For all of you Belton, Killeen, HH friends...

Okay, ladies...let's talk shopping. A few of you have asked if I know what shops are going in the new shopping center in Harker Heights. I knew off hand that Target (duh, it opens in three weeks!), Barnes and Noble, Chick-fil-A and Bed Bath & Beyond were in there. But, as I keep seeing new signs going up (Lane Bryant, Ulta, Dollar Tree), I started to get a little curious as to what else is going in.
I stumbled onto the best website that answered all of my questions! (By the way, Fred & Nyla...we're getting a Cracker Barrel!!). If any of you are interested, click here and then click on Property Browser. Select Killeen/Harker Heights and voila! Just mouse over the shops to see what is going where!

We're Baaaack!

We made it back from our few days of fun! We are exhausted, but it was well worth it. Corpus Christi was so much fun. We actually think we'll make this little excursion an annual thing. Next time we plan to stay on the North Padre Island, though. That was where we spent most of our time....at the best beach in Texas I have ever seen! The North Padre Island National Seashore, in my opinion, is Texas' best kept beach secret. We just fell in love with the place. We also managed to make it into town to the Texas State Aquarium, cruise the harbor on a paddleboat, and eat some really tasty seafood.
If you are interested in seeing a bunch of crazy photos and getting our daily play-by-play, we actually kept up a travel journal while we were gone. Click here for the full scoop: www.thedominguezfamilyvacationblog.blogspot.com.
Now...back to reality.

Happy Father's Day & We're Outta Here!

Just a quick post to say Happy Dad's Day to three of the best dads I know! Hope your day is fabulous! Also want to extend some father's day happiness to our brothers: Daniel, Samuel, Bud, Dale and Mike. And to all of the other wonderful dads out there!
We celebrated today surprising David with bfast in bed and a new Bible.
We are also heading out for the beach tomorrow! See you next week, friends!

Is it Friday already? Wow, this week flew by for us. We had a great Family Funday, especially since Daddy is now off on Fridays through the end of July!
Here's a little movie quote that will let you know exactly what we did early this afternoon:
"Tonight, tonight we bowl." Any guesses as to where its from?


We made a trip on over to the Killeen Bowlerama. We also realized our kiddos are probably a little too young (and perhaps disinterested to bowl, yet). But it was a fun little outing. And Benjamin only managed to smush his finger once on the ball return.
I'll keep it short since I've got a bunch of chores to do. Here's a few pics from our day (or hour? We didn't even make it through a whole game. Sad, I know.)

"So, Daddy, do you think my ball will ever make it to the end?"

Jonathan entertained himself with the hand dryer thingy. I was so nervous watching his fingers, somehow he managed to make it out of the Bowlerama unscathed. Benjamin had a slight smushing incident, nothing too major. Only two tears.

This ramp thing was the key to Benjamin's bowling success.

We ended the event with Sonic drinks. Jonathan even got his very own water (how exciting, huh?). We weren't even a mile down the road before he managed to puncture a hole in the bottom of the cup and was soaked. This is why we ordered him water.
I will say that this whole experience let me know that I am a fabulous bowler. Or maybe it was those bumpers...

The Saving Summer Carnival

Attention fellow bloggers: please play along! This was super fun to map out our summer plans...you should too!

A fellow ACU Mommy Blogger, Lynley, over at Casa de Phillips has challenged us all to save summer...one activity at at time! I noticed Jordan did this on her blog, too, so I thought it sounded like fun to play along. I am a few days late for the day this was hosted, but hey...it's summer time!
Plus, I love having "a plan." It makes it easier for me not to slack off when the dog days of August roll around. I also found a couple of great ideas from other carnival participants, including finding a new park each week to play at. (side note: I also went ahead and purchased the book that she listed on her site about the Fruits of the Spirit; I know it will be a good one because we have the "companion" book, Jesus and the Twelve Dudes Who Did. Good purchases if you're interested. We have loved the Jesus book ever since the Alaniz family gave it to us!)
Our summer time plans are probably quite identical to other families with toddlers out there. We have regular play groups each week with our church friends. At the end of the month, we are looking forward to David's parents coming for a visit. In July, Benjamin will have swimming lessons with Jennifer and a few other pals from our church. Also in July, I have had plans for quite sometime with (my very pregnant friend) Lori to head to McKinney for a long, long weekend of relaxation and kicking back at the pool with massages and major shopping. Ha ha, just kidding Lori. We are painting the nursery for her little bundle of joy! Which to me is the equivalent of pool fun. I know, I am such a nerd.
What I am really excited about is that we are leaving for our vacation in 3 days! Woohoo. We are heading down to Corpus Christi for 6 fun days of sun, fun and chasing Jonathan. Yes, I said Corpus Christi, not Galveston, as we had originally planned. This was a last minute change due to the fact that Galveston's forecast was looking a little sloshy for a week at the beach. But we are excited about our little family getaway!
To play along with the Saving Summer Carnival I put together one of my silly little poems (it's been a while, don't laugh at my sad little attempt) to really capture the spirit of our summer schedule:

Summertime is here, dear friends
On this we all agree
I ‘ve put together some big-time plans,
To keep two little boys happy.

Mondays are our “catch-up “ day
To get our week off to a good start
The hampers are full and the fridge is empty,
Chances are you’ll find us at Walmart.

But Mondays are also for our buds,
Because playgroup we hate to miss out.
So in the morning, we’ll make some time
To get over to Belton, ain’t no doubt!

Tuesdays we plan to make a big splash
Over at our neighborhood pool
Because we certainly live in Texas,
And in summer it takes water to stay cool!

Wednesday we’ll go exploring
To a new park each and every time!
Killeen has some really fun spots, ya know,
And it won’t cost this Mom a dime.

Thursday is for around the house,
Chores and such we’ll get done.
While Jonathan snoozes each afternoon,
His brother will be baking up some fun!

Friday is of course our Family Time,
Since Daddy is home to play...
From picnics to movies to the lake,
We’ll always make it a special day!

And there you have it, all summed up.
Our summertime at a glance!
Now head on over to Casa de Philips
And give your Summer a chance!