Each Day Is a Gift... Look how we spent ours!: Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind???

Aaah, yet another opportunity to have music in the background. Consider yourself deprived, I do. Maybe one day I'll learn how to do it. Now I have Ol' George in my head! LOL! (that's George Strait for you who have no earthly idea what I'm rambling about... he has a song from WAY back when I was a little girl called, "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?") Anyway, to be honest, Fort Worth had NEVER crossed my mind before this weekend. My sister-in-law and I made plans to have our families meet up for the extended Labor Day weekend, and since Fort Worth is about half way for both of us - that was our decided destination. I was pleasantly surprised at how family-friendly it is!!! We had so much to do and even though we were busy from sun up to sun down we didn't have time to get to half of it!!! I guess I should say we were technically there for about 36 hours, but still!!!!

After we got checked in to our awesome hotel down in the "square" - we headed out to the museum! This place was SO COOL! We were there for 4 hours and could have stayed for 4 more! It was kind of pricey, but what isn't these days?!? Anyway, here are some of our high points!

This is the ceiling of the lobby! So cool!

Chloe sitting in a dinosaur footprint! It was big enough for her to take a bath in!! LOL!

Looking super cool in our 3D glasses waiting for the show to start. It was actually 4D so the chairs moved and they sprayed stuff on you and everything. Chloe was not a huge fan, but she managed to stay in her seat for the entire 7 minute show.

My husband ladies & gentlemen.... "The Thinker". Funny enough, he was sitting like this all on his own!!! I didn't even tell him I was taking a picture! Such a stud! LOL! He has definitely honed his skill of finding a bench and parking it when one is "in range". I think that must be a "guy thing" - my dad was an expert as well.

Aren't we cute?!?!

YEA! Cousins reunited! We met up with my brother and his family while "digging for dinosaur bones".

Everyone working together to build a fort!

Having a hula hoop contest! I have to just brag a second... Madeline is a PRO! She must have gotten all her skill from her Momma! Yup, that's right, I can still spin the hoop! (Must be all that hip shakin' I've been doing in zumba! LOL!)

After the museum, we went back to the hotel and took a quick swim in the pool. I've seen bathtubs bigger than that pool! Seriously!!! Oh well, the kids had fun! The night was so nice we strolled all around the square before stopping at a pizzaria. The kids were exposed to all kinds of "culture" along the way --- especially my little country bumpkins! LOL! However, we did come across this guy creating artwork with spray paint. It was SO cool!

We sat and watched him for about 15 minutes! (which felt like an eternity to have 6 kids under the age of 8 be still and QUIET! Wow!! ) Looking back I wish we would have bought a painting, but oh well, that's what next time is for!

After a day crammed full of fun we were all ready to enjoy a nice peaceful night's sleep.... WRONG!!! Apparently the rest of the people staying on our floor were having a family reunion and had rented the ballroom on the floor to have a party in. We honestly wouldn't have even known, had it not been for the idiot who thought using a smoke machine for "special effects" was a great idea! I'm guessing he's not the brightest bulb of the clan. Anyway, big surprise, that set the fire alams off right around midnight. Surprisingly no, this was not the first time we've had to evacuate a hotel in the middle of the night. Given how much we travel that shouldn't really be a surprise to me, but it was. The kids slept though the WHOLE thing!!!! Colby was actually sleeping standing up at one point! Looking back it's hilarious... then, not so much. We were on the 5th floor!!!! They told us it was safe to go back to our rooms and then the alarm system malfunctioned and went off continuously for OVER an HOUR!!!! We kept checking just to make sure everything was ok and we weren't the idiots left in the burning building. (We didn't find out until the next day it was a smoke machine that set it off) All we got the next day was an apology and an explanation. Boo! Lucky for the hotel, there was a Starbucks in the lobby that turned my major frown upside down! Gotta love the power of caffine & chocolate!!! MMMmmm!

Seeing as the alarms hadn't disturbed the kids sleep they were all FULL of energy and ready to go! We had plans to meet at the zoo right when it opened, but because my husband is an "early bird" (even on little to no sleep) we were able to squeeze in a quick trip through the stockyards!

And then it was off to the zoo....

This zoo has to be the best in Texas! I would say it's the best zoo EVER, but I'd be lying. The one in Omaha is much better. But still, kudos to the Fort Worth zoo. If you're in the area it's definitely worth the drive and admission fee! We were there for OVER 6 HOURS and could have stayed longer!

All the kiddos! Yeah, they made their own "exhibit" putting on a show for a while! LOL!!!

Okay, this is not a great picture, but the oranutangs - I know I spelled that wrong - were HILARIOUS! This one in particular (he's hanging upside down under the rope ladder) was a hoot! He played with this old flour sack like it was his blanket. He used it as a cape and "fly" off the fort, would hide underneath it and attack other orangutangs like he was "invisible" and throw it up in the air and catch it like a parachute! I guess when you have nothing better to do, you have to do something to keep from being bored! LOL!

Next stop was the lions. As you can see, there was no "fun & games" here... this Daddy lion was all business! OMG!!! I've never blushed so much in my life! Try explaining this to a group of kiddos! Good times! Thankfully it was short-lived... I think the Momma lion had a "headache". LOL!!!!