Aunt Lindsey Day

Yesterday was a super fun day with my niece and nephews... so obviously, I have tons of happy photos to share here! ❤❤❤

Dad had a follow-up appointment with his heart doctor, so they needed someone to help watch the kids that morning.  Since I had the day off, I volunteered myself, which meant I left Mom and Dad's house at 5:30 AM that morning to get to Rachael's before she left for work... rough times.  So I watched Reba and Everybody Loves Raymond while the kids slept a couple more hours, then I talked Jace into getting his eye therapy done so we could give Mamaw a break!  He did really well and had a good attitude about it (thanks to a Transformers toy bribe, but hey, whatever works!), then he was really going for it with the pirate poses here! lol

I asked what sounded good for breakfast, thinking we'd drive through and grab some chicken minis, but Carter said we should go to IHOP and the rest of them liked that suggestion, so I figured why not?  It was the first time I've taken them all anywhere without other adults with me, but they were pretty well behaved and it was fun and entertaining.  This pic = the Miss K telling me a story of how her silverware became friends... while her brothers were asking me questions about murder trials! lol  Their personality differences will always delight me! =)

T-man, me, and Kyndal Faith!  

Triston's "cupcake pancakes" - pretty, but I still think I'd prefer chocolate chip.

Jaceman and Carter Lee on the other side of our table!

We came back to Rachael's for about an hour after breakfast, and when I saw this, it cracked me up and I had to take a photo!  I think what makes me happiest is that he wrote "disrespectful" once and then decided it was much too long a word! lol  Oh, the Jaceman!

Carter took that time to mow their neighbor's lawn, and he had an appointment with one of my parents' neighbors that afternoon. I love that he's taking the initiative to do this - so great!!

In the meantime, I learned about the new Transformer toys and me and Kyndal watched Jace Michael put in his new contacts! lol

They were telling me about an escape room they'd tried with their dad, and they all loved the idea of trying a different place, so we booked the Museum Heist room at Breakout in Quail Springs mall, and Mamaw met us there and took this picture!

T-man did a great job figuring out some of the puzzles, but whoever told me this was a good choice for kids was quite confused... there is zero chance I would've solved any of this by myself - it was legit hard and confusing.  They told us you can ask for unlimited hints, and YES, we did! lol

Carter with his "Civil War pistol!" lol

Thanks to all the "hints" -- many of which the lady on the intercom was walking us right through it -- makes me think it'd be kinda fun to do her job and watch people fumble around trying to figure this all out -- anyway, we made it out with 11 minutes to spare.  Huzzah!

After we escaped, we went across Memorial Road to the Chisolm Creek shopping center and had lunch at Chicken Foot -- strange name, but really good restaurant and a very cute little area!

I knew about it because I had met Elizabeth there for a belated birthday dinner on Sunday night - YAY - so it was two days in a row for me!!  Important side note: I really do own other shirts! lol  I just happened to wear this one for a lot of events where I've taken photos lately - (Chet's popcorn thing, my hair appt, and this weekend).

This is the chicken and waffle sliders... chicken tenders plus mini waffles and syrup, along with well-done fries!  All tasty!

The whole outdoor area behind the restaurant is cute and fun - this lake has fountains shooting water in fun patterns - it's not the Bellagio, but I always appreciate fun fountains!

How cool is this giant chessboard, like in Harry Potter!?  Zero clue how to play chess, but this was the first picture I knew I wanted out there!  (Carter's making his piece a bazooka, Jace is pretending to ride the horse, Kyndal is hugging hers, and T-man is being normal - their unique personalities shine in so many pictures to me, and I LOVE it!!)

Everyone else was doing the classic underhanded throw, but the Miss K went for the full-force baseball pitch! lol  Love her.

Playing some giant jenga... a word that always makes me think of Parker from Friends!

This one makes me happy... I wanted a cute pic of the four of them here... Jace immediately got on his knees to look for fish (I'd just called out trying to get him to focus and turn around here), Carter started randomly doing push-ups, Triston was pondering the distance and whether he could jump across the water, and K-Faith was focused and posing it up for me!  I love them all so much!! ❤

This is the best we got!  K wanted them to join her on the ground, but the boys were too busy trying to push each other into the lake. lol

A fun double seesaw near our dessert spot!

The Apple Tree Chocolate factory, whose chocolate-covered s'mores and candy apples motivated this whole extravaganza!  

All in all, it was a fun morning and afternoon with five of my favorite people (Mom and the niece and nephews), very worth the early morning wakeup call and loss of sleep! ;-) 

I feel so thankful to be their Aunt Lindsey!

Now that I've bombarded you with soooo many photos, I think that's really all for today.  

Happy Tuesday, friends!