2 Trains, One Bus, and a LONG walk....or how NOT to get to the Zoo!

Linking up this morning with Shawn & IA to tell y'all all about our CRAZY adventure this past weekend...seriously (no pun intended), you will not believe it....

While in Dallas this past weekend, I wanted to do something different and fun with the kiddos.  Sis suggested we go to the zoo - simple enough.  The Fort Worth Zoo is phenomenal!

Let's make it a little more adventurous.....

Let's take the train to the zoo.  Sounds fun?? At the time......

To get from Carrollton (suburb north of Dallas), we hopped on the DART rail (the local commuter train) to catch the TRE (Trinity Railway Express - a fun train that connects Dallas with Fort Worth).  From there, I read online that the zoo is a "half mile walk from the stop".  

We can do this with 5 kids and 3 adults!  Let's go!

We left the house at 9:45 am and hopped on the DART at 10:15 to get off in Downtown Dallas to catch the TRE at 10:58 am.

My little Bubba was so excited to be on the train.

We get to the Victory stop with 3 minutes to spare to catch the TRE.

We wait.

And wait some more.

Finally, my very intelligent brother looks at the posted train schedule and points out that "someone " (ahem...me) read the weekday schedule.  The next TRE is at 12:24 pm. awesome.

What to do in Downtown Dallas with 5 kids on a Saturday at 11:00 am?

So we explored........

It was a ghost town.  It was windy & cold so we finally found a "Dick's Last Resort" to hang out in for a while.

Not the most appropriate place to take 5 kids, but we were desperate.  I mean, when was the last time you saw one of these babies?

Brody asked me "What kind of candy machine is that???"

Fed the kids a few snacks, hiked back to the Train station, and we were ready to head to the zoo!  Or so we thought.

At 12:20 (remember the TRE is coming at 12:24), I can't find my camera bag.

AGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!

Yep, Dick has it.

PANIC.

Mom calmly suggests that she will go back to the restaurant, pick it up and just take the DART back home.  She was so wonderful to do that.  I don't think I could have enjoyed the zoo, not knowing who had their hands all over my camera lens....

Cool.  The TRE showed up on time and we are on our way again.  ha.

Again, my little man adored the train and for the most part, was great the entire trip.

Until we get to the last stop in Fort WOrth, get off the train and see nothing but a parking lot.

"Excuse me Mr. TRE Conductor...but I read online that the zoo was half a mile away??"

I must have looked like a dumb blonde to him as he laughed his head off and took joy in telling me the zoo must be "over 10 miles away."

Oh dear.

So we had to wait 30 minutes to take the train back one stop to get off at the FW Bus Station.  To catch a "Number 7" bus at 2:15 p.m.  It was only 1:45.

Deep Breath.

Catch the Number 7, enjoy a 20 minute ride around FW to the zoo.  Hop off the bus to finally walk that "Half mile" that I read about.  finally.

And these amazing children did not complain.  hardly.

5 Hours later.....we finally make it to the zoo.  It's 3 pm.  I very happily go up to buy tickets only to have the snotty teenage girl take joy in telling me....

"We are only open for one more hour."

WHAT?!?!?!

2 Trains, a nasty & inappropriate bar, lost camera bag, a smelly bus ride, hike across the park and I am suppose to deny the zoo to these amazing kiddos?

no way.

Come on kids! Let's RUN!

Come back tomorrow to see some fun pics we took during that glorious hour.

Was it worth all the pain?  You can be the judge!

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 was spectacular - it was one BUSY weekend!!

Matt & I were invited to a Halloween Party (Adults- eek!!) on Friday and went as Clive Bixby & Julianna - Modern Family...get it?  Yeah, most did not - I think we were a little too conservative compared to some of our friends...... 

 Pam, Sam, & Sookie.....

Heff and his "fiance"

On Saturday night we hosted "Fun, Family & Frito Pie" in the cul-de-sac.  I LOVE eating frito pie out of the frito bag and hanging with my neighbors as the kids get to freely play - so much fun and it was a perfect night for it!

And then came Monday - the kids got to dress up as a book character at school, so this often corresponds with how they pick their Halloween costume - can we find a costume that can fit a "character"???

Presenting, my Star Wars Clone Trooper and American Girl Doll, Julie (we stretched it with a Go-Go Dancer costume).  

 And who can resist my little monster??

 We have awesome neighbors to Trick-or-Treat with too.

Bubba was attempting to be "scary" - How does a Monster go????

This little guy got the hang of Trick or Treating REAL QUICK - he was adorable!!

"Trik Treet!"

"Than Too!!"

 My clone trooper was running all night - this is all I "caught" of him.

 He finally settled down with a sucker....

 And I actually got a picture with my cutie.

 I kept snapping pics of this one too - I know her time for Trick or Treating may be coming to an end soon.

Now to get creative with the 5 pounds of candy sitting in my house........argh!!!

Hope everyone had a GREAT Halloween!!!

At the Car Wash....

Remember Field Day as a kid?  It's that time of year when summer is right around the corner, so the teachers let you run around crazy outside all day and call it "field day".  Ours involved relay & potato sac races, and ribbons and competition.  And we loved it - we looked forward to it each year.  Remember that?

My kiddos love their field day too.  And as time has gone past, elementary kids have all sorts of fun field day activities.  Like picking up marbles with their toes.  Or the Car Wash:

 When it's the first week of May and already in the 90's, the Car Wash ROCKS!

 Poor Bubba didn't know what to think of the crazy kids at the car wash....

 On to more "civilized" field day activities.  Like throwing a chicken with a frying pan?

 Finally Sis's class came out and was ready to get dirty......

 With a good old-fashioned game of tug-o-war:

 Did you win?  With a face like this....what do you think?

It didn't matter - they got out of the classroom and were exhausted when they came home form school that day! Score! 

I heart field day.

It's easy with an iPhone...

Guess who got an iPhone for Valentine's Day??  And I got it in a pretty special way.....

did ya' hear the sarcasm in my voice??

Super Sweet Hubby thought he was being clever - I had hinted all week that it might be difficult to get an iPhone b/c Verizon started selling them too.....

He **thought** he had one on hold for me at Bust Buy when he sent this. Uh no.

Let's just say, I worked really hard to get my Valentine's Gift.  

(I walked into the AT&T store...shhh.....don't tell him it was that easy....)

Nevertheless.....I got my new 4G iPhone (cue the squealing)!!  And it is WONDERFUL - so super fast - now if only I can get my mom to learn how to work the Facetime feature, we'd be set.....

As I was transferring all my "stuff" from my old to my new, I came across so many great pictures I had taken on the iPhone.  And it made me realize how lucky we are to grow up in an era where we can capture anything with our camera phones.  Or are we?

 my little hobbit....

 he loves his trains so much he just wanted to crawl in there with them and get stuck?

 what, don't all moms teach their kids to feed themselves by 18 months?

 he definitely didn't like the hair bow...

 and this my friends, is how we restrain our kids in the Darling house...

(I kid...I kid...)

 This is how we really do it...

 my own Boba Fett bobble head... how lucky am I?

 I'm stuck mom - 

wait, let me take a picture instead of helping you get out of the box.....

 yep- I took a picture before getting him down from the table.

 or helping him get his hand unstuck....

 and this was to document the nutritional value of a cup of "non-fat" yogurt

But then you have those super-sweet moments that you have been able to capture as well:

ah yes, what would we do without our iPhones to capture every single moment in our lives???