Regroup, Relax, Release, and Recover !

                                                    *  *PHOTO HEAVY POST* *

The kids are back at home now. I have received three tear-filled bedtime phone calls this week because they are missing me :) That fills my heart all the way to the top. I miss them too. Shoot, even Mr. Mixologist is missing them even though we.are.worn.out ! LOL

My and one of my girlfriends, took my crew and her girls and nephews to the Houston Zoo on Wednesday. I really enjoyed it and the kids did too. They have a new African Safari Exhibit that was great. One of the best things about our Zoo is that they allow you to bring in your own coolers with food and drinks. This is great and very cost effective when you have so many kids to feed. We packed a lunch of their preferred food and snacks & had a picnic halfway through our visit. The only downside was there we so many people at the Zoo because it was Spring Break. We heard they set an attendance record of over 30,000 people on one day ! WOW

KJ & Jeff  fixated on the Leopard

I love to watch children's fascination with animals and how they process learning new things. You can see the little wheels turning in their heads.

Savannah & Jeff jamming on the African Drums !

I love musically inclined, creative types and encourage it whenever possible. Trust me when I say, when our kids got on these six drums they had set up in the African Safari area, they drew a crowd. I thought I was going to start picking up money off the ground ! LOL

The Zoo Crew !

Next stop on Thursday was Schlitterbahn Water Park. The kids love it ! I have to admit, I do too. Even though they only have about 1/2 of the rides open during Spring Break, it is still a nice reprieve and my water babies get a chance to have some great fun. This park also allows you to bring in Coolers with your own food and drinks #winning.  Which keeps us from the highway robbery that is the food prices at this joint. We always get there early, find a good camp spot and spend the whole day. Mr. Mixologist came with us on this day trip and was truly a great help. When you have so many kids around water, with varying swimming abilities, it is very necessary. One of my girlfriends neighbors came along with her two daughters, so we had 4 adults, supervising 11 children between the ages of 4 and 16. We always have a strategy. One adult always stayed with our stuff, we then broke the kids into 3 age groups & each adult went with their group to ride the various attractions and we would check back at the camp spot every hour.  The kids slept like dead people after this outing ! #winning LOL

View of Galveston Bay

The kids were squealing with delight by the time we go to Galveston & they actually could see the water.

KJ is salivating thinking about the water

Kid's hate having to wait for their food to digest so they can swim to avoid cramps, but yet they want to eat snacks all day ! I know this is an old wives tale, but I still make them sit for 30 minutes after eating before getting back in. I have no idea if its true, but it's how I was raised. LOL

Bikini Ready

Cool Boys !

By Friday, I was truly spent but I still had to get ready for the annual Party that I throw every year during Spring Break, so that some of my friends & their kids can hang out with my nieces and nephews. Mr. Mixologist came up with the idea of a Fish Fry and agreed to do the cooking in the back yard. He made the Catfish, Shrimp and Hushpuppies. I hooked up some Dirty Rice, Macaroni & Cheese, Caesar Salad and my famous Sopapilla Cheesecake (got the recipe from my Mom who never fails ! ). Everything came together nicely & me and my beau are an awesome team. #winning.  Saturday was a very long, late night, but definitely a great time and all worth it. I spent the early morning hours on Sunday, washing & packing suitcases & when we got back home on Sunday night, I was in.a.coma.for.3.days ! LOL Hence the late wrap-up post !

Below is the last groups of pics, I promise LOL !

Savannah with one of my friend's son

Party Girls

What a Spread !

It was my Goddaughter's Birthday too !

Are they trying to play spades ?  LOL !

The drop off at Starbucks ! (Before the tears)

Our Annual Professional Spring Break Pic

Needless to say, me and the beau are cold chillin' this weekend. We plan to regroup, relax, release and recover. His brother from Chicago is coming in next weekend so we are planning some adult activities, and we should be fully rested by then,  but until then, I will be chilling !

How was your Spring Break !

Thoughts ? Comments ? Questions ?

Beautifully Complex