Going to the big "D"!

Around the end of January we had to take a trip to Dallas for Brian to do some management training with Lowe's and I had some work down there also. Brian's mom went with us to watch Bryson while we worked. We left for Dallas on Sunday, 1/18 and headed home on Thursday, 1/22. Brian had training Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (long day), and I worked my schedule around where I just had to work on Monday. When I got back to the hotel Monday afternoon Bryson, Cheryl, and I headed for the Galleria (huge mall in Dallas - 1.2 miles from our hotel). This mall is amazing. I felt like the Beverly Hillbillies the way were probably walking around with our mouths wide open. It was 3 levels, and they even had an ice skating rink on the lower level (so it would be 4 levels). On the top level they had this really neat play area for kids. Everything was made of a soft foam. No lie - we went to this mall everyday just to walk around and then we would go back after dinner to let Bryson play. Brian thought this would tucker him out. It did not work - he was up until after 10:00 p.m. every night. I guess he was just too excited to be in a new place.

One day we drove to Rain Forest Cafe in Grapevine, Texas, and what do you know it was inside an outlet mall. The restaurant is so neat. They have one in Orlando at the Animal Kingdom, but we did not get to eat there, so I was really excited to find out they had one near Dallas. They had three main characters - gorillas, elephants, and a leopard or maybe it was cheetah (which we sat right next to). And, every 30 minutes there was a "thunderstorm" where the lights flash and all the animals start making noises. This totally freaked Bryson out. Below are a couple of pictures from the restaurant.

On Tuesday we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. All I have to say is step aside Jenks Aquarium and Tulsa Zoo because this was so much better than both! It had a three story waterfall that was just beautiful. There was also a jaguar that we could not pull Bryson away from his area. The jaguar would pace back and forth in front of the window and Bryson would follow him.

Shark tank - Bryson thought it was so cool when the sharks were right above us.

You can't really see the waterfall, but it is on the far right through the trees. When you walk into the aquarium you start on the third floor and wind your way down to the bottom. You can see this waterfall from all floors. When you get to the very bottom floor you can see the large fish and other animals in the tank the waterfall is falling into.

Bryson watching the otters eat at the aquarium! We went to the Dallas Zoo the next day, and of course I forgot my camera. But, it was really cool because it was very interactive for kids. Bryson even rode on a pony all by himself, and we were cracking up because he had the posture right and rode like he knew what he was doing. Anyhow, my point of telling you about the zoo was because when we got to the otter exhibit there were tons of otters. However, I think a couple of otters thought there were not enough and they were trying to "make more" (if you get my drift)! I honestly felt really dirty standing there trying to pull Bryson away from the window while he is saying "Ook Mommy, Ook!" There was one little boy that was around six or seven years old standing there with his parents just bawling because he thought they were hurting each other. Cheryl and I were trying so hard not to laugh.

In the mall (talked about above) they had this toy store right across from the kiddie play area of course. It is not your typical toy store. They had an area for kids to draw, tunnels to crawl through, build-a-bear area, and then a train right in the middle. Bryson had to ride the train, and it was the last ride of the night so he got to ride all by himself. I really did not think he would stay on it, but he loved it!

This is the track and the area the train went around.

Here are some pictures of the little play area we went to every night.

There was a play palm tree in the middle, and Bryson was not paying attention when he was running (go figure), and he ran smack into the tree. He got up and looked around and then kept running into it on purpose (kind of trying to make it seem like he meant to do that)! :)

This was a crocodile that was in three pieces and anytime any other kid would get on this Bryson would stand there looking at them like "uh, you are on my crocodile." It was so funny.

Like I said lots of shopping, eating, animals, and playing. It was a really fun trip.