Zoo Day

Earlier this week I checked the weather and saw how perfect this weekend was going to be.  I knew I was going to have Case for the majority of each day and so I decided early on in the week that today Hendrik and I would take him to the zoo.  We picked him up around 8:30 and headed to Tyler.  We got there still early and it wasn't crowded or hot yet.  After a quick bathroom break we started off at the petting zoo.  He loved looking at the goats and petting them some but mainly just being close to them was enough for him.  

After the petting zoo we put on his little backpack leash that we got him and headed off.  First was all the different birds and then into Africa to see the rhinos, giraffes and elephants. 

looking at the monkeys 

After Africa we saw the aquarium which he LOVED!  He knows the main animals and fish is one that he really likes.  

After that we walked around, saw the North American animals, fed the fish and ducks, and saw the tigers and bears!

Since the petting zoo was near the entrance/ exit we ended our trip there before heading into the souvenir shop for a little stuffed lion and some books on animals.  

It took us around 2 hours to make our way through the zoo.  Once back in the car Case was really tired from all his walking and the excitement of all the animals.  He was out within minutes of us leaving and slept all the way home then 2 more hours!  He had such a great time and I'm so glad Colby and Lara allow us time with him to make such great memories.  I can't wait for more trips like this as he continues to grow up. We love our time with him no matter what we do but today was extra special! 

Insta Dump #35

February was a good month with the taste of Spring weather and me finally getting back into my groove!

Plants on my office window seal// Canton bound// glute pump// ready to kick butt// Canton success reward was new Starbucks in Sulphur Springs// perfect weather for a little sunning// legs and kickboxing day// got my Rodan Fields order in and I'm in love// spray painted and everything was sparkly// work flow and coffee// meal prep Sunday// guns everywhere// getting out all my demons in the sauna// picking up my wedding dress// starting out weekend great with clean house and supper already done// working on my fitness

Insta Dump #34

January was a  busy month for Instagram and in general the past few months have been busy outside of Instagram as well!  Here's a look at what I was posting about.  If you don't follow me find me my username is @megand1216

New Years fireworks// a little throw back motivation of myself// mud mask time// clean house is the best// first snow// fresh shave// save the dates going out// had a mocha from Jo's// flat tire with friends// hunting vines with Case and Hendrik// wedding welding DIY// errands and appoints on a Friday// Sunny day// Case and I multitasking getting payroll knocked out// I LOVE Caroline...she's me as a millionaire// last minute road trip to see Piper// our lifetime friendship love her// relaxing me time in the bath// nap time// macro friendly salad// Lubbock's Pie Bar is so yummy// just a boy and his chickens// blogged some easy recipes// driving back from Lubbock feeling so grateful//

Middle East & Southeast Asia Vacation: Dubai...A long layover

2016 was a great year for travel!  In May, Hendrik and I took a long weekend in the Dominican Republic.  In June, Caleb and I took a graduation trip to London and Ireland and to top off the year Hendrik and I took our really big vacation this year to Thailand and Bali with extended layovers in Dubai both going and coming home.  When we decided that we wanted to take this vacation I knew that there were two ways to get there 1 through Dubai and 1 through LA going over Asia.  I purposely found the Emirates flights because I wanted to layover in Dubai. Although it was a layover I'm so familiar with the city that 12 hours or more is the perfect amount of time to sight see and do a few things with Hendrik and show him the ropes.  I was so excited to get back to the Middle East and show Hendrik the place that is sort of like my second home.  

This post is going to cover both layovers!  We had a 10 hour layover going to Bangkok.  I deducted 4 hours from that time because once we land and got out of the airport and in a taxi that is around an hour and we had to be back in the airport and ready to board our "connecting" flight 3 hours before take off.  That left us 6 hours for exploring and it was the perfect amount of time and kept us busy even though we were REALLY tired!

We left Dallas on Thursday October 13, 2016 and arrived in Dubai on Friday the 14th at noon.  We flew Emirates directly from Dallas to Dubai.  I love Emirates airlines!  The cabin feels roomier, they give you real silverware with your meals, and they have THE BEST movies to choose from in flight.  

In Dallas ready to get this show on the road

After arrival I got my carry on and we hauled butt out of the airport.  We ALWAYS forget to take a backpack for Hendrik's carry on and we have bought, now after this trip, 2 backpacks while on vacation LOL! I'm sure I won't forget that little detail any more.  OK so... when exiting the airport we got a private car taxi and talked to the driver, for 300 Dirham (approx 100$) he would take us by all the sights, the souk, the Palm, and end at the Mall.  It would take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  I thought it was a great deal and a way Hendrik could see the city.  The traffic was light and our driver was a great guide.

first stop Burj Al Arab- hotel that emulates a sail from a boat

also one of the nicest and one of the only free public beaches in Dubai

 Next we drove down the the Dubai Marina.  Not much going on here but the views of the buildings are really amazing. 

After the marina we drove around the Palm, stopped at the souk (didn't get any good pictures there) and then headed back to be dropped off at the mall.  We walked around the mall for a while before grabbing a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  Once we ate and got our bellies full were were REALLY crashing so we headed out the side entrance and viewed the Burj Khalifa.  I had tickets to go up to the top but Hendrik said he wasn't really interested in doing that and I had already done it before so we headed back to the airport to wait on our flight which would take off at 10:30 that night.  Luckily our terminal was very empty and we were able to grab some good seats.  I got all caffeinated and surfed the web while Hendrik napped.  

Burj Khalifa- the tallest tower in the world

airport life

tiniest coke ever!  I think that the Coca-Cola in the Middle East tastes so much better than anywhere else.  I always drank Dr. Pepper until I lived in Iraq and got hooked on the extra acidic cokes there!  Hendrik liked his baby version on our flight from Dubai to Bangkok. 

Caleb's European Graduation Trip Part 5

Tuesday June 22, 2016 was our third and final day in Ireland.  We had breakfast in our hotel and headed towards the West coast of Ireland towards Ciffs of Mother.  I think I miscalculated the distance and time it would take to drive it because by midday we had only made it half way.  Instead of driving the rest of the day away only to arrive at our original destination at dark we stopped at a cute little town and decided this would be our adventure for the day.  

We stopped in Athlone and it was the cutest town with a ton of culture and history.  All the buildings were painted a cute color.  There was a river that ran right through the town and the Athlone Castle is perched overlooking the town.  We visited the castle, walked around town looking in shops and things.  We stopped at a local grocery store and deli for lunch. Caleb didn't want anything too heavy so we both got sandwiches from the deli with some snacks and drinks for the road.  We packed back into our car and headed back to Dublin.

All of these mannequins are constructed out of purely recycled materials.  They were so neat.

Once we are back at the hotel I got deathly ill from I believe the roasted bell peppers that were on my sandwich.  I don't think they were any good.  I suffered through the night and the next day as we traveled.  I was so afraid of eating or drinking on the trip home because I didn't want to risk getting sick again on the plan!!!  We arrived home safely and even though Caleb had a great time I know he was glad to get home.  This trip was literally a wonderful experience not only did we get to spend some quality time together I was able to teach Caleb about the world and open him up to HOPEFULLY many more travel experiences.  

Peace out Dublin!

Catch up on all my previous posts centered around Caleb's graduation trip below!

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

Caleb's European Graduation Trip Part 4

Sunday June 19, 2016 we woke up in London all ready to go forward with our trip to Ireland.  We checked out of our hotel and caught the train to Gatwick Airport for our flight to Dublin.  I have NEVER in my life misread my itinerary or missed a flight until NOW!  The airport and my itinerary was really confusing with unclear signs and not a whole lot of help.  We stood in a HUGE line for over 2 hours only to find out we are in the wrong terminal all together WTF!!! We take off running Home Alone style through the airport only to arrive at the correct place 40 minutes before take off.  They won't let us do anything because you have to be there no less than an hour before take off!!! CRAP! So I had to pay to change our tickets to the next flight. I was so stressed out. So we got all that taken care of, found our correct gate, and when the time came boarded.  We were off to Ireland.  Upon arrival I take an ass chewing from our transportation company, end up cussing him, and hanging up...hello WELCOME TO IRELAND this is off to a great start!  

We had a private car take us to our hotel to get all checked in and ready to see Dublin!  It was on and off rain but we caught a taxi to the city center which was a couple miles from our hotel and our driver dropped us off at O'Neill's Pub for a late lunch, which also happened to be on my list of places to eat.  The pub was packed and the food was some of the best and most authentic we had eaten on the trip so far.  It was a buffet style serving line and you chose 3 foods.  After our traditional Irish lunch of cabbage, chicken and bacon puff pastry casserole, and potatoes we set out into the rain to explore.

I didn't find that much to do in or directly around Dublin and with the rain we sort of saw and did what we could but overall there's not too much to the city itself. Don't get me wrong it is beautiful and a nice city to discover but not full of the sights that were abundant in London.  I would have liked to wonder aimlessly a bit more to see what we could find but the rain dampened our afternoon.  We did see some of the famous streets and things like Grafton Street, Trinity College and the Temple Bar area.  Caleb's travel belly ache had stuck with him so he wasn't much of a partier and that's sort of what I was hoping for LOL....that he would want to party!  After we saw those few things we let the rain get the best of us and decided to head back to the hotel to research what we should do with the remainder of our time in this green nation!  I already knew that with the days we had remaining I definitely wanted to see more of Ireland and not stay just in Dublin.

I grabbed some maps in the hotel lobby to see what and where we could adventure to next and saw it...the perfect little road trip. I whipped out my laptop and made sure of the distance, time, and opening times and was hooked.  I made my way downstairs to book our rental car for the next two days.  That night was really low key we ordered room service and turned in early ready to conquer the next couple days in Ireland.

Monday June 20, we picked up our rental car at 8 am and set off on the wrong side of the road with a standard transmission off to seek out Giant's Causeway.  The wrong side of the road didn't worry me and the standard transmission didn't either but when put together I was like CRAP....Caleb didn't want to drive so I was the lucky winner and it went really well.  I only messed up once and was driving on the "right" side of the road until I was met by a tractor and had to swerve into my correct lane!  

Note: If you don't know about the causeway or what it even is check out this post I did 7 years ago HERE!  It happens to be the VERY FIRST ever post in a series I called Tuesday's Travel To Do!  So neat to finally experience this.  

got the car and excited to go

When traveling I love seeing the land and looking at the actual country and Caleb liked this the best as well. I like seeing how it actually looks and comparing.... is it the same or different from home and just viewing different things while traveling through.  We stopped at a few spots a long the way that weren't planned, when we saw a neat area or cool picture opportunity we stopped and took it.  

We made it to Giant's Causeway, purchased our tickets and set out on the path to see one of Ireland's treasures! I couldn't stop taking pictures. Every corner the views got better and better!

We took the path along the ocean down and on the way back we took a different path on top that was more countryside and we got a different view.

After seeing Giant's Causeway there was another neat sight to see, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.   This bridge spans a small gorge with the ocean below.  On the way we got more beautiful coastal views and the views from the bridge were one of a kind. 

Emerald seas and emerald land so pretty and endless

contemplating all the problems of the world

There is always farming going on no matter the part of world you are in

After the rope bridge we headed back to Dublin.  Caleb just wasn't himself and I was starving. He opted to stay at the hotel instead of going out to eat.  I walked to a nearby restaurant and ate alone and even indulged in a glass of wine. 

After walking back to the hotel we just hung out. Caleb's stomach was giving him problems so it was sort of a good thing that we only had one more full day of adventure before heading back across the pond.  I had the same issues when I left out for Iraq. It was my first real time away from home and home cooking and it takes time and experience for your body to adjust and get that iron lining.  I lined up our driving excursion for the next day and we hit the hay. 

If you are just tuning in or missed any other parts of Caleb's graduation trip you can click links below. 

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3