Spring in Texas, Big City Houston

Houston - big, hot, and humid, but home to family.  We love staying at Uncky Dan and Auntie Jenn's house, especially if Oma and Papa are there, too!  (I also have to note that this was the first trip that the kids had to share a room, and it went pretty well!  They're growing up.)  When we arrived on Tuesday afternoon, Oma wasted no time in tracing a life-sized Owen for him to decorate.

Here's the finished product.  Owen couldn't wait to give it to Uncle Dan when he came home from work!

There was also much fun to be had with chalk, balloons, hampers, blankets, and old magazines during our stay.  The kids did not mind the heat or humidity at all.  There was so much to do and so little time!  

The blankets were used along with pillows and a desk chair to form a fort to protect Aunt Jenn, Owen, myself, and sometimes Hadley.  The opposing team (Papa, Dad, and sometimes Hadley) then tossed a tennis ball over trying to breach the fort.  It was all fun and games until someone messed with Hadley's bag of fish (don't ask)!

Hadley was a flip-flopper on the teams and also enjoyed walking around with this hamper over her head a la Dark Helmet, which was pretty comical.

The old magazines were dismantled and reassembled into a alphabet collage.  The kids really seemed to enjoy searching, cutting, and pasting their finds, though Hadley may have been a bit obsessed with faces on her collage...

And of course, we spent much time at the playground or going for walks (usually to the playground).  

Owen said that the clover looked soft enough to lie on.  Poor kid; he may never have seen clover before...?  (Is that something I should be keeping track of?)

Now, that didn't all happen on Tuesday, but it was the stuff that we did at and/or close to the house.  As we've established, Houston is a big city with lots of things to entertain small-town Idahoans, including food.  Our agenda in Texas is usually centered around food: BBQ, Tex Mex, Asian, Cajun, sushi, Southern...  All the stuff that's hard to come by in Idaho, including crawfish for a certain someone.

It's also important to introduce nostalgic eateries to the next generation and make sure they know their culinary roots.

Hadley even helped us make pizzas one night.  Even better, she ate it!

Now back to the bigger stuff.  On Wednesday, 5 of us ventured into the museum district in search of dinosaurs again. We found them at the HMNS, just where we left them.

Watch out, Hadley!!

Owen was in heaven.  So many dinosaur bones!

We also saw exhibits on samurai (in record speed),

fossil fuels and energy (Owen actually requested to 'ride' the geovator, which he didn't really like last time, but seemed to appreciate this trip),

and wildlife, which the kids found fascinating.  

By the end, Hadley was pretty tuckered out, 

but Owen had just enough energy to check out the planets outside before our trip back across town.

On Thursday, we met up with my college roommate and her husband, at their new brewery: 11 Below.  We got to see the sights and taste some of their beer.  We are so excited for this new business venture and really hope it takes off for them!

Rosa has a girl, Lilly, just a few months older than Hadley, and they palled around while we got the brewery tour.  Aren't they cute with their hands in their tiny pockets?  (Owen got a day with Oma and Papa at Chuck-E-Cheese!)  

On Friday, us parents had a date night, Oma and Hadley had a stay-in night, and Owen went with Dan, Jenn, and Papa to a Houston Dash soccer game.  I think he had fun, and it was a perfect set up to return to Idaho to start his own soccer season.