March

We had been looking forward to March for a while because it meant our long awaited Spring Break vacation was finally upon us! But first, we had to get through the first week of the month....

When your Mom makes you sort laundry, you make it bearable by Facetiming your friends while you work! Genius!

We have a playroom FULL of toys, yet all they wanted was my Amazon box

Once a month Home Depot offers a Saturday morning project for kiddos and over the past few months Matthew and Kyndall have attended. They get to make and take home the project, plus they get a pin to add to their apron for each project completed. On this day they made a clock to practice their time skills.

After they finish the project the two of them head to Waffle House for their weekly Daddy/Daughter breakfast date.

Friends don't let friends drive the crazy cart without a helmet!

Kyndall and Ashlyn....Two peas in a pod!

When you try to be the cool Mom but you realize you're just the old Mom....

A random trip to Kroger one Sunday after church and these two always find their way to the Blue Bell

Each year the PTO at Kyndall's school puts on a "Fun Run" to help raise funds for the upcoming year. I serve as the PTO Vice President so I really have no choice but to support the cause, despite the fact that I absolutely hate asking people for money. However, without these funds we would not be able to put on all of the fun events for students and families as well as provide the teachers with some classroom spending money. We also give a huge chunk back to the administrators to purchase expensive classroom equipment like interactive white boards. Kyndall gets VERY into it each year and thankfully we have some extremely generous family members and friends who faithfully support her year after year. She made a video and asked me to post it on social media the week of the fundraiser to get the word out....

Then she made a follow up video a few days before it was over.....

As the week went on, the individual classes received prizes for their earnings. Kyndall's class earned the "toilet paper your teacher" party and the "duck tape a coach" party....

 

Race day came and she was SO excited! Kyndall raised a total of $675 thanks to all of the donations she received!

Look at these sweet friends holding hands!

Kyndall is a little apprehensive when it comes to physical things like this (she gets that from me!) but her friend Bentlee never left her side and waited for her as she took her time. So sweet!

 Tired kids!

The day of the Fun Run was an early release day because it was officially the start of SPRING BREAK!

Kyndall and I left the school, went home and grabbed our suitcases and drove into downtown Dallas to pick Matthew up from work and we flew from Dallas to Las Vegas that night.

Instead of pretzels or peanuts, Southwest gave us these cute plane shaped Ritz crackers and Kyndall thought that was super fun.

Making herself comfortable

On our decent into Vegas we flew right over Hoover Dam, which you can see in the photo below

First time for all of us in Las Vegas!

We rented a car in Las Vegas and spent the rest of the evening driving to Williams, Arizona where we would stay for the night before heading to the Grand Canyon the next day. The scenery along the drive from Nevada to Arizona was amazing! It was so desolate and there was literally nothing around for miles but thankfully we had plenty of gas in the car and nobody had to pee! 

Kyndall wanted to talk to her friends so she called them on a three way Facetime and was able to show them where she was. One friend was on spring break in Washington D.C, Kyndall was in Arizona and one was back home in Dallas. Technology these days is absolutely amazing! 

We arrived at our hotel in Williams, Arizona around 11:30 pm Friday night. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel which came highly recommended and we quickly found out why!

We were up bright and early the next morning and enjoyed a fabulous breakfast buffet provided by the hotel as part of our package.

She spotted a few little patches of leftover snow outside the hotel and was so excited about it!

Before you board the Grand Canyon Railway at 9:30 am they put on a little show for you complete with real horses a shoot out amongst the outlaws.

All aboard!!

The train has several choices of "classes" to choose from when you book your tickets online. We chose to upgrade to the dome class which put us upstairs above the other passengers.

We had spectacular 360* views in the dome class

All passengers, regardless of class, are provided with complimentary sodas, juice, water, pastries and fruit to enjoy during the 2 hour train ride.

 It's about 60 miles from Williams, AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon but the train only travels at 30 miles per hour so it takes a little over two hours to get there. That's ok because there was so much beautiful scenery to take in!

Pastries and gorgeous views

We had to check out the bathroom, of course! Much to our surprise train bathrooms are much superior to airplane bathrooms. This one has its own sitting room with a couch!

Looking down from the dome

We even had some entertainment during our ride

We arrived at Grand Canyon Village around lunchtime and Kyndall was again pretty excited to see even more snow that was leftover from a few days prior.

As soon as we arrived we jumped onto a bus for our scheduled tour. The guide took us to three different lookout points while teaching us lots of interesting facts about the Grand Canyon, including how it was made, how old it is, and all about the different tribes that actually live down in the canyon. I'm so glad we scheduled a tour because otherwise we never would have known all of this stuff!

These next few pictures are our first views of the canyon. In planning this trip I was a little worried that Kyndall would be too young to truly appreciate the majesty and beauty of the canyon but much to my surprise she was completely in awe! It was also Matthew's first time at the Grand Canyon so it was fun to see his reaction as well. You just cannot imagine how breathtakingly beautiful it is until you've experienced it in person!

About 12 inches from Matthew's left foot was the edge of the canyon and and he made me a nervous wreck the whole day as he got as close as he possibly could.

Getting that perfect shot on her ipad

 Another "let me freak my wife out" opportunity that he couldn't pass up...

Annnnnd again....

I know a lot of these pictures look alike but the details in each one are so different that it was impossible to stop snapping! Even the way the clouds cast the different shadows onto the canyon was so captivating.

After our tour we took a break for a late lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge. Kyndall and I got a kick out of this sign posted in all of the restroom stalls.

Yummy lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge

Back to exploring....

When I was just a little older than Kyndall is now, my Grandparents gave me a most priceless gift in the form of a summer spent exploring our National parks. By far, my favorite of all was the Grand Canyon. I can vividly remember walking up to it for the first time, taking in the beauty of it all and being in complete awe of what I was seeing and especially of what I was feeling in that moment. It was more magical than anything I had ever experienced. I was absolutely fascinated with it, wanting to learn everything I could and not wanting to forget a single sight, smell or sound from that summer. My fondest memory was sitting on the South rim just outside the Bright Angel Lodge enjoying a giant ice cream cone with my Granddaddy on that hot June day. It was right then that I declared to him that someday I would return to this most amazing place with my own children so that they too could experience this same feeling of awe and appreciate God's beautiful masterpiece. Twenty six years later, my promise to myself finally came full circle and I was able to watch that same look of awe and wonder come across Kyndall's face as she took it in for the first time. Experiencing it through her eyes was even better than I could have imagined. I know my Granddaddy would be so proud of this so I honored him by returning to that very same spot with a giant ice cream cone in hand and Kyndall by my side. I recalled my memories to her and she told me that she too promises to return someday with her own children. I will never forget this day and I hope she never does either!

Waiting for the bus to take us to our lodge, where we would spend the night in Grand Canyon Village. (Side note--We learned that ice cream is not allowed on the buses so rather than throwing away these delicious calorie filled cones and jumping on, we decided to WALK to our lodge with ice cream in hand! The Hughes don't play when it comes to sweets!)

You can either catch the train to go back to the Railway Hotel in Williams at 3:00 pm or you can choose to book a night in one of the lodges inside the village. Although we had pretty much already seen all there was to see, we really wanted to do a sunset tour of the canyon and in order to do that we'd have to stay the night. So, when we booked our trip many months ago we were able to grab a room at one of the lodges. They go super quick and some have up to a year long waiting list!

We checked into our lodge and had a little bit of time to relax in our room before it was time to catch the bus for our sunset tour. One of the things I loved about the package we booked was that we never had to worry about our luggage. When we left the Railway Hotel earlier that morning, our luggage was loaded onto the train and then taken to our room at the lodge, where it would be waiting for us when we checked in. The same thing happened when we checked out of the lodge the next day--We simply left our bags in the room, they were loaded onto the train and then were waiting for us in our room at the Railway Hotel back in Williams. It was great!

I absolutely love sunsets so I was the one who requested we take the sunset tour of the canyon. Even though we had just seen it a few hours prior, I knew from experience that different times of day offer different perspectives as the colors and shadows change with the evening light. The first thing we saw once we boarded the bus was this herd of mule deer grazing at dusk which was pretty neat.

The colors are so vibrant later in the day...It almost didn't look real!

Kyndall bought this coyote in one of the gift shops and from this point on it appeared in nearly all our pictures. Oh well...You pick your battles!

Photo credit: Kyndall Hughes

Our tour guide pointed out this fossil and much to my surprise Kyndall already knew all about fossils and what they are.

One of my favorite pictures. It was right after this moment when she turned to me and said "this is even better than Disney!" I could not agree more!

Stunning!!!!!!

Taking it all in...

The sunset tour was by far my favorite part of our entire trip! We ended the night by warming up in our lodge's pizza shop for dinner. I forgot to mention it was only in the 30s and 40s at the Canyon this time of year but I'd much rather be there when it's cold than when it's hot!

Day 2 and we found more leftover snow outside of our room at the lodge

 If you ask Kyndall, she'll tell you that one of her favorite things about our trip was being sworn in as a Junior Ranger after completing the necessary steps throughout the duration of our weekend which included a workbook and then answering some questions with the park ranger.

Signing her certificate of completion

Taking her oath

She's official!

We had a few hours before the train would take us back to Williams so we took in a few more views of the canyon, this time making our way over to the Visitor's Center. We saw a man propose to his girlfriend on the edge of the canyon, then we saw these crazies and their KIDS out there on this narrow ledge that stuck out into the canyon. This shot does not even give justice to how incredibly dangerous this was. My anxiety was so high that I had to walk away! Our guide told us that there are over 700 documented deaths in and around the canyon. That's crazy to me!

We had lunch at the El Tovar lodge which was pretty fancy and offered a great view

One last ice cream cone before saying goodbye

If you know Kyndall, you know she loves all living things. She found and fell in love this squirrel which turned out to be quite friendly!

 At 3:00 pm we boarded the train to head back to the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams.

We chose the dome class again for our trip back 

More snacks

More entertainment for our journey

The dome class was treated to champagne and we opted for sparkling cider

Such a goober

Cheers to a great vacation!

Outlaws on horseback rode up beside our train then came aboard and "robbed" us....

We arrived back in Williams, Arizona and decided to explore the famous Route 66 

Dinner back at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel

The next morning we woke up to SNOW! It wasn't much, but it made this little Texan pretty happy.

We left Williams and headed back towards Las Vegas along the historic Route 66. We stopped for lunch at Roadkill Cafe where Kyndall and I dined on the "One Eyed Dog Hit in the Fog" while Mathew enjoyed the "Armadillo on the Half Shell". 

We thought we would make a quick stop at Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas but that turned into several hours when we decided to do a tour, which was totally worth it!

Our tour took us inside the walls of the dam where we had exclusive access to the power plant. It was so fascinating hearing the history of the dam, how it was built, how many lives were lost and how it is used for the modern day. 

Inside the dam...

These giant turbines produce electricity for California, Nevada and Arizona

Inside the wall of the dam, walking to an air vent to look out

Looking out of the air vent from inside the wall of the dam

Looking down the "Stairway to Heaven"--The set of internal stairs that span from the top of the dam to the bottom

Looking up the stairs

The view from the very top

The other side of the dam holds back Lake Powell

This statue stands in honor of those who lost their lives while building the dam. Legend says if you rub the feet of the statue you will have good luck. We figured why not?

Obligatory overpriced souvenir picture

On to Vegas for the night!

Trying to find our room inside this gigantic place!

We stayed at Bally's which you can see in this picture

I wasn't quite sure what to expect since it was our first time in Vegas but thankfully everything we saw was pretty tame and I didn't have to shield any eyes the entire night. Mostly we just enjoyed walking into each of the hotels and admiring them. This was in Caesar's Palace.

This was inside of Pairs

I've always heard about the dancing fountains at the Bellagio so of course we had to stop and take those in.

 We ran into Chewbacca who was tons of fun until he realized we only had $2 cash on us to "tip" him with. Then he was a jerk.

Then we saw these girls but learning from our Chewbacca encounter and knowing we were out of "tip" money we told them we didn't need any pictures but they insisted, saying "it's all for her...no charge!" Gee...thanks! I always wanted my 8 year old to pose with two half naked showgirls on the Vegas strip. Really, though they were very sweet and even let Kyndall put on one of their headpieces which made her Daddy cringe a little...ha! 

Pizza and pasta for dinner

We forked over $100 for the three of us to ride the High Roller, which is the largest ferris wheel in the world! Matthew absolutely HATES ferries wheels....HATES them. He will ride any roller coaster you ask him to but he has legit fears when it comes to a ferris wheel so I knew this would be quite an experience!

He's smiling on the outside but freaking out on the inside!

Hahahahahahaaaaa!!!

The ride gave us amazing views of Las Vegas!

 We stayed out until almost midnight and then ended the night by sharing a giant chocolate chip cookie.

While on the Vegas strip Kyndall found a magic shop and we let her pick out one thing...Though she wanted it ALL. She has gotten really into magic lately and she's pretty good at it! Here's a video of her showing off her newest trick...

We slept late the next morning before catching our flight from Vegas back to Dallas. Although our trip was somewhat quick, we packed in a LOT and made so many great memories! Spring Break 2019 was definitely one to remember! Give me a trip like this ANY day over a Disney "vacation". 

Our boys were so happy to have us back home!

Spring break wasn't over yet--We still had several days left and we packed those full of play dates and fun activities.

I love this sight because along with it comes the sweet sound of giggling girls upstairs above me as priceless childhood memories are being made. My house is a revolving door and I wouldn't want it any other way! Long live childhood friendships!

I took the girls to the park and of course my animal obsessed girl immediately spotted the cute puppy nearby.

Cheers to Spring Break 2019!

The neighborhood girl gang

She squeezed in some craft time, painting pots that we would later plant succulents in.

I started feeling a little crafty too and finally opened up my Silhouette vinyl machine that I've had since December! I was so intimidated by it but I'm slowly getting the hang of it little by little thanks to the help of YouTube and some good friends!

Is it really Spring Break if you don't make a shopping trip to Target at least once??

Dairy Queen is messy but that's no problem

Back porch bon fire and s'mores was the perfect way to round out our Spring Break week!

I almost forgot--We also squeezed in a movie after church on Sunday afternoon. We loved "How to Train Your Dragon".

The following week my Mom, sister and two nephews were supposed to fly in from Florida and spend the week with us. Unfortunately my littlest nephew ended up in the hospital and they had to cancel their trip. We were all pretty bummed but Easton's health is way more important than any trip and the good news is they've re-booked their tickets for September so that they can be here for Kyndall's birthday weekend! We sent Easton this teddy bear balloon to help cheer him up during his hospital stay. Poor buddy was so miserable.

Report cards came out and once again Kyndall earned straight A's! This girl has had a a straight A streak since kindergarten and we are so proud of her! 

I sent these two off to our local Chick-Fil-A's Daddy Daughter Date Night. It's a popular event in our small town, so popular that I had to reserve the tickets several months ago. They had a great time and Kyndall even ate a couple chicken nuggets which is HUGE since she has refused to eat any meat since she was a toddler. Maybe we have finally turned a corner!

She came home with wings

I love when her teacher posts pictures on the 2nd grade Facebook page so that we can get a glimpse into their day. On this day they were learning about measurements. (It was also a non uniform college shirt day, which is always a welcomed break!)

The Hughes girls haven't missed a "Free Cone Day" at Dairy Queen in five years and we weren't about to start now! We look forward to this each year on March 20th!

Springtime in North Texas is glorious! The days are longer, the air is the perfect temperature and everyone just wants to be outside. I just wish it could last a little longer because before long it will be way too hot to even get out of the house. We took advantage of this most perfect weather by hanging out on the back patio after school each day.

I found this precious note in Kyndall's backpack from her BFF Malani

My Friday lunch dates with this girl are the highlight of my week! I hope she never wants me to stop doing this!

Sweet friends since kindergarten. The 2nd graders earned a non-uniform day for good behavior which was a real treat for them!

The sweetest teacher in the entire universe had a birthday at the end of March and I surprised her with a cake and several of us also showered her with gifts. She was so surprised and so appreciative. I am going to be so sad when this school year is over--We adore Mrs. Colquette!

Being the kind and patient soul that she is, she let each of her "school babies" place a candle on the cake, wherever they'd like.

Weekends are for indulging and the 3 Hughes certainly know how to do that!

Weekends are also for projects around the house

It's amazing what some fresh mulch and pretty spring flowers can do to spruce up a yard!

Kyndall has been really obsessed/fascinated with the Titanic lately, wanting to learn all about it and the history of what happened. A friend let us borrow this book and I've been reading it with her every night before bed. Not your typical bedtime story but she's not your typical kid!

A fancy new dinner theater opened up here recently so we decided to try it out on a Friday night. We had been waiting to see Dumbo for months and it definitely did not disappoint! We loved it!

This is what I am greeted with on Saturday mornings when I want to sleep in. Granted, it was 10:30 am when I took this picture.

March was such a fun month! It was busy, which made it go by very quickly and now here we are in April with just a few weeks left until school is out for summer. 2019 is flying by!