Warning (the following is highly not recommended on a regular night)...

A can of Sprite may cause the following at mealtimes:

hyperactivity 

craziness or silliness

bursts of loud screams and squeals of pure delight

and

loss of ALL control by Everyone!!

Our ever active boy is always on the go with the neighborhood kids in the cul-de-sac, so taking off the bike helmet to eat a quick dinner was not an option tonight!

65 Million Years Ago...

Dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

And some of them have actually been found in Texas!

If you ever feel like taking a little drive southeast of Austin towards Bastrop you'll come to a little Dino Park. We've past it many times on our way to Houston but have never stopped to check it out. Today, since Spring Break is almost over, I thought that Nana, Taylor and I would load up some lunches and head out to see what it was all about. I'm SO glad that we did! 

This place is great for kids. 

After traveling down a little gravel road off of HWY 71 you come to a little house. Inside is a little gift shop with every dinosaur model/toy imaginable! Admission is just $6 and they give you a little clip board with a scavenger hunt list of things to spot along your journey. While walking along the wide pathways though Texas trees and scrubs, you spot life-size replicas of Triceratops, T-Rex, fossils and many other neat things. 

This part took a little warming up to on Taylor's part. You see Taylor thought that dinosaurs still existed. He became really quiet early on because I think he thought at any moment a REAL dinosaur was going to jump out at him and swallow him up!! It took some talking to about the words, "replica", and "statue", to get him to relax a bit to enjoy the sunny walk. He kept telling me and himself that, "they're just statues mommy." I think we've confused him this week with trips to the zoo and rodeo where there were REAL animals!

Taylor's favorite dinosaur!

After you're done with the trip around the dinosaur exhibits and photo opts, you can fossil dig in some sand tables, swing, play on the playground or eat a picnic lunch. What I loved about this place, besides the dinosaurs of course, was how new (only been open for 5 years) and clean everything was! 

A+ in the mommy book!  

We couldn't leave without a little souvenir...

Our very own Paleontologist fossil egg kit with a metal chisel and hammer. 

So far we've uncovered a T-Rex and a Triceratops. The third one will be unearthed after nap time with Daddy!

A Day at Rodeo Austin!

Tractors are a big hit in our household!

I LOVE that the rodeo in is town on Spring Break! 

This year we took Taylor and he was ALL about the rides and games!

Last year he was all about the animals, especially the Pig Races.

Yesterday, he was curious, brave, confident, and very independent-what a difference a year makes.

Walking on water video.

Driving a boat that went around n' around and up and down. 

Motorcycles are also a huge hit in our household.

Water shooting game with dad's help. Won a GREEN gecko!

Potato Sack Super Slide with Dad. 
"That was AWESOME!!"
That pretty much sums up the day.

Sunday Morning Drive

If you head out west to Johnson City there is an Exotic Zoo with all sorts of animals from American Bison, Camels, Ostriches, Emu, Llamas, and an abundance of every kind of deer you can think of. You buy your ticket and a bucket of feed and enjoy a 45 minute trip around the grounds by tractor. The animals literally run along side the trailer waiting to be fed. You can hand feed ALL the animals there, except for the zebras - a bit aggressive I guess. There are so many animals that Taylor had a blast holding out food for them to come up and eat straight from his hand. I think the weirdest thing I saw all day was the Bison's tongue!! That thing could definitely swallow your whole hand! It was more like drop the food down the shoot and pull your hand away fast!! I'm definitely a little less brave than my two boys are. At the end of the ride we hung out in the petting zoo area where Taylor found a little baby goat to feed - just the right size!

Spring is almost HERE!

Springing Forward into Soccer

Spring is almost here so we decided to try out Spring Soccer this year.

Taylor's up for anything sports related, so he couldn't wait to put on his soccer shorts, shin guards and start running and kicking! 

Today they practiced and learned: 

stretching

big kicking

dribbling

in-step kicking

scrimmaging 

Drawing

Taylor definitely loves to 'color-in' pictures (most of the time only in green), but he has never really gotten into coloring his own 'made-up' pictures. Since I'm not a doctor, I don't know if this is age specific or gender specific. I have a feeling that it's the later, but I'm not sure. Tonight for the FIRST time Taylor decided that he wanted to draw a picture of his bed on his whiteboard. I knew he was procrastinating about going to bed, but nonetheless I was intrigued. At first, he was hesitant and wanted me to draw the bed. I told him to look at his bed and to give it a try. Drawing the bed was only the beginning because what followed was a picture of his Pillow-Pet Frog, Pooh Bear, and Berry Bear.

Now most of you reading this speak all-things-toddler, but let me interpret Taylor's picture for you...

   

The RED lines are Taylor's bed. 

The BLUE on top of the bed is Taylor's stuffed "bear" Berry Bear.

Above Berry Bear is his GREEN frog - 2 eyes, 2 arms, and 2 legs.

To the right of the frog is Pooh Bear with BLACK eyes - a nose, 2 ears, 2 arms, and 2 legs. 

Milestones are still just as exciting at age four!

Happy "Belated" Texas Independence Day!

Dinner with with cousins in San Antonio.
"Remember the Alamo!"
Taylor looks ready to battle, doesn't he?

Taylor has a growing fascination with anything that can blow up or crush things...cannons, tanks, monster trucks.
This picture was taken in downtown Austin after a play at the Paramount Theater.

This picture made me laugh because it looks like she's lighting Taylor's bottom on fire!
I don't think he needs anyones help in lighting him on fire- he's on fire most of the time!