Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored in any way. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I just really like telling people about places and things they might enjoy themselves. This is simply a weekend at the Hilton Anatole Dallas.

A few weeks back, my sister invited us along on their annual weekend getaway to Dallas. She has 2 boys and likes to take them to a water park resort for a weekend before school starts.

I immediately jumped on board because we haven’t been anywhere this year because we are currently saving for our next home (I’ll do a post about this process soon). However, I got a great deal on our hotel and it was too good to pass up. I’m so glad that we went.

I am off work every other Friday so I decided to take off on a Thursday as well and make an extra long weekend out of it. I hate feeling rushed before the start of a new work week. I’d rather come back home on a Saturday and have an extra day to get back into a routine instead of arriving last minute on a Sunday.

We left at around 8am and stopped off in Evan’s hometown to see his parents. It’s about halfway in between our house and the Hilton Anatole (our hotel) in Dallas. We arrived at the hotel at about 2pm and immediately hit the water park. Isla doesn’t really nap in the car so she was exhausted by the time we got there but she perked right up when we put her in her swim suit. She loves that thing. She also got to try out her new swim vest and her swim shoes.

Isla had so much fun in the pool and we really got to relax and enjoy the weekend together as a family. Evan typically works on the weekends so it’s always great when we get one that we can spend together.

I highly recommend arriving on a Thursday afternoon because the pool was not busy at all. I love that Isla had the kiddie pool pretty much to herself. The food and drink in the pool area are a bit pricey but nothing too crazy and it’s to be expected. The pool also has some cabanas for rent but the umbrellas on the chairs were plenty big to shade myself and Isla.

At around 4:30PM we took Isla to our room and got changed for dinner. We tried this BBQ place that my sister’s husband picked out. It was called Smokey John’s and it was close to the hotel which is always a win for when traveling with kids. Plus, after swimming, everyone tends to be on the fence between starving and famished.

I’m not the biggest fan of BBQ so I ordered the catfish and shared with Isla. It was seriously delicious, and all the sides were amazing. My nephew went so far as to say that the mac and cheese was the best in the world. So, take that Chick-Fil-A. Who am I kidding? Chick-Fil-A is still the best.

After we ate we called it an early night because I had a cranky toddler on my hands and I think we were all drained from being in the sun all day. I don’t mind going to bed early on vacation. I’d rather get up and around before the crowds anyway. Be sure and check out my hotel room hacks for traveling with a toddler here.

The next day we ate breakfast at The Original Pancake House. I can’t say enough good things about this place. I ordered the Mediterranean omelet and gave Isla my pancakes. It was So.Much.Food. I don’t think I’ve ever not finished an omelet before, but that thing was massive. Evan was obsessed with the coffee mugs and bought one and he has been using it ever since.

We spent the rest of the morning at the pool until it was time to take Isla up for a nap. We fed her lunch by the pool (she had a veggie and hummus tray and a fruit cup) and then headed up and I may have had a nap as well. A 3 hour nap. The best kind.

When we woke up it was time for dinner. We ate at a seafood place called The Fishing Hole. I got the grilled shrimp and it delish! Why aren’t more foods smothered in garlic butter? I never met a shrimp that I didn’t like, but this place was exceptional. Everything looked so good and I caught myself having some serious food envy seeing everyone else’s plate come to the table. Isla eating shrimp was hilarious. She got so mad when I took the tail away from her because she was going to try and eat it.

After dinner we went back to the pool for a bit and it was much more crowded. I think that I thought everyone would be at dinner still, but it seems everyone had the same plan that we did.

At about 8pm I took Isla to the hotel room to get a bath and changed into her PJs. There was a firework show at 9 and since she isn’t used to staying up that late, we went ahead and got her ready for bed, so that when we got back to the room she would be able to go straight down in the pack & play.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, exactly. I thought it was just going to be a little, dinky firework show for kids, but it was massive.  It was set to music and they were HUGE. I thought Isla would be afraid but she kept saying “WOW” and was loving them! It’s so much fun to see the world through her eyes.  It was seriously one of the top fireworks shows that I’ve seen. After the show, we took a very tired baby up to our room to sleep.

The next morning Isla woke up at 6 which is pretty early for her. She typically sleeps until 7-7:30. We took full advantage of being awake this early to go ahead and pack up our stuff and take a load to the car before we went in search of coffee.

Apparently with your hotel stay, you get a free Starbucks coffee every morning. We had planned on eating breakfast with my sister’s crew, but they hadn’t woken up yet and Isla was not going to be much fun if I put off breakfast any longer. We ate in the little café on the first floor of the hotel where we got our coffee. They had some ready-made items and we had some breakfast burritos that left much to be desired. They tasted like that had been there awhile even though it was only 7:30 in the morning.

We took a dip in the pool one more time and got on the road to head home at about 10:30.

The resort was very family friendly with lots to do, even with a 21-month-old. She was able to play safely in several areas of the pool and we loved going around the lazy river. Isla had a blast jumping off the side to Evan. She is such a water baby.

Overall, we would go back again without question. The hotel rooms were spacious and very nice. Everything was so clean, and the pool area was so lovely. The staff was very accommodating and even though I didn’t visit the onsite spa (yes, they have a very nice spa) I still feel like I got some rest. The hotel itself had a large indoor-carpeted area that we let the kids run around in to get their wiggles out before dinner. We had a great time laying by the pool sipping on Pina coladas, which are my favorite. There were plenty of lounge chairs even though it was busy on some days.

I think we will head back next year for a weekend. I like the idea of doing a little trip right before summer is over. It was so nice to go somewhere without a plan. I am a huge planner and usually have to be doing something on vacation all day long but this trip was about watching Isla have fun (which is my favorite) she gets so excited about little things and she has been trying to wear her swim vest around the house and asking to go the pool.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our most recent trip and maybe try some of the restaurants if you have not already. We lived in DFW for about 3 and half years while my husband was getting his masters at SWBTS and while we didn’t love living there because of traffic and being homesick, we both agree that it’s a very nice place to visit.

I hope to post some more travel diaries / guides in the coming weeks as well as some more DIY posts to get ready for fall and the holiday season. HOW ON EARTH IS IT ALREADY THE END OF AUGUST?! I also have a very special two-year old’s birthday party to plan. My Pinterest feed is filled with Elsa cupcakes at the moment. Last year we did pumpkins and donuts and I really thought I’d get to pick the theme for her party this year except that she is so into Frozen right now it isn’t even funny. Hearing “Let it Go” for the 4^th time at 7am is becoming a norm at our house.

So, a Frozen party it is. Wish me luck.

XO, P