months and I love seeing the new things he says and does every day!

Personality wise, Brayden is still a pretty chill, happy, and sweet kid although he has his moments/days just like most toddlers. He's easily redirectable when he's upset by reminding him to use his words and asking what he wants. We are loving and cherishing this time with this sweet kid we've been blessed with!

Thanks for following along in our journey! Stay tuned for his next update at 3 years old! :)

Houston Times

Over the weekend, we spent time with my parents in Houston, Texas to attend an Astros game and visit the Houston Zoo.

We had so much fun at Brayden's last zoo experience in San Antonio and were looking forward to more fun at the Houston Zoo!

My oh my how he's grown! The daily image I see on my phone is from his very first Astros game when he was only 4 months old. Pardon me while I dry up the tears. I know some parents say they can't wait for this phase or that phase to be over, but I'm not there. I love having my child small. He might be our only one and I'm cherishing each and every moment because I know they will be gone far too soon.

Anyway, back to the weekend...we made it!

We actually arrived before the gates opened, so we joined the massive line of people waiting on their free duffel bags. Yes, there was a massive line. I didn't have my heart set on getting one because I wasn't planning on waiting out there all morning. Well, we were one of the first 10,000 in line and we got one anyway! YAY!

This right here is my kind of ball park food. These quesadillas are some of the best I've ever eaten!

It also wouldn't be an Astros game without a picture with Mickey! Brayden was so excited to see Mickey! It was precious!

I've mentioned this before in a previous post, but we LOVE sitting in the 200 level section at the game, especially with having Brayden.

This area is a little more quiet, the alcove isn't as busy, the view is perfect, and the seats are a bit roomier!

We won! YAY!

Our typical field post-game family portrait!

On Sunday morning, we visited the Houston Zoo. We arrived not long after they opened and they weren't very busy which was nice!

There are several play areas at this zoo (including a splash pad). I can't wait to return and spend a better portion of the day! We were only a time constraint because Jason had to go into work that evening.

Hands down, Brayden's favorite animal was the sea lion! He loved watching him swim around in his pool!

Our tickets also included a ride on the carousel which he enjoyed!

Of course our animal of choice was the "seal"...hah. See what we did there?

Not long after our carousel ride, the bottom decided to absolutely fall out of the sky. Thankfully, we were near a large employee umbrella and we were able to have sanctuary there for a little while. After checking the radar though, we realized the rain wasn't going to let up any time soon. That's when I remembered that I had a dollar poncho stashed away in Brayden's diaper bag, so I put it on and used it to trek around the zoo to purchase more ponchos for my family. 

The zoo floods pretty bad and there were sections where water was up to my ankles. After about half an hour, I returned with ponchos for everyone and we were able to make our grand escape.

No one was angry or mad, we were grateful we had the chance to see most of the zoo before the rain, and we looked at it as another adventure. These are just fun stories to share in the future!

It was a fantastic weekend and we made it home in time for everyone's everythings!

I can't wait to go back. We LOVE the Houston Zoo - it's spacious, roomy, we were up close and personal to the animals, it's super clean, super shaded, the staff is friendly, the list goes on and on. We definitely need a zoo-redo! :)

If you're ever in the Houston area, consider adding the Houston Zoo to your list of things to do! You won't regret it!

How was your weekend?