Escape to the Mall

The weather-people-that-be say that the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August are supposed to be the hottest of the year. Let me tell you, the weather around here has been living up to those expectations. It is getting exceedingly difficult to find fun, fresh things to do to keep an adventurous little girl occupied... especially when that little girl could spend all day outside, and her mama is actively trying to stay inside to avoid a heat stroke!

There are days when we need to get out and about, though, and one of the solutions we've found is at the Northpark Mall. On Wednesdays, the Dallas Public Library hosts a kid hour wherein they sing kid songs, play with a huge parachute, wave scarves and toss balloons, and of course, read stories. Audrey enjoys this time, and we especially love going when our friends Abbey, Max, and "MoMo" can meet us there. Audrey doesn't quite have the attention span (or control) to sit in a lively group of kiddos and pay attention to someone reading a story, though, so once the singing and dancing and waving and tossing is over and the other kids are settling down for story time, we usually move on to another great attraction within the mall: the live ducks and turtles.

I've heard tales of excited kiddos taking an accidental dive into the pond with the ducks, and I can easily see how that might happen with my own (especially now that she's able to walk with me outside the stroller), but the risk is worth the excitement that the ducks and turtles bring (both of whom are completely desensitized to the swarms of kids shouting and pointing).

Audrey peeking over the railing to watch a turtle swim under the bridge

Grammy pointing out even more turtles

"Tor-tls!"

Audrey follows the turtle to the other side of the bridge

Abbey and Audrey watching the ducks together