Visiting the Texas Dimonds!

We just got home from a great little trip up to Temple, Texas! Brett's cousin and her cute family just moved there from Michigan and we were excited to spend some time with them all! We drove up on a Thursday morning and met up in Austin. We had lunch at Torchy's Tacos, which was delicious! We had to wait in line for awhile, but they had these fun lights for Kayla to play with so we were all happy!

After lunch, we headed to a children's museum called Thinkery. The kids all had a great time and they had a lot of great exhibits for fun learning. 

We took a turn on this cool swing on the playground outside and Kayla was a little nervous, hence the death grip on Brett! They had lots of pigs outside and Kayla loved playing on them. 

 

We played on the giant train track for awhile and then headed into the light and color room. 

My favorite area was probably the water room. There were several different water activities for the kids to explore and discover. Kayla loved it! Unfortunately Kayla dumped a whole cup of water on Henry. 

They had a tot area full of places to crawl and hide. Both kids loved this!

 

Kayla was always much more excited to snap photos with Jack then he was to take pictures with her. haha!

We drove to Diane's house where Kayla got to discover the fun of dressing up as superheroes! She loved playing with Jack and being Captain America. Tyson loved playing with the cars and airplanes. It may be time for us to start buying him some 'boy' toys. 

 

After the kids went to bed, we stayed up playing games with Colby and Diane and I loved it! I miss playing games with people all the time and love any chance I get to play games! Plus, these two are hilarious so that made it even better!

The next day, we were determined to wear the kids out so they would sleep well enough for us to get babysitter and go out on a double date. It started with time at this really cool wooden park. The kids had a blast! We then went to get some treats at a little sweet shop. 

Another happy photo experience! Haha!

We then ran home to change and went to the city water park for about an hour before lunch. 

Recreating an old photo from their childhood!

We went home for lunch and naps for the littles and then headed back for a few more hours. Kayla went down the slide over 50 times and also swam by herself with her little swimmer floaters in the lazy river. She kept saying that she was a big girl and that she was brave! At one point, she said to an older teenage boy that she was brave and so was he! He just laughed and swam along. I loved it. She's such a happy, sweet girl!

 

Our tactics worked and the kids were zonked right after dinner. I was worried because Tyson's teething and has a cold, so he's been waking up more often, but they all slept the whole time we were gone!

We went to dinner at BJ's and had a great time chatting and eating yummy food!

We got up early the next morning and headed to Austin again to do some exploring. We first went to Mount Bonnel outlook. Its a short walk up some flights of stairs, but Kayla was determined to walk the whole way up by herself. At the top she said, "I just walked up a mountain!" Uh, we need to get this girl on some real mountains! Haha!

I love the view from the top! Its so beautiful and the kids all loved watching the boats and jet skis in the river below. 

 

Thank you, selfie stick!

We headed to the capital afterwards and explored there for awhile. The kids even got some dancing in! 

  

I love my little Texas babies! This photo is funny because he's almost as big as she is! Haha!

 

Another selfie stick photo underneath the dome!

We took a few photos outisde too! We never miss a photo opportunity!

 

We went to the famous (or so we're told) Shake Shack for lunch! It was delicious and Kayla made sure to wipe the whole place down while we waited for our food. That girl loves to clean with wipes. 

 

The iconic Austin sign! 

We said our goodbyes to the Texas Dimonds and headed home! We stopped in San Antonio on the way attend the temple. It was wonderful, as always and just what I needed after a busy few weeks. 

Tyson hasn't been the best traveler lately, so I spent some time in the back seat with him and even when he's fussy, his smile melts my heart! I love this guy! Once we left San Antonio, the kids slept the whole way home! It was a great trip and we made lots of memories.