Our summer days are dwindling fast, but there’s still just enough time to pack in one last Summer Bucket List item- a trip to the zoo! We visited our local AZA accredited zoo recently, thanks to Stonyfield YoKids, who is sponsoring this post, and you guys, I felt like such a rockstar parent for pulling it off.
It was an easy and fun trip for all of us, and yours can be, too! Here are some tips:
I rarely make it to local influencer events because I live in the burbs, and I have 4 kids, and it can be hard for me to find time to brush my hair most days. But something about an invite to come check out and shop at a newly redesigned Target screamed, “OMG your readers are going to want to see this and you get a free shopping trip out of it, childfree, on a Saturday!” So I made this happen today.
Target gave me some cool swag and a gift card, but they aren’t paying me for this post.
I also rarely blog on a Saturday, but this is a great excuse to hide in the office in silence with coffee while the rest of the family does laundry. (BETWEEN YOU AND ME.)
Enough about me, let’s get to Target. (Literally, you’re going to want to GET to a Target that’s been remodeled after you see this.)
One of the most noticeable differences is that home decor has been moved to the front of the store AND it’s displayed in a way that’s meant to inspire you and give you home decorating ideas. Pillows and vases and everything else is displayed at varying heights, and in a way that makes you have to hunt less for those gems we love to bring home even though they weren’t on our list in the first place. Good news… bad news? I’m not here to judge.
Clothing is also displayed in a more creative way, with mannequins showing off stylish combos, and now you can find coordinating pieces like shoes and accessories all in one spot, making it so much easier to run in with toddler in tow, grab an ENTIRE outfit, and head out in time for that event you totally didn’t have time to shop for.
The women’s plus collections are laid out similarly and have a variety of options as its own, separate section. That’s right! It’s no longer smooshed into a corner with maternity! (Junior’s plus size is still incorporated with other junior sizes because feedback from younger women showed they wanted to be able to shop in the same section as their peers.)
You’ll now find maternity around the corner, between loungewear and intimates.
That placement sounded odd to me at first until they explained that this way they were able to combine maternity clothes with maternity (and nursing) bras, camis, and underwear.
Hooray for pregnant women only having to visit one spot to get what they need! Maybe they can put an endcap here with pickles and Sour Patch Kids, too?
Across the way, in the Kids’ Room Decor section, you’ll find rows and rows of Target’s brilliant Pillowfort line. Again, the displays are no longer just plain shelving. They really want kids to be able to walk through and help put together their own room designs by grabbing what grabs their attention. Unfortunately, for us, I anticipate having to keep little hands from pulling off 10 pillows while I’m not looking. A fair tradeoff for the adorable options at amazing prices, though.
The Tech section takes on a Best Buy vibe, looking very legit, and serviced by employees who know their way in and out of all the tech stuff they have to offer.
Their Circo brand nursery line has been phased out, and in the Baby & Toddler section, Cloud Island is taking its place with on-trend, affordable, natural and/or organic pieces. BACK IN MY DAY 9 years ago when I had my first baby, you had to go to very expensive baby boutiques to get crib bedding this cute. I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE, WHIPPERSNAPPER NEW PARENTS.
Also, let’s take a minute to slow clap for this.
All you need is a sheet, friends. Not only is Target not displaying all the unnecessary stuff (that they could make money off of selling you), they literally have a sign to tell you YOU DON’T NEED IT. Man, I just love Target. *sigh*
We dress our kids in Cat & Jack clothes nearly every day. I’m obsessed with their basics and their positive messaging. The quality is incredible for the price.
In the re-design, you’ll see more emphasis on the Cat & Jack line in baby, toddler, and big kids.
I couldn’t help but notice this female-looking mannequin rocking the Nasa tank top in a display between the boys and the girls section. Interesting considering this tweet that went viral this week.
In addition to the Cat & Jack line, you’ll also find Art Class in the big kid sections, which is the line for kids who want to dress and express themselves.
I’m all about dressing in athleisure lately, and I’m sure I’ll be adding a lot more to my wardrobe before we take off in an RV for a year. There are now expanded active wear sections in both the mens and womens sections with a ton of high-quality options at wonderfully reasonable prices (says the girl who spent way too much money on her last pair of compression leggings from another store and is now in love with the ones on that mannequin in the blue top).
Also worth noting, their women’s swimwear section is HUGE! And it’s full of options that let you buy just a top by your specific cup size and whatever style of bottoms suit you best, including some high waisted options!
The grocery section is laid out and lit in a way that makes it feel like you’re shopping at a fancy grocery store, not just some other aisles in Target.
The produce section is expansive and specifically designed to make room to add more produce to the floor when it’s in season.
They are bringing in a lot of local food & drinks, the Starbucks is still there, and this grab and go area at the front is a super cool option for quick snacks and lunches. Also, let’s talk about those lights. They’ve replaced all the fluorescent with LED lighting, which means a 35% energy savings and also makes the store just… look better. I really don’t know how else to describe it.
Finally, I know what you all are worried about. “But Jill, what about the Dollar Spot?!” Friends fret not! Behold! It is still there.
What will probably not be there when you visit is the Target dog. He’s very busy. Sorry! (OMG how lucky am I?)
As of June, 2017 these North Texas/Dallas area stores are remodeled- North Dallas Coit Road, Plano West, Frisco North, McKinney, Fort Worth Central, Addison, Mansfield, Watauga
More Dallas area store remodels are expected to roll out as follows:
July 2017- Rockwall, Burleson, Waxahachie, Euless
August 2017- Love Field, Frisco, Dallas North East
October 2017- Medallion, North Richland Hills, Flower Mound, Mesquite, Hurst, Cityview, McKinney SW, Denton, Allen North, Lewisville
If you’re not in the Dallas area, I don’t have much info for you at this time, but I’ve reached out to see if corporate can provide me with more details about remodels around the country and will update if/when they get back to me.
We don’t have cable, but we got Sling and a Roku last year so I could lay around and watch HGTV while I was pregnant and miserable. That is a totally factual statement. I began by binge watching this show- Fixer Upper– about a couple who lives not far from us in Waco, TX who fixes up older homes and turns them into magazine-worthy abodes. I fell in love with their style, and what was most unexpected was our whole family found a show we like watching together.
Our kids have grown up around us doing our own renovations and decorating projects in this house and our last. Soon, they were begging us to “please, buy a fixer upper!” like we could just work on it on the weekends with all our free time.
Joanna and Chip Gaines of Fixer Upper recently opened Magnolia Market At The Silos in the heart of Waco, which happens to be about a 2-hour drive from our house. It’s a decor shop, outdoor play area, food truck park, and bakery. We didn’t have much planned headed into spring break last week, so, on a whim, I decided to take 3 of the 4 kids there.
It’s worth noting that I opted to leave the 3-year-old at home. He had preschool that day. I don’t think it would have been possible to manage him there along with the 2 month old, plus an 8 and 6 year old.
We were only there for a few hours, but I came away with some tips for going back based on our experience and on research I did prior to visiting.
Go early on a weekday. I was nervous it was going to be bananas since it was our spring break, but I think we lucked out that a lot of other schools near us didn’t have SB until the following week. Still, even at 10:30 on a Wednesday, it was starting to get crowded. The week after we left, I was headed back through Waco on a Tuesday and thought I’d stop off (it’s really not far from Hwy 35) to take a break and do some shopping with just the baby this time. IT. WAS. INSANITY. I don’t know if there was something special going on or if it was just that it was about 5 pm and that’s a crazy time? I could see the crowds from blocks away. I didn’t even bother looking for a parking spot. We just got back on the highway and kept driving.
I’ve not been on a weekend yet, but a lot of my friends told me not to even bother because of the crowds on Saturday and Sunday. If you can’t avoid those days, definitely plan to get there and park before they even open.
You don’t have to pay for parking! Well, maybe you don’t. Give the free parking lot a look first! The first parking lot I passed on my way there was the First Baptist Church, and it was $10 to park. 2 of the lots were already full! (This was on the Tuesday morning trip there.) I started to freak out. Then I drove in front of the Silos and took a right on 8th street, and there was an inconspicuous entrance to the free parking lot. It was probably only half full. And it connects to the grounds! I don’t know why so many people paid $10 to park at a place a block away when this was sitting half empty.
Go to the bakery first. As the day went on, the line for the bakery seemed to get longer and longer. It moves fast, and you can fill out an order card while you’re in line, but if you don’t want to wait outside forever (not very many people can fit inside the tiny bakery itself), go sooner than later.
Don’t skip the bakery! They have great coffee, and the cupcakes are seriously delicious. My favorite flavor was Red Velvet, but the Lemon Lavender was also a lovely and unexpected surprise. Of course, you can not go wrong with vanilla on vanilla, aka Shiplap.
The cupcakes seem to travel well. We ordered extra to bring home. They packed them nicely in a cardboard container, and even after strolling around for a couple hours and a 2 hour ride home, they came out of the box flawless. Now, we were not there on an exceptionally hot day, so keep that in mind. If you want to eat them onsite, there is a sweet little patio area right next to the bakery.
Browse the online shop before going to the actual store to get an idea of what you may want to buy, and what to budget. I don’t know if everything on the site is in the store and vice versa, but everything I found online that I wanted to look at in person was there. Browsing the actual store was a little chaotic. Granted, I had 2 kids and was pushing a stroller, but it would still be good to go in with an idea of what you want.
There is an elevator that takes you downstairs, which is super helpful to know if you’re pushing a stroller or just can’t handle stairs (and crowds) well. It’s in the far right corner on the top level.
The bottom level has a lot more merchandise, including the “Magnolia” and #Demoday branded stuff, like hammers, coffee mugs, shirts, hats, etc. That was the stuff we bought because I felt like I could get a lot of the other decor items for less at a place like Hobby Lobby or Target. I mean, not exact replicas in most cases, but similar. I also didn’t have a ton of room in the stroller to store this stuff while we walked around, so it really cut down on what we could buy.
They sell more garden stuff over in the actual garden at the Magnolia Seed + Supply shop. It’s a little easier to get in and out of.
And there’s also this cool corner for the kids to play in.
Head to the garden for great photo opps. When we were there, this area wasn’t nearly as crowded.
Plan to grab lunch at the food trucks, but watch the lines closely. We started in line for the Cheddar Box, but it was looking a little long, and the truck right next to us – 900 Pizzeria- seemed much shorter and the kids wanted pizza so we hoped over there. We chose poorly. There was a reason that line was short. It was moving super slow. The pizza was great! But we had to wait a long time for it. Luckily, the kids passed the time swinging.
Bring sunscreen and water. You’ll probably be spending most of your time outside and there’s not an abundance of direct shade. They sell water, of course, but I prefer to save my dollars for cupcakes and bring my own bottled water.
Plan to make a day of it. People were playing football and soccer on the artificial grass, there’s quite a bit of seating, or you can just sit on the perimeter of the grass. And if you feel like you’ve seen all you care to at The Silos, you can walk to a few other Waco shops that are just steps away.
You know when you are acutely aware that 4 kids is quite a few kids? When you take them all out to dinner for the first time.
That was our night last night.
This wasn’t just any old dinner out, though. THIS? This was family date night at McAlister’s Deli.
McAlister’s Deli is sponsoring this post.
We are not at a point in our life when regular (or even irregular) date nights happen- like, just Scott and me. These little monsters lovely children go everywhere with us. So last night was a bit of an early Valentines Day celebration, but with the whole family.
I know we’re not alone. All of you who have no chance of sneaking off for a romantic dinner for two on the 14th, HERE’S THE PLAN:
You, your love, your littles…. your little loves-
Why? Kids eat free on February 14th- up to 2 Kids Meals for every adult entree when families dine in!
Also, because McAlister’s is the kind of place with something on the menu that will make everyone- even the pickiest of toddlers- happy. Lowell devoured his mac & cheese, applesauce, graham crackers, and milk.
A place you can take your (rowdy and still mastering table manners) crew on Valentines Day, and you’ll be treated like family.
And maybe, just maybe, if the kids can easily find something they love on the menu, and if you don’t have to stress about asking them to stop pulling the tablecloth or sticking their finger in the candle, then you might have a shot at a fun, sweet Valentines Day dinner… no matter how many kids you bring with you.
Also? Their desserts are amazing.
What is Valentines Day without great dessert?
It’s pointless. The answer is Valentines Day is pointless without great dessert.
It’s also pretty pointless if you’re not sharing it with somebody, or all the bodies, that you love. So don’t give up on a Valentines Day date night. Just make it a
Then, You can enter to win even if, say, your kids get the flu this weekend and you don’t get a chance to actually go to McAlister’s. I mean, I don’t wish that on any of you, but… we know it’s gonna happen to someone because KIDS.
Thanks to McAlister’s Deli for sponsoring this post and our first dinner out as a family of 6.
When Wallace was 8 days old, Kelly White – the photographer who took my maternity/family photos back in the fall- came to our house for another session. When I got the photos back, I was a little confused. How could they be SO amazing when that day felt so chaotic?
The kids weren’t that into it, Lowell especially had no desire to cooperate, I had hives all over my hands and stomach, Wallace wasn’t latching well yet, my boobs were on fire, and, well, we had an 8 day old.
And yet…
She worked some kind of magic.
I don’t know how I’m going to narrow these down (and so many more that I love) to an acceptable gallery wall collection. I am itching to print, frame, and hang them all!
It was hard enough picking what to put on our New Year/birth announcement cards from Minted that just went out last week.
As a bonus, I love that Kelly stuck around to capture Wallace’s first bath!
If an in-home session is something you can swing after you have a baby, I highly recommend it. Was it stress free? No, but it was about as low stress as a photo session could get at 8 days postpartum. As much as I love photographing my family, there’s no way I could have pulled this off on my own.
In the North Dallas area? Obviously, I think you should check out Kelly White Photography. She provided this photo session for us as a portfolio builder for her, and it was my choice to blog it and share her work with all of you.
Let me tell you a story about the first time I went grocery shopping at ALDI. It began as I’m sure most trips do there- at the grocery cart coral, as I tried to figure out how to retrieve my cart after inserting a quarter to, essentially, rent it. Momentarily, I felt really stupid and a little frustrated. That is until a kind older man approached me with a smile on his face, “You trying to get that buggy out?” “Yes, I’m new here. Obviously,” I smiled back. He showed me how it worked and gave me a knowing “we’ve all been there once” look.
Now, this sponsored post is supposed to be all about my experience in the store, buying, and using the products, and I’ll definitely get to that, but I think it’s worth noting that so much of my first trip through those aisles was peppered with genuinely kind interactions with other customers and store employees. And, no, nobody knew I was there to report back to all of you.
So, as I mentioned in my last post about ALDI, I know a lot of my friends and family and readers are big fans, but despite one opening near us not too long ago, I just never got around to visiting our local ALDI. Safe to say, though, I’ll be going back regularly now.
I mean, you guys, even just for the savings on stuff we pack for the kids’ lunches! We make 13 school lunches a week, and stuff like organic fruit snacks really add up when we shop at other stores.
Who am I kidding? Like these are only for lunches? The kids go through fruit snacks and cheese sticks like water, especially when their friends are over.
I was also so happy to see organic milk for much less than we’re paying for it at any other store in our neighborhood because we go through a lot of that, too.
I wound up getting nearly a week’s worth of groceries for just a little over $100. We already had meat for the week and some produce, so I didn’t have to spend on that, but I did stock up on a lot of pantry staples like sugar and muffin mixes for breakfast. Um, and also some chocolate candy. For me.
Quick newbie note- in addition to needing to bring a quarter to “rent” your cart (you get the quarter back when you return the cart), you’ll either need to bring your own bags or pay to buy theirs.
Per usual, I forgot my own bags because my brain is practically pouring out of my head lately (it’s like pregnancy liquidates the cells), but I was able to buy paper bags for a nominal cost. You do have to bag your own groceries, but there was a convenient area right near the checkout in my store.
A reader actually had a great suggestion to bring laundry baskets with you. I will definitely have to (try to remember to) do that next time.
I’ve said before that I don’t like to sacrifice the quality of our food to save money, and I really don’t think that I have. We’ve been eating what I purchased at ALDI all week, and I haven’t noticed a difference. Their sparkling water is a perfect substitute for my (other fancy name brand sparkling water) addiction! We are going to save sooooo much money.
In some ways, the quality of the food is probably better than the name brands we’re used to purchasing. Their SimplyNature line is free of 125 artificial ingredients, all organic and non-GMO. Plus, ALDI is continuing to expand its organic options and is removing all pesticides and growth hormones from their private label products.
So yes, we will be back! Often. I’m glad I finally got through those doors to give it a try, and that next time I’ll be a pro at renting my cart and bagging my own groceries. Now, if you’re an ALDI fan, you need to tell me what I absolutely have to add to my next shopping list. Go!
This post was sponsored by ALDI, and product was provided at no charge. All opinions are my own, and not representative of ALDI. You can follow ALDI on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the other side of the camera without the added stress of trying to direct my husband to get the shots that I have in mind. So when photographer Kelly White reached out to me to see if she could get some pictures of our family for her portfolio, I pounced on the opportunity. A chance to have the WHOLE family in a shot with no tripod or shutter remote to be worried about? IN. Not to mention, she’s incredibly talented, and I knew she’d produce some stunning images.
These photos were taken when I was about 28 weeks pregnant, and wow has my belly grown even bigger since then! (Exhibit A- I’m nearly 33 weeks now.)
I’m glad we did them when we did because I don’t know if I could make it through that nature preserve now in the wedges I was wearing. It would have to be flip flops and lots of strategic crops.
And that dress? I officially outgrew it in Hawaii (when I wore it to dinner and realized the inner lining wouldn’t even stay over half of my bump).
Speaking of that dress, let’s talk outfits! Because I LOVE how we all came together, and I owe a whole lot to Stitch Fix. I told my stylist I had pictures coming up, and she sent me an entire fix full of options. This dress was all I kept from that fix because at this stage in pregnancy I really don’t have many reasons to dress up. I loved the fall colors and knew they would be easy to find pieces to coordinate with for the rest of the family. Plus the dress will make a great 4th trimester piece since the neckline makes it breastfeeding friendly and the tummy coverage is very forgiving.
It also helped that Scott got his first Stitch Fix Men box that same week, and the linen button down shirt and marled maroon t-shirt went perfectly with the dress!
I picked up everything the kids are wearing at Target! I couldn’t believe how easy it was to find pieces in the maroon, navy, black family. Must be on-trend! And relying on some basic denim pieces to bring it all together made it even easier.
Kelly did a wonderful job working with our kids’ energy levels, which were off the charts during the shoot. I love that she managed to capture their personalities through her lens. It’s always fun to see how they will look at someone else when you’re used to being the one yelling at them through clenched teeth telling them, “Look here!”
If you’re in the Dallas area and looking for a family/lifestyle photographer, Kelly White Photography gets a standing ovation from us. You should check her out! I’m looking forward to working with her again after baby gets here.
Kelly White provided photography services to us at no charge, but I was under no obligation to blog about it. Stitch Fix links are affiliate.
I’ve been pregnant 4 times, and I just attended my very first prenatal yoga class this week as part of this sponsored campaign for Texas Health Resources. Kinda kicking myself for waiting so long! As you’ll read, it wasn’t just a great workout. It’s a place to find a village.
I got close to going to one during my 1st pregnancy, but I arrived to the studio late, and it was hard to find parking, and then I saw this group of moms chatting it up outside the doors. They looked like really good friends, all of them. I felt like I’d be uncomfortable, unwelcome, I guess? It was an assumption based on nothing but my own insecurities.
My first pregnancy was pretty isolating. I lived in a part of the country with few friends to begin with, and none of them were pregnant. In a way, it brought me to this- to blogging. It brought me to my online tribe, which is a tremendous part of my life to this day.
Still, it would have been wonderful to have what those women outside the yoga studio had- other pregnant women in my life to bounce my questions off of face to face, instead of relying on Alarmist Google. Looking back, I know I should have just parked, gone in, pushed myself to say hi, make connections, and keep going. I’m certain I wouldn’t have felt left out for long.
I got a bit of a do-over this week, though, when I went to an Oh Baby Fitness prenatal yoga class at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. I expected to show up and just get a good workout – which I did. I’m still sore. Yoga is hard, y’all.
But, this class was about so much more than warrior pose and downward dog. This was a community, a place where everyone was encouraged to voice those concerns that many of us find ourselves Googling at 2 in the morning while we can’t sleep. The instructor, Jessica, has a background as a doula and nanny, and was a wealth of information and support. She listened to each mother’s questions, and had thoughtful responses to all while simultaneously guiding us through class.
I spoke with Jessica after class, and she emphasized that what they really want moms to take away from an Oh Baby Fitness class at Texas Health is a support system, and many of the moms do. They end up forming playgroups, attending birthday parties in the years to come, and they will often see each other and mommy & me classes after their babies are born.
I was especially heartened to hear that postpartum depression and mood disorders are a topic of conversation, and something that Oh Baby Fitness & Texas Health Resources focuses on when it comes to education and support.
YES. This is needed. This is important. This is more than yoga.
“We talk a lot about taking care of mom throughout the entire pregnancy, and really focusing on preparing her for the delivery and creating a community that can support moms after the baby is born. Texas Health and Oh Baby Fitness have made it a priority to make these classes available and are rolling them out in more markets across DFW – Allen, Alliance, Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano and Willow Park. We are starting classes in Arlington and HEB next month.
And we want moms to find the classes that are right for them (I’d fall on my face in a yoga class), so several markets have prenatal cardio classes, water aerobics, and then there are classes for mom and baby, yoga, stroller boot camps, mom/baby water. Being a new mom can be so overwhelming, and it’s important to take care of yourself and make sure you feel good during your pregnancy.” – Tracey Klinge for Texas Health Resources
I can’t emphasize the importance of a village and support system enough, whether you’re a first-time or fourth-time mom. If you’re in the DFW area and find yourself longing for something like this with the added benefit of getting your heart rate up every week, you should look into an Oh Baby Fitness class at a Texas Health Resources location near you. I might see you there.
Thanks to Texas Health Resources for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
I’m going to start this by acknowledging that I’m hurting, and I’m pretty sure you are, too. And hurt often plays out as anger and fear. I’ve been keeping this in mind as I’ve received many comments, messages, and emails the last few days.
The last post I put up – the one where I amplified the voices of my friends who are black mothers, who simply wanted to be heard- went live hours before the shooting in Dallas that left 5 police officers dead.
I want to make the timing very clear. That was not a response piece to the shooting. It was published before that. It was a post that was over a year in the making. For over a year, I struggled with if I should use this platform to “get involved.” A week ago, it became very clear that I owed it to the friends who were literally crying for me, a white ally, to SAY SOMETHING. I could no longer just stand with them behind the scenes. And from the moment I decided I would do that, it took me about 24 hours to gather their stories, collect my thoughts, and hit publish- on the only free day I had during the week.
When the shooting in Dallas happened, I was at a hotel in Santa Fe. I was glued to my phone, digesting the news over and over, refresh, refresh, refresh. I cried. I had NO WORDS. Just hurt. A lot of hurt.
I arrived home from my trip, where I had professional commitments followed by a visit with family in the mountains where there is no wifi, last night. My silence here has NOT been because I’m “happy 5 police officers died.” Or because I don’t support my local police. My God.
As I made VERY CLEAR in my last post, I am not anti-police. I am devastated by this violence. Killing police is NOT the answer. I am heartbroken for the families who lost loved ones that night. Believe it or not, the mothers who were quoted in that blog post are also heartbroken and angry this happened.
I AM SADDENED BY WHAT HAPPENED IN DALLAS. I AM HURTING FOR THOSE LOST LIVES.
These two things – my support of black voices and my hurt for the Dallas PD- are not mutually exclusive. They can not only exist without the other.
To end, I want to share a few things others have said so much better than I can.
“You can truly grieve for every officer who’s been lost in the line of duty in this country, an still be troubled by cases of police overreach. Those two ideas are not mutually exclusive. You can have great regard for law enforcement, and still want them to be held to high standards.” Jon Stewart
I really, really hope you’ll watch this or at least read the transcript. I was moved to tears by what Dale Hansen, a Dallas news personality, had to say. This sums up the heart of everything for me.
Also, this post by my friend Jennifer Borget is brilliant and insightful. She is the wife of a police officer, and a black mother. “Why are you supporting my white cop and not my black son?”
R.I.P. Bluebonnet Hill. As of today, it’s totally leveled. The developers think a 7-11 is what we need. Never mind that we have a Walmart and a gas station literally across the street. The people need Slurpees, I suppose.
If you’ve been reading for more than a year, you know that Bluebonnet Hill is one of our (okay, MY) favorite annual traditions. I’ve been dragging my family out there for photos for 4 years, and they’ve been some of my absolute favorites ever of all time.
2013, months before Bruno (0ur first English Mastiff) passed
It’s also yielded some hilarious outtakes and stories, and some of my favorite blog posts. It all started with that first year we took Leyna to a big field of weeds and nature.
She still makes ALL. THOSE. FACES. EVERYDAY.
She was not feeling it the next year, either…
She finally started getting the hang of it after Lowell came around.
And she was a seasoned pro at dealing with those “icky flowers” by last year. You can see why I had so much hope for this year!
Then again, nothing will ever top the T-rex chase down the hill, so maybe some things are best leaving on a high note.
We still haven’t found a new spot this year, and honestly I don’t really want to. It’s too soon. Too soon to replace my beloved Bluebonnet Hill. Also, it’s a lot of work to get to another spot that’s not practically in our front yard.
So no new bluebonnet pics this year, I’m afraid. My deepest apologies.
