Easter Weekend - Ft. Worth Zoo

Full day #2 of Addie, Omar and Christi's visit led us out to the Ft. Worth Zoo.  Having never been there ourselves, Chad and I were just as eager as Addie to see what all the fuss was about.  Thankfully the weather couldn't have been more cooperative.  Cloudy but bright skies with just enough wind to keep us cool.  What a perfect day for an outing with the family and Addie LOVED every minute of it! 

Ok.  I'm ready.  I'm really, really ready.  Take the dang picture ALREADY!

Ooooo... I'm not sure what this face is about but I'm going to go ahead and blame it on Uncle Chad!

See... Doesn't this face look guilty?  lol..

A little too bright for these two.

Oh man... not another picture?!  Can't they see I'm trying to nap here?! 

Seriously?!  No PHOTOS PLEASE!!

Geesh!  What's a chimp have to do to get a little private nap time around here?! 

Come here, monkey, monkey, monkey!

that's one HUGE gorilla!

Nap time.. :) By this time, we were needing one too!

The boys.. being silly.  :)

A little juice for the weary

and PAPACORN... Addie's favorite :)

a fist full of goodness

Ggggggrrrraaaaammmm...

Addie never had a clue she was being pushed by Uncle Chad..

What a sight?! (her and uncle Chad have yet to become best buds.. lol)

She never let go of that popcorn bucket... lol

cute baby elephants :)

Seems like it was siesta time for all the animals at the zoo... :)

Oooo...I take that back...no sleeping for this guy

I think it's feeding time for this lion...

What's in there mama?!

We were all shocked to see little Miss Addison walking along with Chad! 

Seems as if Omar and Christi weren't walking fast enough for this eager beaver to see the rest of the animals.

Go Chad Go! (I think the look on Chad's face says it all... hehehehe)

I wonder if she realized who's hand she was holding?

Still going... :)

Aunt Yvette and Addie :)

too tired to crack a smile..

My silly, silly husband :)

there we go...so handsome!

Say CHEESE

Planning our next stop

We're going WHERE?!

Waiting for the CHOO-CHOO!!

Not sure what this face is about... lol

getting excited about her Choo-Choo ride :)

Almost ready

the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Kelley :)

You can see by her face that we are moving now..

Wheeeeeeeeee....

What a day!  Still smiling after nearly four hours at the zoo.. :)

All tuckered out...

Like mother like daughter... :)  Preparing for their second wind. 

Easter Weekend - Dallas Aquarium

Our first order of business on this, the first full day of Addie's Easter visit to Dallas, was to hit the Dallas World Aquarium.  Probably feeling overwhelmed with the mass of people around her, Addie went from shy to the talk of the town after she caught her first glimpse of the animals in the vast rainforest like enclosure. 

Chad, Omar, Christi and Addie :)

Addie and her papa, my brother, Omar

She was soooo cute "talking" to the creatures beyond the glass like they had been friends forever.

Ooooooo....Ahhhhhh.... Look dad!  Up there! 

Not far from her mama Christi.  :)

Pooped after a long and enjoyable day, Addie colored away with Macie right by her side watching her every move.  It didn't take long for these two to become fast friends!

Sweet, happy girl.  :)

Menu "Preview" Party

So I have to be honest and say that I was a little more than peeved when Chad came home on Friday informing me that he had to work that next day.  Living on borrowed time, and limited weekends to enjoy together before the big day arrived (losing my husband to ridiculous restaurant hours), I was a bit annoyed that our Saturday would be taken away from us (even though there was a legitimate reason).  Jumping at the chance for real feedback on some of the menu items, Chad's boss Shannon asked Chad to prepare some of his goodies for a 50th birthday party he would be hosting at his house that next night. 

Because most of the product Chad had purchased earlier that week was set aside for the tastings, we headed out Saturday morning to make our rounds at Central Market once again to prep for the party.  After wandering the store, adjusting the menu for the days freshest grocery selections, Chad and I rushed home to begin the frantic task of prepping as much as we could before 4pm.  Wanting to be a supportive and understanding wife, I offered my sous chef-like services to Chad, chopping, dicing, prepping and flouring as requested.  :)

After all had been said and done in our kitchen, and getting every single dish we owned dirty, Chad and I loaded our car and headed to Shannon's Highland Park home to finish cooking and assembling his selections.  Arriving at five, two hours before the party was to start, Chad and I made ourselves comfortable in an unfamiliar kitchen and began to knock out the few remaining tasks.  As guests began to mingle about, asking Chad about the restaurant and food being presented, we set up our plated items around the dinner table and waited for the mass entrance of people hungry for great food.   

Like a champ, Chad won everyone over with mouth watering food and his star personality.  Everyone raved all night about how delicious everything had turned out and how much they couldn't wait for the restaurant to finally open.  I couldn't have been more proud of my husband...seeing him in his element, working the room, maning the kitchen and showing everyone how incredible a chef he really was. 

It truly was a great night.  I love my chef.  :)

The Best of the Best

As the opening of the restaurant looms in the distance, Chad prepped away one last time (hopefully) for a two day tasting that will highlight the best of the best...Items that have survived all the other tastings and made it onto the final menu.  Twenty three items to try on Friday, the rest on Monday.  I can't even imagine having the stomach capacity to handle all that food at once, let alone be able to give an honest critique of it.  Thank goodness it's not my job to do.  My job however is to keep my husband calm, and always ready with a clean pot at every turn as he works magic in our kitchen this Thursday night.  On little sleep and his nerves running rampant, I'm surprised that we finished early, organizing everything in individual containers, ready to be made into gourmet meals the next day. 

Our fridge at the closing bell.  I STILL have NO IDEA how we got it all to fit! 

Loving all those pretty colors!

Miss Macie, patiently waiting for something to fall on the floor.. :)

Pickled Grapes & Bacon Jam

Sounding much like a science experiment... Chad came home this evening with a clear objective... Pickled grapes and bacon jam.  Seriously?  Who thinks of this stuff?  To my surprise, the grapes were tasty.  VERY tasty actually... and the jam was a bit sweet, a bit savory...with a touch of coffee goodness.  Yes, that's right, I said coffee.  Feeling that bacon jam wasn't interesting enough, Chad decided that his jam needed a bit of a coffee kick.  Lo and behold, it WORKED...who would've thunk it?  lol..

the grapes, pickling away...

The jam, in the works..

A work in progress...

Wanting to take in the progress at the new restaurant, slated to open in less than FORTY days, Chad and I headed to the design district on a cold & wet Saturday afternoon to capture the construction to date. 

View from the front entry...

View to the bar and Chad's kitchen waaaayyyy in the back...

View into the "theater style" kitchen from the main dining room. 

The slanted things to the right of the picture are going to be stained glass back lit windows..

View to the entry (far left) and the bar...

View across what will be the bar...

Tap wall to the left, kitchen straight ahead, dining room to the right.

Bar sitting area...

View from the bar into the dining area...

Outside patio area.. at the corner of Hi Line and Oaklawn.  See you there!

St. Patty's Day Luck @ Winstar Casino

I'm never really suprised when my parents decide to take off on a whim.  The majority of our childhood was spent like that.  No months of planning...or travel arrangements to make ahead of time.  If they felt like going somewhere today, they stopped shop, locked up and took off.  No real plans, no set agenda... they just went.  This time, they were making it out to our neck of the woods!  Deciding on Sunday to leave that next day with my Aunt Lydia and Uncle Adan, they quickly packed their bags and headed north... to gamble away our inheritance ;P at Oklahoma's own Winstar Casino. 

It was pretty much a no brainer for me to decide to meet them up there yesterday.  I had vacation days from last year that were set to expire at the end of March... why wouldn't I take a day off to spend with my family?... and after having spent so much time working on the design for the newly expanded casino, a part of me was really curious to see it fully finished.   

I'm actually kinda impressed at the quality of my little 'two for one' verizon phone special....

It took some pretty awesome shots of some of these fountains! 

Next trip to Winstar and I'll definitely take our "good" camera.

My Aunt Lydia and Uncle Adan

The happy Maldonado's

(at this point please excuse the dark and fuzzy camera phone pictures)

my mom... trying her hand at the penny slots.... :)