Oh, How I Love Spring Break

I've wanted to go since it opened! I finally had my first IKEA experience over the break. Dustin took the week off, so we headed out on a spontaneous road trip to Texas. Let me just say, Ikea is quite the experience. If you can think of something you need for your home, they have it. And hey, if you get hungry for some Swedish meatballs while you're there, they have those too. After spending hours in the multi-level superstore, I got a few ideas (above), and left with some great stuff too.

Being the weirdo planner that I am, I researched (thoroughly) all the different hotels in the area. Did we want to stay near Northpark mall? The aquarium? Shopping districts? After looking at pictures and reviews, I finally decided we'd stay in the historic district, at Hotel Adolphus. It was great! Really beautiful and old, and as you can see, great room service when we got back at about 11:00 p.m.

The next day (and .4 miles from our hotel, thank your very much.) we played tourists for the day and went to the Dallas World Aquarium.

Little known, and slightly odd fact: I love manatees. No, I mean I LOVE manatees. Every book report I ever wrote in elementary school was about manatees. I still remember the facts today. They pretty much stay in the Florida area, so this is the closest I've ever been to one. It was pretty exciting. Dustin was sweet enough to humor me while I oohed and ahhed. I may or may not have bought a book and two stuffed animals. How could you not love that face?

Some sort of pretty little sea creature.

Did I mention it was crowded? I think we waited in line about 25 minutes, just to get inside. Still lots of fun though. This would be the shark tunnel. Probably not a good idea if you're claustrophobic.

Hammer Head

Shark! Those things swim extremely fast!

I'm gonna go with "Saw Fish" on this one. Not sure if that's the proper name, but it should be. Can you imagine coming face to face with that in the ocean? God sure is creative. Anytime I see something like that, I start referencing those "how to survive a wild animal attack" shows in my head. It's always good to be prepared.

I love him! We had such a great time just relaxing for a couple days. I'm glad he enjoys things like Ikea and aquariums.

Cute view of a tiny penguin from the gift shop window. He looks like he'd make a fun pet.

Marlow stayed at Mark and Cindy's while we were in Dallas, and this is how she came back to us. Cindy made her a doggy bandana, and decorated it with a rhinestone dog. Also, please note the toenail polish. I'm pretty sure I see some spoiled grandkids in her future. Anyway, we had a great little mini-vacation, but we're glad to be back with our pup!