Spring Break in Dallas!

This year we spent the first half of Spring Break in Dallas.  It was the first time for us and my parents.  My sis A and her little fam have been before, but they wanted to join because they really enjoy Dallas.  We'd never been to Dallas because the 4 hour drive never seemed that appealing with a little one...but now that Eulee is getting older and more manageable, we thought we could give it a try.

Well, the drive up was not ideal at all.  Here were the 4 factors working against us as we departed at 1:30pm--
(1) It was the start of Spring Break.
(2) It had been raining off and on the whole day.
(3) One of the biggest festivals, SXSW, was starting in Austin (which is on the way up to Dallas).
(4) Obama was speaking at the SWSX opening ceremony that afternoon.

Basically, there was no way we could win.  Luckily, we had The Hatchet audio CD to keep us company.  Plus, Waze had us take the toll road up past Austin and then it kept us off Interstate 35 because there were lots of accidents.  It was still a little slow going up the side roads, but it was better than being stopped on I35, like my parents were.  Then it was slow again past Waco...so we decided to just stop and have dinner at that point.  With our dinner stop and another 30 minute potty stop, it probably took us 5 hours to reach Dallas.  Not TOO awful, I guess.  It was a lot longer for my parents because they didn't want to listen to Waze.

Once we had all arrived, everything was great.  We covered a lot in the 4 days that we were there...

DAY 1: Dallas Arboretum
This was an amazing place.  Amazing.  The tulips and azaleas were blooming everywhere...it did NOT feel like Texas at all.  Seriously.  It was beautiful.

Of course since my kids are the way they are, the minute we got there they were all over the ground.  They weren't even looking at the flowers around them...they were searching the ground for ladybug larva!  It's ladybug season and they were trying to save all the larva.  They all got down on their knees and scooped up larva to relocate them to leaves and grass.  These kids looked insane...and the walking speed was so so so slow....like a snail's pace...maybe slower.  Finally we snapped them out of it and told them to look around and Eli immediately said, "WHOA!!!!  Look at all the flowers!"  What??  They're too funny.

Besides the beautiful flowers, there is a whole Children's Garden in the back.  This huge section is basically an outdoor children's museum.  There were things about solar power, wind power, earth science...it was so cool!  We really could have spent 2 days here...one day for the gardens and one day just for the children's area.  This is really an awesome place!

DAY 2: Perot Museum of Nature and Science

This museum was smaller than HMNS in Houston, but since it was smaller it felt more manageable in one day.  The exhibits were fun and the kids had a blast!  I think the kids' favorite part was the Sports Hall.  In this area, you could race an animal (like a cheetah) or a dinosaur (like a T-Rex) or an athlete (football player, marathon runner, etc.).  The kids did this over and over again!  So fun!

DAY 3: Six Flags

This was the day I was most nervous about because of crowds.  I don't even go to the Six Flags in San Antonio during Spring Break, so I didn't know what to expect in Arlington.  Luckily, we got there right when they opened and then B bought 2 fast passes for him and the 3 older kids to share (they cost an arm and a leg, but B said they were worth every penny).  He took the older ones to ride real rides while my parents, A, and I took the little ones to ride smaller rides.  There were no real lines for any of the small rides, so we didn't feel the crowds at all.

All the kids had such a great time at Six Flags!  B said that this park has a lot more intermediate roller coasters, so it was more exciting for the kids.

He also loved that they had a new VR roller coaster.  On this ride, you wear a Samsung Gear VR over your eyes and it makes it look like you're in a fighter helicopter...while you're riding the roller coaster.  You can even press a button on the side of it to "shoot" bullets.  B said it was the best ride.  The Gear was a little big on Elina's head so it was shaky on her, but she still had a good time.

DAY 4: Dallas World Aquarium

After we checked-out, we stopped by the aquarium for a few hours before driving back home.  This ticket price seems steep at $20/adult, but honestly, this place is huge and totally worth it.  It's so big that you can't believe you are in a downtown of a major city.  We couldn't believe they could build this in that area.  It was actually 75% zoo and 25% aquarium, but still a great place to visit.  They just have lots of animals and fish you don't normally see.  There is a huge rainforest area, a manatee viewing area, a see-through tunnel underwater, penguins...it was really amazing.

The manatee was my favorite animal to watch.  He swam around holding onto this piece of wood that was like his lovey.  At one point, he let it go and it floated to the surface, so he used his mouth to push it down and slide it between his fins.  It was so cute!

When we got home we all agreed that Dallas was awesome! We loved everything we did...and I thought we really lucked out with the crowds. If B liked road trips more, we'd probably go up there more often! I definitely want to go up there again soon.

Of course the "Best Troopers" award goes to my parents.

These 2 suffered through an entire day at Six Flags with only getting onto 2 rides.  My dad's allergies were so bad and he had taken meds so he was extremely tired.  Everywhere we went, they just happily followed us along.  They're the best!  But at the end my mom did make the comment, "Wow, you really go non-stop when you're on vacation."  Is that a compliment or not?  I'm not sure...

We were glad that we went somewhere for the beginning part of Spring Break because then we were able to relax and have playdates the remaining time.  It was really such a great break that we all needed!!