Papa and Nana's Annual May Excursion, Pt. VII

Hey gang. . .

Well, seeing how it's May now and everything, it's time - once again - to import some grandparents.  This year, unlike the previous few, Dad and Cindy would be flying down to our neck of the woods sans the Whites, and would be staying at the Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort for a more laid-back, pool-heavy, and attraction-free stint in America's Wang.

Behold:

Another conversation for the ages.

The Sheraton Vistana Villages Resort - a convenient 10 -15 drive from our house.

One of the great benefits of having Papa and Nana swing down for their bi-annual visits is their willingness to take our children for hotel sleepovers, sometimes even multiple nights in a row (yes, my parents are insane).  Not only do the kids relish sleeping in a hotel for the night, but, without kids in the house, Kris and I get to sleep in past 7am. . . which happens, you know, NEVER.

The first morning after their arrival, Dad and Cindy invited us over to their resort for a full-day excursion in their pool. . . which is slightly nicer than our Intex model.

The kids were big fans of the resort. . .

Trying out the playground with Nana. . .

This waterfall scared the shit out of the girls.  Who knows why.

This kid's going to be a handful in ten years.

Ready for a full day of sun and chlorine. . .

It took a full morning of coaxing before Abby braved Fountain Island. . .

Kris' Mother's Day bracelet, courtesy of one of the kids (forget which one)

I didn't know things like this existed. . .

As mentioned in previous posts, Alayna's been an active member of the Peace United Methodist Church's Little Rocks Youth Choir.  Every couple of months she's got some 'concert' she's involved with.  This time around, for Mother's Day, Abby would be making her vocal debut for a packed house at a morning church service. . .

We weren't sure how'd she do with hundreds of people watching her, but Abby - like her sister - nailed it.

Back at the resort, after another day of swimming in the pool. . .

Out for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse. . .

'Daddy's Coffee.'

It's always a crapshoot when eating out at a nice restaurant with kids, but our kids were actually pretty well-behaved.  I attribute you this to the fact that they were somewhat worn out by swimming in the sun all day.

Margaritas for the road.  That's how the Houghs roll.

Breakfast at Papa and Nana's.

John Young Elementary School -  where Alayna will be going to school for Kindergarten in the fall. . .

One of the reasons why we bought the house we did was because it was zoned for this school, which is one of the highest rated elementary schools in the city. . .

Like many schools down here, the school is little more than a series of portables connected by covered walkways, with larger buildings used for an auditorium/cafeteria, gymnasium, administrative buildings, etc.  Fortunately, by the time Alayna hits first grade, construction will have wrapped up on the fancy, tech-savvy, new building that will replace all these portables. . . so we're not too concerned.

We were at John Young Elementary for some 'meet the teacher' Kindergarten round up sorta thing.  Super boring, and not very informative if you already had half a brain when it comes to how schools work.

One of the reasons we wasted two hours there was so that Alayna could see the inside of some of the classrooms, meet some teachers, some fellow incoming students, and do some arts and crafts.

Once the kindergarten thing was wrapped up, we headed back over to the resort so the girls could hang out one more day in the pool, etc.  They also got to feed the ducks with Dad and Cindy, which, obviously, was a huge hit. . .

- Brian