The Saddest Field Trip...Ever!

On Thursday, Sophia's school went to visit the Bedford Animal Shelter. All of the kids brought donations to give the shelter.

We visited the dogs first. And good gravy Marie...it was so loud. All the dogs were barking constantly and it echoed off of the cinder block walls. I was very surprised that none of the kids cried, cause I wanted to.

The staff let us play with one of the dogs, named Freckles.

She was super friendly and eager to make new friends.

Here are all of the kids inside one of the dog pens (they had an empty one they weren't using).

They got another dog out for the kids to play with (they try to get the dogs out as much as possible throughout the day and they only got the super friendly dogs out for the kids).

Then we got to visit the cats (my fave). I got my love of cats from my mom who more than likely got it from her dad. They never met a cat they didn't love or want to take care of. And I feel the same way. Growing up, we always had cats. We had a few dogs scattered throughout our growing up but cats were our most frequent pet.

They had several cats that I would have loved to take home but Russell's parting words that morning were "Don't you dare bring home a pet!". So with summer winding down, and me not wanting to disrupt our family order, I honored Russell's request. 

After we left, Sophia kept saying "I miss Mona" over and over again. I told her that I missed Mona too but right now is not a good time to get a new pet. Maybe next summer?

By the way, you can volunteer your time or your money at the Bedford Animal Shelter (they are on a shoe string budget). As far as bringing food etc., they said they are in need of kitten food and litter( kittens need special food and they have to change the cat litter daily and can never get enough of that). You can also donate money or your time. They said they always need people to walk the dogs or get the cats out of their cages to play (they said their facility only has 3 workers, so you can imagine it must be tough to get all the dogs walked, cages cleaned, litter changed and everyone fed).

That afternoon, Sophia and I went to Target and got some kitten food and litter and left it in the garage for Russell to see when he got home (just trying to tease him). but he didn't even say a word about it. Dang! Now off to the animal shelter to take our donations.

The Dallas World Aquarium Field Trip

On Tuesday, we went on a field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium with Sophia's school. For Sophia, it was like being there for the first time since she went for the first time when she was 1. 

And this time, she got to fully enjoy and appreciate the experience.

She got to feed a toucan. They eat blueberries by the way. 

And this time around Sophia had more of a reaction to the animals. 

Yes, I know this one is blurry. I turned my flash off. But I just liked the water-like quality of the pic.

I was pretty impressed with these crabs. They were huge (can't really get a true sense of their hugeness from this pic, but believe me, they were).

All the kids were excited to see Nemo.

And how cute is this penguin giving the staff some love?

And then, we finally made it to the tunnel. The tunnel is my favorite part.

It's my favorite because you can just be sitting there, and all of a sudden a shark will swim past you (or above you).

We also got to see a spotted jaguar (part of their jungle/rain forest theme I guess?).

And then it was time to say good-bye!

Then, we ate lunch with her friend Cale and his mom Allison. And after that, got to go for a swim in their pool.

We eventually made it home for nap time and then it was off to dance at 6.

Busy, fun day!

Busy Week

It's been one busy week over here in the Kaminski household. So sorry for not posting but I don't really have that many pics to post. So I'll just give you a brief summary of the week.

Monday- Sophia went to school and it was pajama day (one of her favorite things at school). I stayed home and finished up my tea towels for my Etsy shop. 

Tues.- Sophia and I went on her field trip to Leapin' Lizards (an indoor bounce house thing). After that we came home and napped and then went to her dance class at 6.

Wed.- Sophia went to school and had Splash Day. I stayed home and sewed pillow covers for my Etsy shop. 

Thurs.- We went to Sophia's gymnastics and to CiCi's pizza. Then back to nap.

Fri.- Sophia went to school and then after school, we went to a birthday party at the Hurst Aquatic park (for her friend Jane). And Sophia had her first snow cone. She loved it but gave up half way through it. Unfortunately the party got cut short because of the rain. But it was a great party. It was good to see Sophia go up all the water play scape stuff by herself, with me just watching from the sidelines. And she even went down one of the big slides and all of the small ones.

Sat.- We had a birthday party at 10:30 and then came home for naps.

And tomorrow....I'm sure Russell will be doing yard work and I'll be making something. And Sophia will probably be raiding my sticker stash. 

As you may have noticed, naps are an essential part of the Kaminski household. :)

Jackie!

For the past 2 weeks, we've had the pleasure of having swim classes with Sophia's cousin, Jack....a.k.a. Jackie (Sophia's nickname for him). It's been fun to watch them in the water together. They get along GREAT! 

Although, Jackie is in a whole different league when it comes to swimming.

Sophia tries to keep up. She does a really good job of giving him a run for his money but gets distracted/too excited when she figures out it's a race and stops using her skills. 

Tomorrow's the last day of swim class for the summer. 

Happy Belated 4th of July!

Happy belated 4th of July!

We did something different this year and went to our friend Dina and Marcus's house for dinner. Marcus made some spectacular barbecue.

They have a GREAT backyard. They have tons of yard and tons of trees. And toys that Sophia immediately wanted to play with.

They also had sidewalk chalk! Score for Sophia! She loves drawing!

But she really loved this little car.

But eventually decided she had to let her inner artist come out. 

And Katie was right there to collaborate with her. Future crafting team on Craft Wars??? I think so!

They also had this fun sprinkler that shoots balls out the top of it.

I imagine Katie saying "Come on Sophia! It's fun!".

"Really, Sophia, I mean really fun!"

Sophia was feeling a little shy and really in need of some sugar. So she had dessert instead.

Even Jack wanted in on part of the action!

"Come on Sophia! I promise!! It's really, REALLY fun!"

Sophia finally got in on the sprinkler action, by having her dad go with her. 

And yes! They have matching bathing suits! Who doesn't shop at Target for their swimwear?

And the adults just enjoyed watching! 

Sophia FINALLY got into the kiddie swimming pool they had. Why it took so long, I have no idea. But I guess once she felt more comfortable, she wanted to do more.

"Gotta make sure all my clips are still in place."

And then Sophia had her 2nd round of desserts.

And was very tired of my camera....or me? Or maybe she thought I was gonna take some of her dessert?

While we were waiting for it to get dark outside, Sophia played in Katie's kitchen.

Her and Jack pretended to eat cake.

And then it was fireworks time! So we loaded up the cars and headed to Dina and Marcus's secret location to watch the Hurst fireworks. But unfortunately, the word has gotten out about their secret spot and we had to park a little down the street. But no biggie. It was a short walk and we had a front row seat for the fireworks. Don't ask me where, cause I'll never tell!

Kelly, Dina's sister, brought these fun, glow in the dark bracelet/necklaces. Which as you all know, Sophia loves a good accessory and the more the better.

We had fun waiting for the fireworks to start.

And Katie had fun trying out Sophia's Princess chair. Such a cutie!

Then the fireworks began.

The Hurst fireworks were spectacular! They did a fabulous job! Everyone had a great time! Especially Sophia. She wanted to go back to Dina and Marcus's house afterwards....apparently she had no idea it was 10 p.m. and a school night. :) 

Thanks for a fabulous 4th!