Rough Creek Lodge

For Kevin's birthday we planned a little getaway to Rough Creek Lodge. Kevin had been a couple of times but the boys and I had not...so we were excited for what was in store!

We headed down after picking Ryan up from his bug camp at the Perot Museum. Since we hadn't eaten lunch yet we stopped on the way at Babe's. I have heard so much about Babe's fried chicken so I was pretty excited to give it a try!

Upon checking in they gave us a little goodie bag with kites and cookies for the kiddos, hotel information and $100 gift card to use while we were there (the gift card was part of the package we signed up for). 

We were impressed with our suite (again, Summer Fun package included a free upgrade to a suite). Lot's of room and separation from the kiddos when they sleep :)

After checking out the room we got in our swimsuits and headed over to the pool area for a little playtime before dinner. The pool is really cool and it wasn't crowded at all - we basically shared it with two other families. There is a water slide (which our boys weren't so sure of) and a mini lazy river which Ryan loved. 

After our swim we changed and headed to the dining room for our dinner reservations. I thought a 6pm dinner was pretty early and we would avoid a busy dining room (since we had two minis with us) but to my surprise it was actually quite full. I was a little nervous on how the boys would be...luckily they were on their best behavior! Whew! The kids eat off a buffet while mommy and daddy order a three course meal off of the menu. It was probably the nicest meal I have ever eaten with our children - yum! Afterwards we headed outside to the fire pit to make smores!

On Saturday the boys slept in a little bit and we really didn't get going until 9:30ish. We made our way to breakfast and then decided to check out the ranch. 

The boys played on the bounce house and then on these trampolines. There is also a zip line and rock climbing wall but I think they are too young. 

Next up we hit the dock for a little fishing

And then we found ourselves out in a canoe. Grayson insisted on helping Kevin row...so basically Kevin rowed us around with one paddle. 

After successfully canoeing we did a little more exploring...

Grayson was a little drool-ey.

We headed in for lunch and then did naps. I napped with Grayson while Kevin took Ryan to the pool and then to the train rides. They also had some cookies and lemonade!

When Grayson woke up we decided to take a kawasaki mule ride...we just went on a little 5 mile nature trail which was a lot of fun. We say some jackrabbits and a few deer. 

At 6pm a sitter came and took the kiddos to the Kids Ranch so that we could have a date night. 

We had such a great time - the weather was perfect!

The next morning we woke up and it was POURING down rain! The boys didn't mind...they loved splashing in the puddles on the way to breakfast.

The rain finally let up a little bit but since it was still so wet outside we decided we would head to Fossil Rim Wildlife Park (tickets were included with our stay). It's a drive through Zoo which I was highly suspect about...but it was actually really fun!

We got there a little early so we walked around for a little bit...

When the park opened we headed on it...

These crazy guys were quite aggressive...and the boys were not a fan. 

Poor G was terrified....and we were thinking...oh crap maybe this wasn't the best idea. 

Ryan said he wanted some food to feed the deer, so we gave him some. When the deer came up to his window he freaked out and threw the food all over the car. Oops!

BUT we trucked along....and they decided it was actually really fun!

I let Ryan pop out of the sunroof and he thought that was really cool. 

Grayson feeding some deer...

We decided to move to the back of the car and feed the animals out of the back window. It confused a lot of them...they definitely are use to food coming out of the windows on the side.

We weren't able to get close enough to the giraffes to feed them but the cars behind us lucked out. 

Super comfortable with all the animals now...

So comfortable that Ryan really wanted to feed those crazy ostrich/emu things that were at the begnining. We didn't find anymore but I am wondering how he would have handled it. After the park we decided to try and eat somewhere in town. Our lunch was cut quite short due to a little man named Grayson who was sooooo ready for his nap. It was right about that time when another huge downpour occurred. 

As we tried to make it back to the ranch there were a few low spots that we didn't know if we could cross. We made it past the first one but then came to this...we decided to turn around. Luckily one of the ranch hands foudn us and told us there was a back entry. Apparently if we would have made it past this there was another one that was about 4ft deep that we wouldn't have made it though. Good stuff. 

Anyhow, we made it back to the ranch in time for afternoon cookies and lemonade. The clouds cleared up and we explored until dinner time. The boys loved chasing the jackrabbits!

The next morning was Kevin's birthday! We woke up and headed to breakfast before packing up and heading back to Dallas. 

It's hard to get both boys looking at the same time...

Anyhow, we got back home and had a relaxing day. We celebrated Kevin's birthday with family, friends and fajitas!

I made Kevin this Heath Bar ice cream pie and it was DELICIOUS!

Happy birthday Kevin - we love you so much!!