The Hudson Family: A Circus, Some Country Dancing, and the Zoo

Thursday, April 28, 2011

A Circus, Some Country Dancing, and the Zoo

With the upcoming birth of Rylan, we spent quite a bit of time with Kaelyn on mini-dates to spend time together as family of three. We visited Gatti Town which Kaelyn loved, took several trips to the mall to ride the carousel, and enjoyed the nice weather outside by adventuring out on walks and playing on our swing set. One of the more memorable dates we took was to the Shriners Circus in Garland. Kaelyn has really taken a liking to elephants and we knew she would love seeing all the animals. Fortunately, Pop and KK were coming in town for my Granddad Killian's 80th birthday party and they got to join us. We arrived early for the pre-party activities which included elephant rides, pictures with a snake, meeting the clowns, bounce houses, and pony rides.

Kaelyn getting ready to ride her pony!

She loved riding the pony and kept saying "Neh"

since we've been practicing our animal sounds at home.

Kade and Kylen with Kaelyn following close behind.

She couldn't believe how big the elephant was! She's only

seen them on her television shows and was surprised!

Bo, the elephant, was amazing in his circus act!

How on earth did he get all four of his big feet on

such a small stool?

Another amazing feat...Doing a handstand on the same small stool!

On the Saturday evening after the circus, we celebrated my grandfather's 80th birthday with all of the family. We ate at one of my favorite restaurants growing up called the Trail Dust Steakhouse. Unfortunately, there is only one left in the DFW area and so we drove the distance to Arlington for a little boot scootin' and good food. One of the attractions at Trail Dust is the 50 ft. slide from the second floor to the first floor. Kaelyn was so excited to try it out. She also tried out her dance moves on the dance floor while the band played.

Kaelyn dancing with the birthday boy!

Sliding down with Daddy!

Granddad Killian sliding at 80 years young!

Getting warmed up on the dance floor.

She was a little unsure at first...

But not unsure anymore...Right at home.

Mommy and Daddy enjoying a dance together.

The young bunch trying out the line dancing while the band played.

A little boot scootin' with Pop.

She found the stage directly in front of the band and

made it her own!

A new kind of step...and a little tired at the end of the night!

Fast forward to Rylan's second week of life...We decided to take Kaelyn and Rylan to the Ft. Worth Zoo. Mimi and PawPaw were headed into town to help out for the week and got to join in on the fun. Robbie and I really thought Kaelyn would make it 1/3 of the way through the zoo and get tired of it, but we were definitely wrong. From 10:30 in the morning until 3:30 that afternoon, Kaelyn enjoyed seeing the animals and couldn't get enough. It was so precious to see her excitement when she recognized certain animals along with her curiousity when we introduced her to a new animal. The best part was the bird feeding where she got to go in and let the birds land on her feeding strip. Rylan was a trooper as well. He is such a good baby and just goes with the flow of our family. He saw the zoo in his sleep mode!

Such a sweet picture! The mommy and baby together!