2024: Dallas World Aquarium and El Fenix
A Day in Dallas: Butterflies, Penguins, and Enchiladas
In November 2024, I had the chance to travel to Dallas with our TRIO Student Support Services group for a day that perfectly blended learning, laughter, and a lot of walking. The itinerary was simple but full: a visit to the Dallas World Aquarium followed by lunch at a Dallas classic, El Fenix.
As a scrapbooker, I love spreads that tell two connected stories on facing pages. This one captures both the wild adventure and the well-earned meal.
The left-hand page is all about the Dallas World Aquarium. And if you have ever been, you know… it is not just an aquarium. It feels more like an indoor rainforest zoo. Every time I go, I walk in expecting fish and leave talking about birds, monkeys, reptiles, and somehow a sloth. There may be water exhibits, but the animals absolutely steal the show.
For the background, I chose a butterfly cardstock. The space is lush, layered, and alive, and butterflies capture that movement and tropical energy. Instead of printing their logo, I found it online and used my Cricut pen feature to draw it directly onto the matting. I love that subtle detail. It gives the page a custom feel without overwhelming the photos.
In the bottom right corner, you can see the photo of the penguins. They were one of my favorite moments of the visit. There is something about penguins that makes everyone smile. They are awkward and dignified at the same time.
The layering on this page leans into texture and contrast. The butterflies soften the page while the animals add pops of personality. It mirrors the experience itself: structured pathways inside a wild environment.
The right-hand page transitions us from rainforest humidity to warm tortillas.
Lunch was at El Fenix, a Dallas staple that has been serving Tex-Mex since 1918. When you take students on a trip, the meal becomes just as important as the activity. It is where stories get retold, inside jokes form, and everyone exhales a bit.
For this page, I chose peacock feather cardstock as the background. It echoes the tropical feel from the aquarium but shifts the tone slightly. Peacocks are bold. Dramatic. Colorful. It bridges the two halves of the spread beautifully.
I used sparkly green cardstock for the photo matting. It adds a subtle celebratory feel, almost like confetti under the photos. Because the left side of this page still contains a few aquarium pictures, I included a frog cut out using my Cricut Machine above the poison dart toad photo and some flamingos. It helps visually anchor the crossover and keeps the two experiences connected.
The right side of the page features photos of us inside and outside El Fenix. Those images matter. They capture the community aspect of the trip. Scrapbooking is not just about places. It is about people in places.
To hear more about this adventure, watch me put together this spread by clicking on the Video below:
MASCrapping 